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raced in a million directions at once.  Trent was here .  Here in my town.  He wasn’t in Afghanistan, on the other side of the world.  He was calling, which meant he wanted to talk.  He was calling from a local number, which meant he came here to see me.  My heart pounded in my chest, so loudly that I was almost certain he could hear it, too.  I could barely contain the nervous adrenaline that coursed through my veins as I tried to respond.
    “Trent,” I stammered, hoping he wouldn’t hear the tremble in my voice.  “Where are you?”
    A pause that seemed to last forever followed.  “At your house,” he finally admitted, sounding somewhat sheepish.  A breath I didn’t even realize I was holding seeped out of me, and I tried to concentrate on what he was saying.  “Your neighbor told me you were gone for the week.  I don’t know why I assumed you’d be home….”  His voice trailed off, and I puzzled over the situation, trying to sort everything out in my mind.  What was he doing here?  He’d just visited us on his two weeks of leave several months ago, so he couldn’t possibly have time off again.  It’s not like he could just fly home for the weekend from where he was stationed.  Had something happened?  Was he hurt?  Or could he somehow be here to stay?  That didn’t seem possible, but a dozen different scenarios were suddenly running through my mind.
    “Meghan?”
    “I’m here.  Just surprised.”
    “I was hoping we could talk,” he said softly.
    My heart skipped a beat, hoping against hope that somehow he was here to work things out between us.  What else was there to talk about face-to-face?  If he just wanted to talk, to clear the air or shoot the breeze, he could have called me from anywhere.  He could have sent me an email—not shown up on my doorstep.
    “I’m at the cabin ,” I choked out.  “My sister and brother-in-law drove us up here, so I don’t have a car.  We’re staying all week.”
    “Can I come see you?”
    “What?  I mean yes, of course.”
    “I’ll be there in an hour.”
    “Okay.  See you then,” I said quietly.
    “See you soon.  Meghan….” He trailed off again.
    “We’ll talk when you get here.”
    “Okay.  Bye.”
    “Bye.”
    I put down my phone, my heart hammering in my chest.  Suddenly Trent’s impending arrival in one hour seemed like both a lifetime away and, at the same time, all too soon for us to be face-to-face after what happened.  One thing was for certain—either this really was the end for us or else the beginning of something I barely dared to hope for.

Chapter 8
     
    Two hours later Trent still hadn’t show n, and I was kicking myself for getting my hopes up.  He’d changed his mind.  That had to be it, the little voice inside of me said over and over again. He’d spoken to me, decided it wasn’t worth it after all, and changed his mind.   I checked my cell phone for the tenth time and didn’t see any messages or missed calls.  There’s no way I was calling him, not after he’d blown me off.  It should have taken only an hour to drive up here, and if something had held him up, he would’ve just called.  Or texted.  Or something.  He’d called me earlier, so I knew the reception was good.
    I heard the squeal of laughter from inside the cabin and wondered if I should go in and help Marissa get the kids to bed.  Normally Hannah wouldn’t let anyone but me tuck her in, but she was so excited when I told her she was having a sleepover in her cousins’ room (so that Trent and I could have some privacy—not that it mattered now), she agreed to let Aunt Marissa get them all ready.  I noticed a flicker of lightning off in the distance and the darkness of impending storm clouds rolling in.  Now I really wouldn’t get to see Trent—on the off-chance that he was still coming, the storm would likely make the mountain roads impassable.
    The last rays of the sun were disappearing, and I could feel the