The Quite Ridge

Chapter 26 - Sadie

I forced myself to open the door and step out of the truck, the cool night air hitting me immediately, sharper out here, carrying the smell of smoke and damp wood. It grounded me faster than anything inside the cabin had, pulling me out of my head just enough to breathe again. Voices carried through the trees, clearer now, mixed with low music and bursts of laughter that felt distant but real at the same time. The firelight flickered ahead, casting uneven shadows that moved with the wind, shifting across the ground like something alive.

This was normal. It should have felt normal.

I closed the truck door behind me, the sound heavier than I expected, echoing just enough to make me aware of everything again. Gravel shifted under my boots as I took a few steps forward, my eyes adjusting to the light, to the people gathered around the fire. It wasn’t crowded. Just a handful of people, some sitting, some standing, all of it easy, unforced. Still, it felt like stepping into something I wasn’t fully part of yet.

“Hey!”

Maddie’s voice cut through it easily, pulling my attention toward her before I could overthink it. She was already moving toward me, a drink in one hand, a grin on her face like she had expected me all along. She stopped right in front of me, looking me over for a second like she was checking something, then nodded to herself.

“You made it,” she said, like there had never been a question.

“Yeah,” I answered, my voice quieter than I meant it to be.

“Good,” she said, slipping her arm lightly through mine before I could react. “You’re not standing out here looking like you might bolt. Come on.”

I let out a small breath and followed her, letting her pull me toward the fire. The closer we got, the warmer it felt, the light brighter, the noise easier to fall into. A couple people glanced up, quick looks that didn’t linger long enough to make me uncomfortable, and that helped more than I expected.

“Everyone, this is Sadie,” Maddie said casually as we stepped into the circle. “She’s not allowed to leave early, so don’t scare her off.”

“I don’t scare people,” Jace called out from his chair, leaning back like he had nowhere else to be, a beer loose in his hand.

“You absolutely do,” Maddie shot back without missing a beat.

“I’m charming,” he said.

“You’re loud,” she replied.

A small smile slipped out before I could stop it, and I looked down for a second, not used to how easy that felt.

“Hey,” Jace added, lifting his chin toward me. “You survived dinner, so this should be easy.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Maddie said, handing me a drink before I could say no. “He thinks he’s funny.”

“I am funny.”

“You’re not.”

Their back-and-forth settled into the background quickly, something familiar that didn’t need me to carry it. For a moment, I let myself fall into it, into the rhythm of voices and movement and warmth, into something that didn’t feel like I had to think through every second.

Then I felt it.

That shift.

I didn’t have to turn to know.

Rhett.

He was a few steps back, closer to the truck, talking to someone I didn’t recognize, but his attention wasn’t fully there. I could feel it before I saw it, the way my chest tightened just slightly, the way something pulled my focus without asking.

When I looked up, his eyes were already on me.

Not quick. Not accidental.

Steady.

Like he had been watching longer than I realized.

My breath shifted, something tightening low in my chest that had nothing to do with fear. It felt different here, stronger somehow, harder to ignore with everything else around us.

Maddie nudged my arm, pulling me back. “Don’t stand there, sit,” she said, pointing to an empty chair.

I nodded and moved, sitting down and letting the heat from the fire settle against my legs. It grounded me again, the warmth steady, real, something I could focus on when everything else felt a little too close.

“You alright?” Maddie asked, quieter this time, leaning just slightly toward me.

“Yeah,” I said, nodding.

She watched me for a second like she didn’t fully believe it, then nodded once and leaned back. “Good. Relax. Nobody bites.”

“Speak for yourself,” Jace added.

“Jace,” she warned.

“What?” he said with a grin.

I shook my head slightly, another small smile slipping through before I could stop it. It was happening too easily now, and I wasn’t sure what to do with that.

Conversation moved around me again, easy and light, and I let it carry me this time instead of fighting it. I answered when I needed to, listened when I didn’t, letting the noise and movement settle into something that felt almost normal.

Still, I was aware.

Of everything.

The fire. The people. The space.

And him.

Every time I looked up, it was the same. His eyes finding mine, holding just long enough to make it noticeable without making it obvious. It wasn’t something anyone else would call out.

Except—

“Damn,” Jace muttered under his breath.

I glanced over at him. “What?”

He shook his head, taking another drink. “Nothing.”

But it didn’t feel like nothing.

And I didn’t need him to say it.

Because I already knew.