Page 21 of You Were Invited
When the poor woman yelped in terror and just about threw her phone, he skidded to a halt.
“Oh, shit, sorry!” He raised his hands up. “Sorry. I scared ya, didn’t I? Didn’t mean to.”
She splayed her hand over her heart. “Oh! Yeah, I wasn’t expecting anybody, then nobody was out here.” Her expression went from one of relief before she eyed him, picked up her phone, and took a step into the threshold. The door closed up around her so she had just enough room to stick her head out.
“I gave up. Was goin’ back to my cabin.” He pointed across the sparsely-treed stretch of land that was in the center of the half-mile long driveway loop that connected all the cabins. He’d met the daughter of the couple who owned this cabin, but this wasn’t her… No… Then it dawned on him. “You bought wood from me yesterday.”
She raised her dark eyebrows so high they disappeared into her platinum blonde bangs. Recognition flashed in her eyes. “Yeah!”
“Right on.”
She made a gesture with her hand to the cabin. “My friends are letting me stay here.”
“Right on. Well, nice to meetcha... er...”Did she give me her name? Did I completely forget it?
“It’s Annie,” she offered, nodding. As if reading his mind, she added, “I never got the chance to tell you my name. And of course I know yours: Julian.”
He smiled, pleasantly surprised that she remembered. “Nice to meetcha, Annie. Again.” He tucked his hands into his pockets.
She put something down inside the doorway and tapped on her phone for a second. With the light from the inside of the cabin framing the soft curves of her body, she leaned against the doorframe.
Her face was pretty and reminded him of Maisie Williams, especially her eyes and lips. When they’d met in town, he guessed she wasn’t a natural blonde. He wondered then how she’d look look with her real hair color. Her mouth turned up at the corners in an easy, friendly smile that made him feel seen.
You’re staring. Say something!
“Well, er, I was coming over to see if anyone needed some extra firewood. Nobody’s been here for months.” He’d noticed the dwindling woodpile several times on his drives home. “Any interest? And of course, no pressure.”Crap… now I just feel like some door-to-door salesman…
“Molly–”
Ah, yes, that name’s familiar…
“—actually asked me to go talk to one of the neighbors about their stockpile.” Annie tilted her head to the side. “Said your cabin would be the obvious choice? Which one is yours again?”
He pointed. “She’s not wrong. It’s the one with the Kubota, mill, and splitter.”
“So it’s safe to say you chopped all this stuff, too, then.”
“Yup. I think Mr. Reed was having some back trouble, right? Didn’t want to do it himself last year.”
Annie let out a wry laugh. “Or maybe Vanessa didn’t want him squished under a tree? Tom’s never had a back ache in his life.”
“But it’s okay ifIget squished.”
Annie’s eyes widened. “Well, of course not! You don't go to the Prometheus School of Running Away from Things. And I’m sure your family would be just as worried if you were a pancake, too.”
Julian’s smile faltered. He nodded at her cabin and pulled his hands from his pockets. “Well, holler when you’re ready. I’ll leave ya be.” His eyes went up to the cabin roof before he pivoted on the heel of his steel-toed boot. He waved goodbye. “Nice to meetcha.”
“Oh, um, nice to meetchu, too!”
No sense in lingering and spooking her further, although he got the sense that his company wasn’t minded too much. Pausing, he pointed again at his cabin, and immediately felt silly for doing so. “I’m over there if you need anything. Other than wood.”
"Thank you," she called back. "Have a good night."
"Good night."
Another thought popped into his head. He spun on his heel again and snapped his fingers. "Oh! Thanks for the tip about the pie. Ellie had a couple pieces left. I grabbed ‘em quick after you left. Ate both on the way home. Couldn’t help myself."
Annie grinned and nodded. "Hey! I'm glad!"
