Page 1 of Long Hard Road

1

MADISON

“This can’t be right.” I checked the map on my phone and prayed that I had made a wrong turn. After two days in my car, I just wanted a hot shower and a comfortable bed. When I’d randomly decided to leave home, I hadn’t given a lot of thought to just how much I was going to hate taking a long road trip by myself.

“What the hell is this place?” With the map still directing me to turn off the highway, I quickly dialed my assistant.

“Are you there?” Kaylie asked.

“I don’t know. I thought you had rented me a cabin.”

“I did. It has two bedrooms and a beautiful view of the mountains.”

I craned my neck in a futile attempt to see what was waiting for me ahead. “What can you tell me about Crestwood?”

“Not much. It looks like a really cute little town. If you stay on the main road, it will take you right to the downtown area.” Kaylie’s computer chimed an alert and I could hear her typing. She was a queen of multitasking. “There’s a café, bookstore, some boutiques, a few restaurants, and a couple of bars.”

“I probably shouldn’t start drinking until at least noon.” I checked the clock and it was barely time for breakfast. “What time am I allowed to check in at my cabin?”

“You’ve got a couple more hours. Didn’t you read the information I sent you yesterday?” Kaylie was annoyed. I wasn’t great at paying attention to details. It was why I paid her so well.

“I’m going to find some food and coffee. Not necessarily in that order.” The shower would have to wait. Now that I’d started thinking about food, that was all I could focus on. “I’ll let you go, Kales. Thanks for getting this all set up for me.”

“No worries. Drake has already called twice asking where you are.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That you decided to take an impromptu vacation and when you are ready to speak with him, you will initiate a call.”

“Perfect. Thanks.” I owed Kaylie a very nice bonus after the work she’d done these last few days. She really was the best assistant in the business.

She hung up without a proper goodbye as per usual. I pulled off the shoulder of the road and headed in the direction of downtown. The roads were slick with some fresh, wet snow and I should’ve rented a more substantial car rather than drive my sports car all the way from Nashville. The giant red truck riding my ass seemed to agree.

I wasn’t going to drive at an unsafe speed just to appease a man with a small-dick complex. If he didn’t like it, he could just go around me. I made a mental note to look into buying a truck so I wouldn’t have to spend every drive into town worrying about someone else killing me with their supersized vehicles.

It wasn’t hard to find the café since the main street of downtown Crestwood pretty much encompassed all of downtown. Before getting out of my car, I checked my reflection in the mirror. It was strange to see my hair bleached platinum blond and sporting a new style. The natural curl of my hair usually brought it to just past my shoulders, but straightening it had added several inches. Except for the hair by my face which had been chopped into long bangs that I had to push out of my eyes.

That was another big change. The irises were the same emerald shade, but they were no longer framed by fake lashes or highlighted by bright eye shadow. I wasn’t wearing any makeup in public for the first time in a very long time.

“New me, new life,” I mumbled.

That new life almost ended abruptly when my foot slipped out from under as I stepped out of my car. I was lucky that I was still holding the car door and I was able to keep from completely wiping out. The damn asphalt was too slick for my heeled boots. I made another mental note to look into finding some appropriate winter clothing.

The bell above the door chimed happily as I pushed it open. I was met with a blast of warm air from an overhead vent and the smell of vanilla, cinnamon, and coffee. My stomach growled to make itself known. Never one to deny myself pleasure, I marched toward the counter.

“Hi!” The woman behind the counter flashed a megawatt smile. She was a pretty woman, probably not much older than me. Her name tag said Amelia.

“Hello.” I pointed to the glass display case. “I’ll take the biggest cinnamon roll and a large coffee.”

“Coming right up!” She turned to grab a coffee cup. “You’re not from around here, are you? What brings you to Crestwood?”

I was envious of the woman’s energy and her genuine friendliness. This was a woman who actually enjoyed chatting with strangers.

“Just taking a little vacation,” I said.

“Where are you staying?” Amelia put the coffee in front of me and slid open the display case.

“I’ve rented a cabin somewhere around here. I was looking for someplace remote to clear my head, but I was a little nervous about staying too far outside of civilization.” In truth, I hadn’t bothered looking at the information that Kaylie had sent me on the cabin she had selected. She was good at her job and I trusted her.

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