words hit him in the moment after he said them out loud.
Alone.
Alone was exactly what Paige wanted to be. It was what she liked most in the world. It was what she was looking for when he met her and what her plan was for when she left Louisiana in August to go to Colorado.
He blew out a breath, trying to calm his heart rate. He looked at Kennedy. “She’s fine?”
“Well, she’s upset that she’s not here for the grand opening. She’s sad that you didn’t tell her about it. And she’s eager to get back.”
He shook his head. “She’s really coming back?”
“Yep. She’s really coming back.”
For some reason, that time Kennedy said it, it actually sunk in. Paige was coming back for the grand opening of the otter enclosure. Yeah, okay, it was kind of a big deal. They were getting some great attention from the area for it, which would no doubt help the family business. They had gotten the grant money. And above all, the otters were happy and safe. But, in the overall scheme of things, it wasn’t a big deal. It was just a big deal to his family. To him.
It wasn’t such a big deal that someone should skip their best friend’s wedding and drive twelve hours back, alone, in bad weather, to be there for it. Especially someone who wasn’t really that into being involved in other people’s business.
The only reason it would be a big deal to Paige was if he was a big deal to Paige.
And the reality of that hit him hard. Directly in the chest. Right over his heart.
Instead of using the snow as a perfect excuse to stay put, or her friend’s wedding as the perfect excuse to avoid this a-little-silly-not-a-big-deal-to-anyone-but-the-Landrys event, she was getting back in her car after a twelve-hour drive, onto potentially snowy roads, to come back to him.
Damn, maybe she did love him.
“I’m going to Peoria, Illinois,” he told Kennedy as he started toward his truck.
Kennedy had to run to catch up to him, but she was already pulling her phone from her pocket as he rounded the front fender.
She lifted the phone to her ear. “Hey, Mitch is heading out.” She paused, listening. “Well, I assume he’s going to have to stop and get some things from his house or fill up with gas or something.” She looked at Mitch with an eyebrow up.
He wasn’t sure who she was talking to, but he put money down on it being someone with the last name Landry. He gave her a nod as he climbed into the cab of his truck.
“Yeah, I think that’s a great idea.” She paused again and gave Mitch a grin. “Okay, I’ll tell him.”
Mitch started the engine, but he waited for her to disconnect the call and tuck her phone back into her pocket.
“Who was that?”
“Chase.” Kennedy smiled. “He’s going with you.”
Okay, so he’d been wrong about the last name of the person. Still, Chase was definitely Landry-esque. Mitch frowned. “Going with me?”
Kennedy nodded. “To Illinois. To get Paige.”
“He doesn’t have to come.”
“Yeah, he does,” Kennedy said. “You probably slept like crap last night. Driving that far by yourself isn’t great even when you’re feeling good, but when you’re sleep-deprived, it’s stupid. And I know you’re Mr. Fix-it and can handle anything and everything, but if there really are bad roads and bad weather, it doesn’t hurt to have someone along. He’s already packed.”
“How’s he already packed if I just decided I’m going to Illinois?”
“I told him to pack when I told him where Paige was.”
“You knew I’d go after her?”
“When you found out someone you love was stuck somewhere they didn’t want to be, having trouble of some kind?” She gave a little pssst sound. “Of course, I knew you’d go. That’s who you are anyway, but this is Paige. It’s not like you’re going to sit here, all reasonable, and just wait for her to get back.”
“I just want to be sure she’s okay.”
“You can’t do that by phone?”
“She wouldn’t tell me if she wasn’t okay.”
“You mean, you need to see for yourself and then still fuss about her and her car and—”
“Did something happen to her car?” Dammit. He’d fixed the terrible noise her car had been making when she’d rolled into town—her brake pads had been shot—but what if something else had gone wrong? Or what if she’d hit something or ended up in a ditch…
“No! She’s fine.”
But she wasn’t. She was alone. And yes, he