“He's a good guy, though a little rough around the edges,” she says with a laugh. “Pun intended. I mean, he's a little bit of a burly guy with a reputation for being a little gruff. But he has one of the best families in the world. The Roughs look out for each other and they will never let anyone get in the way of that. His parents, Red and Annie, they’re wonderful.”
I nod, already sensing all of this, in ways that make no sense at all.
“When I met him,” I tell Leila, “when I ran to the clearing this morning, I felt like it was fate. Do you believe in that?” I ask her. “In love at first sight?”
Her eyes widen. “Prairie,” she says, shaking her head. “You've had a long day.”
“I know I've had a long day,” I tell her, “but I also know what I feel.”
“You might be confused.”
“You just said I had a clean bill of health. That I was completely of sound mind.”
“That's true,” she says slowly.
I stand. “I’m ready to go home with Rye.”
Leila presses her lips together in a fine line. “You’re in a fragile state.”
“I'm not that fragile. You just said so yourself. You said I could go stay at that bed and breakfast alone if I wanted. There's nothing wrong with me. The police have cleared me, the doctors have cleared me, and you've cleared me. I know what I want.”
She sighs. “And you want Rye Rough?”
“You just said he was a good guy.”
“He is a good guy, but he's also a bit of an ass. I'm saying that off the record, of course.”
“What do you mean, a bit of an ass?” I ask her. I trust Leila. The last few hours she's been nothing but kind and gentle and warm. She's a good person. She's devoted her life to making sure other people feel safe when they're in a vulnerable situation.
“He's just kind of sharp.”
“Really?” I frown. “With me he's been nothing but gentle.”
Leila smiles. “Maybe you bring out the best in him, Prairie Jones.”
Driving up to his cabin, I feel a different kind of nerves. Rye looks over at me and we both feel it. I know we do.
“You finish the burger?” he asks with a grin.
“It was gone two miles ago,” I say with a laugh. I reach into the paper sack and eat more salty fries.
Rye got me the meal I wanted, which was a chocolate shake, French fries, and a hamburger from the diner. I guess they’d closed but they opened for him because he insisted somebody fry me up some potatoes and make me a shake. I guess his reputation for being an ass had its perks because it got me the one meal I was craving all this time.
I was surprised to see the news reporters swarming the urgent care when Rye I walked out, but now we’re back in the woods, driving up the dirt road to his place, and I feel like we are in our own little cocoon.
He and I together.
“I'm so glad you wanted me to wait for you. I didn’t want you to feel pressured but the thought of leaving you—”
“No,” I say, clutching his hand as he puts his truck into park. “You're the only one I wanted to be with. I was thinking about our kiss all day long.”
It's pitch dark out and his cabin is in the middle of nowhere. It's like we're the only two people in the whole wide world.
“I was thinking about that kiss too,” Rye says. And for a moment, I think he's gonna give me another one.
But then big flood lights come on. And I see people on his front porch.
“Who's that?” I ask, startled.