Page 104 of Gone for You

“Do you not eat up there?”

“Not enough, obviously.” He pats his flat stomach.

“Cocky fucker.”

Silence takes over the cab as we finish eating. The farther we get out of the city and the more open areas we pass by, the irritation and stress that was sitting so firmly on my chest begins to fade away.

“Tell me more about what I’m getting into with these cabins.”

The words are barely out of my mouth before he launches in, clearly in his happy place. He’s animated and can’t talk fast enough about his plans for the resort, what the cabins will look like when they’re finished. How many more families will get to spend time together due to the extra space.

He’s so passionate about his resort, and I know it’s what he’s supposed to do.

We turn down a side road that eventually gets us to the resort that’s down a winding gravel lane. I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s off the grid, but pretty damn close to it. The pickup hops and skips along the bumpy terrain and I grip the handle above my door. “You’ve been city for too long if a simple road is making you nervous.”

“Maybe it’s the driver rather than the road.”

He slugs me.

“Abusing the help,” I tsk. “What a shame. Here I had so many plans. Hopes and dreams for our future working relationship. All up in a puff of smoke.”

“God help me, you’re an annoying smart ass.”

“Takes one to know one.”

He mocks me, repeating my words back to me but with a high pitched voice, head bobbing side to side. He even lifts his hand, flaps his stupid fingers together like they’re talking.

“Told you. You’re just as bad as me.”

Spruce and pine trees flank both sides, so thick you can barely see past the first few. It causes a dark shadow over the driveway, making it feel like we’re almost driving through a tunnel.

Strange, that it brings me a level of comfort. The looming trees provide a shelter as we drive past them, consuming me, pulling away the anxieties and darkness I’ve felt over the last few months. They’re dense and tall and when I roll down my window, the scent of pine overwhelms me. All I hear are the sounds of nature and Owen’s tires crunching on the gravel. He slows down as a squirrel darts out from the side of the road, running in front of us.

My eyes track the erratic path the squirrel makes over the ground. I incline farther in my seat, watching at it disappears into the thick brush.

I sit back, face forward and sigh. The farther we drive down this bumpy road, the more relaxed I feel.

“It’s crazy, right?”

“What’s that?”

He glances at me quickly before turning into the resort. The wordsThe Escape Resort & Lodgeburned into a wooden sign at the entrance. “How being surrounded by nature, away from all the things that pull you in a hundred different directions all the time, can put you in a completely different state of mind.”

He’s not lying. I’ve felt it fade away the entire drive here.

I offer him a smile before, “Thanks, man.”

“Any time.”

He parks in front of the main lodge and shuts the pickup off. We collect our trash from our food and I grab my duffel bag from the back.

He’s renovated the lodge as well. It’s two stories, the lower level used for guests to check in, grab supplies for fishing or a few groceries and necessities they may have forgotten. Owen tosses me a key that’s hanging off a leather strap. “You’re in Number 6. That work?”

“Figured I’d be staying with you, actually. I don’t want to take up one of your cabins you could be renting out.”

“I think you need it as much as anyone else. You didn’t come here to be around me constantly. Besides, we’re at the end of the busy season. We’re not fully booked in the fall.”

I nod, understanding what he means. As much as I came up here to spend time with my friend, what I need is quiet. Privacy. Time to think about how I can get back the girl.

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