of it would rub off on his scarred owner.
The weather, while still cold, had been a little more consistent in the past week. There hadn't been any new snow, so I'd started taking walks around the cabin just to stretch my legs. I'd spent hours each day just figuring out the immediate perimeter around me so I wouldn't inadvertently get myself lost.
The cabin sat in a small clearing with trees on three sides. I’d started off by identifying how many windows or doors were on each side of the cabin. Once I’d established that, I'd walk straight out, counting the number of steps until I’d reached the tree line. Then it was just a matter of turning around and walking straight back. I’d probably looked like a fool doing it, but it had given me both exercise and confidence.
My next goal had been to try and tackle the driveway so I could walk up and down it each day and not risk getting turned around in the woods somewhere. I’d used Gideon's consistent plowing to my advantage. Whenever I’d felt snow above my ankles, I’d known I was straying off the driveway and I'd made a correction. I never went too far, and I always kept my phone on me, but so far, I hadn't needed to use it.
Today, I was once again reliant on someone else for assistance. Namely Andre, my driver, to take me into town so I could pick up some groceries. I'd wanted to ask Gideon to do it, but I'd suspected he would have only agreed out of obligation. His silence had made it clear that he didn't want to see me and while I tried not to take it personally, it still felt like a rejection. I missed his touch and his gruff voice. Sometimes I wished I could go back and play that afternoon over and not push him to deal with whatever had happened in his past. God knew I had plenty of things in my own past that I'd never really dealt with. My insistence on pushing Gideon to confront his pain meant I'd now become a reminder of his past rather than someone who could help him work through it.
As I sat on the porch waiting for Andre to arrive, I focused on the sounds of the birds in the trees as they welcomed spring. It was late May and relatively mild for the area. I thought about LA and how warm it would be there by now, but surprisingly, I didn't have any particular longing to return home. I was scheduled to stay in Birch Cabin for a couple more weeks, but I was already thinking about reaching out to Harvey Parnell to see if the place was available for longer.
The sound of tires coming down the driveway got my attention. I stood up and went to where the stairs were but stopped when I realized something was off. The sound of the engine was too loud and rumbly to be the expensive sedan Andre drove. I knew exactly who that noisy engine belonged to.
When the vehicle turned off, I stayed where I was, trying not to give in to the need to run down the steps and greet my visitor. Butterflies danced in my belly as I waited for the distinctive sound of the vehicle’s door opening and closing.
I didn't need to wait long for confirmation that I'd been right about who it was that had come up the driveway because Brewer practically slammed into my legs when he jumped up onto the porch. I tried not to get too excited about Gideon being just a handful of feet away from me, because he was likely here just to check on the wood pile or do some other task related to the maintenance of the cabin. I heard footsteps approaching but they stopped before climbing the porch steps.
"Her name was Beth," Gideon said. His voice sounded grated and harsh, like he hadn't been using it enough recently. I suspected that was probably exactly the case. The fact that he was even talking to me should've had me over the moon, but the way he’d opened the conversation meant what I was about to hear wasn’t going to be easy and I’d be watching—or hearing, rather—Gideon suffer even more.
"But we called her Bethie."
Gideon didn't say anything for a long moment, and I didn't press him. I also didn't move from where I was. I could barely make out his