“The ducks will surely love all this rain.” She laughed and called over the crowd to a little old man who was making his way over the debris. “Good morning, Jerry! How’s your cat doing? Still got the rash under his tail?”
I turned around and fled before I had to hear his reply bellowed out over the town square.
This place was insane. No one seemed to care about the disaster zone at all, and I was no closer to finding a phone charger. I did have the coffee and the cookie though. I stuffed the buttery sweetness in my mouth and moaned as it hit my stomach. Sipping on the rich brew, I strolled down the street for the answer to my next move.
There wasn’t much I could do without my phone. I needed to call my new boss and find out if the summer camp had survived the storm. I also needed to find a place to stay and a way to replace my belongings.
The natural organizer in me crafted up a list of tasks. Before I got to the end, I spotted a bar and grill across the street. It was closed, just as everywhere else was, but that didn’t matter. My attention fixed on the wooded sign above the door more than anything else.
The Outlaw. Landlord: Thomas Anderson.
That was it! Anderson . My new boss was Roger Anderson, and for a town this small, there had to be a relation somewhere.
I jogged over the road, jumping over a smashed up trash can on the way. Approaching the huge glass window, I pressed my palms to it and peered in. It was dark and empty, but I could hear a noise from the side of the building. I followed the sound and found a parking lot leading to the back door or the bar. A young, blonde woman carried out a large box and slid it into the back of a Jeep.
“Hello?” I called out, cautiously.
Her head snapped up at me. “We’re closed.”
“Yeah, I noticed. I was just looking for someone. Roger Anderson? I saw the name above the door and thought that you might know him.”
“Roger? Yeah, he’s my dad.”
I could have kissed her. Finally something on this trip had gone right. Maybe I had caught some of Colton’s good luck. “You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that.”
She stared at me, totally confused.
“My name is Tia Lopez. I’m supposed to be starting work for him this week.”
“Oh, the painter, right? Up at the summer camp?”
“Yeah.”
She slammed the trunk of her car shut. “Well, I’m headed up there now. He’s already there, getting a head start with the construction team. I can give you a ride if you like.”
“Are you serious?” I couldn’t shift the surprise from my voice. Folks in small towns really did have a lot of generosity. And zero concern. This woman didn’t know me from Eve. Yet, here she was, offering me a ride into the middle of the woods.
I wasn’t one to trust strangers, but from what I’d seen so far, Bluerock was far from New York. The folk around here had genuine kindness, and it wasn’t something I could turn down today. “That would be great. You don’t mind?”
“Not at all. Jump in.” She rounded the car to the driver’s side. “I’m Maddie by the way.”
I was just about to respond but as I climbed into the passenger side, my attention shot to the back of the jeep, where the scent of sweet deliciousness floated past me. “Oh, my god, what’s that smell?”
She tried to hide a smile as we pulled out of the parking lot. “Pancakes, french toast and mass amounts of bacon. The construction team needs their fuel. There’s plenty if you’re hungry.”
“Thanks. You wouldn’t have a phone charger back there too, would you?”
She giggled back at me as the Jeep cruised back towards the forest, over broken branches and deep puddles. “Afraid not.”
“Any ideas where I could get one from? The woman outside the bakery looked like I was speaking crazy when I asked her.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure Mrs Bell still uses the snail mail.”
“There must be a store open somewhere, right? Oh, and maybe a clothes store. And somewhere I can buy a toothbrush, and a hairbrush. Where’s the nearest mall?”
Maddie laughed and flashed me a curious look. “Did you not pack for the trip? You know the summer camp’s gonna be a couple of months of work, right? Did my dad not explain the job properly?”
I rested my head back and scoffed. “Well, it’s kind of a funny story. All my stuff was in a cabin by the river, and the house got demolished last night in a landslide.”
She whipped her face to me in shock. “Holy shit. That’s terrible, Tia. Are you okay?”
“I’m alive. I guess that counts for something.”
“Well, don’t worry about anything. Dad will help out anyway he can, and I can drive us over to Candace later if you like. They have a strip mall that will be open. You’ll need a car too, right? Murphy’s has rentals, if not then I can ask my boyfriend to find something for you. Oh, and you’ll need a place to stay. The storms made things a little tricky, but I’m sure I can find you somewhere by the end of the day.”
“Whoa. Slow down there. That’s a lot of help for someone you don’t even know.”
Maddie shrugged. “So? You need it, right? Or do you want to sleep on the streets tonight, in a Bluerock sweater?” Her eyebrow lifted with a teasing smile. “It’s cute by the way. I had the pink one when I was in highschool.”
I glanced down at the branded sweater and burst into laughter.
She beamed back over to me. “I find that’s always the best reaction when life throws grenades your way. Just laugh them off.”
She slowed the Jeep down when the camp came into view. It looked to be a large clearing surrounded by lush woodland. A large building sat at the back with four smaller buildings spread out around it. The smaller ones were still in the stages of construction, and water dripped from the beams, pooling out onto the bare foundations.
“Where did you get it?”
I turned to her, confused at the question. “Get what?”
“The tourist merch,” she said with a smirk.
“The ranger. He got me out of the house before it fell and lent me some clothes from the station.”
“Colton?”
“Yeah, you know him?”
“Oh, sure. Everyone knows Colton. Sounds like you were lucky he found you in time.”
I couldn’t help but hear Colton’s voice correcting her that he was the lucky one last night.
As we climbed out of the truck, I felt a pang of guilt for sneaking out of his place this morning. The guy had saved my life and taken care of me. And to thank him, I’d snuck off without a second thought.
But I wasn’t here to make friends or build bonds. I was done with all that. Caring meant pain. It would always end that way, and I’d suffered through enough of it for one lifetime. I had to keep my distance, no matter how friendly people were around here. And that had to start with Colton.
Chapter Eight
Colton
BOOM!
The sound behind my head woke me instantly.
“What the hell? Colton! Let me in!” Patsy’s voice called out through the gap between the desk and the door.
I grunted back to her, trying to clear my grogginess. I never fell asleep on the night shift, but it was understandable after last night’s action. I lifted myself up and glanced over to the sofa by my side. It was empty. “Tia!”
There was no answer. I staggered into the kitchen and noticed her clothes and boots were gone.
“Are you gonna make me wait out here all day? I’ve got to pick the kids up at noon. Open the door, Colton!”
“Yeah, I heard you!” I shot back, cringing at my own harshness. I headed towards the door, shifting the wooden desk out of the way.
Patsy pushed past me as I opened it. “Why’d you barricade the door?”
I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and cleared my throat. “I had a guest. She wanted the door locked. It was the best I could do.”
She took off her red jacket and stretched up to the coat hooks, givin
g me a sly smile. “A guest, huh? On the night shift? Who wanted the door locked? You think I was born yesterday, boy?” She chuckled but stopped when she saw my face. “What the hell happened to your head?”
“Nothing. It’s just a scratch.” I shook away her concern and sank down into my desk chair. “Is the Rayfair’s car still outside?”
“They stayed? I thought you and Carl evacuated the whole park.”
“We did, but they came back, demanding that I find their damn dog for them. They stayed in the Rabbit Hut for the night. Is their car gone?”
She waddled into the kitchen and filled the coffee pot. “Didn’t see anyone out there. The cell phones are back up. Do you want me to call the animal shelter again? See if anyone handed the dog in?”
“I found it. Last night.”
“In the storm?” she asked back, her shock echoing out from the kitchen.
“Um, yeah. It turned up on the porch late last night. Crazy, huh?” I didn’t want to lie to her but it was for the best. She would only scold me for taking such a stupid risk. As for the money, I would just tell her it was an innocent donation from the Rayfair’s. It was as close to the truth as I wanted to go.
Patsy potted around the kitchen, making coffee and rambling on about the storm damage she passed in town. I couldn’t focus though. My mind was on Tia.
She must have snuck out and grabbed a ride with the Rayfairs. Just like that, she was gone. I had a gut feeling she wouldn’t stick around in town much longer. After everything she’d been through on her first night here, why would she?
She hadn’t even waited for me to wake up. Had I scared her off? She seemed more than happy to share my company last night, and had the situation been different, who knows how things would have played out. There was an undeniable spark somewhere in the air. Surely, I couldn’t have been the only one who felt it.
“Um, Colton. What is this?” Patsy appeared in the archway, holding out Tia’s ripped shirt on her index finger. “Quite a night you had by the looks of it. Did you catch her name before you tore her clothes off?”
I rolled my eyes and groaned. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“Oh, really? Because it looks like you had a date up here last night and the Rayfairs crashed it, so you frantically found their dog and stuffed them in the Rabbit Hut. Then you barricaded the door and made the most of the night shift with some lucky lady.”
“I don’t screw around when I’m on shift, Patsy. You know that.”
She placed her hand on her hip, staring me down. “But you can fall asleep in front of the TV.”
“I had a long night,” I argued back.
She held up the shirt again and smirked. “So, I see.”
I wouldn’t win this one. But it didn’t matter. I was far too pissed Tia had slipped through my fingers. “I’m gonna grab a shower. Can you radio Carl to start a sweep along the river? And I need you to contact the owners of the Marigold Cabin. It got hit by a landslide last night.”
“Will do.” She didn’t ask any further questions and instead got to work at the information desk.
* * *
After a hot shower, I downed a cup of coffee and headed out into the bright morning. I left Patsy to man the station. She was much better at those things than me, and we would soon have a huge incoming of calls due to the storm. I couldn’t face it today. I needed to be back out in the wild. A sweep had to be done of the area to assess the extent of the damage. It was the usual procedure after a weather alert.
My truck had taken a beating last night, and although the morning was bright and clear, the trail was still slick with mud. As the tires splashed through the park, my bad mood crept further in.
As soon as I woke to see Tia gone, I felt as if I’d been robbed somehow. It was a beautiful day and my pockets were full, but none of that seemed to matter. My eyes looked over to the passenger side. It was empty, like usual, but for the first time ever, I was pissed about it. Seriously fucking pissed. This gorgeous girl had slipped right through my fingers, and although I knew she wouldn’t stick around for long, I hoped to at least get something more than what I got.
Perhaps she’d woken up and bolted back to New York before anything else could go wrong for her. Afterall, there was only so much shit a person could take, and it made sense that she’d get the hell out of Bluerock and go back home at the first sign of light.
My fingers gripped the steering wheel as I sped past the old lumber mill, towards the new summer camp. I held little hope Tia would be there. She would probably be halfway back to Manhattan by now, but I had to at least check the place out and speak to Roger. He would hear about the Marigold Cabin soon enough, and I didn’t want him fearing the worst had happened to his new artist.
I turned the truck down into the clearing and spotted the construction team already hard at work. A little rain would never have stopped this lot. The summer camp was on a deadline to be open by July for its first round of kids, and Roger wouldn’t let the owners down on that promise. It was far too valuable for the town.
I climbed out of the truck and stretched my knotted up shoulders. Grabbing my jacket and hat, I headed over to the site.
A couple of the builders wandered over to me in overalls and hardhats. “Morning, Ranger. Crazy night, huh?”
“You can say that again.” I replied, a little too prickly.
“Are you looking for the boss man?”
I stuffed my hands in my jacket pockets and nodded. “Yeah, is he around?”
“He’s down by the main building.”
“Thanks.”
I carried on down to the large structure and noticed Roger Anderson’s car parked outside, next to what looked like his daughter’s Jeep. Sure enough as I turned the corner, Maddie was standing behind a picnic table, unwrapping food containers. I strode over to her and forced my bad mood away with a smile. “Nice morning for the ducks, huh Maddie? You got a plate of pancakes there for me too?”
She granted me a huge grin and grabbed an empty container from the table. “I’ll fix you some for the road. No doubt you’ve got a busy day ahead of you.”
“No rest for the wicked, am I right?”
She topped the pancakes with syrup and crispy bacon, and clipped down the lid. My mouth watered. No one cooked like Maddie. The fact that I ate at The Outlaw five times a week was proof of her talents.
“From what I’ve heard, you’ve been pretty busy all night as well. Saving damsels in distress and scared lost puppies. You must be exhausted, Colt. Here.” She handed me the box and went back to work on setting up the rest of the food trays.
My eyes narrowed on her. “How’d you know about that?”
She shrugged. “Tia told me.”
My jaw almost dropped to the floor. “You know Tia?”
“Well, I only met her like an hour ago.”
“She’s still here? In Bluerock?”
“Uh huh. She’s over there, having breakfast with Dad.” She pointed over to a group of picnic tables, underneath a canopy of thick oak trees.
There she was. Beautiful Tia.
A spark shot through my body at the sight of her stuffing her face full of pancakes with her new boss. My feet were already on the move before I could think of what to say.
Roger stood up and waved when he spotted me. “Ranger! Nice day for the ducks, huh?”
I noticed Tia’s back tense up as she spotted me.
Roger looked down at her and chuckled. “A little post-storm humor, Miss Lopez. It keeps the spirits high around here. And who doesn’t love ducks?” He sat back down and picked his fork back up. “Miss Lopez tells me you rescued her from a landslide, last night.”
I stopped at the foot of the table and gave her a playful smile. “Oh, did she now ?”
A tiny flush appeared on her cheeks.
“Yes. Just awful by the sounds of it. I take full responsibility.’’ He leant over the table and gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. “Everything will be replaced though. And I’ll
find you somewhere to stay, fully paid. I can’t lose another artist.”
Tia’s jaw twitched a little at the comment, but she smiled back at him with gratitude. I could see her trying to ignore my looming presence by her side.
“That’s already taken care of, Mr Anderson. Tia will stay in the Rabbit Hut behind the ranger station.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, her head shot up at me, finally acknowledging I was there. “What?”
“It’s vacant and close to your new job.”
Roger beamed up at me. “Perfect. Send me the bill for the lodging, Ranger. Would you like to join us for breakfast?”
“No, thanks, I should get moving. That is as long as everything is alright down here.” I could see the fury burning behind Tia’s eyes. I wasn’t sticking around for her to object to the arrangements made on her behalf.
“Yes, everything is fine over here. Just a little rain on this side.”
“Great. Well, enjoy your pancakes.” I flashed Tia a playful wink and headed back up the gravel path towards the truck. It didn’t take long to hear her footsteps race up from behind me. Once she caught up to me, I stopped and gave her an innocent smile. “Something wrong, Miss Lopez?”
She had the same look my mother had when I was in deep trouble and about to receive the wrath of an angry lady. “What the hell was that?”
“What was what?”
“The Rabbit Hut. Seriously?”
I shook my head, playing dumb and carried on up towards the truck. “I can’t see the problem.”
She stopped me in my tracks again. “I can find my own place to stay, Ranger Haxley.”
“Now you don’t need to. I’ll have the place ready for you by tonight.”
She rubbed her eyes and groaned. “What is with everyone around here? Why is everyone...so...so...”
“ Nice .”
“Yes! Exactly. Nice .” She pointed back over to the picnic area. “You see that blonde woman over there?”
“Maddie?”
“She gave me a ride up here and breakfast. And before that, some old lady in town gave me a free coffee and a cookie.” She lifted her hands up in disbelief. “I mean, what the hell, right?” Her voice had gone all squeaky, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. She rambled on, pacing the mud covered ground. “Duck jokes. Rain jokes. Bending over backwards for people you don’t even know. Has nobody around here ever heard of stranger-danger?”
Lost at Heart: A Steamy Small Town Romance (Bluerock Series Book 2) Page 6
