Page 6 of Last Chance Seduction
“That sounds perfect.”
We hung up, and I once again ran my hand over my chest.Because Lattes on the Rocks happened to be in the same building as Montgomery Ink Legacy.And from what I could tell, Montgomery Security, and the gallery owned by the Montgomerys.One huge family, so many opportunities to see the people I hadn’t kept in contact with in the past two years.
It wasn’t that I was hiding from my former close friend, it was that seeing him reminded me of the day that changed everything.
When being left at the altar wasn’t even the worst thing that could happen in those few moments.
I shook off that melancholy note and pulled away from the desk.
Mr.Darcy immediately jumped off my lap and proceeded to prance over to the back door.He looked over my shoulder as if ready to roll his eyes, exasperated with me.
“Fine.You win.I’ll garden and pull out whatever weeds have decided to annoy me today.”
Even though it was winter in Colorado, with Christmas and New Year’s and every other holiday squeezed into a three-week period coming up, there were still a few plants I needed to deal with.Ones that hadn’t gone dormant.They would soon, but if I didn’t take care of the plant bed now, it would be terrible by the time spring came around.I pulled on my jacket, slid my feet into my old worn gardening shoes, and opened the back door.Darcy jumped onto the catio, sniffing around for any new scents, before jumping onto the outdoor couch I had out there, and proceeded to make biscuits as if it was his only thing in the world.
“You go there, Mr.Darcy.I’m proud of you.”
I opened the back door and quickly shut it behind me before Mr.Darcy could escape and went to the side garden.It was closest to the back gate that opened to the field beyond the cul-de-sac.I kept a lock on it usually but had unlocked it the day before to bring a few things in the back way.I scowled, reminding myself to lock it again.Most of the homes around us had the same walks, that way we didn’t have to go all the way around the cul-de-sac in order to reach the walking paths that were through the treed area.I lifted my face up to the sky, knowing that the clouds would probably go away soon.It was a little misty, and I was grateful for it.Colorado was so dry, that no amount of lotion could help my skin some days.But the mist was desperately needed.It wasn’t biting cold, just chilly enough that I had my fall coat on in December, rather than my winter coat.I knew that when my friends down south came to visit they would probably be in a full parka at this point, but you got used to the altitude and cold eventually.
I had been in New York for the past two years, so getting used to zero humidity, higher altitude, and less oxygen had taken me a couple of months.But now I’d been home for a little while, and in that time, I had already gotten a new neighbor.
One who proceeded to annoy the heck out of me with all of that sound.I put on my noise-canceling headphones, turned on an audiobook, one actually read by a friend, and proceeded to whack away at the weeds.
I was not a good gardener, but I read books, and I did my best.Sometimes my best wasn’t going to be enough, but I could try.
Emily was always better at gardening.She knew the Latin and English names for nearly every plant we came in contact with.And if she didn’t know, she would by the end of the day.
I wiped a tear away from my face with the back of my hand, knowing that this was a part of grief.
There might be five stages, but you didn’t go in any order.You followed your way through the path, and it circled back numerous times.And, because of the human condition you could go through multiple stages simultaneously.
It was a wonderful experiment, this life of mine.But Emily wouldn’t want me to linger in any stage for too long.So I was doing this for her.
Whatever this was.
Mr.Darcy came towards me, face pressed to the screen, and I smiled up at him, before going back to my audiobook and gardening.I rolled my shoulders back, about twenty minutes into my foray into this new non-talent of mine, when I turned off my audiobook and decided to just let the headache have its due course, considering all I could hear was the damn hammering.
I looked up, and Mr.Darcy wasn’t in front of me anymore, instead he was closer to the corner of the catio, back arched, hissing.
I froze, wondering what he could see, and swallowed hard as something began to slither towards me.
Emily would know exactly what kind of snake this was, but I knew the pattern on that body, and it should not be awake in December.No, they should be hibernating, far away.
But as it slithered towards me, moving a little drowsily, I didn’t think, I did the one thing that I swore I would never do.I screamed.
I staggered back, as Mr.Darcy hissed, slashing at the screen.
“No, no, get away.”I didn’t know if I was talking to Mr.Darcy or the snake, but the shaking in my voice didn’t invoke much confidence.
I didn’t have a weapon, and it was just a snake moving towards me, but it could strike at any moment.And I didn’t know if it could strike my cat somehow through the holes of the screen.
My earbud fell out, and I reached for my tiny shovel, knowing it wasn’t going to be enough.Because I finally remembered what Emily had taught me.The rings on the length of the snake made sense now.
Not just a snake.
But a venomous snake.
“Are you okay?”a deep voice asked as footsteps on grass and gravel sounded towards me from my backyard.I didn’t turn to look who it was, but instead, tried to stand up, and tried not to make it too sudden.The snake came forward again, jerking slightly, and another shout escaped my lips.
