Chapter 5
Aspen
“You’re so lucky,” Jazz whines after I tell her I’ll be leaving with Brooks in a minute to go to town.
I chuckle. “Why? You want to go to town? Don’t you live here?”
She laughs. “No, you’re lucky you get to go with Brooks.”
“Why?” I ask again, even more confused now.
“Are you kidding me, Aspen? Surely your eyes are working, aren’t they? Brooks is hot.”
“Oh,” I say, finally understanding what she means. “He’s my boyfriend’s dad. I haven’t really looked at him like that.”
“Well, you’re missing out, honey, because Brooks Calloway is a gorgeous man to look at.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it. Isn’t he like forty? Kinda old for you.”
She shakes her head and smiles. “He’s not forty yet, and besides, age is just a number.”
My laugh comes unexpectedly. “Well, he’s all yours. Count me out of that competition.”
She winks. “Good to know.”
“Are you good to watch the desk until we’re back? Shouldn’t take long.”
“Yes, ma’am. Just got one more cabin to clean at three.”
“Got it. We should be back by then.”
A guest walks up to the desk, and Jazz shows me how to check them out and then how to email the invoice for their stay. As soon as we’re done, Brooks appears at the desk, asking if I’m ready to go.
“Yep. Do I need anything?”
“Nah. Just you.”
Jazz lets out a small exhale when he says that. I turn to her with wide eyes to tell her goodbye. She wriggles her eyebrows at me as I follow Brooks. I shake my head and stare forward. Unfortunately for me, I’m walking behind Brooks, and my eyes inadvertently glance down his body.
Damn, he does fill out a pair of Wranglers well.
My cheeks heat, and I try to look anywhere else besides my boyfriend’s dad’s ass. Oh my god. It’s only been two days, and Jazz is poisoning my mind already.
Brooks opens the door to his truck for me, and I have to grab the handle and hoist myself up to get into it. I don’t miss his quiet chuckle at my struggle.
He keeps the radio on during our drive so we don’t have to talk much. Brooks seems like a nice guy, but I don’t take him as someone who appreciates small talk.
Blue Haven Town Hall is smaller than I thought it would be. The brick building is two stories and could easily be confused for a storefront instead of a government building.
I follow Brooks inside to the clerk's desk.
“Hello, Ms. Dorothy,” Brooks says with his Southern twang as he shoots her what can only be described as a flirty smirk.
Ms. Dorothy looks to be on the cusp of eighty years old, but she still blushes when she looks up to see Brooks. It seems Jazz was right, and I’ve completely missed Brooks’s appeal.
“Oh, hello there, Brooks. How’re you doin’ today?”
“Better now that I get to see you.”
She waves him off. “Oh, stop. You find yourself a girlfriend yet?”
He laughs. “Since I saw you last week? No, ma’am. Still married to the ranch.”
“Well, honey. Your face ain’t gonna be this pretty forever. You better find someone right quick.”
He laughs again. “Noted. Is Eli around? Here on official holiday business.”
“He is. Let me make sure he’s available.” Dorothy picks up her phone while we wait.
When she hangs up, she looks at us and nods. “You can go on in.”
“Thank you, ma’am. Oh, and Ms. Dorothy? This is my new assistant, Aspen. You’ll be seeing her around.”
I wave awkwardly as she greets me when I pass her desk and follow Brooks down a hallway. I am on sensory overload these last few days, meeting so many new people. I have no idea how I’m going to remember them all.
Brooks doesn’t bother knocking as he walks into an office at the end of the hall. A man, who I assume is Eli Cunningham, stands behind his desk.
“Brooks! Good to see you. Ah, this must be Aspen.”
I step around Brooks and reach my hand out. “Yes, Mayor Cunningham. It’s nice to meet you.”
He smiles at me as he shakes my hand. “You as well.”
He’s younger than I expected. Maybe I just assume all mayors are old, I don’t know. But he looks like he’s about Brooks’s age. He’s wearing a suit, which is the first one I’ve seen in Blue Haven.
He releases my hand and gives Brooks a strange look, to which Brooks responds with an annoyed eye roll. I have no idea what the hell is going on, so I just stand there feeling (and probably looking) very out of place.
Brooks grabs a check from his pocket and puts it on the mayor’s desk.
I couldn’t believe the amount of money the town is requesting from him.
Zach has never mentioned how much money his dad has, but from the number on that check, I can safely assume he’s doing pretty well financially.
Which makes me wonder why Zach and I were living in a shitty one-bedroom apartment in a questionable neighborhood in Atlanta when he could’ve just asked his dad for a little help.
I would’ve asked my parents if I knew where the hell they were.
“Thanks, Brooks. The town appreciates you.”
“Yeah, yeah. If you need anything else, call Aspen,” Brooks announces as he turns to leave the office. This was a faster trip than I was anticipating.
“Do you have a piece of paper? I can write down my phone number.” Eli grabs a stack of Post-It notes from his very tidy desk and hands them to me with a pen. I quickly write down my number and wave goodbye before I jog after Brooks, who didn’t bother waiting.
“What took so long?” he asks when I finally catch up to him.
“It was like five seconds. And I had to give him my phone number,” I explain. I thought that would’ve been obvious.
Brooks stops walking and looks at me. “You gave him your number?”
What? Did he forget the last thing he said? “You just told him to call me if he needs anything.”
“He can call the desk at the ranch.”
“Ok, and what if I’m not at the desk? It’s just easier. We should probably exchange numbers, too. Just in case,” I suggest.
“Yeah, probably.” He unlocks his phone and hands it to me. Alright, I guess we’re doing this now. I put in my number and then send myself a text so I have his.
As I’m handing him his phone, someone comes up behind Brooks and claps him on the shoulder.
“Brooks Calloway. How the hell are ya?”
I look behind him to see a sheriff decked out in all his gear.
“Donovan,” Brooks greets him.
“What are you doing here?”
“Chattin’ with Cunningham. You here to file some more useless citations?”
I suck in a breath at Brooks’s insult. I’ve never heard anyone talk to an officer like that and not get in even more trouble. But unexpectedly, Donovan laughs. “Somebody’s gotta do it.”
Donovan’s eyes shift to me as if he just realized I’m standing here. “Well, hello there. I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you yet. I’m Sheriff Donovan Lewis.”
“I’m Aspen, Brooks’s new assistant.”
“Yep. And we’re just leaving,” Brooks announces, placing his hand on my lower back to usher me toward the door. “Watch where your eyes go, Sheriff. She’s also my son’s girlfriend.”
Donovan chuckles, making me wonder where his eyes went and how I missed it. “Alright, but if you ever need anything, Aspen, you have my number.”
“Do I?” I murmur.
“He means nine-one-one. He’s an idiot,” Brooks explains.
“Oh my god. He’s kind of young to be a sheriff, isn’t he?” He can’t be much older than Zach.
Brooks sighs. “Blue Haven is a small town. Not many people want to police people they’ve known all their lives. Donovan’s grandfather was the sheriff. He trained Donovan so when he finally retired, Donovan was easily voted in.”
“Ah.” So, small towns are weird. Got it.
Brooks leads me to his truck. It’s a little easier for me to get up this time since I’ve done it once already. Once we’re settled and he’s backing out of his spot, I say, “Well, that was an interesting trip into town.”
Brooks chuckles again and glances briefly in my direction, his dark eyes amused. “Yeah, I’ll bet. A lot different from Atlanta, huh?”
“That’s for sure. Thanks for letting me tag along, though. It’s nice to see the town. I’m still getting used to it.”
“Zach hasn’t shown you around?” he asks, letting one hand hang loosely over the steering wheel as he drives. I’m not sure what it is about that, but I have to look away.
“Um, not really. We’ve been to the store, and we had dinner with his mom at Roadside, but that’s about it.”
He huffs a laugh. “Oh yeah, how’s Lacey doin’?”
Bitter. Rude. But I don’t say those things. “She seems fine. I think she’s glad Zach is home.”
He cocks his eyebrow. “She tell you you shouldn’t be workin’ for me?”
“Not in so many words…”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Do you guys not get along?” It’s obvious they don’t get along, but that seemed like a better question than diving straight into their drama when it’s really none of my business.
“You could say that. She’s still mad about things that happened over twenty years ago. We both made a lot of mistakes when we were younger. If she wants to take out her anger on me, that’s fine. She gave me my son, and I’m grateful for that.”
This family has such a confusing dynamic. I’ve yet to figure out why Zach doesn’t like his dad. Everything I’ve seen so far, which, granted, isn’t much, indicates that Brooks has been a very present father. He’s willing to do almost anything for his son. I don’t think Zach realizes how lucky he is.
“What about your folks? They get along?” Brooks asks, changing the subject.
“Uh. No, not exactly. I don’t know my dad, and I haven’t seen my mom in years, so…”
“Ah, jeez. Sorry. You mentioned your grandma the other day. I’m an idiot. Forgive me.”
“It’s alright. It’s a normal question to ask. I just unfortunately don’t have a normal family.”
He nods, but doesn’t say anything else until we’re pulling into the parking lot of the ranch. “Well, I’m glad Lacey didn’t turn you off of workin’ here. I know it’s only been a few days, but you’re going to be a strong asset to our team.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” I’m also glad I took this job.
As much as I didn’t want to get the job because of who I am to the boss, I’m glad I didn’t let that get in the way.
From what I can tell, no one treats me any differently because of it.
“I’ve got to go relieve Jazz. She has a cabin to clean or something. ”
He chuckles. “Yeah, watch out for that girl. She’s trouble.” But the smile on his face makes me believe it’s not a real warning.
“Noted. Have a good afternoon, Brooks.”
“You too, Aspen.”
I walk toward the lodge as he walks around the side of the building. I’m not proud to admit that I take one more glance in his direction to get a look at those Wranglers.
The cowboy look might be growing on me.