Single Dad’s Cabin by Lara Swann

I came to the mountains so my daughter could heal.
Isolation. Refuge. Sanctuary.
Our escape from the past.
It wasn’t a sacrifice.

Not until I met her.
Lying half-frozen in the snow, the storm raging all around us.
So fragile. So vulnerable. And the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
She doesn’t belong here, but there’s no way I’m letting her die on my mountain.
I’ll save her, care for her, and when I’m done…I’ll let her go.

Until I see her with my daughter.
Until she leaves me burning with heat.
And I wonder whether I’ve been doing this all wrong.
Maybe what my scarred little girl needs – what she’s always needed – isn’t the mountain.
Maybe it’s the kind touch and sparkling eyes of a beautiful woman.
Maybe that’s what I need, too.

I know it’s not that simple.
She has a past she won’t talk about.
Mine is clouded with guilt and regret.
But every moment with her makes me think of the future – of a real family.
When our pasts catch up to us?
No f*cking way I’m letting that go.