THE PICTURESQUE LOG CABIN

LAYLA

I sit on the edge of Arnold’s super cozy couch, nibbling on my cuticles and feeling like an absolute nervous wreck.

Arnold strolls into the living room of his quaint log cabin, hands me a fresh cup of coffee, and drops down on the couch next to me.

Cradling the mug like it’s a lifeline, I take slow, soothing sips. I’m so tired. I’m so drained. My only comfort at the moment is knowing that Sky’s safe and sound asleep just a couple doors down the hall.

The minute the three of us walked into Arnold’s quiet house, Sky conked out. He was overstimulated and positively worn out after having to listen to his parents yell and fight all night long.

Now my baby is tucked into the large bed in the spare bedroom, cuddling the lumberjack teddy bear Arnold gave him two Christmases ago.

I glance in Arnold’s direction, teary-eyed and feeling guilty. “You’re late for work. I’m so sorry. I turned your morning upside down with all my drama.”

The sun has barely come up, and already, Arnold has put my ex in his place, stood guard as I went back inside to grab a few important belongings, and ensured that me and Sky didn’t end up homeless today.

Yet he waves his hand like it’s no big deal. “The hardware store can wait. The whole damn world can wait. They can all just wait until I know that you’re taken care of. Until you and Sky are safe.”

I know that I’m an emotional wreck right now, but that has got to be the sweetest damn thing any human has ever said to me.

My eyes find his and I let out a whimper. His dark stare is full of warmth and comfort, but a fierce protectiveness, too.

He’s wearing the same shirt from last night. A simple black button-down instead of his usual red plaid flannel. The sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, revealing corded, tattooed forearms I need wrapped around me. Suddenly, I just want to hug him. I want to feel the solace I know his arms would bring. The pull is too strong.

Arnold reaches out his hand, as though he’s about to touch my face. My eyes flutter shut…and I wait.

And then, I nearly jump right out of my skin when Karli bursts through the front door like an unforecasted hurricane.

Daphne and Ziggy aren’t far behind, begging Karli to calm down.

My bestie’s feral gaze swings around the room, eyeballing Arnold then me like a shrewd hawk.

“I’m here now,” she announces, not looking the least bit surprised to find me here. “Spill it. What happened with Razor?” She props a hand on one jutted out hip.

Oh, boy. We’re getting Crazy Karli today.

Out of nowhere, I hear Nicky’s voice. “What’s happening?” she demands. “Tell me what’s happening. I can’t see anything.”

Daphne holds up her phone and I spot both Nicky and Inez already connected on a video call. “Thought I’d save you the trouble of sharing the news so many times,” Daphne explains sheepishly.

Cheeks warming with embarrassment, I give the girls an awkward little wave on the lit-up screen. Inez is away, being a big star and filming her TV show, and Nicky is at work, making business lady moves in the PR department for Ronan’s hockey team.

It’s days like this that I wish I could get away from Starlight Fallsandthe drama that seems to come along with it. I could have had a career, too. I could have had a college degree and a retirement plan and job security. Or at least a few dollars in my bank account.

But I’ve made so many wrong turns along the way. Days like this remind me of just how much I’ve failed myself and Sky.

Needing some caffeine-infused fortitude, I start to take another sip of my coffee, but I find my mug empty. Arnold’s already on his feet. “I’ll get you a refill.”

He takes my mug and disappears. I know he’s giving me a sense of privacy to speak freely with my girls. I’m grateful for that. Although he’s already heard the gory details of what happened with Razor, it will be easier to get through explaining it to my friends without Arnold’s handsome eyes drilling into the side of my face.

I take a deep breath, letting the air out slowly before I begin. “Well, you know how I haven’t seen Razor for months?”

Karli, Ziggy and Daphne nod.

“It was too good to be true, thinking he was gone for good,” I mutter bitterly. “He showed up at the house last night while we were at Arnold’s birthday party. Thalia was there, babysitting Sky. The poor girl. She’d never seen Razor before in her life, and she had no idea what to do when he barged in.”

I hear Inez groan over the phone’s speaker. “Oh, no. I’m sure Thalia was pretty rattled by that prick. I should give her a call.”

I nod. “Please do. Let her know that she did the right thing. After Razor muscled his way into the house, babbling on and on about being Sky’s dad, Thalia reached out to me immediately. That’s when I ran off from the bar and sped home.”

Karli growls, her face pinched. “Ugh. That scum. Do I even want to know what happened when you were alone with that bastard? Do I need to chop some balls off?”

I crack the smallest smile. It’s not the worst idea. “After Thalia left, I managed to get Sky to sleep for a bit. That’s when Razor tried putting on the charm. Well, for all of five minutes. He kept trying to get me to sleep with him. It was all blow this and suck that.It was hard not to puke right in his face.” I grimace.

The floor creaks in the hall outside the living room, giving Arnold’s position away. I glance in that direction and he enters with my coffee refill.He slips the mug into my hands and takes a step back to the periphery of the room.

“When I turned Razor down, it was like a switch flipped,” I continue. “He got angry. Then he said that his ex-girl friend is pregnant, and that I needed to get the hell out of his house, so he could move Janet in. We argued all night long, and I tried to reason with him, but he was just acting…insane.” A sigh leaves my lips. “Anyway, that’s about the time that Arnold showed up and rescued us.”

My heart skips at the memory of how my handsome neighbor swooped in at exactly the perfect moment.

Arnold Brighton is always saving me.

Maybe it’s because of the proximity. Maybe that’s why he always has my back whenever I need him. We do live in a small town, after all. Heck, we live on the same damn street.

But, I don’t see any of my other neighbors checking in on me. Mowing my lawn. Fixing my porch railing. Raking the leaves infall. Bringing me candles and firewood during a power outage on New Year’s Eve.

Stop making it mean anything, Layla. Arnold doesn’t like you.

I look toward the hallway and find him now leaning up against the doorway, arms folded and jaw twitching with suppressed anger. I feel bad. I know he hates Razor’s guts and this situation is only pissing him off.

I give him a small, appreciative smile.I’m lucky to have a friend like him. I should be grateful. His friendship should be enough. I shouldn’t be pining away for more, but…

“We saw Razor when we were on the way up here,” Karli interrupts my runaway thoughts. “He looks like complete shit, by the way.”

My nose wrinkles. She’s not wrong. “That was one of my first thoughts last night, too.”

Razor’s hair was long and stringy. He smelled like he hadn’t showered in weeks. And I’m not sure if he’s actually brushed his teeth since we broke up. I didn’t realize how much I was taking care of him back when we were together.Which is pretty pathetic, seeing as he’s a grown man.

For the past few months, Razor has been living on the other side of town with his on-and-off-again girlfriend, Janet. But I guess I never ran into him because Razor lives like a damn vampire. Only ever coming out at night, to go drinking and stirring up trouble. The asshole never even bothered to visit his child even though he was right here in Starlight Falls all along.

“What are you going to do now?” Daphne asks quietly.

I shrug. “I…” Sheesh. I haven’t even thought that far ahead. “I don’t…”

“You can stay with me. I can convert my workout room back into a spare room for you and Sky,” Karli offers.

“My door is open, too,” Daphne adds. “Felix and I can finally clear out the extra bedroom, and we can totally make it work.”

Ziggy chimes in. “Or Darius and I have—”

“No,” Arnold says, his voice loud and demanding as he takes a bold step into the room. “Layla is staying here until she figures out her next move.”

“What? No! She’s my bestie. I call dibs,” Karli protests.

“Yeah. With everything that’s going on, maybe she doesn’t want to stay with a guy right now.” Ziggy casts a doubtful look in my direction.

Arnold just shakes his head. “There’s no argument here. Karli, you’re a newly wed. You think Layla wants to listen to you and Mason going at it all night long? Ziggy, you’re pregnant—I’d bet you already have enough on your plate. And Daphne, you’re planning a wedding, and while I know you have the best intentions, I bet Layla doesn’t want front row tickets to your love story right now. Plus, she’s already here, so why make her pack up and drive all the way across town?”

Then we hear Nicky’s voice through the phone. I almost forgot they were still listening in. “What about this? Layla can stay in Ronan’s guesthouse. She’d have the whole place to herself.”

Arnold’s jaw ticks. “No. She’s safer close to me.” And on and on the argument goes.

I should probably be participating in this conversation, given that it’s my fate that my friends are battling over after all. But I stay silent, feeling overwhelmed at all these changes and decisions that are coming at me so fast. I take comfort in knowing that—at the very least—I won’t end up on the streets with my child.

Arnold continues to argue. “Razor’s off his rocker. No one knows what he’ll try next. With Layla here, I’ll be able to protect her and Sky.”

I know that he’s overreacting. Razor has always been an all talk, no action kind of guy. Even still, Arnold’s protectiveness brings me instant relief. I feel safe with him. I want to be here with him.

His gaze falls on me, and my stomach does a weird little flip. “Plus it’s convenient. Same distance from work.”

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All eyes turn to me.

I nod shakily. “He’s right. I’m just a few houses up the road from, well, my old house. Maybe staying here will give Sky and me a sense of normalcy while I figure out what’s next.”

“You have a point,” Daphne says in that quiet way of hers.

Karli sighs in defeat. “Fine. Okay. All right.”

Ziggy squeezes my shoulder. “The most important thing is that you and Sky will be okay.”

“We’ll be okay.” I offer a nod. Although I’m not sure about anything right now.

Karli, Daphne and Ziggy smother me in hugs after giving up their fight with Arnold. I say goodbye to Inez and Nicky before Daphne ends the videocall. Then the girls take off for work.

Silence fills the house after they’re gone. I set my mug on the coffee table and turn to Arnold, feeling uneasy about what I think I just agreed to.

He stands there, in the heavy silence, staring at me. I stare back.

What a beautiful man. Shoulders a mile wide and sturdy like a fortress. Hair, dark and shiny like obsidian. A stormy, penetrating stare that would probably be intimidating if I had a lick of common sense.

“Are you sure you want me here?” I ask quietly. “Because I can totally find somewhere else to stay.”

He just holds my gaze. “I want you here.”

“But last night at the bar, you made it clear that you don’t like having strangers in your space.”

Now is definitely not the best time to reminisce about slow dancing with Arnold at his birthday party—but this man is a lonely, broody soul—I don’t want to intrude on his life.

Arnold just gives me a confused look. “You and Sky are not strangers.”

“You know what I mean.” I sigh. “Plus, Sky’s in that phase where he’s curious about the entire freaking world. He touches everything, and he manages to break anything he can get his hands on.”

Arnold has poured a lot of time and energy into renovating his home over the past few years. Leather armchairs and an overstuffed velour sofa. Pendant lanterns hanging from vaulted ceilings. Polished walnut floorboards that creak under your feet. Large picture windows that broadcast the snow-covered pine trees hugging the perimeter of the property.

Plus, on the table in the corner, he has this huge jigsaw puzzle that he seems to have been working on for a while. I’m horrified that Sky’s going to accidentally knock it off the table and destroy all the progress Arnold’s made.

But more than anything, this house feels peaceful, rustic and cozy. I don’t want to bulldoze my way into his life and turn everything upside down.

Arnold just shrugs. “I’ll baby-proof.”

“It could take me a while to figure out my next move,” I admit with a frown.

“Take as long as you need. I’m not going anywhere. And neither is my spare room.”

“I’m serious, Arnold. It could take mea while…”

He pushes out a heavy exhale. “How long?”

Needing to avoid those intense brown eyes, I let my gaze drop to the dark denim hugging his long, powerful thighs. I’m so overwhelmed, I just want to crawl into his lap and bury my face in his neck and hide away from the world right now.

Focus, Layla. Focus.

“I don’t know. I was completely caught off guard with all this, so I don’t have much savings. And no offense, but I’m not exactly earning a fortune at the hardware store.” I cringe.

“Okay, I’ll give you a raise,” he says simply.

My gaze rebounds to his. “Arnold!” I’m not trying to abuse his kindness here.

“What? I’m being serious.” He gives his head a firm nod.

I remain skeptical. It must be written on my face.

With a growl, he gets up and marches to the kitchen. A moment later, he returns with a flowery wall calendar gripped in his hand. I watch silently as Arnold counts the days and circles a date in the first week of April.

“I’ll give you a raise and ninety days—three months—to live here rent-free, while you save up and figure out what you want to do,” he bargains.

I bite down on my lip, hesitating. This seems like a bad idea. But it’s so,tempting.

“Come on, Layla. Accept my offer,” Arnold begs, hefting out a tired sigh. “I just don’t want to see that loser thinking he can wield some kind of power over you. I fucking hate bullies.”

God—what Arnold’s offering is just too good to be true. I don’t want to ruin our friendship by taking advantage of him. But I have to think of Sky. Doing what’s best for my son might mean swallowing my pride at this point in time.

“Fine. I will stay here.”

Arnold nods with a sense of finality. Then he hops up, and picks my bags up off the floor. “Fine. It’s agreed. Let’s go get you set up and unpacked.”

I rise from the couch on wobbly feet, letting him lead the way down the hall.