Nick UnCaged (Santuary #4) - Abbie Zanders Page 0,82
wrong along with a desire to make a difference. A real difference. Something beyond a momentary blip in a magazine and a rise in rankings.
Third, she wasn’t as much of a city girl as she’d thought. In fact, after a week in the mountains, she could appreciate the peace that came with living there—as long as indoor plumbing, hot water, and electricity were also part of the package.
And finally, she wanted to feel every day like she had when she was with Nick. The sense of connecting with someone who understood. Someone who got her and wanted to be with her as much as she wanted to be with him, for no other reason than it felt right.
In order to do that, however, she had to find herself first. To let go of her past and forge a new future. To establish a solid foundation and figure out who she was before she could offer herself to someone else.
And so, after handing in her piece on Sanctuary along with her resignation, she moved out of her apartment, getting rid of all but a limited number of essentials. Then, she used her savings to buy a used truck camper and hit the road. Toni thought she was crazy, but for the first time in her life, Bree felt like she was finally on the right track.
Over the last months, she’d been slowly working her way east, stopping often along the way. She took pictures, captured impressions, talked to people, and started a blog dedicated to finding hidden gems in small American towns. She focused on what she did best: telling other people’s stories and writing feel-good pieces, no longer seeing it as a negative, but a strong positive.
The blog was still growing, but it had received some national attention, and she even had some sponsors interested.
Her real passion though was in creating a fictional small-town serial that she began self-publishing. She used her experiences and her dozens of journals to create realistic, three-dimensional characters that readers instantly connected with. Like her blog, her following was growing every day.
After months of zigzagging across the US, she was finally where she wanted to be. Almost. She just needed one more thing to make it perfect.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Cage
Cage came in from the cold, appreciating the warmth and the sense of being home. That was what Sanctuary had become. Not just a project, but also the place where he felt like he truly belonged.
How things had changed in the three years since they’d started. There was still a lot of work to do, but it was a great feeling, finding his place and seeing goals realized. And yet he couldn’t help but feel something was missing. Had been, ever since the day Bree had driven away.
Until recently, he’d hoped that wouldn’t be the end of it. That what they’d shared was more than a thing of convenience. That he would hear from her again. Not that he expected her to give up everything and show up on his doorstep, but trading emails would have been nice. Talking on the phone, like they had on Thanksgiving. Something.
Since that call, he hadn’t heard from her. Not once.
He’d appreciated the contact at the time, but now, he wondered if it would have been better if she hadn’t called at all. She’d raised his hopes again, but after several weeks, he had to assume it was a one-time thing. Unless, of course, she got lonely around Christmastime and called again.
If she did, would he answer?
In a heartbeat.
Perhaps that was why he’d felt compelled to do what he had. Two weeks after Thanksgiving, with the newly renovated suites completed and the cold weather putting a pause on outside work, he told Church that he needed some time away to take care of some personal business. Church agreed without question, telling him to take as much time as he needed.
It was the first time he’d been off Sanctuary property for more than a few hours in three years. His trip started with a drive to New York City, where he had started. He walked around the old neighborhood, certain that no one would look at the man he was now and see the skinny, weird kid he’d once been. He’d expected the experience to be painful, but it was cathartic. He’d come a long way, and when he left the city that day, it was with a sense of closure. His past really was well and truly behind him.