by Cindi Madsen
I swear, next time I see him, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind. I might’ve already given him back the necklace, but I’ve got plenty of things for him to stick where the sun don’t shine.
Anger rose, taking over the calm she’d felt when she first pulled up. She exhaled and took a drink of the large Coke she’d grabbed when she’d filled her car with gas. No letting that guy ruin the moment she’d looked forward to for days. No letting him into this special place at all.
After a quick glance around to double-check she was alone, she ditched her pants suit and heels for shorts and her canvas ballet flats, sticking with the lacy tank top she’d worn under her jacket. Then she stepped outside and took a breath of the crisp, earthen air.
Ah, I’m home.
The large Victorian building in front of her had seen better days. Each year it’d gotten more run-down, and Quinn took in the barely-hanging-in-there shutters, the sagging porch, and the roof stripped of most of its shingles.
The porch steps creaked under her weight, conveying their offense at being neglected for so long. Quinn placed her hand on one of the weather-roughened beams. “We’ll get you all fixed up, don’t you worry.”
She talked to buildings regularly, although usually not so lovingly. But this one—this one was going to be her baby. Quinn looked around again, a tinge of worry pinching her gut. Technically, she might be trespassing. But was it really trespassing to inspect a property you’d put a bid on?
Total gray area, if you asked her, and gray areas were her home base. The screen door screeched as if it meant to make her eardrums bleed, and then it went ahead and clattered off its hinges, nearly hitting her on the way down. She stared at the warped metal, now diagonal and propped against the old swing where she and Sobo Machi had spent several hours together. They liked to watch the sun dip low in the sky and marvel at the way it turned everything orange and pink right before dusk. They’d never seen sunsets like that in the city. Too many buildings in the way.
Quinn pushed open the heavy door that’d held up rather well compared to everything else and stepped inside. Dust and cobwebs covered every inch, and a bird’s nest sat on top of the mantel of the fireplace. Sunlight streamed through the hole in the roof where the birds must’ve come in, spotlighting the warped wooden floor planks.
Last time she and Sadie had sneaked into the place back in high school, that hole hadn’t been there. Everywhere she looked she noted more repairs that needed to be done. She’d thought she was prepared, but the weight of the project and how much money it’d cost pressed against her. It’s okay. That’s what loans are for.
I make a good loan candidate, right? Ignoring the anxiety trying to bind her lungs, she passed the large rooms where people had gathered to enjoy the fire or board games, walked through the dining room where she’d sat around the table with her family, two other families, and the old owners, and peeked inside the kitchen.
“This room’s not so bad.” Her voice sounded so loud in the quiet that it didn’t even seem like hers. But the kitchen had obviously been remodeled shortly before they’d shut down. The walls, ceiling, and counters were dusty, but not broken. Large gaps remained where the appliances had been—they’d probably sold those. But a good scrubbing and coat of paint or two, and this room would be good to go. Since the heart of most homes was the kitchen, she took that as a good omen.
I can’t wait to make those vanilla-almond Belgian waffles with fruit and whipped cream and serve them to guests so I can watch their faces light up, the way mine must’ve when I first had one. She’d thought she’d died and gone to food heaven.
She and Sobo Machi had sneaked seconds and called it brunch, even though they’d already had breakfast and had gone ahead and ate lunch at the diner a few hours later as well.
After checking upstairs, her hope and excitement grew. The animals and weather hadn’t hit it as hard as on the bottom floor, and the bedrooms, while dirty and sporting peeling floral wallpaper, were also in pretty good shape. The bones were all there.
Quinn ducked into the last room—the one she, Maya, and Sobo Machi had stayed in. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, thinking back to when Sobo had pulled her aside—Quinn had made a loud joke during dinner, which had earned her dirty looks from her parents, so she’d been sure she was about to get into trouble.
Sobo had patted the bed and Quinn had sat next to her, hanging her head.
“Quinn-chan, you are a very smart, funny girl,” Sobo said. “You will move mountains. It’s important to be respectful and learn when to speak, but it’s also important to keep that spark. To apply it for good. Wakarimashita ka?”
Quinn had nodded to show that she did understand, although she wasn’t sure she did. Not then.
But now she did. Sobo had seen how driven she was through the jokes and inability to keep from saying whatever popped into her head. She hadn’t wanted to put out the spark but teach her how and when to use it. Quinn could’ve used her guidance longer, but she’d never forgotten that talk.
“I’m trying to apply it for good, Sobo,” she said to the dusty room, envisioning it the way she wanted it to be when she got through with it. The wallpaper would be replaced with a vintage-looking wall treatment; a big four-poster bed would sit in the center of the room, a cozy bedspread draped across it, and she’d place antique touches here and there, to give it that country-meets-luxury sort of feel. “I think I can make a difference here in Hope Springs. I can be the person who introduces it to people, the way that I got introduced to it when I needed it most.”
Sure, there was the gossip and everyone in your business, but those people were also the ones who spread the word when someone needed help. As a community, they took care of one another, and all the wide-open space after living in the city made Quinn want to go outside and spin circles until she fell in the grass, the way she used to as a girl.
She headed downstairs and paused at the doorway, glancing at the front area where people used to check in. She wanted to be the one there to greet travelers who were staying for a while or just passing through. She wanted to give families outside activities to grow closer. Wanted to be a reprieve from busy life. She wanted to sit around that big table in the dining room and meet new people over amazing food.
Longing wound itself around her heart and spread through every inch of her. This is where I belong. Maybe she’d never find a man who would respect her decision about sex and marriage, but if she had this place, she was pretty sure it wouldn’t matter. She could laugh and be herself, and she knew she could help people have one of their best vacations ever.
If that was all she had in her life—that and Sadie living next door—that’d be enough.
Quinn headed back outside, blinking at the bright sunlight. She dug her keys out of her shorts, thinking maybe she’d head over to Second Chance Ranch and try to catch Sadie. Even tagging along as she fed horses or talked to the teens would be a nice way to end her hectic week.
A loud rattle cut through her thoughts and she glanced down just in time to see her foot hovering over a massive rattlesnake, pale yellow and brown, blended perfectly into the tall grass. A scream burst out of her mouth, and she jumped back, flinging her arms. The keys went flying, and the snake rattled louder, raising its head from its coiled body, arching and ready to strike.
Quinn’s heart hammered against her rib cage, pumping fear and adrenaline in massive waves that took her breath away. The snake sat between her and the door of her car and she wasn’t even sure where her keys had landed—with her luck, probably right by the snake. The dark forked tongue darted in and out of its mouth as it continued to rattle.
Her brain chose that moment to recall facts about how fast rattlesnakes struck, along with images of bruised and swollen skin from the poison-filled bites. If that thing got her, someone would find her days later, swollen like a black balloon and not even resembling herself. Not to mention the fried red skin from the sun and any other critters who came alon
g and decided to take up residence in her carcass.
The snake reared up again and Quinn backpedaled, spouting swearwords and shuddering. She quickly checked around her feet to make sure the cold-blooded creature hadn’t summoned its family members to surround her and take her out. The coast was clear, so she took a few more slow steps backward. Another couple landed her on the porch.
Her rapid pulse throbbed through her head, and she wasn’t sure her heart rate would ever return to normal again. She dug into her pocket, pulled out the phone that she thanked the stars she still had possession of in spite of the fact that these pockets left it hanging halfway out, and called up Sadie.
“Oh, thank goodness,” she said when Sadie answered. “I need you and Royce to come rescue me. I’m at Mountain Ridge and there’s a giant pissed-off rattlesnake next to my car.”
The few seconds of silence nearly gave her a stroke. “Royce and I are at a horse sale,” Sadie said. “We’re hours away.”
Quinn gulped. “What about Cory?”
“He’s with us. And Royce’s mom is off with Sheila—they’re doing a spa day, since we’re between groups of kids at the alternative youth camp right now.”
“Shit. I’m not even really supposed to be here. If I call anyone in town, word will spread and then I’ll never get the property. Either they’ll be upset I checked it out without asking for permission, or they’ll think I can’t handle it.”
“Just a second…”
Sadie explained the situation to Royce and Cory, who laughed—she was seriously going to kill them next time she saw them. Sadie scolded them for her. Then she heard Royce say, “Tell her to get a large stick and scare if off. Make sure she keeps the head back so she doesn’t get bitten, though.”
“You’ve met Quinn, right?” Sadie asked, which was exactly what Quinn would’ve said to him. She wasn’t going near the thing. Not with a ten-foot pole. And not so that she could enrage it further and give it a reason to hunt her down and poison her with as many bites as possible.
Quinn didn’t quite catch the next thing Royce said. Then Sadie’s voice came through loud and clear again. “Call Heath.”
“Are you insane? I’m not calling him of all people! He’ll use it against me.”
“He won’t.”
“The last time I talked to him I was crying in the parking lot over my breakup,” Quinn said. “If he sees me as weak, he’ll use it.”
“Or maybe you’ll use it, because you’ll show him that while you’re terrified of snakes, you’re a shark when it comes to real estate.”
“I’m not calling him. I’ll…I’ll figure out something.”
“Quinn, come on. I’m going to be so pissed at you if you die right now.”
“I’ll just wait out the snake. It’s good—gives me time to explore the place a little more. You enjoy the sale.”
“…me know if…okay?” Wyoming was half dead zones, with internet capability on the road nonexistent, so even getting through to Sadie in the first place was rather miraculous. Sounded like their five minutes of clear service was up. At least now someone knew where to find the body if the worst happened.
“Don’t worry,” Quinn said, not even sure Sadie could hear her anymore. “If the snake’s still here after I’m done looking around, I’ll call someone.” It was a bluff. She couldn’t risk it. Worst-case scenario, she’d wait here until Sadie, Royce, and Cory got back. Maybe she’d test out the dusty beds—that’d be fun.
Sadie’s response was too garbled to make out.
After Quinn hung up, she tucked her phone in her bra, thinking it’d do a more secure job of holding it than her tiny pockets, and surveyed the area once again. Exploring wouldn’t seem so intimidating if she wasn’t now paranoid there were dozens of snakes waiting for her. Careful of where she stepped, she headed around the back of the B and B. She checked out the rusted, dirt-encased patio furniture—that’d definitely need to be replaced. She sat in the cracked tire swing, bouncing to make sure it’d hold her, and then kicked off and pumped her legs.
Swings always seemed so magical as a kid, but while soaring through the air still made her stomach rise up, the tire hurt her butt and the off-balance twisting made her dizzy. The rope kept creaking, too, and she eyed the branch, sure it was about to crack. Okay, now that I feel old and heavy…
She jumped down and checked her phone. She’d managed to kill almost thirty minutes. Her stomach growled, and she put a hand over it. In her excitement to get here, she hadn’t bothered with lunch.
Two large rocks caught her eye. Quinn wiggled them from their half-embedded spots in the dirt and gripped one in each hand. Maybe this will work. At least they’ve got a farther-distance-away-from-the-snake-reach than a stick.
She hoped she wouldn’t need them, but fortune didn’t seem to be on her side today, so backup was a good idea. She rounded the house and crept closer to her car, still keeping a generous amount of space between her and where she’d last seen Mister Fangs. No rattling seemed like a good sign, but as she hesitantly moved closer, she saw the fat snake coiled in the same place, happily soaking up the sun, the bastard.
Quinn launched one of the rough, coconut-size rocks at the disgusting reptile. It landed about a foot in front of it, not even getting a reaction. Guess I should’ve paid more attention in PE.
Come on, you can do it. Then you can get in your car and reward yourself with a large burger and fries, followed by a banana split at the Dairy Freeze.
This time, she put more oomph into her throw. The rock pelted the side of her car with a loud smack, denting the door. It then bounced close enough to the snake to send it rattling and doing the wavy head dance while poking out its tongue—she swore it was mocking her.
“Argh! Just move already!”
The sound of an engine droned in the distance, growing louder by the second. She squinted at the road, and in between the trees and cloud of dust, she spotted a familiar black truck. Oh, Sadie, what have you done?
While she wanted to be mad, a traitorous surge of relief calmed the panic that’d taken up residence in her chest. Her car and her nerves could only handle so many more rock tosses.
The truck turned, the motorcycle strapped in back like it’d been last weekend, and then Heath’s features sharpened into relief. Same scruffy chin, same black hat, same criminally good-looking face. He parked and got out of the truck.
She’d started to think she’d exaggerated how hot he was, but nope. The guy was hotter than any guy should be allowed to be. She lifted her chin, doing her best to act nonchalant. “I told Sadie I was fine.”
“Well, she told me that if her best friend died of a rattlesnake bite, she’d hold me personally responsible. With how much time I have to spend with her, I’d rather she not be plotting vengeance during it. I’ll turn around to tune my guitar one day, only to get choked by the cord of a microphone. No, thanks.” Heath reached into the back of his truck and lifted out a shovel. “Now, where is it?”
Quinn pointed. The closer Heath got to the snake, the more space she put between herself and the two of them. “I think this is a bad idea. Don’t you have a gun? I think long-range killing would work best.”
“So now you’re okay with guns?”
She opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. No matter what she said right now, he’d use it to defend his hunting lodge—this was exactly why she hadn’t called him. Maybe she should’ve taken her chances with someone from the town committee. “If you get bitten, I’m not taking responsibility. I’ll try to get you to the ER, but considering the snake will probably come after me next, your odds aren’t going to be great.”
He chuckled and looked at her, amusement clear on his features as he continued to advance on the snake.
“Pay attention to where you’re stepping! It’s going to bite you and then you’re not going to be laughing.” Quinn slapped a hand over her eyes, not wanting to watch. But then not watching seemed freakier, so she took another step back and bit at her
thumbnail.
The snake rattled as Heath approached, shovel in hand. It struck and Heath batted its head away with the shovel and then brought the blade down on its neck, leaving the air blissfully rattle-free.
And that instinctual caveman-cavewoman–type attraction that must’ve occurred when the man brought back a saber-toothed tiger for dinner twisted Quinn’s gut. She hated to admit it, but holy hell, that was hotter than it should’ve been. Her ovaries stood at attention, shouting, You man, me woman. Put baby in here now.
Heath picked up the back half of the snake. “I like to use everything I hunt. So I’m thinking rattle bracelet for you, and we can share some rattlesnake stew. Sound like a plan?”
She wasn’t sure if he was kidding or not. “I’m…good.”
He laughed and tossed the snake’s tail at her. She shrieked and jumped out of the way. “Jerk!”
“I believe the words you’re looking for are ‘thank you.’” He bent down and picked something off the ground that rattled in a metallic, non-snake way. “Did you toss your keys at it?”
“Not on purpose. It startled me and they sorta flew, so…” She stepped over the first rock and took the keys. “I tried rocks.” She wasn’t sure why she admitted that.
Heath squatted and ran his hand over the ding in her door. “I can see that.” He twisted his face toward hers. “Bring it to Rod’s Auto Repair and we can fix it up. I’ll only charge you double,” he said as he shot her a grin.
When he straightened, their bodies were suddenly only a few inches apart. Too close, but she couldn’t seem to make herself move away.
