“Hello?”
“Hey, Suz, it’s Carlise,” she said when her friend answered.
The ear-splitting screech that came through the phone line was so loud, Carlise winced, even as she smiled.
“Oh my God! I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for almost two weeks!” Susie exclaimed.
“I know. I’m sorry! There was a huge storm here, and I don’t have any cell signal where I’ve been staying.”
“Where are you? I’ve been so worried!”
“You aren’t going to believe everything that’s happened.”
“Well, you’ve only been gone about a week and a half,” Susie said. “Now that I know you’re alive—thank God—what could’ve happened in such a short time?”
“I wrecked my car, I almost froze to death, was saved by a dog, and found the man of my dreams,” Carlise said simply.
“What?” Susie asked, shrieking again. “Start at the beginning and don’t leave anything out!”
Carlise laughed and did just that. She told her friend everything about her adventure, which really only took about ten minutes. Susie didn’t interrupt, simply letting her talk.
When she was done, Carlise waited a minute or so before asking, “So? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
After a beat, Susie sighed. “I’m honestly not sure what to say. Now I’m even more worried about you, Car.”
“What? Why?”
“Because this isn’t like you. First you leave town without telling anyone where you’re going, worrying your mom and me, and now you’re shacking up with some lumberjack you met a week ago as if you’re going to live happily ever after? That’s just . . . that’s not how life works.”
Carlise frowned. She’d expected this exact argument from her mom, actually, but she’d hoped her friend would be happy for her. “Who says we aren’t going to get an HEA?” she asked a little shortly.
“Look . . . I know you’re in the throes of this new relationship, and you think you’re happy, but you’re in Maine. In some backwoods cabin. You don’t like bugs, you’re a city girl, and you said you’d never rush into another relationship after what happened with Tommy. It sounds to me like you’ve done just that.”
“You don’t understand—” Carlise began, but Susie interrupted.
“Then explain it in a way I can understand. Because all I know is that my best friend is on the run from one man and most likely now in a similar dysfunctional relationship with another and headed down the same road.”
“That’s not fair,” Carlise told her. “Riggs isn’t Tommy. Other than the three days he was unconscious, everything he’s done has been with my happiness and safety in mind.”
“Honey, you were just as happy with Tommy in the beginning,” Susie reminded her gently.
Carlise was getting frustrated. Riggs was nothing like her ex, and it irritated her that her friend was being so hardheaded . . . even if she reluctantly admitted her arguments were valid. If their positions were reversed, she might say the same things to Susie.
She took a deep breath, then did as her friend requested—explained in a way she might understand.
“Two days ago, I was working on a translation and had lost track of time, like usual. The next thing I knew, Riggs placed a plate with a sandwich on it next to me. Then he kissed the top of my head and walked away. Tommy always got irritated when I worked when he was around. He didn’t like not being the center of attention—and he never, not once, made me something to eat.
“Another time, we were in the kitchen cooking dinner—together—and I dropped a fork on the floor. I leaned over to pick it up, and when I stood, I noticed he’d moved and put his hand over the corner of the counter. I asked what he was doing, and he just shrugged and said he wanted to make sure I didn’t hit my head on the corner when I stood up.
“I could give you twenty more stories like that, Susie. Situations where Riggs has looked out for me, done sweet things solely for my well-being, or when he could’ve gotten upset for one reason or another but didn’t. And all of it in just the week since his fever broke. I’ve never met a man like Riggs. The more I’m around him, the more I want to be around him.”
“I love that he’s treating you so well, but don’t all men do that when they first start dating? I don’t like that your mom and I don’t know this guy or where he’s keeping you,” Susie said. “Tell me where his cabin is. What towns are nearby. At least give us a chance to find you if you suddenly drop off the radar again. He could murder you tonight and bury you in the wilderness, and no one would ever find your body!”