Page 36 of Reunited with the Hometown Hero
Noah smiles, the firelight casting intriguing shadows across his features. "Not exactly what I planned for our peace offering hike."
"I don't know," I find myself saying. "There's something to be said for adventure."
His eyes meet mine, holding for a beat too long to be casual. "Always did like that about you, Riley. Up for anything."
His words send a shiver down my spine, and it's not from the cold. Memories flood my mind, unbidden and intense. Noah showing me what it felt like to be completely, terrifyingly seen by another person. A world where nothing was off-limits—not thewanting, not the asking, not the raw, unfiltered truth of what we craved from each other.
I remember the thrill of discovering new parts of ourselves together, the exhilaration and vulnerability of trusting someone that completely. The way he'd look at me afterward—not like he'd conquered something, but like I'd handed him something sacred.
I was up for it all, eager to match his intensity, eager to meet him wherever he wanted to go.
Every touch left an imprint. Not on my skin—deeper. On some hidden architecture inside me that no one else has ever reached. He mapped me so thoroughly that a decade later, I still feel the echo of his hands like a phantom limb.
The air between us thickens with unspoken possibilities, the weight of our shared history pressing down on us. I break the gaze first, focusing on the task at hand, but my mind is elsewhere, lost in a storm of memories and longing, the past and the present colliding.
I can't help but wonder what he's thinking, if he's remembering the same things I am.
The cabin might be tiny, but it feels like it's filled with the ghosts of our past, echoes of the people we were and the love we shared.
"It's beautiful here, in a terrifying way," I say.
Noah stands beside me, close enough that I can feel the heat from his body but not quite touching. "That's the mountains for you. Gorgeous one minute, trying to kill you the next."
"Sounds like certain relationships I've had," I quip before thinking.
His soft laugh warms me more than the fire. "Present company excluded, I hope."
"Jury's still out." I glance at him, unable to resist a small smile. "You did lure me into a rainstorm to trap me in a cabin with one bed overnight.”
"All part of my diabolical plan." There's a lightness to our banter that feels like rediscovering a favorite song. "I've always found life-threatening weather events excellent for clearing the air."
We share a genuine laugh, the tension between us transforming into something more comfortable, if no less charged.
"Speaking of clearing the air," Noah says, more serious now. "I really am sorry about yesterday. The things I said at The PickAxe—they weren't fair."
"We both said things." I turn to face him fully. "Ten years of unfinished business tends to come out messy."
"Still." He leans against the window frame. "I shouldn't have ambushed you like that. Or made assumptions about your career choices."
The sincerity in his eyes makes my chest tight. "I appreciate that."
"I've followed your work, you know." The casual admission surprises me. "Subscription to Horizon Magazine and everything. That series you did on small communities responding to climate disasters was brilliant."
Warmth that has nothing to do with the fire floods through me. "You read my work?"
"All of it." He shrugs, an endearingly self-conscious gesture. "Figured it was one way to still have you in my life, even if you didn't know it."
The revelation leaves me momentarily speechless. While I'd deliberately avoided seeking information about Noah, he'd been keeping tabs on my career all along.
"I know about the promotion, too," he adds quietly. "Senior Features Editor. It's what you've been working toward, right?"
"How could you possibly know about that? The position hasn't even been officially announced.”
"Gram subscribes to three journalism industry newsletters. She's very invested in media career trajectories." His smile is wry. "Particularly yours."
The absurdity of Eleanor Morgan tracking my career from afar makes me laugh despite myself. "Why am I not surprised?"
"That's Gram for you. Once you're on her radar, there's no escaping."
