Chapter 1 The Grumpy Mountain Man
Sarah let out a frustrated sigh and considered throwing her computer off the balcony. Lately, everything she tried to write just turned out awful . She couldn’t help but blame herself for ending her best-selling series, even though she had wanted to put those beloved characters to rest. After all, once a character couldn’t evolve, the story became old hat, and boredom crept in.
Now, with an impending manuscript deadline, she found herself unable to come up with anything else. Scratch that; she couldn’t come up with anything good. Thus, the unidentified flying computer.
She took a sip of her cucumber water and watched the people on the beach run around like ants. Beyond them was the gorgeous blue-green ocean that had sold Sarah on this condo she lived in. Her eight-story balcony gave her the perfect view, and she couldn’t go wrong in the cozy lounge chair. She was in her very own writing paradise.
At least it had been. She wasn’t sure what was wrong.
Her phone rang, and when she saw it was her best friend, Tom, she got up and went back inside so she could hear him over the din of the crashing waves and beachgoers. The only thing worse than her writer’s block was the traffic and crowd noises. Quickly, she closed the sliding glass door behind her and answered the phone.
“Hey, Tommy, how’s it going?”
“I’m annoyed. How are you?”
“Same,” she admitted and took a seat on the couch in the living room. “Why are you annoyed?”
“ Family . What’s wrong with you?”
“Writer’s block.” She rolled her eyes even though Tom couldn’t see it. It made her feel better. “Your drama is far more interesting and possibly fixable, so let’s focus on that. What’s going on?”
“My mother finally moved,” he said, and Sarah’s eyes widened in shock. That woman had been planning on retiring to Florida for at least a decade. Tom and Sarah had met in high school when they were both freshmen. They had been friends ever since. Now he lived in Massachusetts, and Sarah lived in Florida, but they didn’t let the distance impact their friendship too much . Tom’s mother had been planning to move even back then.
“She did? Wow… and she actually moved to Florida? Not like, down the street or something just so she could say she moved?”
“Nope. She really did it. She moved all the way to your Sunshine State. She packed everything up two weeks ago and drove down herself. She didn’t even tell me! I only know because my sister called complaining that I didn’t help her. Like I would have let her do it alone if I had known. ”
“Right? I can’t believe it.”
“I know, but that’s not the annoying part,” he said, and Sarah cringed. It had to be pretty bad if that wasn’t the annoying part. “The annoying part is that she wants me to go down there to help her unpack and get her settled, and then she wants to host a big family dinner for Christmas. She wants me down there for, like, three months! I told her, ‘Ma, I can’t do that,’ but she insisted, and I think I’m going to scream. That woman has given me so many gray hairs; it’s not even funny.”
“Oh please, you’re thirty; you don’t have any gray hairs.” Sarah laughed, trying to ease his tension. She managed to get a chuckle out of him, which was nice.
“It’s been a while since you last saw me. Trust me. I have gray hair. She seriously has no idea what living this far north is like. It’s not like the winters are as bad as they are in Maine or anything, but still, it just takes one nasty cold snap for the pipes to burst, and then I’m looking at thousands in damage, all because my mother wants me to help her unpack.”
“It can’t be that bad, can it?” Sarah asked. She knew Tom lived deep in the woods, and he lived a pretty rustic lifestyle, but surely they built homes around there to withstand the weather.
“You’ve never visited me in the winter, and with good reason. I can’t leave the house empty. Too many things can go wrong.” Tom sighed, and Sarah could hear him moving around on the other end of the phone. She heard the distinct pop and click of a soda can being opened as he continued. “Which stinks because a family gathering sounds like a good time. I have cousins that are going that I would like to see. You know Charlotte finally had the baby?”
Sarah took another sip of her water and looked out the window at the beautiful day. She wanted to be out there, but not around all those people. She wished everyone would go away so she could enjoy the beach to herself, but that never happened. There were always people on the beach.
“Oh wow, that’s great. Healthy, I hope?”
“Yes, from what I hear. A little boy. I have a nephew. Gosh, I wish I could meet him. She sent me a picture, and he….”
“You should go.” Sarah interrupted, sitting straight up on her couch. Excitement shot through her, making it hard to sit still. A brilliant idea had just struck her.
“What? I just told you..”
“I know,” she said, cutting him off again. She stood up and started pacing around her kitchen island, a wide grin on her face. “I know what you said. You can’t leave the house unattended. Well, what if you didn’t have to? We could house-swap! What if I took care of your cabin there, and you stayed in my condo here? It would give you a good excuse not to stay with your mother. I know how you need your peace and quiet sometimes. Staying here would give you the space you need while you take care of your family responsibilities. If you start to feel anxious, you can just go for a walk on the beach or grab a board and hit the water.”
It was possibly the best idea she had ever had. She didn’t mind the cold and would be in the middle of the forest, all by herself, with no distractions. Perhaps she could finally finish her next book, finding the inspiration she needed while helping out her best friend. Tom sounded like he really wanted to go. He hadn’t seen much of his family in a long time and could use the connection. What better way for them both to get what they needed?
“I mean…” Tom paused, and Sarah could almost hear the wheels turning in his brain .
“Oh, come on, it will be awesome! I could definitely use a change of scenery to revive my imagination, and you can see your family for Christmas. When was the last time you were all in the same place at the same time?”
“When we were kids, I think.”
“Exactly! This is the perfect solution!” Sarah exclaimed, her excitement bubbling over as she danced to her bedroom. She could already picture it- the cozy warmth of the wood stove burning, the soft blanket she would snuggle into, and the steaming cocoa she’d enjoy as she typed her way to another bestseller. Perfection.
“I mean… you aren’t wrong,” Tom said. She had him. He was one step away from getting on a plane and heading to Florida.
“No, I’m not. In fact, I am totally right. You should always listen to me. I have the best ideas.”
Tom cracked up laughing at her feigned haughty tone.
“Sure you are. You’ve never had a bad idea in your life. Not even once.”
“Nope.” Sarah agreed, nodding to herself as she headed to her closet. It was a decent-sized walk-in with a U-shaped shelf along the top. She began rummaging through its contents, pulling off shoe boxes and pillows until she found the suitcase she had shoved to the back. She hadn’t used it since college. The last “vacation” she had taken was a day trip to Disney.
“Oh, so dating Collin Senior year wasn’t a big mistake because you don’t make those.” Tom countered, and Sarah paused, pulling the phone away from her ear to glare at it.
“Fine. You’re right. I’m not perfect, and I don’t always have the best ideas, but this is a great one!” She put the suitcase on the bed and opened it. “It is pretty good; I have to admit. Are you sure you would not mind hanging out here for a few months? I mean, it’s not Fort Lauderdale. When I tell you there is nothing here, there really is nothing . Our closest grocery store is about forty-five minutes away, and in the snow, that could feel like days. If the car breaks down, it could be days.”
“It will be fine. I’ll be sure to dress in my warmest clothes and keep the fire going and whatnot. I’ll have so much food stocked up in that cabin you’d think I was a bear getting ready to hibernate.”
Tom was quiet for a moment, and Sarah stopped going through her drawers, hunting for the perfect outfits to bring with her.
“What?”
“Maybe I should just ask my neighbor to look after the place. Eric’s a good guy, he knows the area, and I won’t have to worry about anything going wrong.”
“Stop it; nothing is going to go wrong. Seriously, this will be great! The new location will bring my muse back to me. Three months will be perfect. I will have time to soak it all in and time to write once inspiration hits. I seriously need to write something new, and it’s just….” She trailed off.
“You’re kind of hating where you’re at, huh?” He asked, and it was like he had hit the nail on the head. That was precisely it. She didn’t want to be here anymore. She desperately needed a vacation to refresh her brain and realign her goals.
“Yea. So it would be a great Christmas gift for both of us. I get peace and quiet, and you get time with your family. Win, win.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone, and Sarah started to worry that Tom wouldn’t go along with her plan. She sat on her bed next to the empty suitcase and pouted silently. Tom had practically hidden up there on his mountain since he had been medically discharged from the military. She knew he was fighting mental demons, but becoming a recluse couldn’t be the answer. He needed this!
“All right, I’ll do it. Get a flight to Logan Airport, and I’ll come to get you. That way, I can at least give you a tour and show you how not to break my house before I leave.”
“Sounds great!” Sarah exclaimed, jumping up from her spot on the bed. Her smile grew even wider than before, radiating with happiness. She was going to get a vacation. She was going to write her best work ever. And she was going to relax! The perfect reset for her brain. “I’ll start packing and call you back when my flight leaves. This will be fantastic; I promise you won’t regret this.”
“Hey, as long as you and the cabin are still standing after three months, I’ll be satisfied. I guess it’s a good thing I’m my own boss. I don’t have to jump through any hoops to get time off. I do need to get things set up for the staff, however. Winter can be brutal, and being down a hand can have a significant impact if something dangerous happens.” Tom cleared his throat, and Sarah could hear the emotion in his voice. “Thank you, Sarah. Seriously, you have no idea how much this means to me. I haven’t seen my baby sister in years, and now my nephew? I can’t let him grow up without knowing me. After what happened, I know better than anyone how precious and fleeting time can be. I think I am finally ready to face life again, so it doesn’t pass me by.”
“I know, hun, it will get better, I promise. You’ll be able to have a long visit, and maybe they will visit you. It will be easier now that everyone but you is in the same state.” Sarah assured him.
“I hope you’re right.” There was the sound of a door closing and rustling on the other end.
“I am right. I’ll call you in a little bit. Wish me luck on finding a quick, cheap flight!” She laughed .
“Good luck. Talk to you soon,” Tom chuckled.
“ See you soon.“ Sarah corrected, then hung up the phone.
As Tom headed his truck down the one-lane road toward the wildlife center, he couldn’t help but smile. He wondered how his friend Eric, the grumpy mountain man next door, would handle sharing his forest with the little ray of sunshine that was his best friend, Sarah. Only time would tell, but he had a feeling the next three months would be interesting for all of them.