The Quite Ridge

Chapter 14 – Sadie

I didn’t feel better in the morning. If anything, everything felt sharper. The drive in was quicker, but not easier. My hands stayed tight on the wheel longer than they should have, my eyes checking the mirror even when I told myself to stop. Nothing. Still nothing. That didn’t change anything.

The lot was already starting to fill when I pulled in, trucks spaced out, a couple engines running, voices carrying low through the morning air. Everything looked normal. It always did. I parked, cutting the engine, but didn’t move right away. For a second, I just sat there, letting the quiet inside the car settle before stepping back into everything else.

Then I noticed the truck beside me.

Him.

Rhett leaned back against the driver’s side, one arm resting on the open door like he hadn’t fully decided to get out yet. Like he had time. Like nothing pushed him.

My chest tightened before I could stop it.

I opened my door, stepping out slower than I meant to.

“Morning,” he said, his voice the same as yesterday—low, steady—but there was something else under it this time. Something I couldn’t quite place.

“Morning.”

I closed the door behind me, forcing myself not to rush past him. I could feel his attention before I even looked at him, so I did. His eyes were already on me. Steady. Not quick. Not careless. My breath shifted slightly.

“You’re early,” I said, nodding toward his truck, just to have something normal to say.

“Sometimes,” he answered.

That was it. No explanation. It shouldn’t have made me want to ask more, but it did. I adjusted the strap of my bag on my shoulder, giving my hands something to do.

“You don’t seem like a ‘sometimes’ kind of person.”

The words came out easier than they should have.

His mouth shifted, not quite a smile but close enough to feel like one.

“What kind do I seem like?”

That caught me off guard. I should’ve let it go. I didn’t.

“Like you don’t leave much up to chance.”

His eyes held mine a second longer than they needed to. Long enough to feel it.

“Maybe,” he said, not agreeing, not denying it, just letting it sit there between us.

The space didn’t feel awkward. It felt… heavier. Like it could shift into something else if I stayed too long.

I didn’t move.

“Rough night?” he asked.

The question was simple, but it landed differently. I stilled for half a second before answering.

“Didn’t sleep well.”

Not a lie.

Not the truth either.

He watched me for a second, not pushing, not asking more. Just waiting long enough to notice before letting it go.

“Got anyone in town?” he asked.

That one hit harder than it should have.

“No,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Just people I’ve met here.”

His gaze didn’t leave mine right away this time. It held, steady in a way that made it harder to look away, like he was taking that in instead of just hearing it.

Then he nodded once.

“That’ll change.”

I wasn’t sure why that made my chest tighten.

Maybe it was the way he said it. Not casual. Not dismissive. Just… certain.

I almost asked what he meant.

I didn’t.

Instead, I shifted my grip on my bag, grounding myself again. He glanced toward the office.

“Coffee helps. Maddie keeps it going all morning.”

I almost smiled.

“Good to know.”

The pause that followed wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t awkward either. It just sat there, quiet but not empty.

“If I don’t move,” I said finally, “I’m going to be late on my third day.”

That got a real reaction out of him. Small, but there.

“Wouldn’t want that.”

Something in his tone shifted again. Not enough to name. Just enough to notice.

I nodded once, then stepped past him. Close enough that I felt it again—that pull, stronger this time, harder to ignore.

I didn’t slow down.

Didn’t look back.

But I felt it anyway.