Page 26 of Call It Home

Mitch shook his head. His eyes widened at my question, then gleamed with mischief. “Oh, no, honey. We’re your biggest competition. We’re here to win.”

His words sounded close to threatening, but the grin on his face gave him away, so I simply shrugged. “I guess we’ll see.”

He burst out laughing. “Oh, tall, handsome, and broody.” His eyes ran me up and down. “You’ve got spunk. I like you already.”

Cameron smothered a smile beneath her hand while I tried to figure out how to respond. But I didn’t have to say anything since our impatient driver cleared his throat. “If you’re done, we can get going.” He turned on his cowboy-booted heel and left, not bothering to see if we were following.

Mitch and Myles followed him, each pulling two expensive-looking suitcases behind them.

Cam leaned in close as we walked behind them. “They seem nice. This is going to be fun, don’t you think?”

I grunted. Fun was not the word I would use, but whatever.

I half-expected our driver to lead us to a dusty truck as old as mine, but instead, we were led to a plain, but sparkling clean, white passenger van.

Myles and Mitch settled into the first bench while Cameron and I took the one behind them. Mitch immediately turned in his seat so he could face us, and within minutes, he and Cameron were jabbering away about everything from their businesses to favorite vendors to paint colors.

While Myles occasionally joined in the conversation, I leaned my head back on the bench and pulled my ball cap over my eyes. After our early morning, the steady rhythm of the tires on the highway and their chatter nearly lulled me to sleep until the driver announced, “We’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

Instead of the open country where the airport was located, trees, mostly pines, surrounded us. It reminded me of Sterling Mill, only when there were breaks in the tree line, the view showed off craggier mountains, the sheer sharpness of them a staggering contrast to the more gently sloped eastern mountains. Snow still capped the higher points.

The van rolled past a sign indicating the Grandview Lodge was to our right. By now, everyone had grown quiet as we all stared out the windows, trying to get our first glance at where we’d be staying and working.

In the distance, I could see what looked like an impressive old stone building. A little further down, we turned onto a smaller road. The van bounced along the gravel, winding us deeper into the woods.

Unexpectedly, the road opened up to a huge clearing. We passed several white rectangular trailers parked on either side of the road, similar to some I’d seen on huge construction projects. There was another copse of trees, then it opened up again. Two Quonset huts with a huge dumpster between them sat a little further back to the right. On the opposite side of the road, there was another line of white trailers.

There were several people milling around, some with florescent green vests and hardhats, others in blue vests, but most were dressed super casually in jeans and bright red jackets that boasted the HRTV logo on the back.

Some stood in groups surrounding a person holding a clipboard or computer pad, others were talking into phones, and a few held either a still camera or stood next to a tripod with a movie camera, but everyone appeared busy.

Several of them paused to wave as if they already knew who we were. We turned down a side path where, several yards away, there were four more trailers set up. These were much nicer, more like RVs.

“This is it,” our driver, who never introduced himself, announced. He didn’t make any move to get out.

“Friendly son of a bitch, isn’t he?” Myles murmured as he and Mitch stood and swung the door to the van open.

I climbed out of the van and held my hand out for Cameron. She was all smiles again as her eyes tried to take in everything at once. She clasped my hand and gave it a little extra squeeze. “We’re here.”

“Obviously,” I commented, enjoying the feel of her small hand in mine.

She laughed at my dry tone but pulled her hand away as a woman rolled up on a golf cart, her face beaming.

“Welcome!” she said, hurrying over to meet us. “We’re so glad you’re finally here. I’m Kennedy. I’m the one behind the thousand and one emails you’ve been getting. You must be Myles and Mitch, and you must be Cam and Mac.”

After everyone shook hands, she continued. “I’m going to start by first showing you your trailers, then we’ll meet in Meeting Room 2 with the other groups and go over exactly what to expect starting tomorrow and the rest of the month. It’s the last trailer on the right. You can’t miss it.” She gestured farther down the road.

She walked to the trailer behind her. “This is for Mitch and Myles. Go on in, gentlemen. The keys are on the table inside. Plan to be at the meeting in thirty minutes. No time to waste, but you better get used to that.” She chuckled like she was the only one in on the joke. Then she led Cameron and me to an identical trailer a few yards down.

The outside was fairly basic, with a couple of tinted windows and a steep set of metal stairs leading up to a narrow door. But the awning provided some nice shade. However, the inside was almost nicer than my cabin.

The kitchen area, while not full size, was spotlessly clean and had a stainless-steel stove and fridge, with a small eating area in a pop-out from the wall. White countertops gleamed, reflecting the warm track lighting that ran across the ceiling. A cozy leather couch sat across from the kitchen. The floor was a cheap, but clean, laminate that gave the space a clean and somewhat modern feel.

“This is nice,” Cameron commented.

Kennedy gave us a minute to take in our new surroundings. “The bedrooms are on opposite ends. The bathroom is accessible from the hallway as well as the bedroom at that end.” She pointed to my right.

“So, which one of us is staying here?” I asked.

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