Page 1 of Trails of Temptation

ChapterOne

Keely

Icould fit my entire life into three medium-sized cardboard boxes.

I looked at the three inconspicuous boxes sitting in the bed of my truck, pursing my lips. I could have probably just packed everything into one big moving box, honestly. That would’ve saved me some tape. But,whatever.What’s done is done, and what was especially done was my job at Whispering Grove Vineyard in Napa, California.

I’d hated every minute of it, but they offered room and board, so I couldn’t really complain. Okay, maybe I didn’t hateeveryminute, but I’d spent the last eight months selling wine to lofty, flirty rich men and their mean wives and waitressing at the vineyard’s Michelin-Star restaurant where the patrons were wealthy but stingy with their tips.

I absently ran my fingers over the envelope in the pocket of my jean jacket. All of the tips I’d made were inside, roughly three thousand dollars. I could live on that until I had another job squared away. Everything else, every other penny I’d made since I moved to California, was locked away in a savings account back in Montana.

I wasn’t sure how much money I had in that account. I’d been putting a third of my paychecks into savings since I got my first job at fourteen bagging groceries at the market in Hot Springs. I’d only pulled money out of it once, ten years ago, when I finally got my shit together long enough to enroll in some night classes and start putting in the work toward a bachelor’s degree in Education.

There was no celebration when I graduated. No one showed up to my graduation to cheer me on except for the friends I’d made over the course of my four years in Bozeman. That was because I hadn’t told anyone about it, and no one seemed to care. Well, Pete cared, and had been livid when he found out I put myself through college, let alone graduated at the top of my class and didn’t invite him to watch me walk the stage.

I grumbled to myself at the thought of Pete and slammed the tailgate shut, swinging my keys around my finger as I looked up at the “dorms,” as they were called, where all of the seasonal vineyard employees lived. I needed to call Pete eventually, let him know my plans, or lack thereof. I’d applied to a few teaching gigs but likely wouldn’t land anything until August, when the school year started up again. So, I’d flail for a while longer.

Just not in Hot Springs. Not after spending all summer there two years ago… withGeorge.

I sighed, turning the ignition with a wince as the truck sputtered and groaned in protest. It must have felt exactly like I did at the moment, wanting nothing more than to find a nice driveway to rust away in instead of hopping across the country looking for a temporary place to park.

I wanted to put down roots eventually. I wanted tonow.Hell, I was thirty-two years old, for Christ’s sake.

But I wanted to put down roots with someone. I wanted a partner, a lover, a husband.

It wasn’t like something like that hadn’t been offered to me before. I’d been in love a few times. But there was alwayssomeonein the way.

He didn’t even know how I felt about him. The worst part was he probably wouldn’tcare.

“That’s why you’re not going back to Hot Springs,” I said to myself as I pulled up the maps on my phone, exhaling as I zoomed out on the screen. I could go south, maybe spend some time in L.A. Hmm… No.Too many people. I could go north, to Oregon or Washington, maybe even cross the border and drive all the way to Alaska. I smiled to myself as I dragged my finger over the screen and zoomed in on Alaska.

Now, that would be a clean slate for sure.

I giggled to myself as I pressed the ‘directions’ button and looked at the route from Napa to Anchorage, seeing it would take me over seven days by car. Jeez, maybe not. Or…maybe yes…

Pete’s name flashed over my phone and broke the spell. I groaned, closing my eyes for a moment before answering.

“Yes?”

“That’s all I get? Ayes? Not a, hey? How’s it going? Haven’t bothered to reach out or take your calls in three months but I’m still alive?”

“Oh, please,” I teased, rolling my eyes as I kicked the truck into gear and backed out of my parking spot, the early morning sun barely touching the roof of the dorm. “I was actually just about to call you—”

“Right, sure,” Pete said gruffly. I could hear water running in the background and the clanging of dishes and cutlery being washed. He was likely at the bar already, like usual, making sure everything was perfect for another day serving pints and giant burgers to cowboys and ranch hands.

Pete was meticulous, calculating, and sometimes totally overbearing. Our relationship had always been strained, but it was no fault of our own. Pete hadn’t known I’d existed until I was almost seven years old and my mother died… leaving me in the care of a father who hadn’t known I’d even been born, and a stepmother who hadn’t known her husband had been fooling around on the side with a young, troubled woman from Oklahoma City.

I’d never asked anything of them. I’d forged my own path, growing up with a lot of guilt and shame, even though Pete and his parents never treated me like an outcast. I was their daughter, even if I couldn’t bring myself to except it.

Now Pete saw me as his sole responsibility in the world outside of the bar.

“You’re driving?” he asked after a moment of silence. “To where?”

“I thought I’d just drive around,” I lied, glancing at my nearly empty gas tank. Could I make it to Alaska and get started on a new life with only three thousand dollars in cash?

“Keely… Look, I’m glad I finally got you on the phone,” he sighs. I imagine him running his fingers through his dark blond hair, so much like my own. “What’re you doing this summer?”

“I haven’t decided yet—”

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