Chapter 7

seven

. . .

Jack

Sweat drips down my back as I hike through the dense forest, thoughts of Olivia consuming me. Her soft skin, bright eyes, the way she feels in my arms...

I need to focus. Find more firewood before the sun sets and the temperature drops.

A twig snaps behind me. I whirl around, hand reaching for my knife, ready to confront a bear or mountain lion. But it's not an animal.

My heart falls.

It's a group of men, fanned out in a search party formation. My heart clenches.

They're looking for her .

My Olivia.

The one in the lead is tall, broad-shouldered, classically handsome.

It's him. The man from the picture.

I ball my hands into fists.

He's exactly the kind of man a woman like Olivia deserves. Not some washed-up recluse like me.

"You there!" the man calls out. "Have you seen a young woman? Brown hair, green eyes?" He holds up a photo.

It's her.

Smiling, radiant.

My fist tightens around the knife handle. I could lie. Lead them in the wrong direction. Keep Olivia to myself a little longer.

But it wouldn't be right.

She doesn't belong to me, no matter how much I wish she did.

"Yeah," I say gruffly. "She's at my cabin. Quarter mile that way." I point to the east, every word feeling like a knife to the gut.

The man's eyes narrow. "Your cabin? What the hell is she doing there?"

I bristle at his accusing tone. "I found her. In the woods. Injured. Been nursing her back to health."

He gives me a once-over, clearly finding me lacking.

I clench my jaw, fighting the urge to lay him out. But Olivia wouldn't want that.

So, I turn and stride back toward the cabin, hearing the search party fall into step behind me.

My heart cracks more with every step with take.

God, can I do this?

As we approach the cabin, Olivia bursts out the door. Her eyes widen, flicking from me to the man behind me.

"Olivia, thank God!" He rushes forward, and she takes a step back, scared, confused.

I take a step forward, ready to intervene.

But then she blinks rapidly, and recognition dawns on her face.

My chest tightens. I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack.

"Nate?" her voice is full of wonder. "Oh my God, Nate!" She throws herself into his arms and clings to him, tears streaming down her face.

I look away, gut twisting. I knew this moment would come. That she'd remember her old life and leave. Deep down, I knew.

And it hurts like a son-of-a-bitch.

Unable to stand there and watch their reunion a second longer, I turn and head into the woods.

The image of her in his arms is seared into my brain.

I find a log and sink down onto it, head in my hands. She's better off. A woman like her doesn't belong in a place like this.

With a man like me.

I hang my head low and do something I haven't done in a long time—since my parents died, in fact.

I cry.