Page 176 of Mountain Boss

“What’s your favorite dessert?” I ask before taking another bite.

“Apple pie.” His eyes stay on mine. “What’s your favorite cookie?”

“All of them.” I smile. “But a classic chocolate chip is hard to beat. Do you cook?”

He tips his head side to side. “Some. But my skills are limited to specificdishes.”

“Like what?”

“Chili. Steaks. Spaghetti.” He shrugs and takes out another cookie. “Or whatever leftovers I can get off Cook.” He holds the cookie out to me, and I take it, even though I’m still working on my first. “You cook or stick to mini pies?”

I pop another bite of cookie into my mouth. “I don’t mind cooking, but I think I’d like it more if I had a big kitchen. My last place had the biggest kitchen I’ve ever had. But it was still cramped.” I use my empty hand to gesture toward the other end of my Laundry Cabin. “The microwave is a major improvement here, thank you. The just-add-water stuff can get old.”

He sets the bag between us. “What was your last place like?”

“Just your typical outdated and overpriced apartment building.”

“Is that why you left?” Sterling sounds like he’s trying to be cautious. “Because it was overpriced?”

Do I want to explain to Sterling just how broke I am? No, no, I don’t.

But I will.

Because there’s something between us.

And because every time he finds out there’s something wrong with my living conditions here, he’s fixed it.

The mattress.

The appliances.

The food.

The heat.

Maybe I don’towe him, because my life is my own and I don’t owe anyone anything.

But maybe I need to try to trust someone.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had someone to trust.

I push away the tightness growing in my throat. “I moved into that building when I got the job working as the on-site maintenance person. It didn’t pay much, but my apartment was included. And I needed that.”

He tilts his head to the side. “Why did you need that? Where were you living before?”

I shove more cookie into my mouth, wondering how far back I should go.

I swallow my mouthful, then sigh.

Fuck it.

“I grew up in an RV with my mom,” I tell him. “And by the time high school graduation came around, I knew I had to find somewhere else to live. It was too crowded for the both of us.” Sterling nods like he understands. And even though I’d moved to the bed above the front seats by the time I was a teen, it was still too small. Even if it had been a big fancy RV, I still would have needed the space. “Financial aid meant I could go to college. And getting a job as an RA, a resident adviser, meant I had free room and board. So as soon as I was able, I moved onto campus. And I managed to keep that arrangement the full four years.”

“What was your major?”

I blow out a breath. “I couldn’t decide on anything I really wanted to do, so I ended up with business administration. Honestly, I hated it. I never got bad grades, but school wasn’t easy for me. And I always wanted to be out doing things. But even jobs that don’t seem like they need degrees still wanted one. So, I stuck to it.”

Sterling lets out a hum of understanding. “I get that.”

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