Page 47 of Timber Ridge
As I approach, he’s flipping burgers and laughing with his father. It’s wonderful to see. Just watching him, the steady calm of his movements, lifts the heaviness inside me. It’s strange how his presence can do that. How he can give me a sense of stability when everything else seems to slip away.
Maybe Mom was onto something with her live-in-the-present philosophy. As much as I crave answers about her past, perhaps it’s time to focus on the here and now. For a moment, I let go of the questions and uncertainties, allowing myself to be present, just as she would have wanted.
I rest against the trunk of a nearby tree. A quiet realization dawns on me, sparking a thought—perhaps my journey here wasn’t for the reasons I imagined. Could it be the universe guided me to this place not to find my father, but to cross paths with Kane? This thought, both surprising and sweet, makes me smile.
Kane looks up, his eyes finding mine. “Hey,” he says, as he reaches out to draw me closer. “Did you talk to Lucas’s parents?”
“No, what’s up?”
“He won’t be in class next week. They’re taking him on the boat.”
“Weird, because Tommy is gone too.”
“Really?” He smiles. “That means it’s just you, me, and Hailey.”
“Yes, that’s awesome.”
He winks. “A week without early mornings. You know that means we might have more energy at night.”
I know exactly what he’s thinking and a sliver of anticipation threads through me and lands heavy and aching in my core.
Seconds later, Hailey runs past me and says, "You're it." Kane and I get caught up in a game of tag that takes us down the path and into the woods. Hailey's joyful giggles blend with the rustling leaves and distant bird calls, creating a moment of pure, carefree joy.
After three “you’re its,” the game winds down. Hailey clings to my leg, her small face flushed with the exertion. “You’re fast, Timber!” she says, a grin spreading across her face.
“Not as fast as you,” I say, ruffling her hair. She beams up at me before dashing off toward the community center.
Alone, Kane pulls me into the trees and kisses me. It’s not the type of kiss you share in public. This is a bedroom kiss. The kind that happens before clothes fall to the floor. It’s nothing like the brief, chaste pecks we’ve shared this week in between impromptu family visits that lasted way into the night. It’s deep and consuming, a searing connection that sends a shockwave of heat through my entire body. His lips move against mine with a passion that whips up a storm of emotions inside me.
His taste is intoxicating—a sweet trace of soda lingering from his last drink, mingled with the essence of barbecue smoke—distinctly Kane, hauntingly familiar, and utterly appealing.
My skin tingles where his fingertips brush against it, tracing small, electric paths down the side of my arm and back up to cradle my face. I lean into his touch, my own hands finding the solid muscle of his shoulders, gripping them for support as my knees weaken with the intensity of our embrace.
The world narrows down to the space where our bodies meet. The soft rustle of leaves above us and the distant sounds of the community center fade away, leaving only the sound of our synchronized breathing. Time seems to stretch and condense all at once, every second elongated and filled with the awareness of his presence.
As our lips part, I gasp for air, my chest knocking against my ribs as if it’s fighting for escape. Kane presses his forehead against mine, his breathing ragged, his voice husky. “I’ve been waiting to do that all day,” he says.
The grin that spreads across my face seems as wide as the sky above. “Me too,” I whisper back, my voice steady despite the thundering of my pulse.
In that secluded spot behind the trees, with Hailey’s joyful shouts just a whisper on the wind, I realize that no matter what I came here searching for, what I found is something far more profound. As we step back into the sunlight, our fingers intertwined, ready to face the world again, I know that this moment, this kiss, is just the beginning of something new and utterly exhilarating.
After another hour of talking and visiting and ogling over Cody, Kane and I gather the leftover food and pack up the unused supplies. The community center slowly empties, the atmosphere shifting to a quieter, more reflective mood.
Kane glances at me. “Did you have fun? Was it everything you expected?”
How was I supposed to explain that in many ways it was more than I could have imagined, and in some ways, it fell short of what I hoped. Kane is so suspicious of outsiders and their motives. While I didn’t come here to fall for him, I did. How will he feel when I tell him the truth? That it wasn’t just the job that brought me here. I stare at him for a moment and realize the easiest way to come clean is to tell him everything.
"You should know I didn’t come here just for the teaching job," I say. "When I was going through my mom’s things, I found a postcard. It wasn’t just any postcard—it was one from Port Promise. The exact one in your brother’s store, the one of the dock. There was a heartfelt inscription on it, written with such tenderness that I could only imagine it was from someone who loved her deeply." I pause, but Kane stays quiet, so I continue. "I hoped, maybe even believed, that it was from my father, whom I’ve never met. I would’ve come for the job anyway, but I was hoping to find some family too. After my mom passed, I had no one left. Imagine being the last of your family."
His jaw tightens, and his shoulders tense. “I can’t imagine,” he whispers.
"When researching the town, the job listing appeared, almost like a sign, as if a higher power was guiding me here." A small sigh escapes. "Asking everyone about Aspen Moore led to no answers. The hope was that someone who knew my mom might know my father. Not finding him is disappointing, but spending the day here with you and Hailey offered some much-needed perspective."
“And what’s that?”
“That the universe put me exactly where I need to be, even if I never find my father.”
Kane’s brows furrow, a shadow of hurt crossing his face. “All those nights we talked, and you never said a word.”