Page 1 of The Marrying Kind
1
HOMELESS, PARTY OF ONE
Ella
“Idon’t understand.”
I stood in the parking lot of the apartment building and glared at my real estate agent—a woman named Samantha I’d hired over the internet. I’d driven straight to her office upon arriving in town, just as we’d agreed. She seemed nervous as she shuffled me out of the office and on the chilly walk over here, just a few blocks down Main Street.
“I’m sorry,” she said slowly, choosing her words carefully. “I didn’t know how to tell you. You seemed so set on coming here ...”
“You didn’t know how to tell me? How about with words? Four of them, in fact.The inn burned down.It’s really quite simple.”
Dread settled in the pit of my stomach as I looked at what used to be the most luxurious accommodations Kodiak Canyon had to offer. Granted, I know that’s not saying much for a town with a population of barely six hundred. These days, it had been turned into rental apartments and was the only place in town that was available for rent. And this was supposed to be my home for the next few weeks.
The three-story historic building was blackened and crumbling on one side. The turreted tower that had looked so charming in all the online photos was lopsided and caved in.
“I’m sorry,” Samantha said again, giving me a sincere look.
“I torpedoed my entire life to get here. I gave up my lease for this.”
She didn’t need to know that I was between jobs and had nothing of a romantic life to speak of.
“I’m going to get this all straightened out.” Samantha offered me a weak smile, but I had zero confidence in her at this point.
I had literally just begun my big adventure, and my plans were already crumbling.
“There’s a little bar at the end of this block,” she said. “Unless you’re opposed to this idea. Why don’t you go get yourself something to eat, and I’m going to go back to my office and brainstorm. I’ll call you in one hour.”
I glanced in the direction she had pointed. In the distance, there was a two-story brick building that had a painted sign out front—Velma’s Tavern. “You’ll call me in one hour?”
She nodded, smiling again.
“Okay,” I said, on a deep sigh, surrendering. After all, I had little choice.
Turning for the end of the street, I tried to focus on the positives.
The town was every bit as charming as I’d imagined it would be with a single stop sign, quaint little shops lining the main street, and huge, towering pine trees and mounds of fluffy snow. It was like being inside a snow globe, or on the set of a Christmas movie.
Inside Velma’s Tavern, I found an open stool at the bar. There were only a few other patrons, and country music played low in the background. I wouldn’t have thought country music would be popular in Colorado—we were quite far from the South—until I remembered that this area was originally home to ranchers and real, authentic cowboys.
The bar was a single slab of hewn pine, the lighting was dark and moody, and the bartender was prompt. In under a minute, I had a glass of red wine sitting in front of me. But it did little to improve my mood. I was feeling a little hopeless at the moment, and a little homeless.
“Can I get you anything else?” the perky bartender asked, stopping in front of me. Her blond hair was cut in an angled bob, and she had a full sleeve of tattoos on one arm. Her nametag read CJ.
I glanced at my phone. It had only been about fifteen minutes since Samantha had told me to give her an hour. But could she really come up with someplace else for me to stay? I knew how limited the options were here. I’d chosen this town specifically because of how isolated and remote it was.
“Is there a hotel nearby, by chance?”
CJ’s eyebrows shot up. “In Kodiak Canyon? No.” When I frowned, she asked, “I take it you need someplace to stay?”
I swirled the wine in my glass and released a long exhale. She didn’t know the half of it. Something in my expression must have told her, though, because CJ gave me a small, sad smile.
“I might know someone who can help you. See that guy at the end of the bar?”
My gaze drifted to my left, and I took in the two men seated together at the far end of the bar. They appeared to be deep in conversation, ignoring the pint glasses of dark beer in front of them.
“The cute one,” CJ said to clarify.
