Somewhere We Belong (Sterling Ridge #1)

Prologue

prologue

Atlas

The town that my boyfriend, Theodore Malone, had moved to was quaint and gorgeous, nestled right in the middle of the mountains of Colorado. Sterling Ridge was a hidden gem equipped with mom-and-pop shops, a gossip network better than TMZ and a community that rallied behind their people.

Theodore had inherited his uncle Archie Malone’s ranch, leaving him with a shit ton of cows, goats, miles of land and a small cabin. Archie had lived alone with no wife and no kids in this small town, trying to make a name for himself, paving his own way. The Malone family had turned their backs on him since he hadn’t stayed to run the Malone farm in Texas.

Archie left everything to Theodore. I was here visiting him to see what he had inherited. He had been here for a few months, working hard with our boyfriend, Colt. There was a lot to be done and after I had arrived, we had been working grueling hours to get the ranch back to functioning at close to a hundred percent.

I had gone in to town to get groceries; we needed a good home-cooked meal. We had been eating TV dinners for too long and I was starting to get queasy every time Theo popped them into the microwave. A wave of nausea hit me just thinking about them.

The small grocery store was adorable and barely big enough for a cart to roam the aisles. I had way too many groceries, but I needed options since everything sounded good right now. A sniffle caught my attention as I made my way back to the register. A woman stood in the aisle counting her money as she looked at her small basket. She bit her lip looking up and I looked away in case she noticed me.

Glancing out of the corner of my eye, she was wiping her tears and then rubbed her belly, her very pregnant belly. I clenched my jaw wondering if she was struggling and if it would be bad if I offered to help her.

“Hey,” an employee exclaimed, catching our attention. “The snowstorm is rolling in faster than expected and we will be closing soon.”

“Thanks,” I said, not even realizing a storm was coming in. The road to the ranch was already bumpy and isolated, I couldn’t imagine how bad it would be with the storm.

“Thank you,” the woman said, as she picked up her basket, and looked at it before she put a few things on the shelf.

I waited a minute to let her leave before I scooped up what she had put back, seeing one of them was prenatal vitamins. Fuck, I looked for the vitamin aisle quickly. I found another bottle, rushed to the front, and luckily saw an open register. I helped the cashier keep an eye on the woman making sure she didn’t leave.

She left before me, my heart sinking that she would be gone before I could give her what I had purchased for her. I was a little too abrupt with the cashier, grabbed my bags and ran out of the store. She was nowhere in sight as I looked around, even going around the corner to see if she had parked further away.

What the hell was I doing? My bleeding heart was at it again and her husband or boyfriend was probably here for her and I bought vitamins for no reason.

The clouds looked angry as I walked back to the truck, disappointed, quickly loading the groceries in the back before hopping in the car. Flurries had started to fall as I chose a playlist to listen to before backing up and heading to the ranch. I stopped at the last light before turning down the road that took me to the ranch when I spotted her. She was walking with her bags going down the same road to the ranch.

Her jacket didn’t appear thick enough and the jeans and tennis shoes didn’t look very warm either. What man would let his woman walk in this weather? The light took forever to turn green, letting me stew in anger at whoever was supposed to be taking care of her and when I turned, I prayed she didn’t get spooked. I slowed down in front of her, putting my hazards on. Maybe she would think I was less of a creeper if I looked courteous? She walked with her head down, only noticing the truck when it was next to her.

I lowered my window before she passed the truck. “Hi!” I said, way too loudly.

She looked up at me and I lost my breath. This woman was stunning. It wasn’t a flashy kind of beauty, she had big brown eyes, brown hair with full lips that enchanted me to kiss them. Words completely disappeared from my brain when all I wanted to do was stare at her.

“Hello,” she said slowly, glancing behind her, making me do the same thing.

She might have been debating if she should go back to town.

“Do… Do you need a ride?” I stuttered. “It’s… It’s really cold.”

Her wariness was warranted, but how could I make her feel comfortable?

“My boyfriend’s live up the road at Aurora Ranch,” I said, hoping she thought I was less threatening if I was gay.

“Boyfriends?” She raised a brow.

“Uh… yeah, Theodore inherited the ranch, I’m sure you’ve?—”

“I just moved here.” She interrupted me.

“Oh, cool, I’m here for a visit before I go back to med school,” I said, getting cold and I could only imagine how she felt. “I can give you a ride, I’m sure you need to get off your feet.”

She looked up and down the street as she debated if I was trustworthy, but I could see she really wanted to take my offer. A gust of wind hit and that made the decision for her. She opened the truck, setting her bags on the floor before trying to get in the truck. I held out my hand and pulled her up. Once she was in, I cranked on the heat and turned on her seat warmer.

“Alright, where am I taking you?” I said, smiling.

Being this close to her made me feel like I was on the edge of something life changing.

“At the fork in the road take a left, please,” she said, putting her seat belt on, adjusting it so it sat below her belly. “I’m at the end of the road.”

We drove in silence; it didn’t bother me one bit. It gave me a chance to glance at her occasionally, looking for a ring on her finger that didn’t seem to be there. I was happy she was letting me drive her and the longer we drove the more I realized she was going to walk really far.

I itched to say something, but it wasn’t my place.

We arrived at a small cabin that looked run down, looking for another car that could be her partner’s. When no one appeared to be here, I had to fight the urge to tell her to come home with me. I put the truck in park, breathing through the urges to whisk her away and keep her safe.

Where the fuck were these caveman urges coming from??

“Stay there, I’ll help you,” I said, getting out and rounding the truck.

I opened the door to her wary gaze again as I held out my hand for her. She hesitantly took it, slowly getting out of the car.

“I got your bags. Go open your door and get inside,” I said, trying not to be too bossy.

She pursed her lips like she wanted to say something but nodded before waddling away.

I grabbed her bags and the bag that had the stuff I had bought in it. This worked out perfectly and this saved me the weird conversation of I saw you counting money and I wanted to help you out.

I walked onto the porch as she opened the door and rushed inside. It looked better than I expected, but I thought she deserved better, and it looked like no one else was here with her.

“Here are your bags, but can I give you my number? You know, just in case you need a ride or need some help,” I said quickly. “Like I said, we live on the ranch and it seems pretty close to here.”

“Look, I appreciate your help today, but I’m good,” she said. “Thank you though.”

I opened my mouth to say something, anything to get her to let me help her, but she held onto the door, and I think I saw fear in her eyes. That's the last thing I wanted her to feel.

“Ok, well I will be here for the next few days, but Colt and Theodore would be able to help you too,” I said, walking backwards. “It was lovely to meet you…”

I left it open so she would tell me her name.

“Thank you for your help. Have a good day,” she said, nodding before closing the door.

I fought the urge to knock on the door except I decided I would be patient. She would come if she needed help, let’s hope she wasn’t too stubborn.