Page 27 of All Inn Thyme
“I’ve got time.” I smile at her. And with that, I push off the counter and head out to my truck.
Shit. I want to help her, but I still have a job to do. The ball’s in her court now, though. That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop showing her I care and enjoy being with them for the time being, but I will try to wait for her to be ready.
I did lie, though. I don’t have that much time. Time is running out for me here in Freedom Valley.
The truth is that whatever time I do have left, I’m going to give it to her.
9. mellie
This is just temporary, okay?
I don’t even knowwhat to make of all of this. Everything happened so fast, with the garden shed being damaged and ending up at the bunkhouse after all. Not the way I would have thought it would go, but here we are.
Ty does seem like a good guy, and I really want him to be, but I can’t help feeling like I’ve been down this road before. Bradley pretended to be the most upstanding citizen. People used to come up to me and rave about what a great cop he was. They had no clue about the actual living hell Kase and I were going through at home. It was always a façade. One big, scary,fakelife that we literally had to run from.
For some strange reason, I trust Ty when he says he’s a good guy, and that scares me, because I never thought I’d trust another man. How could I? Yet Ty gives off completely different vibes than my ex-monster. We were young when we first met, and Bradley did a great job to overwhelm me with attention and flood me with fake affection in the beginning. And Ty? He’s quiet, keeps his distance, and is nice to us. He doesn’t push and doesn’t seem to want anything from us other than to keep his dog company.
However, God help Ty if he ever tried to do anything to harm us in any way. There’s one thing I do know living here this past year, and that’s that the Golden Gable Inn is a safe space, and that everyone here would do everything in their power to protect us. I can’t risk losing the safety that we have here. Without this place and these people, we have absolutely no one and nowhere to go. I’ll do anything not to let Evan down after everything he’s done for us.
I look around the bunkhouse and notice that Ty keeps his space tidy. A leash hanging on the hook by the door. Nova’s dog bowls on the floor neatly filled and ready for her to come home and eat.
Just as I pull up to the shed to see what else needs to be done, Evan comes out and pats my shoulder. “Hey. We got out what we could. I’m sorry, Mel. We’ll do what we can to get it fixed up so you can get back in. This is just temporary, okay?”
“Thank you. I will help clean it up, too.” I’m already stretched thin with my time, but I want to help.
Evan shakes his head. “No. We’ve got this. We’ll have a crew come out and get the laundry room functional tomorrow and gut whatever we need to and begin repairs. Just take care of you and Kase. Plus, now you can work on your greenhouse and gardens being closer out there. I guess you’re in your bunkhouse after all.” He grins and shrugs his shoulders.
“I guess.” He seems cool about all of this, but I can’t help but be worried this is somehow my fault. My mind races and my chest feels like it’s full of lead. My memories immediately default to me being accused of being careless and the time in my life when everything was my fault with Bradley. I think about how we can fix this and how I can do better next time. I cautiously ask him, “Do you think I did anything to cause this?”
Evan seems calm and not worried about it. “No. It really was just a leak,” he assures me. “The building’s old, and it needs updating anyway. We’ll get it even better than it was before. We have insurance. It’s fine, I promise.”
“Okay, I’m sorry.” Relief fills me and I let out a deep breath.
“You get settled in over there?”
“Yeah. I even got all the plants set up. Did you know Ty put together my greenhouse?”
His expression softens. “No, but that was nice of him.”
“He does seem nice.”
“If at any time you need me, you just text me and I’ll be there, and same for Logan,” he says, giving me the impression that he doesn’t fully trust Ty yet.
“Thank you.”
“Alright, let’s get this last load in the truck. Kase is down for the night so you can get things situated at the bunkhouse.”
“Oh, that’s great, thanks.”
“I’ll follow in the truck.”
“Okay.” I drive over to the cabin and pull in. A dark blue truck that I don’t recognize is parked next to Ty’s white one. Instantly, I tense up and get nervous.Who else is here?
Evan backs in and comes around to help me unload the bags into the house. I’m relieved when the door opens and Ty and Sam Sr. come out with Nova, who is excited to see me and Evan.
“Hey, Sam. This is the last of her stuff that we could get out. Want to lend a hand?” Evan glances over his shoulder before we both reach down to pet Nova, who is wagging her tail and leaning into me as I scratch her ears.
“Hey, sweet girl,” I whisper, remembering the comfort that having a dog nearby can provide.
