Festive Faking (Rust Canyon #1)

26. Aspen

Chapter 26

Aspen

I woke up from the best Christmas I could remember alone.

Rolling over, I frowned when paper crinkled beneath my cheek as I reached for a missing Mac. Blinking a few times to clear my sleep-blurred vision, I read over the note he’d left me.

Had to run a few errands. Be back in a couple of hours.

That didn’t make any sense. What kind of errands did he need to run? We were leaving this afternoon.

Reality slammed into me hard. We were going back to LA today.

A lead weight settled in my gut at the thought.

Mac might’ve turned a corner during our week in Rust Canyon, but I wasn’t convinced he wouldn’t slide back into his cocky playboy persona the minute we landed and the pressure grew too great to maintain the version of himself that everyone expected.

It would kill me to watch that happen, knowing the truly incredible man he hid behind the mask—the man I’d fallen in love with.

I sucked in a sharp breath as that realization came out of left field, but the shock of it didn’t make it any less true. Bit by bit, Mac had revealed the best parts of himself and, in doing so, had slowly captured pieces of my heart until he’d earned the whole thing.

The idea of coming right out and sharing my feelings was tossed aside immediately. Not once had we discussed what would happen past this week. For all I knew, he considered what we’d shared to be nothing more than a fling, and I didn’t want to risk looking like a lovesick fool.

My head dropped back on a groan, and I covered my face with my hands.

Who knew falling in love could be so complicated?

Pacing the cabin, I watched as the minutes ticked by with no sign of Mac’s return. Trying to get in touch with him was useless as he’d left my texts on read and hadn’t picked up when I called.

Where the hell was he?

At this rate, we would be cutting it close on making it to the airport on time. There were only two direct flights from Oklahoma City to Los Angeles per day—one in the morning, another in the afternoon—so if we missed ours, the earliest we could hope to get out would be tomorrow. With the increased volume of travelers due to the holiday, snagging a standby spot would be difficult and we could be stuck here even longer.

Fed up and starting to freak out that maybe something had happened to him, I was about to borrow Tripp’s truck and go in search of him when the cabin door burst open to reveal the man I was ready to strangle for making me worry all morning.

I tossed my hands on my hips, my anger rising to the surface. “Care to explain why you couldn’t answer your phone since you aren’t dead in a ditch?”

A corner of his lips teased up into that infuriating smirk that had me itching to smack it off his face, but he didn’t answer my question. Instead, he held a hand out to me. “Come on. I want to show you something.”

Was he serious right now?

I gestured toward the suitcases standing side by side at the foot of the bed. Irritation that I’d had to pack his because he’d been gone leaked into my tone when I declared, “We don’t have time for this.”

Mac curled his fingers, silently asking me to take his hand. “Yes, we do. I promise.” His gaze softened, and any annoyance I felt melted away when he begged, “Please?”

With a sigh, I slipped my palm against his, letting him tug me outside.

He settled me into Daddy’s pickup and drove us into town. When we parked outside a vacant storefront on Main Street with a For Lease sign in the picture window, my confusion only grew.

“What are we doing here?”

“You’ll see.” Mac hopped out of the driver’s seat and rounded the hood to open my door.

Producing a key, he fit it into the lock of the door and pushed inside. I was still standing on the threshold when he moved to the center of the open space, spreading his arms wide and asking, “What do you think?”

My mouth opened and closed a few times as I tried to figure out what in the world had gotten into him. Eventually, I found my voice. “I think we’re going to miss our flight.”

He waved a dismissive hand. “Cancelled it.”

Eyes bulging out of my head, I screeched, “You did what ?!” Taking a moment to breathe, I calmed down enough to ask, “Why would you do that?”

The smile slipped from his face, and he swallowed so hard that the sharp tip of his Adam’s apple bobbed along his throat. “Because, once we leave, you’ll go back to hating me, and the thought of it makes me sick to my stomach.” The press of a palm to his abdomen betrayed the truth of that statement.

My heart twisted. “I never hated you, Mac.”

He scoffed. “Maybe not, but you barely tolerated me. Don’t pretend that’s not true.”

I moved closer, sensing his need for comfort. “That’s because I didn’t know you. The real you.”

“I don’t think I can be myself in LA, Aspen.”

His admission validated my earlier concerns surrounding our return to the city.

“Okay.” I drew the word out slowly. “How about this: when we get back—”

“I’m not going back.” That announcement was said with such conviction that I stumbled back a step.

“Mac, we have to go back.” I tried to reason with him. “We have one more semester left before graduation.”

He shook his head. “There’s no point in finishing a degree I don’t plan to use.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “What?”

Running a hand through his dark hair, he blew out a breath. “You know, for the longest time, I dreaded my future. But I learned to accept it as my fate. Then you brought me down here, and I realized I had a choice. I choose to be free.”

It began to sink in what he was telling me. “You’re staying here? As in, Rust Canyon?”

“Yeah.” A corner of his lips hitched up. “And it’s all because of you.”

“Me?” I squeaked, pointing a finger at my chest.

“Yes, you.” His smile grew wider, stretching across his face as he stepped closer. “Your passion for your dreams inspired me to chase my own—ones I didn’t even realize I had until you made me dig deep and put them into words.

“I talked to Chief Jones down at the fire station, and he said that he would be happy to offer me a job after I obtain my associate’s in Fire Science, complete EMT training, and pass a physical. Tucker said—”

Mention of that man’s name brought my racing mind to a screeching halt. “You spoke to Tucker?!”

Mac cringed, knowing he’d stepped in it. “Yeah,” he admitted, pulling on the back of his neck. “It’s a long story, and I know your loyalty to your best friend comes first, but I really think you need to hear his side of the story. Maybe then you could convince Bex—”

I held up my hand to cut him off. “Dissecting the demise of Bex and Tucker’s past relationship isn’t at the top of my priority list right now.”

“Right.” He nodded his agreement before diving back into our earlier discussion. “If I hit a roadblock on the path to becoming a firefighter, your dad said I could earn my keep on the ranch.”

“M-my dad?” I pressed a palm to the side of my swimming head. “Do you even know how to ride?”

A single shoulder lifted in a shrug. “No, but I figure, how hard can it be?”

I’d have burst out laughing if I weren’t so shell-shocked. “Let me get this straight. You’re not coming back to LA?”

He shook his head.

“So, if you’re going to be a firefighter or a ranch hand”—which I still thought was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard—“I still don’t understand what we’re doing in this space or why you have a key.”

The key in question dangled from his fingertips. “It’s yours.”

“Mine?” I let out a confused huff. “What am I supposed to do with it?”

Closing the gap, he pressed the jagged metal into my palm. “It’s your headquarters, Freckles.”

“My headquarters,” I said slowly, my mind still playing catch-up.

Mac cocked his head. “We talked about this, remember? About how it would aid in your Main Street sales pitch to bring clients here and show them the concept in practice. This office can be your home base.”

“But I don’t have any investors yet,” I protested. “I can’t afford to start a business without them.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Freckles.” He closed my fist around the key before sliding his hand up my arm to rest along the side of my neck. “I was hoping I could be your first.”

Manic laughter bubbled up from my chest. “Too late for that.”

His brows furrowed. “I’m serious, Aspen. This lease is paid for an entire year. You’re gonna go back to LA, get your degree, and then come back here to hit the ground running. Make your dream a reality.”

My throat closed up, and I couldn’t breathe. Breaking out of his hold, I put space between us, pacing the length of the room, trying to make sense of it all.

When I couldn’t, I stopped dead in my tracks. “Why would you do this?”

Both hands tangled in his hair, and he pulled on the strands in frustration before he yelled, “Because I’m in love with you!”

“What?” I could barely hear my own voice with the buzzing in my ears. I had to be imagining this. He didn’t just say he was in love with me, did he?

Mac took a deep breath. “I’m sorry if that scares you, but it’s how I feel. I know it’s too soon for you to possibly feel the same way about me, but—”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

The tortured expression on his face threatened to shatter my heart. “Aspen, please,” he begged.

I vibrated with nervous energy from head to toe, but if he was brave enough to say his truth, then so was I. Guess that was our thing.

“Truth, Mac.”

His brown eyes widened, and I knew I had his full attention.

“The other day, I was jealous of a nameless, faceless woman simply because, someday, she will be the one who gets to witness the incredible father I believe you will become.”

The tension left his body, and he ventured closer. “You were?”

“Yeah. I was downright pissed that it wouldn’t be me. And that was before anything happened between us. You were sneaking into my heart even then, simply by being yourself.”

“Eh, he’s just okay,” Mac joked.

I extended my free hand toward him, and he took it. “You’re easy to fall in love with Mac. I only wish I’d gotten to know you—the real you—two years ago.”

A shy smile crept onto his lips. “Maybe I was waiting for the right girl to coax that part of me out of hiding.”

“Are you saying I’m that girl?”

“Definitely,” he breathed out, pulling me into his arms. “You—this town—are everything I never knew I always wanted.” Voice thick with emotion, he whispered, “I’m home.”

The rush of overwhelming love I felt for this man and the joy of watching him find his place in the world had my vision blurring. As the first tear spilled free, I said the words I’d never spoken to another man aloud. “I love you, Mac.”

His thumbs wiped away the moisture lining my cheeks. “I love you too, Aspen.” Then he pressed his lips to mine, pouring all of that love into a slow, sweet kiss.

I’d thought this week would turn out to be the ultimate disaster, but instead, it had changed both of our lives. My eyes were opened to the incredible man Mac hid from the world, and he’d found a safe space to allow that side of himself to be seen.

Rust Canyon—its Christmases in particular—was special. I couldn’t wait to share its charm, its rustic coziness with the rest of the world, with Mac by my side.