Page 12 of Hold Me Until Morning

CODY

Cambrey Pines Spa & Resort.

The most luxurious, upscale, trendy guest ranch Colorado had to offer. Sitting on a hundred acres, tucked back in the pines at the base of a mountain with Time River running through.

It was the place that was going to change my entire life.

The resort was about twenty minutes outside of my hometown of Time River, and I lived ten minutes east of here where I’d decided to settle in the small town of Hendrickson after I’d started my fledgling landscaping company nine years ago.

Adrenaline pumping through my veins, I drove my pickup truck along the winding road that curled through the endless maze of evergreens. Their spires disappeared into the vast canopy of blue above. Any trace of the storm from the night before had been eviscerated by the sun that already beat down, a heatwave unlike anything we’d ever seen laying siege.

Save for the fresh scent that saturated the air.

After a storm, I always got the sense that the muck had been washed away.

Giving life.

A second chance.

That’s what today felt like.

A second chance.

Hell, it was the way I viewed my entire life.

Living each day full and to the extreme. Seeking as much pleasure as I could because I never knew when it was going to run out.

Before I could get lost in the old dread, before I could spiral in the fear, I clamped them off because I refused to waste even a single second of the time I’d been granted, so with a grin on my face, I traveled the mile up the long drive before the woods broke open to the resort in the distance.

The massive lodge sat in the center, four stories high and as fucking posh as it came. A slew of cabins and smaller buildings were situated around the sprawling grounds, surrounding pools and spas and different areas for outdoor activities.

But the pride of the place were the enormous, elaborate stables that sat on the far-right side of the property.

There was already a small group of guests on horses getting ready to hit the trails, a guide ready to lead them out to explore the gorgeous expanse of land, giving them the type of experience they’d never find in the city.

I took a right onto the loop that wound around the stables to the maintenance area that was hidden behind them.

My project manager, Matthew, was already there, idling in his truck. I pulled into the spot next to him, killed the engine, and hopped out.

He followed suit.

The guy was tall and thin and sporting a crop of light brown hair.

“About damned time you got here. I thought I was going to have to head over to your house to drag your lazy ass out of bed.” He couldn’t keep from smiling when he said it.

Hell, neither of us had been able to keep the cheesy-ass grins from our faces over the last two months.

“And miss out on the best day of my life? I don’t think so, brother.”

I didn’t know if it was luck or derived purely from the blood and sweat I’d poured into the business, but somehow, I’d made it happen. My small landscape company had put in a bid to do a full overhaul and renovation of the landscape and exterior living spaces at the resort. I had gone up against five big companies that’d come in from all over the state, and I’d actually won.

A five-fucking-million-dollar contract.

Not that all of that was going straight into my pocket, but still, it was life changing.

And from where I’d started? The bullshit I’d gone through? The mess I’d gotten myself into and had nearly succumbed to?

Thankfulness got me in a chokehold.

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