Page 26 of All Inn Thyme
I give her the code to the bunkhouse as we walk over, and she pulls out her phone and starts typing. “Saving that for later for when my brain doesn’t feel like oatmeal,” she explains. “I know I’ll forget it.”
“It’s okay, you can text me if you forget or need something. Here, give me your phone. I’ll put my number in.”
She hands me her phone and I text myself. “There. Now we have each other’s numbers.”
I push open the door and step in, motioning for her to follow behind me.
“Wow, it’s bigger in here than I thought,” she says as her eyes scan the kitchen and living area.
“It really is. This is why I think it will work out fine. The master bedroom is back that way,” I tell her as I point to one end of the house. “Then there are two bedrooms and another bathroom that way, so there really is plenty of space for you both to stay here as long as you want.”
“You said you work nights. I don’t want to wake you up when you’re sleeping.”
“I sleep soundly, so I probably won’t hear you unless you need help or something.”
This is pretty much a lie. I hear everything, listen for everything. My real job is to be alert, see things and help people, but she can’t know that. Yet. I want her to be relaxed and comfortable here. That’s all that matters right now.
“We’ll be fine. We go over to the main inn around eight in the morning and don’t come back until after dinner, which is six or so.”
“I’ll be at work by then, so we will basically be like two ships passing in the night.”
Sadly, I probably won’t see her too much. I’ll have to work around that.
“Where is Nova?” she asks, looking around.
“She’s with Sam Sr. He’s dropping her off here soon. He was watching her for me.” I didn’t want to tell her that he was trying to coax Sam Jr. out of the loft with Nova because he knows he’s a big dog lover and thought she’d help cheer him up. Hopefully it worked.
“Kase is going to be so excited to spend more time with her.”
“Well, I appreciate you looking after her when I’m working,” I say, scratching my beard.
“What do I need to do with her when you’re gone?”
“She just gets lonely at night. She whines and hates when I leave her alone, so just keeping her company is already a big help. Just give her snuggles, let her out to do her business, and make sure she’s got food and water.”
“Okay, I can do that.” She seems to perk up with the thought of helping. She stares at me like she’s still trying to figure out if I have an ulterior motive or something.
“What?” I ask quietly, stuffing my hands in my pockets and rocking back.
“I feel like I brought my complicated life over here and into yours.” Her expression is filled with worry and hesitation.
“I think you’re a lot less complicated than you think. Just try to be happy, yeah?”
She tilts her head, and I can tell she’s thinking about something. “I don’t know if it’s that easy, but I think I can try.”
“While you’re here, I’ll look out for you and your son. I’ll keep you safe. Okay?”
I don’t want to lie to her. She still doesn’t know everything about me or even why I’m here in Freedom Valley. I can’t tell her everything, and I can’t make promises I can’t keep.
“We don’t need anyone to keep us safe. I can keep us safe,” she says defiantly.
I’m gutted. I know I can’t be honest with her yet, but I’m really hoping that when I finally am, she won’t hate me. “Okay.”
“Why do you like me and want to help me? You don’t even know me.” She stares at me, her freckles smattered across her cheeks, distracting me.
“Well, Iwantto know you, Mellie. I think you’re beautiful, and you’re a great mom. I like Kase, too. After the other night at the tavern, I think you like me, too, but if you’re not ready yet, that’s fine. I’ll wait.”
“You might be waiting for a while,” she says. “I’m busy, and like I said… complicated. No man in his right mind would want to take this on,” she says, waving at herself and her pile of bags.
