In Between the Earth and Sky
Page 27
“You didn’t say goodbye,” he said.
“I left a note.”
He nodded. Right. The note. The one that said she loved him.
“I’m not ready to say goodbye,” he said.
“But down the road,” she arched a knowing eyebrow. “You must see it.”
He took a deep breath and let it out. This was where it counted. This was the place he’d been heading toward his entire life.
Straight to her.
“No.”
“No?”
“No,” he repeated. “I don’t see it. Not with you.”
She bit into another piece of chocolate and chewed slowly.
“Ask me, Lydia,” he said, voice rough. “Ask me where I’ve been.”
“What if I don’t want to know the answer?” she responded.
“Ask. Me.”
She narrowed her eyes and just before she bit into the chocolate again, her eyes dropped to the wrapper on the floor. She touched it with her finger tips, flattening out the foil and looking at the label.
It was her favorite.
He knew that because her mom had told him. He’d bought a case.
“Just because I wasn’t around, doesn’t mean you weren’t the only thing on my mind.”
Her eyes darted back up to him and he saw the unmistakable glimmer of tears in her eyes.
He licked his lips and tried to stay calm.
“You talked to my mom?” she asked, swiping a tear off her cheek.
He nodded. “A lot.”
She closed her eyes and he could see her jaw clench from where he sat.
“I know, okay? I know I should have talked to you first. Or maybe I did it right. I have no idea.” He shrugged, using his entire body as the energy in the room caused him to tense up.
“I had an opportunity and I took it.”
She shook her head. “You knew. I told you how I felt about Merrick—”
“This isn’t that,” he cut her off.
“It makes sense now,” she said quietly. “Why you stayed away. Why you didn’t call. You knew your actions—”
“No, babe,” he disagreed, shaking his head. “You can be mad at me, I get that. You have a right to it. But I love you. I’m in love with you. I might do some extra crazy shit in order to have your back. Because, sweetheart, we need to be honest with each other. I am really fucking extra.”
Her lips parted in stunned silence.
Remington took her pause and moved closer to her. He brought his body within inches, but didn’t touch.
“I went up to see your mom.” His voice shook. Maybe it was fear, or general emotion. But he had to get the words out. Get past this part and onto the really scary part. “Just from what you’d told me, I knew something was wrong. And it hurt to see you so helpless in the matter. So, I broke all my rules. She’s safe. She’s getting treatment for her PTSD.”
She hurried to stand and quickly walked across the empty room.
“What? That’s—” She rubbed her forehead with the fingertips of one hand and began pacing.
Remington stood as well, but gave her room. She darted a glare his direction, but it was full of confusion and debate. As if things were falling into place for her.
She stopped pacing and regarded him thoughtfully.
“You went up to see my mom.”
He nodded.
“In order to,” she waved a hand to the side, “figure things out for me.”
“Mostly,” he answered slowly.
She pressed her lips into a thin line and put her hands on her hips. “Or,” she raised her eyebrows in challenge. “Let’s try this scenario. You went to meet with my mother, who I had already told you had a problem with how I live my life, in order to see which one of us was actually crazy!”
By the end of her sentence, she was near shouting.
Remington tried to argue but she waved away his words as her emotions broke through the surface of her façade.
“Am I supposed to be relieved it wasn’t me?” she cried, covering the sob that escaped with a hand over her mouth.
He caught her in his arms as her knees gave out. They both sank to the floor and he held her to his chest, mumbling soothing nonsense over and over.
Oh, he’d really fucked that up.
Way more than he thought he would. He had figured he’d probably fuck it up a little and just fix it along the way, but he underestimated his own arrogance.
“Oh, honey,” he whispered into her hair at the top of her head. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
Her arms circled around his waist and she cried into his chest. The slow break of a wave having taken its time getting to shore.
All he could do was hold her.
And for the first time in his life, it was the only thing he wanted to do.
In this moment, he wasn’t concerned with saving someone. Something about the way she shattered against him told him she didn’t need saving. She needed holding.
He’d been running in circles for two weeks. Trying to wrap up all his loose ends. All with the intention of being here. Now. With her. For as long as she would have him.
She sniffed and pulled free of his arms.
“Just give me a second,” she said, voice thick. “I need a tissue.”
He released her and watched her go into the bathroom. Standing up, he looked around at the boxes stacked against the walls. She’d only unpacked her record player and coffee maker.
Somehow seeing those things settled his heartbeats. No more fight or flight.
When she came back out, he tried a small smile. Her eyes were still red, but she’d stopped crying. Instead of coming back to his arms, she kept her distance.
“So, you believed me?” she asked, so unsure and hopeful it tore at his heart.
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “I always believe you.”
Her eyebrows twitched, she flitted a glance around the room before settling back on him.
“Where were you?” she asked.
“Finishing what needed to be finished.” He ran a hand through his hair and stuck his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching for her.
“Look at you,” he murmured, really taking her in for the first time since he’d arrived. Dark, tangled hair nearly to her waist. Bare feet on a wooden floor, tan legs that spent time with the sun and moon equally, cut off sweat shorts, a pale blue shirt that probably used to have a band logo on it once, but no longer. “Feral child. You claimed to have left your heart with me. But you took mine with you.”
She swallowed and looked towards her toes, crossing her arms over her middle. Any other person might think she wasn’t pleased with his remarks. But he saw the telltale blush hit her neck.
“I drove,” he said, taking a single step her direction. “Over a thousand miles yesterday.”
Another step.
She lifted her eyes.
“Because all I knew was the miles didn’t matter. As long as I was here by dawn.”
Another step.
“You love me. You said it yourself.” He shrugged and she rolled her eyes. “You love me because I’m a scoundrel.”
Her lips cracked a smile.
“You were also the one who told me love was an act of faith.”
She nodded.
“So, this is me, coming to you, putting myself in your way. No obligation. No duty. No coercion. Stepping out on faith.”
His final step brought them face to face. He brushed her hair out of her eyes.
“A man like me…” he trailed off, shaking his head. A man like him didn’t deserve the wild purity of her love.
“There are no men like you,” she said, taking his hand in hers. She brought it to her lips and pressed a kiss to the palm. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
He bent to her mouth, brushing his lips against hers.
“Let’s be faithful.”
Her response was to kiss him. The kind of kiss he’d only ever experienced with her. Free and sweet. With a
ll the things she believed in, and all the things he didn’t know he could.
The wild in Remington’s soul was not tamed. It no longer slept quietly in the corner. Waiting.
It took her hand.
And they ran.
The End
Acknowledgments
What. A. Trip.
I don’t really know where to begin with this. This story has taken me three years to write. There was a point where I wasn’t sure if I’d even be able to do it. And here we are. Doing the impossible.
Readers, thank you for your notes, your encouragement, your jokes. I can’t name each of you, because it would take forever. You know who you are. I love you.
Scott Colby and FFP. Still the best decision I’ve ever made. I know I haven’t been around as much this past year, but the impact you’ve had on my life is permanent. Therefore, so is your place here. I love you.
Jo, thank you for being the world’s greatest everything. You edit and calm and encourage me without fail. I don’t know what I would do without you. I love you.
Jamie, my weird recognizes your weird, and we are in mutual weird together forever. I don’t think I would have gotten through this last year without you. I love you.
Kellcie, your voice of reason in the chaos of my calamity got me through more than you know. Not to mention you’re the only one who can make me go from crying my eyes out to laughing until I can’t breathe within the same text message. I love you.
My betas, who read numerous drafts of this story over the past 3 years. You were never mean, but you also never let me move forward with a bad idea. My heart is grateful for your dedication and friendship. I love you.
Kati, your friendship had become one of the most nurturing of my existence. I’m so happy we found one another. And I’m excited for where we’ll go. I love you.
A.J., one man, what would I do without your humor and feedback. Thank you for letting me bounce my crazy ideas off you and not being afraid to tell me I’m being crazy. Best brother ever. I love you.
Zack, thank you for the story. Thank you for the friendship. It’s been one of the most important of my life. I love you.
Mama and Papa, words will never be enough. Your faith, your love, your friendship has been the most inspiring of my life. I’m sorry for all the swears. Don’t read them. I love you.
Charlie, my light, my joy, my heartbeats. Your imagination. love of adventure, and tender heart compel me to be a better mom. A mom you deserve. I hope one day you’ll realize how very much of a gift you are in my life. I love you.
Charles, the man of my heart. The love of my life. I think there were parts of my heart that had never beat before, until you taught them how. I also think I write romance because you’ve filled my life with so much of it, it has to leak out. I love you. I love you. I love you.
God, you already know.
About the Author
Heidi Hutchinson was born in South Dakota and raised the exact right distance away from the Black Hills. She had an overactive imagination very early on, and wasted no time in getting most of her friends in trouble due to her unrealistic and completely ridiculous ideas. Seeing as she was so lazy and also afraid people would think she was bonkers, she didn't write down any of the story lines that played out in her daydreams.
During her high school years, she took pen to paper and filled more notebooks than she is proud of with angsty, depressing, self-deprecating poetry. This led to her writing down more things: notes, ideas, character bios, plot twists that had no plot yet to twist. After years of cleaning up her own scraps of imagination with nothing solid to hold on to, she sat down and wrote the story that had been in her head the longest. Fueled by coffee and her unwavering and perfectly normal devotion to Dave Grohl, she discovered a writer living inside of her.
She still lives in the Midwest, though not as close to the Black Hills as she would prefer, with her alarmingly handsome husband and their fearless child. They eat more pizza than God intended and she listens to her music the same way she lives: loudly.
heidih.net