The Quite Ridge

Chapter 20-Sadie

I told myself I wasn’t going. That lasted about five minutes. The cabin felt heavier tonight. Not louder, not quieter—just… heavier. Like the silence had settled in deeper, pressing in without anything actually changing. I moved through it slower than I meant to, setting my bag down, turning on the same lamp, letting the small pool of light settle across the room. It didn’t help.

My phone sat on the counter. I didn’t touch it. Didn’t need to. I already knew what was on it. His number. The messages from last night. The way it didn’t feel like nothing. I exhaled slowly, pressing my hands against the counter, grounding myself. This was stupid. It was just dinner. Just people. Nothing more. Still, I grabbed my keys.

The drive felt shorter this time. Not easier. Just… decided. Like once I made the choice, everything else followed. When I pulled up, the same truck was already there. Of course it was. The house looked the same as last night. Lights on. Warm. Movement inside. Something about it pulled without asking, like it didn’t need permission. I sat in the car for a second, my fingers still on the steering wheel, my eyes moving toward the door like I was waiting for a reason to turn around. I didn’t find one. So I got out.

The gravel shifted under my feet as I walked up, the sound louder than it should have been in the quiet. Before I could knock, the door opened.

Maddie.

“There you are,” she said like she’d been waiting. “I knew you’d come tonight.”

I blinked at her. “You did?”

She smiled, stepping back. “Yeah. You didn’t come yesterday. That meant you would today.”

I let out a small breath, shaking my head slightly as I stepped inside.

The warmth hit me first again. The smell of food, the noise, the movement. It felt lived in. Comfortable in a way I hadn’t realized I missed.

Jace was already at the table, leaning back in his chair like he had nowhere else to be.

“Look who finally showed up,” he said.

“Be nice,” Maddie shot back.

“I am nice.”

“You’re not.”

I almost smiled.

Then I felt it.

That shift.

I didn’t have to look to know.

Rhett.

He was at the counter this time, not leaning, just standing there like he’d been there a while. Like he always was. Like this was his space as much as anyone else’s. My breath caught slightly before I could stop it.

His eyes lifted to mine and held.

Same as before.

Steady.

Not rushed.

Not careless.

But this time there was something else there. Something that hadn’t been before. Something that felt… aware.

“You came,” he said.

Simple.

But not casual.

“Yeah,” I said.

It came out softer than I meant it to.

His mouth shifted slightly. Not a full smile, but closer than before. Enough to notice.

Maddie clapped her hands once. “Alright, enough of whatever that is. Sit down before the food gets cold.”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and moved toward the table, sitting where she pointed like I had done it before.

Like I belonged.

I didn’t.

Not yet.

But it didn’t feel as far off as it had yesterday.

Dinner was loud and easy. Jace talked enough for everyone, Maddie keeping up with him, the rhythm between them natural and practiced. Their back-and-forth filled the space without effort, giving me room to just exist in it without having to carry anything. I found myself relaxing into it without meaning to. Answering when they asked questions. Letting myself respond instead of thinking through every word first. Laughing once or twice before I could stop it.

It felt normal.

Too normal.

And that made it harder to trust.

Rhett didn’t talk much, but I felt him anyway. Every time I looked up. Every time the room shifted. Every time my attention slipped without meaning to and landed right back where it shouldn’t.

“You’re quieter than yesterday,” Maddie said at one point, watching me.

“I’m just listening,” I said.

“She does that,” Jace added. “Observing.”

“Better than whatever you do,” Maddie shot back.

“I’m entertaining.”

“You’re loud.”

I shook my head slightly, smiling before I could stop it.

Dinner moved on like that. Easy. Familiar. Like I had stepped into something already built and didn’t have to hold it up. That was the part I didn’t expect. That was the part that made me stay.

When it started to wind down, Maddie stood, grabbing plates, moving around the kitchen like she always did.

“Bonfire tomorrow,” she said casually over her shoulder.

I glanced up. “Bonfire?”

“Yeah,” Jace said. “Out by the ridge. Couple people show up. Nothing crazy.”

“It’s not nothing,” Maddie added. “It’s fun. You’re coming.”

I shook my head slightly. “I don’t know—”

“You’re coming,” she repeated, turning back toward me with a look that didn’t leave much room to argue.

I hesitated.

“Rhett will pick you up.”

My head snapped toward her. “What?”

Maddie just smiled. Too knowing. Too easy.

“You can text him your address.”

My chest tightened.

She said it like it was obvious.

Like it was already a thing.

“We’re not—” I started.

“Mmhm,” she cut in, turning back to the sink. “You can tell yourself that.”

Jace laughed.

I didn’t.

Because I felt it.

Across the table.

That shift again.

I didn’t look at him right away.

When I did, his eyes were already on me. Not surprised. Not caught off guard. Like he wasn’t arguing it either.

My breath shifted slightly.

And for some reason—

I didn’t say no.