Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother novel Chapter 115

Chapter 115: Penny

The girl leads us out of the main lodge and back into the cold, her boots crunching confidently over the packed snow.

As soon as the door closes behind us, the muffled noise of the others–music, laughter, voices bouncing off the stone walls–faden, swallowed up by the trees. The silence out here is heavict. The snow’s a little deeper. The pines a little denser.

It’s only twilight, but already the light is thin, like dusk came early to warn us.

1 tighten my coat around myself as we follow her across the clearing, then down a gentle, winding slope that veers away from the cluster of cabins we’d passed earlier.

“Do you work here?” I ask, partly to be polite, partly to distract myself from the eerie quiet.

She laughs, friendly. “Not really. My uncle owns the property. He mostly rents it as an Airbnb, or for retreats like this. I just helped him out with the planning. Did the cabin assignments and logistics stuff.”

“Oh.” I smile. “Thanks for that.”

“No problem,” she says, glancing back with a little grin. “Yours is my favorite one.”

Asher walks behind me, our steps perfectly paced even though we aren’t speaking. He’s pulling both our suitcases, barely noticing the slope or the ice underfoot. Tyler’s a few steps ahead, carrying what looks like enough stuff to survive a zombie apocalypse.

We pass three cabins, each one tucked among the trees, windows glowing warm through the gathering dark. I assume she’s about to stop at one of them

She doesn’t.

She keeps going.

The trail narrows as we descend closer to the lake, snow covering the path in places that haven’t been disturbed all day. My boots sink deeper. The air smells sharper down here–like wet bark and frozen earth. The trees are taller, crowding in close, and when I glance back, I can’t even see the lights from the lodge

anymore.

“It’s… far,” Tyler murmurs, mostly to himself.

Asher’s voice is low behind me. “Which makes it quiet.”

I nod, even though the quiet is starting to settle weird in my chest. I don’t know if it’s in a good or bad way.

Then we round one last bend and I see it.

Our cabin.

It’s perched right at the edge of the lake, almost floating in the shadows of the trees. A few feet of snow–blanketed ground stretch between the porch and the frozen shoreline. It’s smaller than the others, more tucked away. The single light in the front window is the only warm thing in sight. It flickers softly. glowing like a lantern in the dark.

It’s… beautiful.

And lonely.

Like a secret someone forgot to keep.

“Here we are,” the girl says brightly, unlocking the door and pushing it open. “It’s not big, but it’s cozy.”

Inside, the air smells like pine and woodsmoke. Two beds sit against opposite walls, dressed in matching dark plaid comforters. A narrow fireplace flickers with a small, tidy flame, a stack of wood beside it. Wreaths hang on the paneled walls, and fairy lights are strung around the beams. There’s a little window framed by dark curtains, a miniature table with two chairs, and a bathroom door tucked just beside the fireplace.

It’s like a Christmas postcard.

Perfect.

Except….

“Sorry about the beds,” the girl says, biting her lip. “I didn’t realize there’d be three of you. It was supposed to be for Tyler and well, het Tyler

She glances quickly between us, clearly realizing what she said. Her cheeks flush, and she steps back

Tyler snorts. “This place creeps me out.”

“A lot of people say that,” the girl replies. “Some of the cabins are a little… remote. People get spooked. That’s why a bunch of gas are saying in the main lodge instead.”

Tyler lights up. “Wait, what? You can do that?”

“Sure, if there’s space. I can check tonight, see if there’s a spare bed. I know a lot of your friends out there chose the main house, but maybe you can bank with someone.”

“Yesss,” he says, dragging out the word with a grin.

She waves once and ducks back out the door, clearly happy to escape.

Silence falls over the cabin.

Tyler tosses his stuff onto the nearest bed and looks around, unimpressed.

“The main house is gonna be way better.”

I’m still standing near the fireplace, just taking it in.

The flicker of the flames.

The reflection of the lake through the window.

The hush.

“Don’t you want to stay with us?” I ask softly.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify