Gathered By the Green Man

So…my best friend joined a cult. Which means, I gotta do what any sane bff would do and haul her butt back to civilization.

They call themselves the Morning Wood—yes, they really do—and they’re way off the beaten path, so far out that GPS doesn’t know what to make of it. I design green spaces for a living, so I thought I knew my way around some trees. Turns out the forest is way more intense than I bargained for.
Not to mention the towering Sequoia of a man I’d meet there.

Faelan.
He lives out in those woods. Full-time. Like that’s a normal choice. He’s not just big and imposing and stupidly handsome, either. A sharp wisdom sparkles behind those impossibly green eyes. He speaks in parables and riddles, and I’m not even mad when the punch line flies over my head.
Because deep down inside…I know exactly what he’s talking about. And I’m leaning in. Probably too far.

This thing between us burns fast and bright, and I keep telling myself it’s just a hot fling—something I can walk away from when it’s time to leave. After all, it’s not like I can give up my life and join him out in the middle of nowhere. Can I?