by Rye Hart
Of course my art was more important than him. Because Daryl was a dick.
When are you coming back?
What part of breaking up did he not understand? He was out of his mind if he thought I was going to come back. Not after all the fights and all the digs and jabs I endured just to try and see the good in him. I gave him everything, until I had nothing more to give.
After everything I gave you, the least you could do is answer me.
I picked up my phone and opened the messenger. I poised my fingers to fly across the screen as my vision began to turn red. I crafted response after response of hurtful accusations in my head, debating on which one to send him that would shut him up for good.
But I knew that wasn’t the answer. I didn’t want to bring more pain into an already fucked up situation. The plain fact was we weren’t right for each other. I was going to take the high road now and cut my losses.
Settling on a message for my ex, my fingers worked. I kept it short and sweet, telling him that we both needed to accept the reality of the situation. We had our chance, and now it was time for us to go our separate ways and that I wished him the best. No grudges. No hard feelings.
Then I sent the message and turned off my phone so I could enjoy the rest of the flight. I needed time to think.
While I had some success with my art in New York, I hadn’t reached the potential I knew I had inside of me. I was told my work wasn’t modern enough or sharp enough for the audience that the city attracted. Some galleries suggested that I should try going to the Midwest or even down south.
What the hell did that even mean?
My grandmother’s death chipped away at my soul, but it dropped the one thing I needed in my lap more than anything else. Whenever I was at her cabin, I always felt safe, blanketed from a harsh world that could swallow me whole. I’d fought my entire life to keep two feet on the ground instead of allowing myself to become a victim.
When my grandmother’s lawyer sent me the letter notifying me the house was mine, it couldn’t have been better timing. Gigi always had a way of saying and doing things that were necessary at the moment they were needed most. I had no idea the adventure I was setting myself on by moving going back to North Carolina, but part of me understood I had no choice. I was excited about this new chapter ahead.
With that said, I was also scared shitless.
The plane landed at Asheville Regional, and I had just enough money to pick up a rental car. It was a compact car and would struggle over the mountainous terrain of my home town, but it was all I could afford. I shoved my suitcases into the car, stuffing it to the brim, then reached for my phone to turn it back on. Besides the bombardment of text messages from my ex, I saw I also had a few missed calls from my best friend. I smiled and dialed the phone.
“Hello beautiful.”
“Manda! Thank the earth. Have you landed?”
“Yep. Getting into my rental car now and heading to the cabin.”
“How was the flight?” she asked.
“Besides the endless texts from Daryl, it went smoothly.”
“Daryl? The fuck was he messaging you for?”
“He was offended that I left without saying anything to him.”
“You said all you had to a month ago.”
“I know, but apparently it wasn’t enough. I kept my response short and sweet, and I shut my phone off after I sent the message,” I said.
“Oh, I bet he loved that. The control freak who has no control.”
“Yep.”
“What are your plans for the day?” she asked. “And what does this cabin look like anyway?”
“I mean, it’s a cabin,” I said. “So it looks like a cabin.”
“Don’t be a smartass,” she said. “Give me the details. Is it well-kept? Clean? Was your grandmother a hoarder?”
“No, she wasn’t,” I said, giggling. “I don’t really have any plans other than to get to the cabin and take a look at it. But I know my Gigi. That woman hated change. It probably looks the same as it did the day I left for college.”
“Did she keep it tidy, though?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“Then hopefully that means it’s still been kept up despite her nursing home stay.”
“Let’s hope so,” I said.
“Did the attorney send you any pictures of it?” she asked.
“A few. Mostly of the outside and the yard. From the few pictures I was given, though, it looks to be in okay shape.”
“Define okay.”
“I mean, the grass was a bit long in the pictures and gravel rocks from the driveway are scattered places, but the outside looks fine,” I said.
“What about the other pictures?” she asked.
“There were two of the inside. One was of the living room, which looked bare but fine. The other was of her room, which looked pretty dark and dusty.”
“Just like your crotch lately,” she said, giggling.
“Haha, very funny. Either way, as long as I can settle in it I’ll be okay. I can clean it up and mow the lawn, that’s not the issue. I don’t have the money for a motel or anything.”
“If you need the money, you know I’ve got you.”
“Thanks, Sarah. But I promise I’m okay,” I said.
“Well, don’t hesitate to ask. You know I’m only a phone call away.”
“I do,” I said. “Thanks.”
“Don’t let that asshole Daryl get to you, and stay safe. Where are you now that you’re driving?”
“Winding up the mountain, actually. The cabin should come into view any—”
I rounded the last bend in the mountain before my grandmother’s house came into view. I felt the breath leave my lungs as I pulled the rental car into the sparse gravel driveway. The pictures had been misleading at best and must’ve been taken when the light was just right.
Because this place was a wreck.
“Amanda? What’s wrong?”
“Uh, nothing,” I said. “Just memories,” I mumbled.
What the hell happened to my grandmother’s home?
“Are you sure?” Sarah asked.
“Positive. It’s all a bit much.”
“Okay. Because you sound worried,” she said.
“Well, you don’t worry about me. I’m going to see you in a few days, right? You’re still coming out?”
“Of course. I’ll be driving, though. I can’t afford to haul all this art stuff of yours onto an airplane.”
“You’re the best, you know that right?” I asked.
“Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”
I shut off the car and got out before I approached the porch. The wood was splintering, and the facade of the house was faded. There was a cracked window that gazed into the living room, and it was easy to see how much dust had accumulated over the years.
It was like no one fucking touched the house after my grandmother went to the nursing home.
“I’m sure,” I said. “I only need some time to breathe and get settled.”
“So you can stay there?” Sarah asked.
“Yep,” I said. “I can. I’ll take some time to tidy up, and I’ll call you back.”
“You can shoot me a text if you want. I want to keep tabs on you. I still don’t know why you insisted on me coming out a few days after you, so I want to make sure you’re okay through all this.”
“I’m strong. I’ll be okay,” I said.
“I know you’re strong. But even strong people have their weak moments.”
“Thanks, Oprah. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Call or text soon. Otherwise, you might find me on your doorstep sooner than you expected.”
“Love you, Sarah.”
“Love you, too, Manda.”
I ended the call - then proceeded to blurt out every curse word known to man.
CHAPTER 2
BRIAN
I could do this shit all day.
The ax felt solid in my hands as I broug
ht it down onto a stump of wood. The methodical movements always calmed my mind. The wood splintered, and the ax stopped. The sounds of nature yielding to my strength made me feel powerful and strong in a world that had taken everything from me.
The sun was bearing down on my back as the sounds of my niece drifted from the house. She and the nanny were running around, burning energy like a camp fire with driest of woods. Those were the only two sounds that could calm me, the sound of nature, and the sound of Lanie.
They gave me solace in a world where peace and harmony were a myth.
Shoving the wood off to the side, I pulled a rag from my pocket. I’d been chopping wood for the past two hours, and I could drops of sweat running down my back. My muscles ached, and my body was roasting in the sun, even as the air around me dropped to a cool forty degrees. The mountains of North Carolina had fickle weather, and while its winters weren’t harsh, the temperatures at night easily plummeted to below ten degrees.
And we used our last supply of wood last night to burn for heat.
I heaved another stump of wood onto the bench before I heard something off in the distance. Out here, it was mostly the rustling of trees and the chirping of birds. Unless it was the nanny coming up the driveway to tend to Lanie, there were no other man-made sounds. No heavy machinery, no cars buzzing by. No ambulances with their sirens and no children laughing as they got off school buses.
The sudden sound of a car off in the distance caught my attention.
I shared this face of the mountain with another home, but it hadn’t been occupied in at least four years. I leaned against my ax as I listened to the noise of the car on the road, hoping the vehicle wouldn’t come any farther.
I hated meeting new people.
I purchased this cabin, assuming the house down the road would remain abandoned. That last thing I wanted was neighbors who felt the need to be friendly.
Whisking Lanie away to this secluded paradise was the best damn thing I could’ve done for both of us. After the unforeseen death of my sister, I was the only one Lanie had left in the world and I’d be damned if I left her to fend for herself. She was much too innocent for this world.
The sound of the car shut off, and I went back to chopping wood. I didn’t care who was coming to tend to the house. After being abandoned for so many years, it probably needed a lot of work. I checked up on it every now and again, seeing if there was a “for sale” sign in the yard. If anything, I thought I could purchase it so no one else could live up here alongside us.
I never saw a “for sale” sign, so I figured the house had been abandoned, left behind by someone with no family while it rotted away on its foundation. The wood desperately needed to be treated and some of it probably needed to be replaced altogether. No matter the condition of the house, however, I hoped the person pulling up to it was the type to keep to themselves.
I wasn’t a hospitable person, nor was I willing to expose Lanie to some stranger.
I sliced stump after stump, knocking them off to the side. I was quickly building a stash that would last us for the rest of the winter. I had to start thinking about dinner since the nanny couldn’t stay late tonight, and I groaned just thinking about it. If my calculations were correct, I was due for a grocery trip within the next two days.
Which meant going into town and dealing with people. Shit.
“Aaaahhhh!”
The shrill shrieking sound of a woman’s voice pierced the air, and I whipped my head around to see who it was. The ax dropped from my hand as Lanie ran out onto the porch, the nanny on her heels as she swooped her up. The scream happened again, but this time it was more frantic, so I turned around to the two on the porch and held out my hand.
“Stay here,” I said.
I took off down the road and followed the path to the noise. It led me right up to the neglected home, the front door hanging open on its rusted hinges. I leaped onto the porch and barreled into the house, choking on the dust that flew into my face.
Through the dust, I was able to make out a woman who was stuck in the flight of stairs.
Her head whipped around to me and her eyes practically stopped me in my tracks. They were piercing green eyes and contrasted against her raven black hair. She was a sight for sore eyes. Even though she had a startled look on her face, I could see the stunning features of her face clear as day.
I strode over to the woman and took her in my arms, pulling her from the staircase and carrying her over to the couch.
She wrapped her arms around me, and I could feel her warmth; the way her luscious breasts pressed into my body and the way her curves sat against my muscles. It didn’t even occur to me that I still didn’t have my shirt on until I sat her on the couch, and her eyes lingered a little too long on my chest.
A dainty flush rose to her cheeks before she drew in a shuddering breath. Her skin was like porcelain, and her lips were glistening, drawing my eyes to them as my breath hitched in my throat.
“Thank you,” she said.
Even with the tears in her voice, it felt like silk against my ears.
Sitting on the rickety coffee table, I reached over for her leg.
“May I?” I asked
She nodded.
I gently picked up her leg. She was bleeding and badly scraped up. I couldn’t see how severe the gash in her leg was, but I could see several splinters that would need to be pulled, and her leg needed to be disinfected and bandaged.
“I guess the wood gave way underneath me,” she said.
I slowly rose my gaze to hers as I rolled her pants leg up.
“Doesn’t shock me,” I said.
I stopped rolling up her pant leg and allowed my hands to rest on her knee. I started pushing her knee cap around, making sure nothing was dislocated or broken. I slowly worked my way down until I got to the top of her bleeding shin, and that was when I saw her flinch.
I found myself curious as to why she was here.
“Do you live around here?” she asked.
Strike one. She wanted to be friendly.
“Down the road,” I said.
“Did you—?”
My eyes slowly rose back up to hers before I moved her leg down to the floor.
Her eyes were still roaming my body, and I had to bite back my smirk. I allowed my eyes to linger on her as she took in her fill, clocking her prominent cleavage. Her stomach was toned, and her waist dipped in before flaring into a pair of thighs that had my tongue begging for a taste. She was a gorgeous woman who was in way over her head with a place like this.
“Did I what?” I asked.
Her eyes snapped back up to mine before her neck flushed with that beautiful pink hue.
“Did you know the woman who used to live here?” she asked.
There was sadness in her eyes as she asked the question. Like she was searching for some kindred spirit to share in her anguish.
Of course, I didn’t fucking know anyone. That was the whole point of moving up here. No people, no women, and no fusses.
“No,” I said. “Can’t say I did.”
She nodded her head and looked away before her eyes gazed down at her leg.
“What exactly were you thinking when you came up here all alone in a place like this?” I asked.
“Sorry?”
“This place isn’t for someone like you,” I said.
“Someone like me?” she asked. “What does that mean?”
“No offense, but you don’t strike me as the mountain gal type.”
“I’ll have you know I grew up in this home,” she said.
That piqued my interest.
Pushing me away, she got up onto her leg before she yelped. I jumped up and caught her before she hit the floor, cursing her as she went down. She was a stubborn woman, and I had no time for any drama. Hell, I hardly had time for myself.
“What the hell are you doing?” I asked.
“Getting to my purse,” she said.
“What’s in your purse?�
�� I asked, grunting. “A pair of crutches?”
“The papers from my grandmother’s attorney stating that this cabin is rightfully mine.”
Steadying her on her feet, I helped her over to the bag on the floor. She bent down as blood dripped down her leg. She needed to be cleaned up before some sort of infection set in, but as she rummaged around in her purse, I relented.
If she wanted to look for some paperwork instead of getting to a doctor, fine by me.
“Here,” she said as she unfolded the papers. “Take a look.”
“I don’t care about the papers,” I said. “I was only wondering what the hell a girl like you was doing alone in a place like this.”
I took the papers from her anyway and scanned them.
There were pictures of the house, and I could see why this woman was so shocked. The pictures did this house way too much justice. Whoever took these damn photos got the lighting just right and probably showcased the only two rooms in the house that had any decent structure to them. This woman had been gifted a cabin that wasn’t fit for animals to live in, much less a human being.
But as she looked around the cabin, I could see the memories it held for her.
I wondered if she was haunted by her memories like I was haunted by mine.
Strike two. Now, this woman had me feeling sorry for her.
“Your leg needs to be patched,” I said as I handed her the papers back.
“Thanks for the advice,” she said.
“I have a first aid kit at my place.”
“Are you a doctor?” she asked.
“Nope. But you don’t need stitches, and I have everything I need to clean you up.”
“No, thanks. My mother taught me all about stranger danger.”
“I teach my niece that, too,” I said.
She turned her eyes to look at me, and I was struck by their beauty again.
“Your niece?” she asked.
“Yep. Niece and a nanny. You can meet them. Let’s get you to my place and clean you up. Then, you can be on your way.”
“Something tells me you would like that,” she said.
“No one moves to the top of a mountain to socialize.”
