Page 14 of All Inn Thyme
5. mellie
I’m just wondering how such a tiny thing like you can have such a big attitude.
People suck.And the people that you pay to come put together your secondhand greenhouse who end up taking your money and not showing up? They’re the worst. Lesson learned. More plants, fewer people. I’ll just figure it out by myself.
I huff as I look around at the dirty piles of greenhouse pieces. I drag sections at a time and attempt to put them together like a puzzle. I almost just ripped a hole in my jeans with one of the pieces, so things are going well.
I pause to wipe the sweat forming on my forehead. I consider stripping off my pants and shirt to do this quickly in my underwear. I’m wearing one of my nicer shirts and my only good pair of jeans, so I’d like to protect one of my only good outfits. I don’t really have any extra money right now for new clothes and I can’t risk it.
What the hell? It’s Sunday afternoon and no one’s around. If I can do this quickly, I can be out of here before long, I lie to myself, knowing damn well this is going to take me a very long time to finish on my own. Probably a week of every evening when I could be working on something else out here. This not going the way I planned put me way behind on my already tight schedule.
I kick my ratty sneakers off and yank my jeans down, then pull my shirt over my head. I fold them neatly over the seat of my ATV. I’m wearing faded gray cotton granny panties and a faded black racerback sports bra. Like a swimsuit, right?
I slide my feet back into my sneakers and tighten my ponytail. I already feel so much better. I can do this. I don’t need them to put this together for me. Let’s do this, I repeat, trying to motivate myself as I go back to putting together this impossible puzzle.
I think about my old life in the suburbs and my new rural life here at the inn. I look around at the rows and rows of gardens and think about how many people we can feed with the food I’m growing here. Vegetables I grew from seeds. Satisfaction fills me at the sense of purpose I feel every time I come out here.
Every time I make something grow, it’s like my own personal revenge. Like a giant fuck you to Bradley with every good thing that happens to us. So, I make it my mission to make sure good things are happening for us every single day. Because if there’s one thing that I’ve learned in the past year, it’s that I am the creator of my own story. I can do whatever I want, and this life is what I’ve made it. Bradley no longer gets to be a part of it.
After the episode in the front yard, Bradley didn’t allow us to go out front anymore, and the only time we could even go outside was for a short while in the backyard every so often. Not enough time to get anything done, like planting a garden.
I used to believe that if I just tried harder, it would get better. Spoiler alert: it never did. It always got worse. Always one step away from wondering if it would be my last, I thought for a long time that maybe it really was my fault. If I’d kept the house cleaner, was more attentive to Bradley, was prettier, dressed nicer, it would get better. I got so tired of working so hard to be so damn perfect, and it never mattered. It was exhausting. Life shouldn’t have to be that way.
One of the last straws was the distinct memory of Kase and I hiding under the stairs in the closet when Bradley was drunk, raging and destroying the house.
Oddly enough, there’s a closet under the stairs inside the main inn that’s similar to the one in our old house. When I first got to the inn, I used to tense up every time I’d walk by it. The memories would flood back to me, and I’d almost have a panic attack. Evan saw it happen one day, and he asked me what was wrong. When I explained, he immediately hired a contractor to come in and turn it into a small, hidden play area for the boys and kids that were guests at the inn, with toys, a small TV mounted on the wall, and a bookshelf. Hopefully Kase doesn’t remember that closet in the old house and just has these new memories of a happy play space.
I think back to what Preston said about helping and I wonder if maybe I can finally put this all behind me for good. I’m just dreading it, scared of the unknown.
I pause to drink some water and tilt my head up to the sky as I chug. Sweat is pouring off me. I’m going to need a shower so badly, but I need to get this done while there’s still daylight, and while Kase is otherwise occupied with Caleb. When I have uninterrupted time to work like this, I try to get as much done as quickly as I can.
Something licks the back of my leg, making me shriek and jump. “Oh my God, what…?”
I look down to see a familiar gray Pitbull sitting at my feet and looking up at me, wiggling her little tail, her tongue sticking out as usual. Nova. Which means if the dog is here…
Oh. My. God.
And there he is.
He stands frozen at the clearing by the greenhouse, his eyes huge and fixed on me.
And suddenly I’m irritated. Irritated by how handsome he is and how he stirs up things in me that I don’t need stirred.Liar, my brain practically shouts at me.
“Oh, it’s you, the bunkhouse thief.” I place my hands on my hips and stare right back at him. Two can play this game.
He says nothing, just cocks his head like he’s thinking. Why’s he looking at me like that? He thinks he can just stand there and stare at me? No.
“Shouldn’t you be enjoying your bunkhouse?” I glare. Even though I’m mad at him, he’s stillverygood looking, and he makes me really nervous. So, he’s hot and he can kiss. Big deal. He and his dumb dog stole our dream of living in the woods with the gardens all around us.
He just stands there, his ball cap pulled low. His shaggy hair in need of a trim, sticking out of his cap, wearing a white hoodie with a beer logo on the front and worn jeans and boots.
But I have already had my life destroyed by a man. No, thanks.Not going back for seconds. This one can go in the Not Going To Happen pile. Like the rest of my dreams that didn’t work out. Bye, Ty.
“How tall are you?” he asks with a smile and a southern drawl.
“Five-three, why?” I grit my teeth, narrowing my eyes at him.
His hands shoved into his pockets, he rocks back on his heels with a smirk. “I’m just wondering how such a tiny thing like you can manage such a big attitude.” He looks amused, not even looking bothered by my jabs. He’s not relenting, he’s just giving it right back to me. And it ishot.
