Page 9 of Love, Hate, Love

“Yes.” It wasn’t clear whether she’d hold that against me or if it would play in my favor.

“I’ve never been there, but it looks amazing. I haven’t been more than a few hundred miles from here. My family’s been here for generations, and we kind of like staying put. Not that any of us have the money to go somewhere like New York.” She wasn’t holding my gaze like she had been, as if I’d hold her lack of travel against her.

“I didn’t have much growing up either, and the way things are going, I won’t have much going forward. My business pretty much tanked in the last couple of months.”

“I kind of heard.” She was shrugging, in an apologetic way. “I like to read the gossip pages. You were a marketer of sorts, right?”

“Yep. I used to help businesses come up with launch plans, or relaunch plans when they were tanking. No one wants a felon attached to their brand name, though. Isn’t a strong selling point.”

“Looks pretty amazing there, though, so it was probably fun.”

“You know what looks amazing to me right now? That.” I pointed to the sun rising over the mountains, sunlight spreading out before us. I’d forgotten how much I’d loved this view as a kid. Or the smell of the crisp air and the sounds of the birds. I’d been surrounded by cement for so long that I’d forgotten how nice this place really was. How much I’d never wanted to leave.

“I’m sure you have sunrises in New York,” she said, even as she stood beside me taking it in.

“Not like this, or at least it sure didn’t feel like it.” How could I forget how beautiful this place was in the morning?

“Come on. I’ll give you some stuff real quick before we start,” Missy said after a few minutes.

We walked past the bunkhouse to another small cabin about fifty feet or so away. It was about twice the size of mine but nothing that looked too elaborate, until you got inside.

It was set up like a studio, but it had a bathroom, and a small kitchenette against the wall. A loveseat and living room area was in the center and a bedroom area on the other end. On top of having modern conveniences, she’d decorated it in an eclectic, cozy way, with plants near the windows and paintings on the wall, furry throws, and plush area rugs. It made you want to curl up on a couch with a cup of tea. It was a penthouse suite in comparison to my hovel.

“This place is adorable.”

“Thanks. If you want, I could lend you some stuff for yours? Make it more comfortable?”

“No, I’m fine.” It was bad enough I was taking her clothes. Plus, my shack would need a lot more than a few pieces to make it livable.

She pulled some jeans out of her closet and a few flannels and handed them to me. “I’ve got some old boots so you don’t have to ruin those. They look expensive.”

“That would be great. Thanks. How long have you worked here?”

“A couple of years. I knew Chuck and he put in a good word for me. He’s a bit rough sometimes, but he’s as solid a guy as they come.”

Rough was welcome. I was used to dealing with smooth-edged sharks who smiled right before they ripped your life to pieces.

“These should hold you for a bit.” She handed me some boots that looked broken in but way better than what I was wearing.

“I’m going to be here a little while,” I said, not sure how much she knew.

“I heard,” she said, shrugging.

“I wasn’t sure if they covered that in the gossip mags.”

“They did,” she said, giggling. “Okay, well, the chickens are going to be waiting. I put out some extra feed at night but they’ll be wanting out of their pen so they can wander around for a bit.”

“Chickens?” Kade had chickens? I’d thought Chuck had said chickens but that I’d misheard.

“Yeah, Kade likes fresh eggs. You didn’t hear those roosters carrying on?”

“Yes, but I thought maybe they were the neighbor’s.”

She laughed. “Next neighbor ain’t for miles. Kade bought up all the land surrounding this place. You won’t see anyone, let alone hear anyone, unless they work here. Okay, well, let’s go let the chickens out and then we can grab another coffee before we hit the stables.”

We did a quick detour, letting the chickens out before heading back to the bunkhouse.

“Did you meet any of the guys?” she said.

---