Page 22 of Cinnamon Cider Whiskey
“It’s fine.” He sipped his drink. “I was working at a ranch in Montana.”
“That’s where you went after you graduated from college?”
He nodded. “I’d been there for about twelve years when Charity and her girlfriends came to the ranch on a girls’ trip. They did not fit in at all and I found it insanely amusing. They were truly a bunch of fish out of water. Charity and I hit it off, but she was a guest and I kept her at a safe distance. However, she kept coming at me and I figured she’d be gone in a few days. Only she came back a month later.”
“Why?”
He lowered his chin. “I can be charming when I want to be.”
Cinnamon rolled her eyes. “I guess I asked, so go on.”
“For the next seven or eight months, she’d visit me every couple of weeks. I kept telling her that I didn’t do relationships. She took that as a challenge. I didn’t think much about it.”
Cinnamon held up her hand. “Did you have any girlfriends after we broke up?”
“Not really. I mean I dated, but nothing that lasted more than a year.”
“I don’t know if that makes me sad or if I’m flattered as hell.”
He chuckled. “The first few years it was because I hadn’t gotten over you, but as time passed, I just got used to being alone. I decided I liked sleeping in the middle of the bed.”
“I’ve noticed. And you steal the covers.”
“Well, you snore.”
“I do not,” she said, pushing her empty plate aside. “Go on. I’m sitting on the edge of my seat.”
“Charity kept asking me to come visit her in Boise. I would tell her absolutely not. I told her that I had no intention of ever returning to Idaho. But after about a year, I decided that I liked her and she’d been coming to me, so I owed her at least one visit. It turned into two and then three. Finally, she begged me to move. She even found me a job at a ranch. Although, she absolutely hated me working there and after I moved, that became a thing.”
“How long did you live there?”
“A little over a year, but I only worked at the ranch for three months.”
“What the hell did you do if you didn’t work on a ranch?” Cinnamon finished her drink and rested her elbows on the table. This answer should be interesting.
“I sold cars.” He cringed. “It was the worst fucking job on the planet.”
“Holy fuck. I can’t believe you did that.”
He shrugged. “I thought I was in love with her. Anyway, when JW offered me the job at Whiskey Ranch, I told Charity how miserable I was, which she already knew, and I said it was her turn to move for me. I honestly believed she would tell me to fuck off and we’d be done.”
“Were you engaged by this time?”
He nodded.
“You actually proposed to this woman?”
“No. She brought up marriage and then wanted to go shopping for a ring, but I always wanted my wife to wear my mother’s ring.”
“God, I hope she gave it back.”
“She did.” He let out a long breath. “Telling this story makes me feel a bit like a fool.”
“Those are your words, not mine.”
“Gee, thanks,” Austin said.
“What did she know about me?”
