The Bitterroot Inn

by Devney Perry

  “Beau.” Sabrina grabbed Beau’s jeans pocket and tugged hard. “Move it, Goliath.”

  Beau slumped down into his seat so Hunter could shuffle between me and Felicity. “Hi.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Everything okay?”

  I shook my head and looked to my feet. If I looked in his eyes—those beautiful eyes that I saw each night before drifting off to sleep—I’d flip out.

  Why wouldn’t he just open up to me? Why did he have to keep secrets? After everything I’d confessed to him, why wasn’t he willing to trust me with his past?

  I hated how this was bringing back feelings from when I’d dated Everett.

  Oblivious to my frustration, Hunter touched the back of his hand to my cheek. A doctor inspecting his patient. “What’s wrong? Are you sick? You look pale.”

  I shook my head.

  “Too much sugar at the bake sale.” Gigi rescued me again. “So, Hunter, I know it’s been a few years, but do you remember Jess, my husband?”

  Hunter turned sideways and shook hands with Jess. “Hi. Good to see you again.”

  Before Jess could respond, Gigi kept at the introductions. “And do you remember my sister-in-law, Felicity Grant, and her husband, Silas?”

  “Hi.” Hunter waved at Felicity and Silas sitting on his other side. “Good to see you both again. The last time I was here you weren’t married yet. Congratulations. And I see you’re expanding the Grant crew.”

  “Yes, this is Victoria.” Felicity bounced her daughter on her knees.

  They all chitchatted for a few minutes, but all I could think about was that Hunter knew my friends. My stomach bunched tighter and I closed my eyes.

  Hunter knew my friends.

  And they knew him, probably better than I did. Hunter had said once that he’d been to Prescott before. That had been an understatement. He’d actually lived here. All this time, I’d been thinking he was new to town, that he’d only ever been here to visit once before, but all of my assumptions had been wrong. He was a part of the community. My best friend was his coworker. Jess and Felicity’s mom had been his patient.

  He was the “new doctor” I’d heard mentioned a year ago. He was the “new doctor” that had decided to move back to Prescott. And I hadn’t been avoiding “new doctor” like I’d thought.

  I’d been sleeping with him.

  No wonder his name had sounded familiar the first day we’d met. I’d heard it in passing around town.

  Damn it. Of all the professions in the world, why did he have to be a doctor? And why hadn’t he told me? That was a detail I’d needed to know.

  “Hunter!” Coby launched himself into our backs, jolting us forward. “Is it time for hot dogs yet?”

  “Not quite, bud. Let’s wait until the rodeo starts and then we’ll go get dinner. Is that okay with you?” Hunter asked me.

  “Fine,” I mumbled.

  Fine. Things were far from fine.

  Hunter was the doctor that had been hired into Everett’s vacant position. He was the doctor my friends called Dr. Calvin Klein.

  And I had been clueless.

  I’d been dutifully respecting his privacy.

  He’d been dutifully keeping me in the dark.

  Snippets of conversations ran through my mind. I replayed discussions at the dinner table. All perfect times for him to tell me about his job or that he’d lived in Prescott before. Hell, I’d asked him point-blank at The Black Bull.

  “Have you been here before or did you move here blind?”

  His answer? “I was here once.”

  An understatement from a man committed to keeping me at arm’s length.

  Just like Everett.

  And who was I? I was the stupid woman who hadn’t learned her lesson from the first doctor she’d dated.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer blared over the speakers. “Please rise and remove your hats for our national anthem.”

  We all obeyed and stood, crossing our right hands on our hearts as we watched the rodeo queen ride her horse around the arena with the American flag.

  “Coby, be quiet please.” I twisted to give my order at the same time Jess shushed Ben.

  As The Star-Spangled Banner filled the air, I took a few deep breaths, relieved for the inch separating me from Hunter.

  The surprise of learning Hunter’s job was fading. Now I was just mad and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

  I was going to have to suffer through tonight. As much as I wanted answers from Hunter, the rodeo—with all of Jamison County watching—was not the place to get into a fight.

  So when the anthem stopped, I sat down, clamped my mouth shut and let Hunter wrap his arm around me again. Then I watched as the rodeo got into full swing and listened as my friends laughed and talked.

  “How are you liking Prescott this time around?” Silas asked Hunter.

  “It’s been great,” he answered, rubbing my arm. “I missed the slower pace when I was in Chicago. The year I was here before got me hooked.”

  “You’ve been gone for what, a year?” Felicity asked.

  “Year and a half.”

  I closed my eyes and took a long, slow breath trying to calm my temper. What an informative conversation. Maybe I’d know more about Hunter if I had brought him around my friends sooner. The privacy he seemed to covet with me had vanished in good company.

  “Do you have a house?” Felicity asked.

  “Yeah, I’m building one up in the foothills.”

  “Up Fan Mountain Road?” Silas asked.

  Hunter nodded. “The crew is actually finishing this week. I’ve been staying at the motel while they wrap up construction.”

  Hey! Something I actually know about my boyfriend. Apparently, the only thing he felt like talking to me about was his house.

  “How are you liking the hospital?” Sabrina asked.

  “It’s great. One of the best I’ve worked at. It’s small, but they’ve got a great setup.” Hunter looked behind him and smiled at Sara and Gigi. “That and I’ve got amazing coworkers.”

  The conversation continued and, with it, my frustration. Thirty minutes into the rodeo, the event crew was switching out the barrel racing to bare-bronc riding and I was in desperate need of a break.

  I stood and bent for my purse. “I’m going down to get some dinner.”

  Hunter rose from his seat. “Do you want help?”

  “I’ll get it for you,” Beau said. “Coby, want to come with me to get hot dogs?”

  “No, I’ll g—”

  “And chips!” Coby abandoned his playmates in favor of his uncle.

  “Do you guys want anything?” Beau asked me and Hunter.

  “I can go down, really,” I insisted but Beau just shook his head.

  “If you’re not feeling well, you should stay. I’m hungry anyway. Be back in a flash.” He hoisted Coby up on his shoulders and they descended the stairs, stealing my reprieve.

  I dropped back to the bench and kicked my purse under my seat. Hunter’s arm found my shoulders again and I aimed my eyes at the rodeo. A rider was settling on top of a horse in a chute at the far side of the arena.

  A few minutes later, the buzzer rang and the chute’s gate flew open as the horse came bucking out, its back hooves at least six feet off the dirt. The rider’s free arm shot behind him for balance as he fought to keep his seat, but the horse was too much. With one hard buck, the rider went flying sideways, losing his hold on the rigging.

  But before he could clear the horse, the animal turned and bucked again, slamming its hooves into the rider’s side. The horse moved again, but the rider didn’t. He lay unmoving with his face in the dirt.

  An immediate hush fell over the crowd as people sat on the edges of their seats. All eyes were locked on the motionless body. The only movement was from the rodeo team who were corralling the bucking horse into the opposite side of the arena to release its flank strap.

  At the same time the horse ran out of the arena,
the county ambulance rushed in.

  Hunter stood and dug my car keys out of his pocket, tossing them into my lap. “I’m going down.”

  “Okay.” I nodded, grateful for that rider’s sake that Hunter was a doctor. As I swung my knees out of the way, Hunter slid by. “I’ll just leave your truck keys in the gas cap.”

  He acknowledged me with a wave right before he bounded down the steps two at a time. When he hit the railing, he planted his hands on the top bar and vaulted over the edge and down six feet into the dirt. Then he ran over to join the EMTs and assess the rider.

  The stands were deathly quiet; even the kids had stopped making noise. We all just sat perfectly still and stared as the emergency crew and Hunter strapped the rider onto a backboard and loaded him into the ambulance destined for the hospital.

  The only relief came right before the ambulance’s doors closed and the rider lifted up a hand and waved.

  Hundreds of relieved sighs joined the early evening breeze.

  “I hope he’s okay,” Sabrina said.

  I nodded. “Me too.”

  We sat, leaning together, as the emcee asked for a moment of silence before the rodeo resumed.

  The rider’s accident dulled the crowd’s mood and gave me an even stronger desire to flee. Gigi would want the full story about my relationship with Hunter, but I didn’t have answers. Not anymore.

  “I think I’m going to go.” I grabbed my purse.

  “Are you sure?” Sabrina asked.

  “What? Not yet,” Gigi said. “We need to talk.”

  I ignored their protests and waved good-bye. “I’ll call you later. Promise.”

  Jogging down the stairs, I met Beau and Coby as they were coming up the ramp into the stands.

  “Where are you going?” Beau asked.

  “Home. Coby, bud, come on.” I steered his shoulder in the other direction.

  “But Mommy!” he whined. “I don’t want to go yet.”

  I grabbed his hot dog. “I know, but it’s time.”

  “Maze—”

  I cut Beau off and kept walking. “I’ll call you later.”

  He frowned but let me go.

  “I wanted to play, Mommy,” Coby protested as he trudged by my side.

  “I know, but we’re all done playing for today.”

  His mouth turned down and he started to cry.

  Shit. Could I cry too? Now I felt guilty for ruining my son’s night.

  I stopped walking to kneel at his side. “I’m sorry, Coby. I really am, but we need to leave. I’ll make it up to you. How about we get a cookie at Nana’s before we go?”

  He nodded and fell into my chest.

  I wrapped him up for a tight hug before standing and taking his hand as we walked to Mom’s concession stand.

  “Hi!” Mom’s smile fell when she saw my face and Coby’s tears. “What’s the matter?”

  “We’re leaving. Can I get a couple of cookies to go?”

  “Sure.” She went right for Coby’s favorite M&M monster cookies. “Where’s Hunter?”

  “At the hospital with that rider.”

  She froze and looked back to me with guilty eyes.

  “You knew,” I guessed. “You knew he was a doctor.”

  She nodded and her face paled.

  “Mom, why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I knew you wouldn’t give him a chance.”

  I scoffed. “Yeah. You were right about that.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t tell you at first because I wanted him to have a shot at winning you over. Then it went on so long, I thought maybe you knew and were okay with it.”

  “No, I didn’t know.” I took the cookies from her hand and shoved them in my purse. “How could you not tell me? You of all people? You saw how hard it was for me to deal with everything after you-know-who. I would have expected you to understand if no one else did.”

  She hung her head. “You’re right. I should have told you.”

  I opened my mouth to keep on scolding but chose to shut up instead. Fighting with Mom always gave me a stomachache and I had enough to deal with already.

  I was confused and angry.

  I was scared.

  Present emotions were mixing with those from the past and I didn’t know how to sort them through.

  “We can talk later,” I muttered. “Come on, bud.”

  I led Coby to the parking lot, and by some miracle, I didn’t have to walk up and down every aisle to find where Hunter had parked my car. I hit my key fob and its taillights flashed at the end of a row. We loaded up, and with Coby buckled and inhaling his hot dog, I pulled through the fairground gates and drove.

  I drove home.

  “Dad?” I called as I pushed inside my parents’ house.

  “In here!”

  Coby ran past me to the living room. “Gramps!”

  I found Dad in his recliner, wearing plaid pajamas and a threadbare T-shirt. A bottle of Budweiser was on his side table. It sat next to the TV remote and the empty plate of dinner Mom had likely made before she’d left for the fairgrounds.

  Coby climbed up on Dad’s lap, immediately thrusting him the remote. “Can we watch my shows?”

  “Sure, Grandson.” Dad pulled up one of Coby’s recorded Disney movies.

  “Cars!” Coby cheered and squirmed down off the chair, stretching out on the floor with his chin propped on his hands, completely consumed by his favorite movie.

  “What are you guys doing here?” Dad asked. “I thought you’d be at the rodeo.”

  I shook my head and sank into Mom’s recliner next to his. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Okay. Is everything all right?”

  I shrugged. “I’m just . . .” I searched for the right word. “Sad.”

  “What’s wrong, honey?”

  My eyes filled with tears at the same time the words came pouring out. I told Dad all about Hunter, leaving out the R-rated details and using a code name for Everett. But otherwise, I unburdened it all—from the moment Hunter had walked into my motel to him rushing to the rescue at the rodeo.

  When I was done, Dad did what Dad did best. He didn’t comment or offer advice. He didn’t bad-mouth Hunter for keeping secrets. He just waved me into his chair for a cuddle.

  And just like I’d done countless times before—as a sick kid, a girl with scraped knees or a pregnant woman dealing with a very heavy heart—I got up from my chair and snuggled into his side.

  Because even at twenty-nine years old, I still needed my dad.

  “It will be okay,” he said to the top of my head.

  I believed him. “You’re right. Can we stay here tonight?”

  “Like I’ve always told you, honey, this is your home. Come and go as you please.”

  I smiled and snuggled deeper into his chest, letting Dad’s embrace settle my nerves.

  Tonight, I was pushing my worries aside.

  And when my phone rang with Hunter’s call, I pushed it aside too.

  Pink. White. Red. Yellow. Orange.

  Pink was up next. I grabbed a pink petunia from the box and shoved it into the hole I’d just dug.

  It was the morning after the rodeo and I was filling the flower bed underneath the sign at the inn. Coby was with my parents at Sunday school and I’d come back to the inn to immerse myself in work.

  Stabbing the dirt with my trowel, I scored another hole in the earth and shoved in a white pansy. The midmorning sun had chased off the cool night air and sweat was beading on my forehead.

  I’d woken up at my parents’ house mad.

  Fuming mad.

  Mad at Hunter and mad at myself.

  I’d let another doctor’s handsome looks and charm fool me. I’d been so worried about driving him away with my natural curiosity I’d become complacent. I’d let a stranger into my home, my bed and my son’s life.

  Shame on me.

  And shame on Hunter for feeding me so much bullshit over the past two months.

&nbs
p; All morning long I’d been thinking about all the things I wanted to say. When a shadow fell over my face, I knew now was my chance.

  Hunter was standing above me with his legs planted wide and his arms crossed over his chest. “Where have you been?”

  I looked up, then back to my dirt, shoving in a red petunia. “Working.”

  “And last night? I was fucking worried, Maisy.”

  “How is that rider? Is he okay?”

  “He’s going to be fine. Now answer my question. Where have you been?” His shadow changed and I looked up again. His arms were hanging by his sides and his face was etched with worry.

  I ignored the pang of guilt and dug another hole. “I was at Mom and Dad’s.”

  “And they don’t have cell service? Why didn’t you answer when I called?”

  “I needed some time alone to think.”

  “To think? About what?”

  I stuck my trowel into the dirt and stood and pulled off my green garden gloves. “You’re a doctor.”

  “Yeah. So what?”

  “So what?” I mimicked. “In all this time, you didn’t think to tell me about your work?”

  “You were a nurse, Blondie. I can’t talk about work. Patient confidentiality? The Hippocratic oath? Doctors kind of have to abide by that.”

  “You should have told me. I had to learn about it from my friends.”

  “I thought you knew. You know everything else about the people of this town. I assumed you knew I was the new doctor too. I mean, you talk to Gigi all the time. How did I never come up?”

  Because I’d kept him a secret. “Well . . . it just didn’t.” My arms flailed as my voice got louder. “And you never brought it up. You never bring anything up! And since I promised not to be nosy, I don’t know anything about you.”

  He frowned. “Yes, you do. You know a lot about me. Maybe not every detail from my childhood but you know the important things. Me being a doctor doesn’t change that.”

  “It does.” I planted my hands on my hips. “Hunter, I can’t be with a doctor.”

  “What?” He was looking at me like I was crazy. “You’re fucking kidding, right? This is a joke?”

  “I’m not dating a doctor. Not again.”

  His jaw clenched. “I am not Everett.”