Chapter 30
CHAPTER
THIRTY
Boston climbed up into the bed of his truck and then grabbed onto the bungee cords he and his dad had put around the mattress. He pulled with all of his strength, and with Daddy pushing, the mattress slid right on top of the box springs.
He hated moving, but it felt necessary. He hadn’t been able to find a job in Coral Canyon, despite the fact that there were several event centers and luxury lodges here. They seemed full-up with staff—and Jackson Hole was the biggest tourist town in Wyoming.
He’d started applying there and gotten interviews instantly. He’d slept on Cash’s couch for the past week and a half, and his back ached as he jumped down to the frozen ground.
“At least it stopped snowing,” he said.
His daddy grinned at him and turned to go back in the house. “You got everything?”
“Did you grab that duffel bag?” Boston asked.
“Yep.” Daddy led the way down the snow-cleared path and up the steps into the house.
Boston didn’t want to live here, but he didn’t want to move either. The warring emotions felt like tearing himself right in half, but he put a smile on his face for his mother.
“All set?” she asked, her eyes bright with what Boston hoped was excitement, though he knew his mother worried about him moving to Jackson Hole. His grandparents had come too, and he stepped in to hug his mother before moving over to them.
“I’m all ready,” he said.
She indicated two big brown grocery sacks. “Grandma bought some food for you and Cash,” she said.
Boston kept his smile in place. “Thank you so much. We’ll really appreciate this.”
Daddy looked up from his phone. “Uncle Blaze has left,” he said. He turned the device toward everyone. “And Uncle Gabe just sent this.”
Boston looked closer and found a smiling picture of Liesl behind the wheel with Gabe in the passenger seat. They both gave a double thumbs up, and Boston grinned. “Oh boy,” he said. “I hope that goes okay.”
“She’s a good driver,” Momma said. “They’ll be fine.”
“It’s one of their first long trips on the highway,” Daddy said.
Boston sent up a silent prayer for his cousin, because he knew driving made Liesl nervous, especially with her daddy beside her.
Uncle Gabe was the buttoned-up type, who wore a suit everywhere he went, spoke properly, and had been educated as a lawyer.
He’d been the youngest lawyer in Wyoming, in fact, having graduated law school by the time he was Boston’s age.
He’d done one year of college before coming home and trying to figure out what to do with his life. He’d really enjoyed working for Harry on the concert series, and he’d been really good at handling details, scheduling things, and working with people.
He’d thought about returning to school to do hospitality management or something of that sort.
But no matter what, he needed a job to be able to move out of his parents’ basement.
He picked up the bags of groceries—and probably some of his grandmother’s famous fire-roasted corn chowder—and headed for the door.
“You leavin’ Boston?” Lars asked as he gained the stairs.
“Hey, buddy,” Boston said, and he quickly passed the bags of groceries to his dad. “I’m gonna text Momma and Daddy all about my new place, okay?” he said. “And my first day on the job, so you’ll get to see it.”
Boston’s younger sister, Emilia, came upstairs too, and he knelt down and hugged them both. “You guys be real good for Momma and Daddy, okay?”
“Okay,” Emilia said, and Lars looked to their daddy.
“Can’t I come?”
“No, buddy,” Mav said, and he ruffled the boy’s hair. “Momma needs you here to do that de-icing on the driveway. Remember?”
“Yeah, I ‘member,” Lars said, and he semi-stomped back into the kitchen toward their mother.
Boston took one bag of groceries from his daddy, and they left the house. They didn’t say much on the way to Jackson, with Boston driving his truck with his daddy in the passenger seat. He’d get a ride back to Coral Canyon with Uncle Blaze, who’d taken the opportunity to come see his son.
They drove through the National Park, and Boston did love the majestic mountains, wide open fields, and glistening lakes.
“Big herd of buffalo here,” he said, approaching a slowdown in traffic.
Tourists and wildlife photographers alike always pulled over whenever there were animals in Teton National Park.
Part of Boston’s new job would be to keep track of those animal sightings, so that he could tell guests at the Elk Ridge Lodge about them.
“The traffic in this town is incredible,” Daddy said when they reached the outskirts of Jackson and ran into a throng of cars. Once they made the turn, it would open up a little bit, but this area was definitely congested all the time.
He drove through Jackson Hole to the west side, and then turned to go back up around the other side of Teton National Park, toward the lodge where he would work.
The Elk Ridge Lodge was an exclusive lodge with custom rooms that cost over one thousand dollars per night.
The guests who chose to stay there usually found out about the place from other high-end customers who had been there before—celebrities, country music stars, actors, and others looking for an escape to the Wyoming wilderness, where privacy and confidentiality was king.
Boston had been hired as the outdoor adventure liaison, and he didn’t start until January third. He’d been talking to Cash for a couple of months, the frequency of their chats increasing once Boston had decided to look for jobs in Jackson Hole.
Cash had a two-bedroom apartment that he normally shared with another rodeo cowboy, but Slate had moved to Butte to continue his training in Montana. Cash could afford the rent on his own, and he hadn’t bothered to find another roommate.
Boston felt like God had been opening doors for him left and right, and he pulled in to the single duplex unit just off the main road.
It would still take him twenty minutes to get to work, but he and Cash were only about fifteen from the grocery stores, convenience stores, and nightlife in Jackson Hole—not that Boston planned on living a raging after-work life.
He had no idea what his cousin’s training schedule was in the winter, but they had indoor facilities, and he assumed Cash would work as much as he did.
“Uncle Blaze is here,” he said as he pulled up, nearly touching his front bumper to his uncle’s back one. Then he backed into a space in front of the apartment, glad this spot had been left for him.
“I don’t see Gabe and Liesl,” Daddy said.
“They’re coming all the way from Dog Valley,” Boston said. He’d lived on the western highway leading into Coral Canyon since he’d moved to Wyoming a good fifteen or sixteen years now. “We had to be in front of them.”
He looked over to his daddy, who nodded. “I don’t think we really need Uncle Gabe to get started,” he said. “Do you?”
Boston shook his head. “I think he used the trip as a chance to get Liesl to drive—and to talk to Cash. He told me he wanted him to come so they could talk about something.”
“Oh, interesting,” Daddy said. He got out of the truck and Boston followed him. He collected the groceries from the back seat first, and went to knock on the door, surprised his uncle hadn’t already gone in.
Daddy and Blaze chatted at the tailgate while Boston knocked on Cash’s door. The duplex stood two stories tall, with a living room, kitchen, and bathroom on the first floor, and two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. It would be plenty big for both Boston and Cash.
Cash opened the door wearing blue jeans, a black long-sleeved button-up shirt, and a black cowboy hat.
“Hey,” he said, with a laugh. “You made it.” He stepped in to Boston and hugged him with the groceries between them and everything. Then he took a bag and said, “Come on in. It’s cold out there.”
“It shouldn’t take long to get all my stuff in.
” Boston followed Cash into the kitchen, which definitely looked like a single man lived there.
Dishes sat in the sink, and the lid on the trash can stood propped up by the amount of garbage in it.
It didn’t stink, though, and it had a back door that led to a little grassy area now covered in snow, with a swing set and more parking.
Relief ran through Boston simply because he was ready to live on his own again. So ready.
“Hey, Daddy.” Cash ran toward the front door and right into his father’s arms. Uncle Blaze said something to him in a low voice, and Boston simply watched, marveling at the tall, strong, successful Cash as he seemed to wilt in front of his father.
He stepped back and wiped his eyes and nodded. “Yeah, I know,” he said. “I’m going to talk to him today. That’s why he’s coming.”
Uncle Blaze wiped his hand along Boston’s cheek too.
“All right, let’s get this truck unloaded.
” Then he nodded to Boston, and they all went outside again to start bringing in his bed, clothes, his record player, his boots and coats and other winter gear, and a dresser.
He’d told his father he didn’t need a desk, but once everything was set up upstairs, the room could certainly use one.
“Maybe a nightstand,” he said to his daddy. “Somewhere to put my phone and a lamp?”
“We can get one at the store,” he said. “And we’ll fill the house with food as well.”
He led the way downstairs, where Cash and Blaze sat on the couch. There was a loveseat too, and a TV in a big entertainment center.
Boston loved it all. New life and breath entered his chest, which lifted his mouth into a smile. “We’re gonna head over to the Walmart,” he said. “And get everything we need.”
“You need anything?” Daddy asked. “We want to make sure Boston’s not a problem here.”
“Oh, he couldn’t be a problem if he tried,” Cash said. “I’d come with you, but Uncle Gabe texted and said they’re almost here.”
Uncle Blaze grinned. “I guess Liesl missed the turn and had to come back.”
“Oh, boy,” Boston said.
“Hey, learnin’ to drive isn’t easy,” Cash said. “She’s doin’ great.”
Boston agreed, because Liesl was doing great. In fact, the door opened in the next moment, and Uncle Gabe held it for Liesl to walk in.
“We made it,” she called, pumping both fists up into the air.
“And no one died,” Uncle Gabe said, and he grinned at his daughter.
“We’re just heading out,” Mav said. “We’ll grab lunch on the way back; I’ll text you to get orders.”
“Sounds good,” Gabe said.
Liesl lifted up a big, embroidered bag. “I brought curtains,” she said. “I’ll work on getting them set up while you’re gone.”
Boston moved over and drew her into a hug. “Thank you so much,” he said.
“They’re nothing special,” Liesl said. “I just used some leftover fabric I had, so it’s almost like a patchwork quilt.”
“I can’t wait,” Cash said. “Maybe this place will look like someone actually lives here.” He chuckled, and Boston realized for the first time that he hadn’t hung art or pictures anywhere—not that he would have hung any up either.
Liesl and Gabe moved further into the apartment while Boston and his daddy went out. This time, he handed the keys to his father and said, “Will you drive?”
“Sure.” Daddy watched him as he got in the passenger seat, and then he climbed behind the wheel. “How are you feeling?”
Boston drew in a deep breath, wanting to feel and experience everything authentically.
“You know what?” He looked over at his father, a genuine smile curving his mouth.
“I feel really good. I don’t know if this is the exact thing that I need to do or how long this job will last, but right now, it feels really good to be here with Cash. ”
Daddy pulled out of the parking space and paused before he turned onto the highway that led back to town. “I’ve had a feeling that you being here might be more for him…than you.” He cut a glance at Boston out of the corner of his eye.
“Really?” Boston asked. “He seems so confident.”
“Looks can be deceiving,” Daddy said, and Boston thought of the job he’d been hired to do.
Boy, that sure was true, and he hoped he would be able to learn his new role and settle into it quickly once he started at Elk Ridge Lodge.