Chapter Two

By nightfall, Max had eaten soup and crackers, been up twice, and was back in his own clothes. He also checked the backpack for himself to make sure the container with the ashes was still intact.

Once Skye had cell service again, she contacted the Russellville police to let them know about his wreck, then called her local doctor. He checked Max out via a zoom consultation, with a request for him to come in for a thorough checkup once the weather cleared, and then afterward, the doctor gave Skye added instructions.

“Skye, if you have any concerns about Mr. Bridger’s health, don’t hesitate to call,” he said.

“I will, and thank you so much,”

she said. As soon as the consultation ended, she turned to Max. “Do you feel okay with all that?”

His mouth turned up at one corner just enough to pass for a smile. “You might be the kindest, most considerate woman I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. Yes, ma’am. I am very okay with that.”

Skye sighed. “I know, I know. My whole family calls me Miss Fixit. I’m probably a lot to deal with, but it’s who I am. As a kid, I was always bringing home some stray cat or dog, or finding an injured animal and bringing it home to fix.”

Max shook his head. “You misunderstand me. I am most grateful you rescued me. Most women wouldn’t have.”

Skye shrugged. “I didn’t know if you were sick, hurt, or drunk, but I told myself you’d have to get better to kill me and kept driving.”

He was watching her expressions with a growing sense of respect. He chuckled, and then shook his head. “Not laughing at you. Just the way you said it. I know that’s a valid concern for every woman. You’re something else, and I assure you, I hold strong self-sufficient women in high regard. The woman who raised me was like that.”

Skye saw sadness in his eyes, but she wasn’t going to ask him one more thing about his past. Everyone had a story. Whether they told it to the world or not was for them to decide, so she changed the subject.

“I saw the weather report earlier. The storm front is stalled over the area, which means this rain is likely to continue. I’m sorry you’ve been stranded here, but I’m glad for the company.”

“I’m glad for the company, too,”

he said, and realized he meant it.

Skye picked up the remote and turned up the volume on the TV. “Since we know it’s still raining, no need wondering what the weatherman has to say. I get Netflix. Want to watch a movie?”

she asked.

“We could watch Noah , that movie with Russell Crowe about the biblical flood. Maybe we could get some pointers on building an ark,” Max said.

Skye laughed. “Good suggestion, but I think we’ve both had enough rain in our lives for a bit. What’s your favorite genre?”

“Anything that doesn’t involve a war,”

he said. “I’ll watch King Kong movies all day long.”

“Oooh, yes! Kong: Skull Island is one of the best. I know that’s on Netflix at the moment. Are we good with that?”

she asked.

“We are so good with that,” he said.

“You only had soup and crackers. Do you want a sandwich or some popcorn with your movie?”

And just like that, she’d included him in the event as if they were old friends.

“You don’t need to bother with . . .”

“I’m not bothering. I’m using you as an excuse. I never watch a movie without a snack and a drink in hand. Holdover from the days when we all went to the theatre to see movies.”

He smiled. “Then I’m having what you’re having.”

“Deal,”

she said, and leaped up from the sofa and flew out of the room.

Max heard doors banging, dishes rattling, and in less than five minutes, she came back with a charcuterie tray of meats, cheeses, snack crackers, and corn chips with a bowl of salsa on the side, plus two, twelve-ounce bottles of Mountain Dew.

When Max saw the bottles of pop, he flashed back on the snacks Ray used to bring him after school. The drink was always Mountain Dew.

“That looks fabulous,” he said.

“That’s just the savory tray. I’m going back for the sweet one,”

she said, and disappeared.

He laughed, and the sound startled him. He hadn’t laughed in months, but it felt good—like someone had opened a door in his memory that had long since been shut. When she came back, she had two forks, two plates, and a smaller tray with cookies and a bowl of peanut M me on the other.”

He jumped up, grabbed a duffel bag and began stuffing clothes inside. If she said yes, he was set. If she didn’t, she’d never know he’d prepared to stay. Then it occurred to him that she might be at work and made a quick call. It rang twice, and then she answered.

“Hey, you! What’s going on? Are the plumbers still there?”

“No. The painters and plumbers are all gone. I was just checking to see if you were home or at work.”

“I’m home, why?”

“I think I left something behind the last time I was there. If it’s okay, I’m heading your way.”

“Always, but it looks like it’s going to rain. Drive carefully, okay?”

“I will. See you in a few,”

he said, and headed out the door.

**

Skye was elated that Max was coming. She’d awakened this morning, ready to end her own personal stalemate. He needed to hear her say the words. He needed to know how much he meant to her. It was the most important “get-a-grip”

moment of her life, and she wondered what he was coming to look for.

**

By the time Max left Russellville, the sky was getting darker. He took off up the mountain, determined to get to Skye before anything flooded, but the farther he went, the darker the sky became.

The first sprinkles hit his windshield as he turned off the blacktop. Gravel crunched beneath the tires as he sped through the trees, then across the bridge. He came to a sliding halt in front of the cabin as Skye appeared on the porch.

“You made it!”

she said, and after he’d launched himself up the steps, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I missed you, too, darlin’. More than you know.”

“What was it you left behind?”

she asked.

“You! The last time I drove away I felt like I’d lost a piece of myself. I love you, Skye. I don’t want to spend another night alone. I want to wake up beside you every morning for the rest of my life.”

She was laughing and crying as he cupped her face, holding his breath, and then she said the words. The big words. The hard words. The words he’d been waiting to hear.

“Consider it done! I love you, Max Bridger. You rocked my world from day one, and I don’t want to do this life without you.”

The drizzle was turning into big fat rain drops falling on their hair and on their faces. “Come inside, love. We’re going to get wet.”

But Max wouldn’t budge. “I don’t care if I get wet. Rain brought you to me, and love brought me back. I would let it rain down on me forever if that was what it cost.”

“Love costs nothing when you give it away. Come inside, crazy man. You’re probably going to be flooded in with me again.”

“I came prepared for a miracle,” he said.

“Maybe God brought you and the rain because I was too big a coward to say the words, and I consider that my miracle. Get your stuff and come inside. I have already stripped you once of sopping wet clothes. I can do it again.”

He bounded back down the steps, grabbed his duffel bag from the back seat, then ran back to her and reached for her hand.

“Meant to be,” he said.

Thunder rolled.

The sky unloaded as they began to run.