Page 4 of Your Place or Mine

“Remember that Christmas when half the town lost power? People crowded in here for hours, sharing blankets and mugs of whatever we could warm up on the stove. Or when Coach Davis brought the high school baseball team in after they won state, and they had root beer floats like they were damn kings?”

Drew nodded. “Yeah, I remember. Good times.”

“Good times,” I echoed, his voice quieter. “That’s what this place is. It’s memories. People connecting. You can’t put a price tag on that.”

“True,” Drew said, leaning back against the bar. “But it’s also a building. And buildings get sold. You can’t stop that.”

I turned to him, my jaw tightening. “Maybe I can’t stop the sale, but I’ll be damned if I let some outsider come in here and rip the heart out of this place.”

Drew studied me for a moment, and his smirk faded. “Look, I know you’re pissed. I’d be pissed too. But you’re talking like this woman’s the devil incarnate, and you haven’t even met her yet. What if she’s not as bad as you think?”

“She’s from Seattle,” I said flatly. “How good could she be?”

“That’s a solid way to keep an open mind,” Drew said dryly. “You know, if this goes sideways, you might need to channel all this energy into something productive. Like poetry.”

I glared at him, but Drew just laughed. “Seriously, man. Get some rest. She’ll be here soon enough, and you’ll need to have more than angry rants to throw at her.”

“I’ve got more than rants,” I muttered, though I wasn’t entirely sure that was true.

Drew clapped him on the shoulder. “Good. Just don’t start talking to the chairs, alright? People might think you’ve lost it.”

As my brother walked away, I turned back to the stack of boxes. The Ludlowes might have sold the building, but the soul of the place? That was still mine. And I wasn’t going to let anyone take it without a fight.

Chapter Two

Lydia

“Are you sure you should have sold your car?” my best friend asked.

I turned to Melanie and laughed. “No, I’m not sure of anything any longer, but it’s a small town, and I’ll be living right in the middle of it, so I can’t imagine it will be a problem. I can walk to the laundromat, the stores, and bars.”

“Bar,” Lydia chuckled. “There’s one bar because, let me remind you, you’re moving to the middle of nowhere.”

“True.” I stretched my feet under the dashboard and let out a sigh.

“What about when you realize you weren’t meant for small-town living and you’re running down Main Street screaming your head off for someone to get you out of there?” Melanie gripped the steering wheel and glanced at me. “Bet you’ll wish you had a car then.”

I laughed, hoping she wasn’t right, as I looked out the window at all the beautiful scenery. The tall Douglas firs stretched toward the sky like they were trying to reach heaven, and the thickets of wild blackberries grew along the highway in a tangled mess.

“Five minutes until destination,” the GPS chirped.

Melanie gasped, sounding horrified. “How can we be arriving anywhere in five minutes? We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

I chuckled and nodded. “Reckless River is pretty small.”

“I guess so.” Melanie looked at me. “Are you sure about this?”

“You mean buying a building where the claim to fame is a river, quitting my job, and hoping for the best?”

“Yeah… that.”

I smiled and took in a deep breath, feeling the air hit every cell of my body as if I were trying to remember what it was like to feel alive again.

Ever since my mom’s death, everything felt like…nothing.

I was numb, and nothing about the city was waking me up, so I hoped the change of scenery would do just that.

“I’m going to miss you like crazy,” Melanie said as the GPS instructed her to take the next exit.

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