Chapter 18
Inside of an Oven
By the time Friday afternoon rolls around I’m ready to be done for the week. It’s been a busy week without the crew here to absorb some of the work, and I’m desperate to stay on the timeline.
I shut my laptop so hard it makes Miles jump from where he’s sitting on the floor in the kitchen. We’ve spent the entire week working in the same room and not one of us has died yet. In fact, we’ve become sort of… friends.
A true miracle.
In fact, it’s been kind of nice. I’m a pretty social person, so I wasn’t exactly loving working all by myself in the cabin while the crew is gone.
And even though he’s a man of few words, Miles has listened to my chatter and stories without complaining.
He’s even talked back. I’ve found myself leaning back in my folding chair laughing more than once.
I’m pretty sure he could recite my high school experience in Juniper Ridge from memory, and rattle off all of the names of Hazel’s horses. He told me a bit about the ranch, too.
For instance, his dad snuck him on a horse years before his mom said it was okay for him to be riding. When she finally let him ‘try it out,’ he was so comfortable in the saddle she immediately knew he’d been riding a while already.
Then, there was the time he and Parker snuck a couple of girls over to the cabin in their early twenties and the biggest raccoon to ever exist scared them so badly, he didn’t come back to the cabin for over a year. The girls never agreed to go out with them again either.
Everytime Miles talks about his childhood on the ranch, I feel a little pang of sadness in my chest. It must have been so nice to grow up here with such caring parents.
I can really tell he loves them by the way he talks about them.
There’s no loneliness in his memories, no question if he was loved by them.
He doesn’t talk about after high school, and the years up until I met him.
But I can only imagine it’s more of the same joy he had before then.
If I could pick anywhere to grow up, it’d be this magical little mountain ranch in Wyoming, with its acres of glowing fields at sunset and warm, close-knit people.
“I’m headed out for the day,” I call out to Miles, slinging my bag onto my shoulder. Miles stands up from where he’s been working.
I look up at him once I’ve collected all of my things, and for a split second, his shoulders drop. My instincts tell me to drop everything and stay here to talk to him longer.
I’ve been spending way too much time not hating Miles Autry.
“Okay. I’m probably going to be gone soon here too. See you next week.”
Miles turns his attention back to the floor, prying up another dusty floorboard. His forearms flex as he pushes on the prybar, sending a spark through me. A memory clouds my vision. Miles’s strong arms pulling me through the door of my hotel room, both of us already breathless.
I’ve got to get out of here.
I had big plans to go straight back home to my guest cabin and curl up with a good book, a cup of coffee and some snacks. All of that is put on the back burner now, as I walk my way back to the Old Cabin.
I left my phone at my desk when I packed up. I’m not attached to it, but I can’t exactly leave it in the cabin for the night. If something ever happened to Aunt Millie and she needed to get ahold of me, I’d never forgive myself for not answering the call.
I take my key out of my back pocket, opening the front door and making a beeline straight for the desk. Sure enough, there’s my phone sitting right on top. No notifications, thank goodness.
I take a sigh of relief, soaking in that nothing bad has happened in the time I didn’t have my phone. It has always been hard for me to fully disconnect. Probably something to do with waiting for my parents to call me. Not that they ever did.
When I turn to leave, a spark of light catches my eye by the front door. Great. I’m seeing things again. What is with this cabin? I swear, it has a mind of its own.
A warm breeze throws my messy curls back over my shoulder as I walk towards the front door. Like usual, there’s nothing there. Although, the temperature of the cabin is a lot higher over by the door where the spark of light was.
I can’t deal with this right now. I’m tired from work, and all I want to do tonight is relax. Take my mind off of renovations. And mysterious indoor breezes in a cabin I’m pretty sure is haunted.
I wonder what Codie is doing tonight. We are halfway through the renovations, after all. I should have the girls over for a little party to celebrate. There are beers in the fridge, and we could order takeout. It might be fun.
Pulling out my phone, I shoot off a text to Codie and the girls in our hiking group text thread. Within five minutes, I’ve got confirmations from Codie, Erin and Morgan. Nicole is out of town visiting family.
I clap my hands together, turning back around to face the cabin. I’m pretty sure there are some blankets in the cabinet we can put out on the floor. I can play a movie for us on my laptop, or we can just hang out. A smile spreads across my face.
Yep, this is exactly what I need.
An hour later, Erin and Morgan are here and we are all sitting on the blankets two beers in. Well, the girls and Hunter, Erin’s boyfriend. He’s quiet, letting us all chat and do our thing. Codie texted us she’s running late.
“It looks amazing, Katie, really. The fireplace is gorgeous,” Erin looks around the cabin.
“Thanks, but I can’t take credit for that. It was already here,” I shrug.
“Really? I could have sworn it was brand new. It looks like it’s never been used,” Morgan says, her brown eyes growing wide.
“I thought the same thing when I saw it, but I asked Parker and he said they for sure have used it many times.” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “But the rest of the house is pretty new with everything we have done. I’m excited to see the final result.”
“Speaking of Parker—“ Morgan starts with a smirk.
“Oh my god, you shouldn’t have mentioned him, she’s obsessed with Parker Bailey,” Erin laughs.
“What can I say, he’s super hot!” Morgan exclaims, arms flailing.
Erin rolls her eyes and laughs. “She’s been saying that about him for years. I swear, he could be an ax murderer for all she knows, but she’s smitten anyway.”
“You’re so lucky you see him all the time, Katie,” Morgan says.
I’ve missed nights like this. Hanging out with friends, not doing anything at all but having fun. As much as I’d like to be productive every second of the day, I need this.
A bead of sweat collects on my forehead. “Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?” I ask. I swear it’s at least eighty degrees in this cabin. The air conditioning was installed a few weeks ago, I wonder if it broke or something.
“I think it’s just you,” Morgan giggles, taking another sip of beer.
I pad over to the thermostat to check it out just in case, but it says sixty-eight degrees. Perfectly cool. Why am I sweating if the air conditioning is on?
I walk back to the living room through the dark, narrow hallway, but as soon as I take a step, I’m dizzy. As clear as day, a memory flashes in my mind of the night I met Miles. So vivid I could reach out and touch it, if I weren’t so afraid it’d vanish into dust.
Miles pulls me along the sidewalk of the busy street in downtown Salt Lake City.
It’s dark out, but when I look up at the sky expecting thousands of stars like back home, I’m disappointed.
Another reason I could never live in the city.
The sound of car horns, sirens and people laughing surround us.
The skyscrapers spin before my eyes as I look straight up at them, still tipsy from the whiskey sours we shared at the bar.
“One more block, Mac,” Miles says, his low voice rumbling all the way to my gut. I detect the smallest slur in his words.
I look down, right into his chocolate brown eyes. “You’re so handsome.”
He chuckles, pulling me closer as we walk towards my hotel. I couldn’t care less where we are. I just want to be near him. Soaking in his energy, staring at his smile, feeling his arms wrap around me.
His hand grips mine as we walk, and I find myself fixated on it. We fit together so perfectly, it’s almost like it’s meant to be.
No, we can’t be meant to be. I don’t do meant-to-be. I need to get a grip on myself. I like him way too much. This isn’t good.
But, as soon as he looks back at me, wavy hair falling in his face, five o’clock shadow just starting to show, joy sparking in his eyes like a burning flame, I know I’m a goner.
The memory clears, and I’m left standing in the hallway again. I mentally tally the amount of beers I’ve had so far. Three, I think. Am I so exhausted I’m starting to have hallucinations? Did I eat something bad?
My worries are interrupted the second the doorbell rings. Closing the rest of the distance in the hallway, I open the door to a smiling Codie and Parker on the other side. Parker is wearing a long sleeve plaid shirt, even though it’s approximately eight hundred degrees outside.
“Sorry I’m late! I stopped by the store to grab some snacks and drinks.
Look who I found in town on my way over here,” Codie says with a grin the size of Texas, nodding towards Parker.
“Not sure what you have, but I brought Tequila.” She shakes a bottle of Tequila in his hand, with two shot glasses balancing on the top.
“Well in that case, come on in,” I reply, stepping out of their way. “Guys, Codie brought us shots!”
A few hollers come from the living room as Codie walks in, Parker trailing behind her laughing.
I’m sure Morgan will be thrilled. I could use something stronger too.
Something to get Miles off my mind for the rest of the night.
I deserve one night without thinking about him and his stupidly frustrating effect on me.