Page 40 of All Inn Thyme
“He said I can have a job, too.”
“What’s your job?”
“To feed Nova in the morning and at night. She needs two scoops.”
“That’ll be a good job for you. Just while we’re here, okay? We’re going back to the garden shed when it’s all fixed.” I don’t want him to get his hopes up that we’re staying here long-term.
“Why can’t we just stay here?”
“We have to stay where Evan tells us to stay.”
“We can talk to Uncle Evan. He’ll let us stay here,” he says confidently as he reaches over to stroke Nova’s head.
“Alright, let’s go brush teeth. Your best friend will be waiting for you.” I ruffle his hair and pull him close to me as we walk toward the bathroom.
Teeth brushed, I get him settled in next to Nova, who wiggles her little tail when he climbs into bed and gently kisses his cheek with her slobbery tongue and settles back in, I pat her head and kiss her too.
“Night, baby.”
“Night, Momma.”
I duck back into the bathroom and brush my own teeth quickly, running a hand through my hair. Ugh, why am I worried about how I look? It’s just Ty. The guy we share the bunkhouse with. Nothing more.
I stare into the mirror, eyeing my dark roots coming in. A reminder of being Brianna in my old life. Sometimes I look in the mirror and don’t even recognize myself as the new Mellie, even after a year it’s still shocking sometimes. But that was the whole point. To make new identities and start fresh where we wouldn’t be recognized. That doesn’t mean that I don’t miss myself sometimes, as weird as that sounds. I miss my old appearance, my old job, and mostly I miss who I was before I got married and everything changed. I’m not like the person I used to be at all. I’m tougher. Hardened. It’s especially difficult for me to trust, to imagine having a healthy relationship with a man.
Time to dye my hair again, I make a mental note to myself. At first it was comforting to leave that nightmare behind and take on a new look and identity here in a new place. It has been exhausting, though, so if Preston can help us, we can finally breathe easier. Go back to a little bit of who we were before. The good parts anyway. I can’t imagine how it could ever be the same.
I stop in my tracks as I’m walking toward the firepit. I see Ty relaxing in an Adirondack chair with a mug of tea on the seat next to him, a beer in his hand. The man really made me freaking tea to hang out by the fire. He’s literally perfect.
I take a deep breath before walking toward him. He smiles when he sees me and asks, “Everything good with Kase?”
“He’s asleep with Nova.” I sit on the chair next to him and he slides his arm around me, pulling me closer.
“Figures. She loves kids. Here.” He reaches over and tosses me a buffalo check blanket.
I catch it and smile gratefully as I tuck it around me. “Thanks. For the tea… and everything.”
He takes a sip of his beer and nods at my mug. “You bet.”
I sip my tea and realize I haven’t relaxed like this in the evening in a long time. It’s been go, go, go for so long.
“Want some music?” He pulls out his phone.
“Yeah, what do you like to listen to?”
He thinks for a moment. “Country and rock. But mostly country.”
“It’s hard to be from the south and not like country. Isn’t it like a requirement or something?” I tease.
He looks at me like he’s trying to gauge something. “It’s different up here, but I really like it. It has unexpectedly felt like home. Do you miss the south?”
I think about my hometown and realize I don’t miss it at all. I have zero desire to ever go back. “No.”
“Alabama and Mississippi are neighbors. Funny we were once neighbors there, and now we’re neighbors here.”
“Maybe we were meant to meet each other,” I say without thinking.
“I told you that you’d like me,” he teases.
