The Roommate Pact(79)
“The fear was. It’s debilitating.”
Mia sobered. “I know. I worry about Noah, too, you know.”
“You do?”
“Of course. He goes on almost every climbing trip Graham does.”
“That’s true.” Mia seemed so matter-of-fact about it. Claire envied her for it. “How do you do it?”
Mia shrugged. “I guess I just try to focus on the time I have with him instead of obsessing over when our end date might be. His brother died in a car accident, which could happen to any of us. People have sudden heart attacks, aneurysms, get cancer. They fall down stairs or are in the wrong place at the wrong time when someone walks in with a gun. Terrible things happen all the time and they can happen to anyone. If I let myself think about every little thing that could take Noah away from me I’d be a walking basket case every minute of every day.” Her voice was near a whisper. “What a horrible way to live and miss out on the best thing in my life.”
Claire swiped at her cheeks. “Shit, Mia.”
Mia didn’t apologize. Rather, she looked down at her phone resting on the table and tapped it. The lock screen illuminated with an image of her and Noah, faces pressed together, ridiculous smiles on their faces. She took in a shaky breath and smiled. “They say love drives out fear. That it brings light into darkness. As long as I have a choice, I’ll choose love and light and hope the power of that choice, and the person that comes with it, does the rest.”
Claire left the café even more confused than when she arrived. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d walked away from a tough conversation with Mia without a firm idea in her mind of where she’d go from here.
It was after ten by the time they said goodbye and walked to their cars. She’d put her phone on silent during dinner and now checked the screen before turning on the ignition.
Matt had called, then followed up with a text.
Matt: Hey beautiful. Just wanted to say I hope you had a good day at work today. If you’re free on Friday I’d love to cook you dinner. Call me later.
Claire didn’t reply and slipped the phone back into her purse. Gripping the back of her neck in one hand, she leaned her head back and sighed.
She really hated it here.
A huge yawn caught her off guard. Give yourself a break. You just worked a twelve-hour shift on your feet and had an emotionally draining conversation with Mia.
All good points. She turned on the car and pulled onto the main road, allowing herself to put off thinking about men, relationships, or plane crashes until tomorrow.
The restaurant was only a few blocks from her house, and she let her brain go on autopilot to get her home. She reached down to turn on the radio, and when she looked up again she was blinded by bright lights coming straight at her.
Disoriented, she grabbed the wheel with both hands and hit the brakes, hard. Something slammed into her from behind, forcing her body forward. Another crunch sounded from somewhere in front of her, and everything went black.
28
“I can’t believe it’s been four months since I’ve gone camping.”
Noah glanced back from his spot a few feet up on the trail. “Have you ever gone that long?”
Graham returned his eyes to his feet, careful of his footing. How long would it take before he stopped being worried about reinjuring his leg? As impatient as he’d been to get the cast off and get back to his normal life, he didn’t intend to mess things up and go back to square one.
“Honestly, I’m not sure if I have. Since my first trip when I was ten.”
“I’m glad I suggested it, then.”
“Me, too,” Graham said.
He inhaled deeply, taking in lungfuls of the fresh mountain air. Only one thing smelled better, and she wasn’t here.
After ten more minutes of an easy, fairly level hike, Noah slowed. “Almost there.”
The comment was unnecessary. Graham knew exactly where they were. This was one of their favorite camping spots, close to a river for fishing and within hiking distance of a few lesser-known climbing spots. The best part: it was low traffic and devoid of loud, often inconsiderate tourists.
They reached a small clearing and a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.
“Took you guys long enough.”
Graham’s gaze snapped up to find Claire, in hiking boots, shorts, and a tank top, standing in front of a partially erected tent. Her hair was messy and she stood with her arms crossed over her chest.
His heart ceased beating for several seconds and literally the only thing he wanted in this moment was to keep his composure. The odds of that happening were low, because she was so damn sexy standing there angry and proud for no apparent reason, and it was so very Claire and the embodiment of everything he’d fallen in love with in the first place.
Two months and one week since he’d laid eyes on her and somehow he’d told himself he’d be okay.
He was not okay.
“What’s going on?” he managed to get out.
Noah dropped his pack by the tent and pointed. “Need help with that?” he asked Claire.
She glared at him, and he held his hands up.
“Never mind.” Noah tossed a look at Graham as he headed toward the trail. “Good luck, man.”
“What?” Graham looked between the two. Claire just stared at him, and he couldn’t handle those eyes on him for long. He swung his gaze back to Noah, who had a smug grin on his face. “Where are you going?”