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—Simone—
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Early the next morning, I sat on the rear deck steps overlooking the backyard. First night down and I’d barely slept a wink. I rolled from bed soon after the birds commenced their morning chorus and had been sitting out back wrapped in a blanket for the past hour, simply breathing in the change of pace Gatlin Falls was known for.
There were no sirens or honking horns, no noisy cars or raised voices like on the street below our Denver apartment. But there was also no good morning kiss on my cheek. No face smiling down at me as he set a freshly brewed coffee beside my bed. No arms holding me against a bare chest while declaring a love so profound it made my soul ache.
Tears prickled my eyes. Even after a year and a half, the residual slivers of sorrow were as sharp as the day I said goodbye.
Sniffing and dashing away the moisture before it rolled down my cheeks, I let out a deep sigh and reminded myself why I was here: to move forward, not forget.
When the first rays of morning sunshine reached into the yard, I inhaled and rose to my feet with purpose. I changed from my pjs, pulling on exercise tights and another of Reagan’s hoodies. The oversized garment never failed to provide comfort whenever uncertainty rocked my foundations. Everything about it—the smell, size, feel—brought me closer to his memory while he remained heartbreakingly out of reach.
I tied my sneakers and then finger-combed my long hair into a ponytail. After I’d locked the cottage and stashed the key, I strode out to the sidewalk.
My heart kicked with buoyancy. If I started each day like this, maybe I would get used to calling Gatlin Falls my home.
I picked a direction and walked. Surprising myself by not veering toward the lake, I turned left at the end of my street and followed the road up an elevation. The cool morning air stung my lungs as I set a good pace, and I soon found myself on a quiet road lined with high fir trees. Their heady scent filled the air and soothed my mind more the farther I explored into the unknown.
When I reached the start of the Falls track, I eyed the sign reluctantly. While I wanted to see the infamous Falls, I wasn’t sure hiking it so early in the morning was a good idea.
Passing up that hike for today, I continued along the road that took me up another rise, then forked. I veered right and dropped into an expansive area flanked by the lake. The beauty of this secluded bay took my breath away. A few lake houses peppered the shoreline and cute little rowboats lay in wait on the pebbled shoreline. A dock jutted out into the sparkling blue water, already hosting early morning fishermen.
Life here seemed too dreamy to be true.
I took my time walking the length of the road until I came to a no-exit turnaround point. As I made my way back past the flashy houses, a barking dog a few doors down pulled my attention away from the stunning lake. A sharp whistle cut through the air.
“Enough, Pepin,” the guy commanded while biking down his driveway.
My heart dropped, taking my lungs with it, then again when the guy spotted me.
“Dammit,” I hissed under my breath. Banks Gatlin was the anti-gift that kept on giving. He was literally the last person in the world I wanted to greet the morning with.
“New girl!” he called, biking my way. “G’morning.”
My enthusiasm was barely a tenth of his. “Morning.”
“Not a morning person, huh?”
“Nope.”
He grinned. “I am.”
“Of course you are,” I sassed.
“Pepin loves a good run in the morning. Don’t ya, Pep? Though, if you’re not an early riser, I’m surprised to see you out already.”
I warily eyed the alert dog. “I’ve been up for hours after a shit sleep. Walking seemed like the best thing to do. Is your dog friendly?”
Banks grinned proudly. “She certainly is. Big’n scary lookin’ but she’s a softy under all that thick fur. She’s actually my brother’s dog, but Fields is deployed at the moment.” Banks nodded at Pepin. “She used to accompany him on deployments but was retired after she got injured a few years back. While he’s away, I look after her.”
I lowered my hand for the dog to sniff. “She’s a military dog?”
“Yup. Well, was,” Banks corrected. “Trained as a military explosive ordnance search dog, but she’s surprisingly excellent at search and rescue too. I’ve used her a few times.”
“For search and rescue?”
“Yeah. I’m one of the EMTs on the team here.”
I cautiously pet Pepin’s head. “Does he have another work dog now?”
“Sure does. Another Belgian Malinois named Olek. He’s bigger and fiercer than her.”
I hummed while scratching behind Pepin’s ears.
Banks grinned. “Ooh, she likes that. You’ve got a friend for life now. That’s her favorite scratchy place.”
As if reminded by my heart that I was getting too comfortable too quickly, my hand fell away, and I stepped around Pepin’s solid body. “I need to get going.”
“You’re headed toward town?”
“I’m headed home,” I said over my shoulder, already walking away.
Pepin waited for a command, then followed me when Banks said, “Off you go, Pep.”
While she trotted ahead, Banks balanced on his BMX bike pedals to match my pace. “Sweet, we’re headed that way too. Pepin needs a good few miles under her belt each day, otherwise she’s a fiend. The number of mismatched socks I own and the holes in my backyard is outright embarrassing.” He chuckled and grinned, despite voicing his displeasure.
Pepin trotted down the side of the road, stopping to sniff or pee as needed, before happily resuming her pace ahead of us.
“Wanna grab some breakfast from the diner with me?” Banks asked. “Miss Angie does a hella good eggs Benedict. Lucky for us, she allows service dogs on the premises, but we’ll have to sit outside.”
I kept my eyes straight ahead. “No thanks.”
Sure, him and Pepin were cute together, but I wasn’t going to let myself fall for Banks’s charm and breezy chuckle. Not when I still hadn’t gotten a proper read on him after the terrible first impression. He seemed too damn unpredictable for my liking.
“Aww, c’mon, new girl. You’re not still holding yesterday against me, surely?”
“Of course I am! You literally crossed all the boundaries yesterday.”
A low hum sounded. “I’ve been told I come on too strong at times.”
An unladylike snort left my nose. “No shit. Yesterday was infinitely too strong.”
He coughed out a laugh. “Could have been worse.”
“Could have been a helluva lot better, too,” I snapped, regretting not bringing my can of pepper spray with me.
We fell silent as we made our way up the rise and past the Falls track. Eventually, Banks couldn’t help but open his mouth and ruin the serenity.
“I really think we should do breakfast. My treat.”
“No thanks. I’m not really hungry.”
“Not even a little?”
I side-eyed him and increased my walking pace. Something told me that grin of his usually got him what he wanted.
“Nope.”
He re-matched my speed. “If you think you can out-walk me, I’d like to see you try,” he teased.
“You’re annoying me.”
“In a good way?”
I looked at him, baffled and sputtering. “No, Banks, in a very bad way! All I wanted was a peaceful morning walk, but you’re literally giving me the opposite! If I had my pepper spray on me, I’d mace you again!”
He scoffed and balanced on both pedals again. “Well, that’s a matter of opinion, and in mine—”
A surge of frustration hit me so hard I lashed out. I shoved him. Hard. Intending to make him wobble on his stupid BMX. I hadn’t expected him to over-correct—twice—then careen off the side of the road.
“Oh my god!” I shouted and pressed my hands to my face while snapping branches and angered curses came from out of sight. “Are you okay?”
“What the fuck was that Simone?” was yelled indignantly from below. Each word echoed loudly across the still morning air.
I grimaced and raised my voice over Pepin’s barking. “I’m so sorry. Is anything broken?”
“Just my gooch bone,” Banks snapped, followed by mutterings I couldn’t decipher.
A wash of giggles hit me. “Thank God for that. It could’ve been worse.”
“Worse! Clearly, you’ve never had a bike seat to the gooch before!”
I snorted and snickered, despite the pain in his voice. “Ouch.”
“Ouch is a goddamn understatement! I’m now the owner of a birth canal,” he exclaimed in a pitch much higher than his usual low drawl.
I held my stomach and laughed, then laughed harder when swearing accompanied the sounds of branches being shoved aside.
“It’s not fucking funny. Goddammit, Simone!”
The more I wheezed and roared with laughter, the higher his frustration crept.
“I swear you’d better start running because once I get out of here, I’m gonna put you over my fucking knee.”
Not believing him, I stepped to the edge of the drop-off and peered over. Hazel eyes burning with vexation glared up at me.
I didn’t bother hiding my smirk. “Need a hand?”
His eyes slammed into slits. “No, I don’t need a fucking hand.”
He heaved his bike onto the verge beside me, then gripped the grass in preparation to jump and pull himself back onto the road.
Before the boost, his gaze locked with mine and his expression turned wry. “Run,” he whispered.
My grin fell from place. “Are you serious?”
“As serious as my bruised gooch. Run, Simone. And run fast,” he added with a grunt as he hauled himself up.
I briefly contemplated shoving him back into the ditch before taking off with a scream that echoed down the wilderness-lined road. Pepin’s barking chased me down. Fear of being attacked by a military dog had my arms and legs pumping harder.
Banks’s loud command heeling Pepin gave me a short-lived wash of relief. His following laughter renewed my flight reflex.
“I’m gaining on you, new girl. You’re fast, but ain’t fast enough, darlin’.”
“Fuck off!” I screamed over my shoulder, only to hear more laughter.
Skidding tires then running footsteps and barking hunted me down. The instant Banks’s arm looped around my waist and lifted me from my feet, a blood-curdling scream tore from my mouth.
