Chapter Two – Lincoln
Chapter Two
Lincoln
“Montana? I can’t believe you’re leaving me for freaking Montana!”
Stepping out of the car, I lifted my arms and stretched. We were only a few hours away from Hamilton, Montana. I smiled when I looked at the mountains all around us. It was beautiful.
“Kaylee, how can you look around and not see how beautiful it is here?”
She huffed. “Yeah, it’s beautiful. Mountains, rivers, blah, blah, blah. I don’t see why you need to come here. There are plenty of jobs in Georgia. Lots of old mansions you can design up. You made your mama cry, Lincoln. Cry! A well-raised Southern woman does not make her mama cry.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ve already told you why I wanted this job. Being an interior designer in Atlanta is one thing; being one in a small Montana town is another.”
“You mean, that stupid excuse of leaving the big city for something simple? Leave the disgusting heat of Atlanta for fresh, crisp mountain air? Get out of the hold your father had over you? Start fresh? That bullshit?”
“Yes, those reasons.”
“Those are bullshit reasons. I know why you’re really here. You want you some northern country dick.”
It took everything I had not to laugh. “Northern country dick?”
She nodded.
My best friend leaned against my Land Rover Discovery, giving me a matter-of-fact look. We stared each other down, neither willing to budge.
Kaylee sighed. “It’s not fair. I’m going to miss you.”
“Move here! You’re a book editor! You can work from anywhere you want, Kaylee. Think of how much fun it would be.”
Chewing on her lip, she looked to be giving it some serious thought. The moment I’d told her I was moving, I had seen her eyes light up at the possibility of starting over fresh somewhere herself.
“I don’t think I could leave Georgia. It’s all I’ve ever known. I’m a Southern kind of girl. I’ve got the twang finally down. I just don’t think I could make it up here.”
I raised a brow. “Did you see the hot guys in those jeans and cowboy hats at the last gas stop?”
A full smile broke out over her face. Her blue eyes lit up, and she nodded. “Hell yes, I saw them. Did you see the one wink at me? Lawrd Almighty, I nearly came on the spot!”
Laughing, I shook my head and did a few jumping jacks while Kaylee stretched and moaned about how tight her muscles were.
“Whose idea was it to drive to Montana?” she asked, slipping back into the passenger seat.
“I believe it was yours. ‘It’ll be an adventure,’ you said. ‘The scenery will be amazing,’ you said.”
She rolled her eyes as her seat belt clicked. “Well, scenery is overrated. How many more miles until we get to this little town? And is it safe? I mean, you bought this house because the guy had too many bad memories. What happened? Was someone murdered in it?”
“Yes, it’s safe, and I don’t really know the full reason.
All I know is, the Shaw family owns a ton of land.
They have a cattle ranch and raise horses as well.
Their son lived in this house and doesn’t want it anymore.
All his brother Ty told me was that there were memories that the owner wanted to leave behind.
So, they broke the house and a small parcel of land around it off from their main ranch, and they’re selling it for him.
He didn’t even want to be involved in the process. ”
Kaylee’s arms folded over her chest. “When was this house built?”
I gave her a wide smile. “That’s the best part. It was built in 1887.”
“Oh Lord. I’m gonna have to stay to help you fix the place up,” she stated, staring out the window.
“You know, I’m being serious about you moving here, Kaylee. It might be the perfect place for you to start over as well. A fresh start in a new city. New state.”
She nodded. “Yeah. Maybe.”
My chest squeezed as I reached over and took her hand in mine.
Last year, Kaylee’s fiancé of two years had killed himself.
She fell into a pit of depression and refused to leave her apartment for months.
The thought of seeing somewhere John had loved to go caused her to nearly hyperventilate.
The last six months, she had come such a long way with help from her grief counselor.
She’d finally started talking about the idea of dating again.
The hardest part for her was that he’d only left a note that said he was sorry. That was it.
“Look!” I cried out when I saw the sign that said, Hamilton: 30 miles.
“Great, but your GPS says we’re still sixty miles from the house.”
We both laughed as I pushed a little harder on the gas pedal. Kaylee wasn’t the only one ready to get out of this car.
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