Chapter Eleven
Autumn stared at the computer screen on her desk in her office that doubled as the laundry room. The washer and dryer provided a white noise to drown out her mother in the kitchen, but not the noise in Autumn’s head while they worked hard to wash the sheets and towels.
She willed the numbers in her bank account to change. They only stared back, mocking her. She was almost out of money. Fixing the heater had drained her account. But the house had to have heat, or she would have even bigger problems she couldn’t afford to pay for.
She was going to need another source of income to keep the lights on for the next month. And what would they do when the bank foreclosed on her land because there was no buyer? Where would she take Quinn and go? She would need money for that too. Hotel rooms weren’t rented on good looks. Well, some were, but she wasn’t that desperate. Yet.
Backwater wasn’t exactly swimming in job opportunities. And she still had to be around to run the lift and deal with the occasional guest who still came for the skiing. At least the ski school was renting her space. To think she had tried to turn that money down because Jett had come with his hand on that check. They would already be out on their backsides if it wasn’t for the school.
She hadn’t spoken to Jett since their kiss the other day. He had shown up for practice, but each day he had run out in a hurry at the end. Quinn said there was always something on the ranch that needed his attention. Autumn commended him for his work ethic and commitment to these kids. She didn’t know how he juggled it all. He did have help. She needed to remember that. Help she didn’t have.
She pushed out of the chair and checked the dryer. Nope. The sheets were still wet. Hopefully, the machines didn’t pick any time in the near future to die on her.
Jett was out on the slope now doing runs with Quinn to help her speed improve. No one had ever done that for Quinn. Autumn didn’t want to read too much into the gesture. Jett was the kind of coach who would teach by example because he was that kind of decent man. But her heart still took notice that he was helping her child.
She slammed the dryer door shut and went outside for a little reprieve. The sky was clear, and the snow was bright against the sun. She squinted to cut down the glare, but the air was crisp and clean. She could breathe deeply when she was outside. She wasn’t going to be able to give this place up. The mountain was her backyard. The pines dotted the landscape like little gifts for her. If they hiked a couple of miles to the north, the creek was back there for fishing. The Ryker Ranch was to her west, and that land went on for miles. There was so much space around her. She couldn’t imagine living somewhere closed in. Even the five acres she desperately wanted to keep seemed like nothing, but at least she’d still have the view of the mountain.
A car drove up the drive. A white Buick with its shiny grill parked in one of the spots by the front. She went down the steps to meet this unexpected guest. Hopefully, they wanted to ski today and tomorrow. All month, maybe.
Only this wasn’t a customer. It was Dottie Lucier, the real estate agent. Dottie was tall and big boned with sprayed stiff long blond hair that fell below her shoulders. Her winter-white coat had a thick shawl fur collar and a belt that fought its way around her waist.
“Hello, Autumn.” Dottie waved as she navigated the asphalt in her heeled snow boots. “I’m so glad I caught you. I know I could have called, but I was in the neighborhood and wanted to say hello anyway.”
The neighborhood was a long country road that snaked and climbed on its way to somewhere else. Her neighbors were the Rykers and the mountain drop-off. She wasn’t exactly in town. Dottie was probably on her way here.
“This is a surprise. Do you want to go inside?” She preferred that Quinn not notice Dottie standing in the driveway in her winter-white glory. Autumn would explain the need to sell soon enough. She also didn’t want Jett to take notice either.
“Sure. It’s freezing out here.” Dottie shivered and laughed. “You think I’d be used to winter in Montana after the twenty years I’ve lived here.”
“Cold is cold. How about my homemade hot cocoa? I made up a batch for the ski team, but only Quinn had practice, it seemed.” She hadn’t realized it would only be Quinn. Jett had come specifically to help Quinn. Another reason to like him when she shouldn’t.
“I would love some.” Dottie followed her inside and took a seat in the kitchen nook.
Autumn poured two oversized mugs and joined her at the table. “So, what brings you by?”
“I have an offer for your property.” Dottie clapped her hands, almost knocking the mug over in the process. “Ooh. Sorry. I get so excited about a possible sale.”
She bet Dottie did. Even though she needed the sale, didn’t see any other options unless a suitcase full of money fell out of the sky, her stomach still hollowed out. Once she asked who the buyer was or what the amount was, the offer would be real and she would have to seriously consider it or risk losing everything to the bank.
“I suppose it was a fair offer.” She focused on the hot chocolate, taking a sip and burning her tongue.
“It’s below what I would ask for the ski area, but it’s not insulting.”
“If it doesn’t cover what’s left on the mortgage with a little left over for me to live on for a while, then the answer is no.” She didn’t want to give up her home and not even have a penny left. She’d rather take her chances with the bank and force them to remove her from the property. That could take months. And maybe give her time to find a new career.
“We can negotiate, but I don’t know if the buyer will come up much higher. At least I didn’t get that impression. Because of my experience, I can read people well.”
What she figured Dottie could read was the dollar signs this sale would mean for her. She would get her commission regardless of whether Autumn paid off her mortgage and ended up living in her car with her mother and her teenage daughter. She was going to have to hold firm and wait it out for another buyer.
The hot cocoa had grown cold. She met Dottie’s animated gaze. “I’m sorry. It’s a no for now. I’d like to see if any other offers come in.”
Dottie’s mouth fell open. That animated look was replaced with something dark and a little cold. “I think you’re making a big mistake. You don’t know when the next offer will be in. You can’t stay here forever. If you sell today, you get the money. If you wait until the bank has possession, you’ll get nothing. You’re better off cutting your losses now and getting out as painlessly as possible.”
“If the amount of the offer doesn’t cover my debt, then I get nothing anyway. If the bank is going to end up with my land, then they can wait until the last possible second to have it. Thank you, Dottie. But it’s still a no. For now.” She stood, hoping Dottie would get the hint that their little gathering was over.
“I understand.” Dottie pushed out of the chair and retightened her coat belt. “I still think you’re making a huge mistake.”
“Duly noted.” She walked Dottie to the door.
The cold air swooped in and circled around her ankles, freezing her skin as she opened the door.
Even though she didn’t want the sale, the mystery of the buyer piqued her interest. “Who was the offer from?”
Pounding footsteps on the front porch interrupted them. Dottie looked between her and the arrival of Jett and Quinn. Quinn’s smile was radiant. Jett seemed to have a triumphant look too. The practice must have gone well.
“Oh.” Dottie pointed at Jett. “The offer was from him.”
****
“Let me explain,” Jett said.
She didn’t need to hear it. She would never sell to him. Never. He had kissed her with an ulterior motive. She couldn’t believe her mother had been right. She didn’t want to believe anything Vera said because it always came with a score to settle. And she also couldn’t believe what a fool she had been to think the man was attracted to her still or again. She wanted to scream.
“Get out.” She pointed at the front door. Dottie had left on her innocent or not-so-innocent declaration that the Ryker Ranch was making an official offer. Not Jett personally, but the business. Quinn had read the tension in the space and ran for the safety of her room.
“Autumn, will you just listen to me?” He tucked his knit cap into the pocket of his parka.
“No, I will not. You don’t have anything to say that I want to hear.” She needed him to go because her emotions were on the crest of the wave and about to crash all over her.
“You’re being unreasonable. My business wants to b—”
“Stop.” She resisted the urge to put her hands over her ears like a toddler who couldn’t stand the taunting of a fire truck’s siren. “I don’t care. I won’t sell to you.”
“Why not?” He reached for her, but she swung her arm out of his way.
She couldn’t because the humiliation would eat her alive. From the moment they broke up, she had wanted to prove to Jett that she didn’t need him. He could not become the person to save her now. Living with the knowledge that he’d swooped in with her solution would be the end of her. Not him. Anyone but him. Tears burned the backs of her eyes. She hated the fact he even knew about her predicament. She might be spiting herself because of her stupid pride, but that was that.
“I have to ask you one thing.” She needed to know even though asking was going to cost her too much. “The kiss the other day, was it real or did you do it to prime me for the offer? You know—if you gave me a good time, maybe you even get a little lucky, then I would be more likely to accept your money.”
His face twisted with hurt, and she regretted the words, but she had to know. He stared at her for a full minute. “You think I wanted to sleep with you and then leave payment on the bedside table? Shit, woman. What kind of a man do you think I am? I thought you knew me well enough to know I would never insult you or any woman that way.” He marched out of the house without looking back.
She slammed the door on his retreating hind end.
“I told you. The Rykers are always thinking about themselves and what they can take from everyone else,” her mother said from her perch at the end of the hallway. Vera must have been listening again.
She regretted ever allowing her mother to live with her. When she took control of the property, she had moved home. Living here had made the most sense at the time. The house had plenty of space. But over the years, she’d realized how wrong that decision was and she could never figure out how to tell her mother to move out.
Autumn ignored Vera, went upstairs to her own bedroom, and locked the door behind her. She grabbed a pillow off the bed, shoved it against her mouth, and finally screamed.