Page 43 of Entwined in Norway

‘That’s okay. I have stuff I can get on with.’

‘I can’t wait to see you later.’

The way she was looking at him made him want to pick her up and take her right back upstairs. He had no idea what had happened to his self-control.

‘Can I kiss you?’

She answered by giving him a quick peck on the mouth which was too quick for him to respond to. ‘Later.’

He took a deep breath and walked slowly backwards towards the door. ‘Later.’

As he walked through the woods, he thought about everything that had happened between him and Ida over the past few days. How fricking amazing it was to have found her so unexpectedly when the last thing on his mind had been love. Then it came to him like a blow to the chest. What had been on his mind was finding out about his great-grandfather’s legacy. And he knew enough now to be sure that part of the timber forest that belonged to the farm, to the island, belonged to his family.

How was he going to tell Ida that? Hell, how could he even say that to Mats now? They’d welcomed him into their lives unconditionally. They hadn’t known anything about him other than that he was a joiner who used to be a snowboarder. He knew now that he could have told Mats about the legacy to begin with and it wouldn’t have ended in a fight like he’d been expecting.

Except now that he was working on the cabins, he didn’t want to lose that. It was selfish, but the legacy perhaps wasn’t as important to him as the other things he’d found here when he hadn’t been looking. The budding friendship with Mats. The more-than-a-friendship with Ida. Was it wrong to keep quiet about the envelope in his backpack that could change all of that?

All of his friends were snowboarders, and none of them understood how hard that was for him now. Having a guy to work alongside, someone his own age who found the same joy and peace in working with wood as he did, that was something he wanted for a little longer before he had to say goodbye to that too. He’d never thought he’d be able to make new connections like this, and maybe he hadn’t tried. But he didn’t want to throw Mats’ and Ida’s friendship away for the sake of claiming some kind of inheritance by taking land or trees from them. And the best way to tell them might become apparent in the meantime.

‘God morgen!’ Mats came striding through the woodland with a grin on his face. ‘You started without me.’

‘I just got here myself.’ Erik had started by measuring up for a new ceiling joist, which would hopefully stop the roof from sagging at one end. ‘Shall we start with the joist we talked about yesterday?’

‘The joist I’ve been avoiding?’

‘That’s the one.’

‘If we get the roof and the floor sound, you can manage the rest.’ He didn’t go so far as to say, when I’m gone. It was hard to think about all of this carrying on without him.

‘It’s going to be a better cabin because of you, Erik.’

‘Well, thanks.’ He grinned at Mats. ‘You have me for another week.’ Another week was nowhere near enough. He was just getting into his stride and feeling as if he might be finding part of himself he’d thought was lost.

‘And what about you and Ida after that? Have you talked about after you leave?’

Erik hadn’t expected Mats to go there and he was a little taken aback. ‘Kind of.’

‘It’s between the two of you, I know that. I feel responsible. I suggested that you ask Ida out, but I didn’t think it would go further than that one night. As long as you’re both clear about how things stand for each other.’

‘Sure.’ What else could he say? ‘I know you’re looking out for your sister and so am I.’

Mats nodded. ‘But you could hurt her just by going home.’

‘I know.’ He and Ida were in dangerous territory, especially after last night. But he reassured Mats. ‘We’re not falling in love with each other. We’re two people who’ve had a tough time lately and are seeing how things go taking a step back into the dating world. That’s all.’

Mats nodded. ‘Good to know.’

But of course that wasn’t what was happening at all. Erik could feel himself falling further and further towards the point of no return. The point where he would be in love with Ida. Because he could already see it on the horizon although he had no idea what the world was going to look like when he got there.

Weren’t they both too hurt to embark on something as crazy as a relationship? Wouldn’t it be the definition of a co-dependent relationship with both of them navigating their way out of grief of one kind or another? Being together while that was still happening might turn them into a support the other couldn’t do without.

But Erik was beginning to think that Ida, maybe the island, or maybe both, were pulling him out of the depths of despair. Since he came here, he’d had something to get out of bed for. It wasn’t the legacy now. It wasn’t anything that his poor, desperate parents had suggested as a way to make it through. He’d done it by himself by getting on a plane and leaving his home. A place that should have been a sanctuary but was also a constant reminder of everything he’d lost.

Maybe a trip anywhere was what he’d needed. But that wasn’t true. It was this place that was helping to heal his soul and leaving in a week was too soon.

17

Ida floated through the day on a cloud of happiness. Waking in Erik’s arms had been everything she’d known it would be. She felt safe and protected in the kind of way she always told herself she didn’t need. Maybe she didn’t need it, but she wanted it. And it felt good to acknowledge that.