Chapter 8

CHAPTEREIGHT

With every day that passed, Sunset felt more comfortable in Talon’s presence. He still hadn’t grabbed her. Hadn’t done or said anything that would make her think he was anything like Cypress or the other men she’d known.

Each day, they read more of the book he’d bought her, which she was loving. Each day, they talked. Each day, Talon had cut a bit more of her hair, and with every trim, Sunset felt as if she was shedding some of her painful past. It was also one of the most difficult things she’d ever endured. Because every time Talon touched her hair, memories of her time in the punishment tent resurfaced. Being in the dark, alone, shackled, sometimes blindfolded and gagged, unable to do anything but lie there and shake in fear.

Talon was patient, and his praise was constant. At first she’d dismissed most of the nice things he said, the criticisms of Arrow and Cypress too loud in her mind, telling her she was worthless, a horrible person, ugly, ungrateful. But slowly, the old words began to fade as Talon’s pushed them out.

He told her several times a day how unusual and beautiful her hair was. When she made another pair of shoes with the rabbit skins, he praised their craftsmanship. He commended the improvements in her reading, and claimed her thoughts on the book were spot on.

Being around him made Sunset feel…seen. Her entire life, she’d done everything possible to stay under the radar. To not be noticed. Because having attention had never been a good thing. It meant having to do her wifely duties. More chores. Getting yelled at and punished for messing up something.

But even when she’d knocked over the water bucket, and Talon had to go back to the stream, through the deep snow and out in the cold, he hadn’t berated her. Hadn’t said anything but “it was an accident, it’s not a big deal.” She’d been ready for him to backhand her. But his body language hadn’t changed at all. He hadn’t tensed. Hadn’t frowned. Nothing.

It was as confusing as much as it was a relief.

Every day, Talon also called one of his friends to check in. And every day, Sunset got to talk to one of their wives or girlfriends. It was strange that they were all being so nice and friendly to someone they didn’t know, but Sunset secretly looked forward to his daily calls.

Six days had passed since the storm, and Sunset realized she was…happy.

For the past year, she’d simply existed. She’d ventured out and had followed people who were in the forest out of boredom and curiosity, a desire not to feel so alone.

But when the phone Talon had been using rang one morning, Sunset tensed. She’d gotten used to their routine. No one had ever called Talon; he was the one who reached out to his friends.

“Tal here,” he said as he answered—then, seconds later, he gasped. “What? When? Is she all right?”

There was a pause as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. For once, he hadn’t pressed the button that would allow her to hear what was being said. But Sunset didn’t think it was because he was being secretive. Talon was just too absorbed in whatever he was hearing to think about it.

“Bloody hell! Why didn’t anyone tell me before now?”

Sunset could hear the hurt and worry in his voice.

“Right. Okay, I’m coming in today. I don’t know…but there’s no way in hell I’m not coming. Tell them I’ll likely see them this evening. I have no idea how long it’ll take to get out of here, what with all the trails being buried, but nothing—and I mean, nothing—is going to keep me from being there to support them.”

The emotion in his voice made Sunset’s brow furrow and her belly clench. Something was wrong. And it was clear he was going to leave.

She wasn’t ready. It was a weird feeling to not want him to go.

“I know. I appreciate you telling me. You sure she’s okay? All right. Yeah. How’s everyone else? How’s Finley? She was so looking forward to going through the process with Lilly.”

Sunset kept her gaze glued on Talon as he listened to whatever was being said. She sat stock still, not moving a muscle as she waited to hear what was happening.

“Yeah, that sucks. Okay, I’m gonna get off so I can get things sorted here.”

As the person talking to him said something else, Talon’s gaze met hers. She could see emotion swimming in the blue depths, and Sunset wanted desperately to know what to say to make him feel better, but she was so out of her element.

“Don’t know, mate, but I’ll do my best. Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

Talon took the phone away from his ear and hit a button before taking a deep breath. He didn’t move from where he was sitting across the cave from her, but every muscle in his body was tense.

“That was Drew. Lilly had a miscarriage…she and Ethan lost their baby.”

Sunset inhaled sharply. “Oh no,” she whispered. Lilly had been so excited about being pregnant. Just three days ago, she’d told Sunset all about how happy she and her husband were, how Ethan had already started fixing up a room in their house as a nursery. Sunset was a stranger, and yet Lilly had still shared such personal things. The loss she must be feeling right now had to be agonizing.

“I need to go back. Make sure she and Ethan are all right,” Talon said.

Sunset nodded immediately.

“I want you to come with me.”

She stared at him with wide eyes. Her heart started beating a hundred miles an hour. He’d told her before that he wanted her to go to Fallport with him, but she’d thought that would be way in the future. In the spring, maybe. She wasn’t ready to leave yet. She couldn’t!

“You can trust me, and I won’t hurt you. No one will. I give you my word on that. You’re safe with me and my friends. You’ve gotten to know the other women a bit from their calls. Do you think they’d intentionally do anything to hurt you? No way.”

He wasn’t giving her time to say anything; in fact, he started talking faster.

“I have to see them. They’re my dearest friends. I feel sick that I wasn’t there, that I didn’t know. Drew told me both Lilly and Ethan ordered everyone not to say anything to me when it happened. Do you know why they did that?”

Sunset swallowed hard and shook her head.

“Because they were worried about you. They knew when I heard, I’d want to see for myself that they were okay, but they didn’t want you to be left on your own out here.”

Sunset frowned. People caring about what happened to her was a completely foreign concept. No one ever went out of their way to make sure she was okay.

“Please come with me, Sunset.”

Her mouth opened before she thought about what she was going to say. “Okay.”

“Okay?” he asked, seeming a bit shocked.

She nodded.

Talon’s eyes closed and he sighed in relief, as if her agreement had been important.

Sunset realized with a start that her acquiescence was important to him.

“Thank you,” he whispered. Then his eyes opened and pinned her in place once more. “It isn’t going to be easy to get to my SUV at the trailhead.”

“I know.” And she did. The snow might’ve stopped, but there was at least a foot and a half on the ground. And it was still bitterly cold outside. Every time she stepped outside to relieve herself, she was reminded just how fortunate she was to have her warm cave to retreat into.

He eyed her and nodded. “Thank God you’ve got the boots. I’ve got an extra shirt you can wear to add an additional layer to what you’ve got on. I know my way around the forest, but I have a feeling you’ll have a better sense of the easiest way to get to the trailhead.”

It was a question without being asked as a question. Sunset nodded slowly.

“Good. You can lead. Well…I’ll go first so I can make a trail, so it won’t be as hard for you to get through the snow. But you can tell me which way to go.”

Being around this man continued to be utterly eye-opening. No way in hell would any of the men in The Community ever admit that they didn’t know something. And they never, ever, would’ve trusted any of the women to take control of an important situation like Talon was. They wouldn’t have let her lead the way through the forest, even though she knew it like the back of her hand. They would’ve wandered around in circles, completely lost, before ever asking a woman for help.

Talon stood and began rummaging in his pack. “I can’t leave the tent behind, because if something happens and we need to take shelter, we’ll need it, but I want to leave enough staples behind in case we have to use this cave in the future.”

“What?” Sunset asked. The way the question came out so easily and without thought made her realize exactly how comfortable she’d gotten around this man. In the past, if she dared question her husband, or anyone else, she would’ve been backhanded.

“This is your safe space,” Talon said, straightening and looking her in the eye. “You can always come back here if you need or want to. I won’t ever give you a reason to want to escape me or retreat back into the woods, but I still want you to know you have a place to go if you need it. A safety net.”

Sunset stared at Talon in disbelief.

He broke her gaze and looked around. “We’ll need to take the canvas down and fold it up, but we’ll do that last, right before we leave. I’ve got some extra freeze-dried meals I can leave, and I’ll put the things I brought for you in my pack, so you can have them with you when we get back to my apartment. I’ll leave the cards, one of the pocket knives, the cutlery and dishes, and of course your bucket and pots. The flint and the brush can stay too.”

Sunset’s mind was spinning. This was actually happening. She was leaving, going to Fallport. The one place Arrow had pounded into their heads that they should never go. He seemed especially adamant that she never went there. Sunset hadn’t understood why it would be so bad for her to be seen by the locals, for her to venture into town, but she’d been so busy trying to survive, she hadn’t thought too much about it.

“Are you sure you’re all right with this?” Talon asked as he paused in his packing.

Sunset swallowed hard and nodded, realizing she was all right. She was scared, terrified actually, but a feeling of anticipation and excitement was also coursing through her veins.

“Truly sure?”

“Yes,” she told him. “I’m scared,” she admitted. “But you need to see your friends. I can do this.”

Talon took a step toward her before seeming to catch himself and stopping abruptly. He stared at her from the small distance that separated them.

“I read something once,” he began in a conversational tone.

Sunset knew he was anxious to get going, and yet here he was, talking to her, trying to reassure her.

“It’s a quote that stuck with me. It was something about how being scared means you’re about to do something really brave. And being brave means you’re smart enough to know that despite what you’re about to do is scary, difficult, and maybe even dangerous…you’re doing it anyway, because the possibility of succeeding is worth the chance of failing.”

Sunset let his words sink into her soul.

“I’d be worried if you weren’t scared, sweetheart. You’ve been told all your life that Fallport is bad. That the people there are evil. You couldn’t know that those were lies. Couldn’t know that you were being oppressed by the very people who were supposed to care for and protect you.”

“Have you ever been scared of anything?” Sunset asked.

“All the bloody time,” Talon said without hesitation. “When I had to leave all those women and kids when I was on that mission, I was terrified. I had a bad feeling about what would happen if we left, but I wasn’t in a position to do anything about it.

“And more recently, I was scared I wouldn’t find you. Then I was scared that if I did find you, you’d run. I’m scared I’ll say the wrong thing and you won’t trust me. I’m scared that I’ll do something that’ll make you afraid of me. I’m scared that when we get to Fallport, it’ll be too much for you. That you won’t want to stay.”

“Talon,” she whispered, not sure what to say to all of that.

“You can trust me. I won’t ever hurt you,” he said softly. “If things get too frightening, if you get too overwhelmed, repeat those words to yourself. At any time, if you can’t handle something, you tell me, and I’ll get you out of the situation. We’ll go for a hike. I’ll take you back to my place, where you can regroup. I’ll do whatever it takes for you to realize that you’re safe and no one is going to hurt you ever again.”

His words were a balm to her tattered soul. “Okay.”

“Okay,” he agreed. “You want to help me pack this stuff up so it’ll be good to go if and when we come back?”

We. He’d said we. Not you. They were both well aware that she could come back to this cave by herself in the future, but inferring they might come back together at some point made Sunset’s chest loosen. This cave had saved her life. When she’d run from Cypress and the others in The Community who were trying to take her away, she wasn’t sure where she was going to go. Finding this ideal shelter had been a miracle, and in many ways, she’d miss it terribly.

But it had also been a prison of sorts. The longer she’d lived here, the harder it was to imagine ever leaving. Talon finding her had been the catalyst she needed to make a change. That change was scary, but she was going to grab onto it with both hands. Knowing she could come back if she wanted to was the last push she needed to get on with her life.

It didn’t take long to pack the things she wanted to take with her and secure the rest in the back of the cave. The last thing they did was take down the canvas. She folded it in half and wrapped the supplies they were leaving inside. They put rocks around and on top of the tarp to try to prevent animals from dragging it away.

“Ready?” Talon asked gently as she stood in the mouth of the cave, staring at the empty space.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded. Sunset wasn’t sure she was ready, but if Talon thought she was brave, she didn’t want to do anything to make him think otherwise.

“If you get too cold, let me know. You’ve got the last handwarmer, make sure to switch it between your hands every couple minutes.”

“I will,” she said. He was extremely worried about her comfort. Sunset didn’t have the heart to tell him about some of the times she’d gone hunting in the winter, wearing nothing but the damn brown dress she was required to wear at The Community and her rabbit fur shoes on her feet. Compared to that, in her leggings, cargo pants, long-sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, fleece, wool socks and boots, she was positively toasty.

They started out with Talon in the lead, forging a path through the deep snow, and Sunset walking a few steps behind him. Before too long, Talon realized she was struggling. While warm, the boots were hard to get used to after never having worn shoes before. The wind had picked up, now that they were away from the cover of the dense trees and vegetation surrounding the cave, and it was difficult to hear when they spoke unless they were facing each other.

When Sunset tripped and fell, Talon didn’t notice, and he’d actually gotten quite a ways ahead of her before he realized she wasn’t right behind him. He returned to her quickly and shook his head. “This isn’t working.”

Dread raced through Sunset. She’d been clumsy and he was now impatient with her. She braced for his harsh words. But she should’ve known better.

“I could get out a length of rope and put it around my waist so you can hold onto it, but I’d prefer you not be that far away from me. I’d like you to hold onto my waistband or my backpack as we walk. You can use me as a walking stick of sorts. I can help you stay upright as you walk through the snow. I know you don’t want to get that close, but you can trust me, Sunset. I won’t hurt you.”

Most people would probably be sick and tired of hearing him say the same thing over and over, but each time he uttered the words, they sank deeper into her soul. She didn’t reply, instead just stepped closer and slipped her fingers behind the belt around his waist.

“Thank you,” Talon told her. He smiled at her, and that damn dimple made her knees weak before he turned back around. “Here we go. If I go too fast, speak up. Let me know which way I should go.”

Walking this close to him was actually easier than walking alone. Talon was like a strong, sturdy tree walking ahead of her. When she did trip over her feet, or when they felt as if they weighed two hundred pounds as she dragged them through the deep snow, Talon was there to keep her steady.

They walked for a while, then took a break, and repeated the pattern over and over. Even when she didn’t feel as if she needed a break, Talon insisted. Each time, he checked her fingers to make sure she wasn’t too cold, then requested she drink to stay hydrated.

That was another thing…he always encouraged her to take her fill of water before he even thought about taking any for himself. The Community men ate and drank first. Without question.

Walking through the snow was more tiring than she thought it would be, even with the breaks. Even though she was in shape, she usually didn’t stray too far from her cave in bad weather. It took longer than she thought it would to get close to the beginning of the trail. She was cold, tired, and her nerves were definitely getting the better of her.

“It’s okay, Sunset. We’re almost there, I promise. And going to town is a good thing.”

How he was able to read her mind should’ve worried her, but instead it was a comfort. “I know.” And she did, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still apprehensive.

“You really do know this forest, don’t you?” he asked as they walked.

“I’ve spent most of my life in here,” she said. “It would be kind of sad if I couldn’t find my way around.”

“I’m thinking we could use you on our search and rescue team,” Talon muttered, then he turned his head to smile at her.

Sunset froze. Her? Working with the other men she’d spied on more times than she could count as they searched for missing people? No, she couldn’t. She was a woman. She couldn’t be responsible for something like that.

“You’d be really good at it,” he said, seeing the disbelief on her face. “But today isn’t the day you have to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life. Today’s a day to take a deep breath and see that there’s a whole ’nother world out there. One that’s much kinder and easier than the one you’ve known.”

Sunset wasn’t sure about that, but she didn’t disagree with him.

Talon laughed. “You so want to tell me I’m full of shit. But you’ll see,” he said before continuing on their trek toward the trailhead.

This man continued to confuse her…and make her yearn for things she’d never experienced. She liked that he didn’t care if she questioned him. And it seemed as if he was amused when she disagreed with something he’d said. He was so different from anyone she’d ever known…and she liked it. A lot.

For the first time in her life, Sunset thought maybe she could be someone different.

“We’re here,” he said a short while later.

And they were. His car—at least, she assumed it was Tal’s—sat in the parking lot, completely buried under feet of snow. But instead of the area being otherwise deserted, a man sitting in a truck with a snow plow mounted on the front smiled when he spotted them from the driver’s seat. When they emerged from the woods, he waved and opened the door.

Without thinking about what she was doing, Sunset moved closer to Talon, instead of farther away. Her hand dropped from his waistband and she clutched the hand closest to her.

He looked at her in surprise, but immediately tightened his glove-covered fingers around hers.

“Hey, you two!” the man called, stepping out of the truck. “I’m Rory! Ethan sent me. He hired me last week to make sure everyone could get to his brother’s wedding, and when he heard you were returning from your camping trip—camping in the middle of a snowstorm is crazy, if you ask me, but then again, most people think I’m crazy for loving what I do, so who am I to judge?—he asked if I’d come out this way and give you a lift back to town. I could try to dig out your SUV there, but it’ll be faster if I just take you.”

Talon smiled at the man and said, “We’d love a ride, thank you.”

“Great. Wow, your woman sure is pretty. If I’d spent a week in the woods, I surely wouldn’t look as good as she does. Anyway, it’ll be a tight fit in the cab of my truck, but I think we’ll manage.”

Talon’s hand tightened on hers as Sunset thought about the exchange. The man, Rory, hadn’t looked twice at her. Hadn’t asked her what the hell she was doing, standing so close to Talon. And he’d called her pretty.

“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to go straight to Lilly and Ethan’s,” Talon said, looking at her.

Frowning, Sunset studied him. It sounded as if he was asking for her permission. “Um…okay?”

“I could take you to my place first. We could change, you could shower and get something to eat before we visit them, if you’d prefer.”

She’d heard how worried Talon was for his friends. She knew delaying the visit wasn’t what he wanted to do. He wanted to go straight to Lilly and Ethan to offer his support. Make sure they were all right. She’d never experienced that feeling, never had anyone support her, but she wanted to do whatever she could to make Talon feel better.

She shook her head. “No, you need to get to your friends as soon as you can.”

He gave her a smile and squeezed her hand. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

Then he turned and headed for the man’s truck. He threw his backpack into the bed then opened the door and climbed in, scooting over until he was in the middle of the long seat, next to Rory, who was settling back behind the wheel.

Sunset closed the door behind her, noticing how much space there was between her leg and Talon’s. He was doing his best not to crowd her. Everything he’d done since she’d first seen him sitting outside her cave had been to try to make her feel comfortable.

The ride to Fallport wasn’t silent. Rory didn’t stop talking the entire trip. He was friendly and outgoing, and filled the ride with commentary about various topics. He told them all about how Rocky and Bristol had invited him to their wedding, and how much fun he’d had. They learned he was a widower; his wife had died a few years ago and his kids had all moved away. He enjoyed helping out the community by plowing the streets in the winter. In the fall, he drove the truck that sucked up leaves people left on their curbs, and in the spring and summer he traveled.

By the time they started seeing houses along the side of the road, Sunset had begun to relax. But that didn’t last as more and more buildings came into sight. She felt as if her heart was going to beat out of her chest.

What was she doing? She shouldn’t be here! She was going to have to spend the next year or more in the punishment tent.

Just as she’d worked herself into a frenzy, Talon slowly took her hand in his. This time they weren’t wearing gloves, and the feel of his bare hand, calluses and all, settled against her own…it immediately soothed her.

She wasn’t in The Community anymore. Cypress was gone. He’d left her behind. She was on her own.

No, that wasn’t true. Talon was there.

She could trust him. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.

She realized she’d internalized the words he was constantly telling her when Rory pulled up in front of a pretty house surrounded by other well-kept and nice-looking houses.

“Here we are,” he announced happily.

“How much do I owe you for the ride?” Talon asked.

“Nothing!” Rory said with a shake of his head. “It was my pleasure. When I heard why you were coming back from your camping trip, I was only too happy to help.” The man’s voice lowered. “My wife lost a child once, it was the worst thing that ever happened to us. We went on to have three other babies, but I still think of my oldest girl…sad that I never got to know her. Anyway, if you need a lift to your place when you’re done visiting, just give me a yell. Ethan’s got my number. It was nice meeting you both…but especially you, lovely lady. I know I talked too much and didn’t give you a chance to get a word in edgewise. My kids are always telling me I’m too friendly, and I keep telling them there’s no such thing. You be safe, okay?”

Sunset nodded automatically. Arrow and Cypress had always claimed the people who lived in Fallport were suspicious of and downright mean to outsiders, but Rory was so far from either, it wasn’t even funny. And even though she’d already suspected the people she lived with had lied about quite a few things, Rory was a living, breathing example of how right she’d been.

“It was nice meeting you too,” she said softly, after she’d gotten out of the truck.

Rory beamed.

Talon grabbed his pack out of the back of the truck and gave Rory a chin lift. Then he held out his hand to Sunset and said, “You ready to do this?”

She took a deep breath as Rory’s truck pulled away. “Yes.”

She wasn’t ready. Not at all. But she was going to do it anyway. First, because these were Talon’s friends and they were hurting and he needed to see them. And second, because she desperately wanted a different life. One where she didn’t have to worry about being thrown in the punishment tent, or being claimed by another husband, or where she was beaten if she dared ask a question. She wanted a life like the one Talon had described. One where she could be the person she’d always felt was hiding deep within her. The woman she’d pushed deep down inside for her own protection.

“Brave as bloody hell,” Talon told her as she placed her hand in his own. Then he turned and headed for the front door of the house.

She felt as if she was going to puke, she was so scared, but Sunset kept putting one foot in front of the other. Talon was with her. She could trust him.