Page 64 of Rebel Moon

“Sure. Rhett vetted her pretty hard. I know her story. She’s like the rest of us. Had a dream. Pretty much did whatever it took to get it. And now she’s terrified to lose it all.” He turned to face me, his voice urgent. “Listen to me. Whatever Rhett’s worries are—they don’t matter. I don’t care if it’s complicated. I care that two of my best friends are happy. If that makes it a little messy for the band, then so be it. I’m about to marry America’s sweetheart. Talk about a mess should anything happen to break us up.”

“It won’t.”

“Just death, brother. Other than that, I’m here for the long haul and she is too.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “I want that for you too. For all of you idiots. Which doesn’t seem likely, given what I heard tonight.”

“Something’s happened to our brains,” I said. “We’ve all lost our minds to the great state of Montana.”

“Nah. It’s your hearts, not your minds. The problem is—you’re all letting your brains tell your hearts what to do and, I’m here to tell you, that isn’t how it works.”

“I don’t know what to do,” I said.

“Give her some space. She’ll miss you, which will tell her how important you are to her. Don’t give up on her. Not yet.”

“I’ll do my best, but this hurts.”

“That’s the problem with love,” Jack said. “It hurts when it’s real.”

The snow continued to fall, coating our jackets while the pond lay there pale and quiet. Up the hill the lodge lights glowed, beckoning us back to warm beds. Somewhere behind the low cloud covering was a moon I couldn’t see but knew was there.

“Full moon in five days,” I said.

“Never kiss a girl under a full moon unless you mean it.”

“If I can get her out of her cabin.”

“The wedding’s in five days,” Jack said. “She’ll come out.”

We turned and started back up the hill toward the lights, two sets of boots in the fresh snow. When we reached my cabin, I gave him a hug. “Thanks for talking me off a ledge.”

“Ride or die, brother. Ride or die.”

I went inside to my cabin and drifted toward the window. Her blinds were closed, but I could see a sliver of light. I placed my hand on the cold glass and whispered, “Please come out and let me love you.”

Full moon in five days. God willing I would coax the woman I love to stand under it and let me kiss her like I meant it.

For now, I let myself simply text her instead.

Knox

Just checking on you. Hope you’re all right. Call or text if you need me.

I waited too long for a reply to come back, but one never did. Feeling an ache much worse than my sprained ankle, I crawled into bed and willed myself to sleep. Whatever tomorrow brought, I would deal with it, even if it broke my heart.

17

MADELEINE

December 20

Campfire Night

Storm Front Coming

Supper: Meatball Subs · Homemade Potato Chips

Aknock on my cabin door came just as I’d gotten dressed and braided my freshly washed hair. I didn’t have it in me to blow it out or fuss with it like I normally did. I hurried to the door, hoping and scared that it was Knox in equal measure. It was Ivy, and she didn’t look happy.

“Come on in,” I said, backing up.