Chapter 6 - The Mountain Storm That Trapped Us Both
Back in North Carolina,
the mountain storm broke with terrifying,
deafening fury.
Thunder cracked across the valley,
shaking the wooden frame of the antiques shop and rattling the loose window panes in my attic room.
The rain turned into a torrential downpour,
washing out the winding mountain roads and plunging the entire town into flickering,
eerie darkness.
I sat on the edge of the narrow iron cot,
clutching my canvas bag,
listening to the heavy footsteps echoing on the stairs.
The wooden door creaked open slowly.
A tall,
broad silhouette filled the doorway,
blocking out what little light remained in the damp hallway.
Even in the deep shadows,
I knew who it was without having to ask.
Declan Voss didn’t knock on my door.
He didn’t need to.
He stood there in a dark wool overcoat drenched in freezing mountain rain,
his broad shoulders filling the small room,
his dark eyes burning into mine with an intensity that made the air feel suffocating.
“Amelia,
” he said,
his voice rough,
broken,
and heavy with a desperation I had never heard from him before.
I scrambled backward across the mattress until my spine pressed hard against the cold,
damp plaster wall.
“Don’t come near me,
Declan,
” I choked out,
raising a trembling hand as if to ward off a ghost from another life.
“You made your public choice on national television.
You and Savannah Calloway,
standing there like royalty while my entire world turned to black ash.
” Declan took a slow,
agonizing step forward,
ignoring the water dripping from his heavy coat onto the worn floorboards.
“It was a lie,
Amelia,
” he said,
his voice cracking slightly as he reached out a gloved hand toward me.
Back in North Carolina,
the mountain storm broke with terrifying,
deafening fury.
Thunder cracked across the valley,
shaking the wooden frame of the antiques shop and rattling the loose window panes in my attic room.
The rain turned into a torrential downpour,
washing out the winding mountain roads and plunging the entire town into flickering,
eerie darkness.
I sat on the edge of the narrow iron cot,
clutching my canvas bag,
listening to the heavy footsteps echoing on the stairs.
The wooden door creaked open slowly.
A tall,
broad silhouette filled the doorway,
blocking out what little light remained in the damp hallway.
Even in the deep shadows,
I knew who it was without having to ask.
Declan Voss didn’t knock on my door.
He didn’t need to.
He stood there in a dark wool overcoat drenched in freezing mountain rain,
his broad shoulders filling the small room,
his dark eyes burning into mine with an intensity that made the air feel suffocating.
“Amelia,
” he said,
his voice rough,
broken,
and heavy with a desperation I had never heard from him before.
I scrambled backward across the mattress until my spine pressed hard against the cold,
damp plaster wall.
“Don’t come near me,
Declan,
” I choked out,
raising a trembling hand as if to ward off a ghost from another life.
“You made your public choice on national television.
You and Savannah Calloway,
standing there like royalty while my entire world turned to black ash.
” Declan took a slow,
agonizing step forward,
ignoring the water dripping from his heavy coat onto the worn floorboards.
“It was a lie,
Amelia,
May you like
” he said,
his voice cracking slightly as he reached out a gloved hand toward me.
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