hurting Josie or making her uncomfortable brought out every caveman impulse in me. “We can push this until tomorrow.”
“No. I can do this.”
“Are you sure?”
Her lips pursed as she nodded. “Yeah.”
That made one of us.
Chapter 28
Josie
“The greatest teacher in life is adversity, darling, so I suggest you become a fast learner.”
~ Josephine Grace Clarke
For years I’d had a recurring nightmare. In the dream, I was walking down a hallway and someone was behind me. Panic would build in me and I’d look over my shoulder, but no one would be there. It didn’t matter what I saw, though. I could feel them.
I’d start walking faster, sensing them closing in on me. I’d start running, and I’d feel their breath on my neck. In all the time I’d been having the dream, I’d never seen who it was. I just knew that someone was there. I would always wake up before they caught me, then I’d lay in bed, hyperventilating, telling myself it was just a dream.
Walking down the corridor at Mountain Ridge, it was like I was living out my nightmare.
With each step that I took, the dread that someone was following me increased. But, just like in my dreams, every time I glanced over my shoulder, there was no one behind me.
My chest was tight, and I could feel the walls closing in on me as I moved my feet as fast as they would carry me. My lips tingled, and the world around me drifted out of focus.
The last hour had passed in a blur. We’d arrived at Mountain Ridge and Amanda and Justin, the owners of the resort, had shown us to the press room, where we’d set up to wait for Kyle. Reporters were everywhere. I’d kept my head down and Jackson had worked as a human shield for me.
I hadn’t asked him to. But every time someone walked by, he positioned himself between me and the passerby. He’d been a support rock star today, so, I carried a little guilt over the fact that I’d just bailed on him while he was packing up the equipment, but I’d felt like I was suffocating. I’d had to get out of there.
My hands were numb as I pushed open the door and walked outside. I inhaled a deep breath of fresh, crisp mountain air. The scent of pine needles and flowers filled my nostrils as I closed my eyes. Slowly, I blew out my breath and then repeated inhaling and exhaling slowly until my world steadied itself.
The claustrophobia was just beginning to subside when my phone rang. I must’ve forgotten to silence it during the interview. That was how out of it I’d been.
I was sure that it was Jackson asking where I’d gone, but when I pulled it out of my pocket, I saw my grandmother’s face. Pine needles crackled beneath my tennis shoes as I walked to a clear area in hopes for better cell phone reception. I answered it on the third ring. “Hi.”
“Darling, how are you doing?”
“I’m fine. I just finished the interview with Kyle.”
“Kyle Austen Reed, now he is a real movie star.”
That was a high compliment coming from my grandmother, but it was also deserved. I’d grown up around celebrities. Some of them lived up to the hype, but a lot of them didn’t. Kyle Austen Reed definitely did. He had that indefinable “it” factor that drew people to him. He was charming, good-looking, and talented, but the main reason that I believed he maintained his status was the indefinable “it.”
My grandmother also had that quality. And, as the saying goes, real recognizes real. She instantly identified that particular quality in others.
“How is my dear friend?”
“He’s great and he sends his love.” My grandmother’s affection for Kyle was not one-sided. Their admiration was mutual.
“And you? How are you, my sweet darling girl?”
Emotion began to well in my eyes. My grandmother adding “sweet” to “darling” was the most expressive she got in declarations of pride, love, or empathy. I felt each one of those things in that single word. Instead of empowering me, they made me want to crumble into pieces and cry.
“I’m okay.” My voice shook. “I’m thinking about flying home early.”
The plan had been for me and Jackson to spend the night here and then fly back to Wishing Well the following day. I’d intended to spend the next two weeks in the small Texas town working on the project side by side with Mia. But I knew that my