Chapter 5
FIVE
I’ve lost my mind, I’ve lost my mind, I’ve completely lost my mind .
The chorus sang merrily through Wren’s head, over and over. It started singing as she slipped as carefully as she could out of Elias’ bed while he slept. It picked up as she escaped out Elias’ front door. It kept singing as she trotted to the car under the still-dark sky.
But, better the endless chorus than having to explore the dumbass thing she just did.
Or her feelings about Elias.
Nope. Back to the chorus . I’ve lost my mind, I’ve lost my mind, I’ve completely lost my mind .
As she started to open her car door, her phone rang, making her jump. She looked back at the house as if Elias could hear her phone through his walls. She quickly got into her car and glanced at the screen, saw who it was, and accepted the call.
Wren answered with, “About time you called. You’re a dead woman.”
“Now why?” her bestie asked.
“Serge.”
“What do you mean?” Barbie sounded incredulous. “He works miracles. His hands are the hands of a healing angel. His needles are little darts of love.”
“He left me to die in a fire.”
“He…what?”
“The breakroom caught fire while I was naked on the table and he ran away.”
“That rat bastard. I’ll kill him myself. Oh, wait, I can’t because you told me I’m already a dead woman.”
Wren grinned. “You know what? I’ll let you live long enough to kill Serge.”
“You are such a kind person.”
“Ha! That’s what someone else told me recently.” Her lady bits suddenly reminded Wren that she was the dumbest woman alive.
“That someone sounds like a guy.”
“How can you tell?”
“Spill, sister,” Barbie demanded.
“Where are you?”
“ Spill , sister. Stop changing the subject. I’m in Aspen.”
“I love Aspen.”
“So help me God, I will charter a plane straight into Longmont if you don’t. Spill. The. Tea.”
Wren laughed. “If I’m not killing you outright now, I at least get to torture you a bit. Hang on.” She started her car, hoping Elias wouldn’t hear. Her phone connected to the speakers. Barbie’s impatient huffs now filled the interior. “I’m hesitating because I also kind of owe you because of Serge.”
“Oh? Ooohh. Yeah. Firemen, am I right?”
“Almost right. In this case, it was a paramedic.”
Barbie paused. “Wait, did you get hurt for real? Wren, are you okay? Are you in the hospital? I can be right there.” The genuine concern in her friend’s voice touched Wren.
“No, I’m fine, I’m fine. I promise. I’ve already left the scene of the crime.” Wren blushed as heat rose from her chest. The chorus kicked in twice as loudly:
I’ve lost my mind, I’ve lost my mind, I’ve completely lost my mind .
“Scene of the crime?” Barbie’s voice went up an octave. “What is going on? Is there a policeman?”
Wren laughed. “Sorry, no. I need more coffee before I try to communicate this early. I’m leaving the paramedic’s house right now.”
Barbie paused. “Lyons is in the same time zone as Aspen right?”
“Last time I checked.”
“Are you sure you’re not an hour ahead of me? Because if you are, you’re leaving really, really early in the morning. Like, it’s not even morning yet, actually.”
“It appears so. Hey, then why are you calling me this early?”
“Don’t change the subject. Would you by chance be sneaking away?”
“Maybe?”
“You know, it’s a real pain in the ass trying to get anything out of you,” Barbie huffed. “Are you leaving this early because he’s a bad lay? Or did he kick you out without breakfast? Because if he did, I’ll kill him right after Serge.”
That’s my Barbie. Rabidly loyal.
Emphasis on rabid .
“No, he did not kick me out. And the sex was phenomenal .” She bit her lip, remembering the porch last night and the way her legs turned to overcooked spaghetti as he damn near kissed her very soul—a preview of all the pleasure that was to come.
“Okay.” Barbie stretched out the word like taffy. “So. Why did you leave, Wrenbird?”
Good question .
Wren had been busy all week but she’d still had to force herself not to go to Riversong. She didn’t want to run into Elias the Paramedic for a too-brief minute before he was back out the door and on to another emergency. She wanted Elias on his downtime when he was relaxed and they had a chance to actually talk. But as the days passed and her imagination ran away with her, Wren decided she wanted more than just talk.
She’d felt confident getting dressed for Cocks and Strippers. She practiced her walk—no, her swagger —in front of her full-length mirror. She was totally prepared to go home with Elias—or take him to her place. She felt great walking into the bar, her confidence only boosted when she saw the look on his face as soon as he spotted her. Then their dance, the way every touch sparked fireworks in her chest—fireworks she knew had to be going off in his chest too by the way he looked at her, lips parted, pupils dilated. His shaking hands as he tried to open his front door.
Dear Lord, that kiss on the porch. Best of her life.
Don’t even get me started .
And that kiss didn’t even touch everything that came after.
So why did my swagger abandon me and send me running before breakfast?
There were no red flags. His place was totally normal. He was totally normal. Incredibly hot, but totally just a dude. And as for Penny and Chuck, she’d never seen a more adorable pair of puppers.
I’ve lost my mind. Only explanation. She glanced at the passenger seat. At what she’d impulsively stolen—yes, stolen, what the heck was wrong with her?—on her way out Elias’ door.
Because he was too good. Because if I didn’t leave now, I’d blow off work and stay all weekend .
Instead, Wren told Barbie, “I have work today.”
“At the crack of dawn? Really?”
“Really. It’s good light for photography.”
Barbie huffed again. “I think you’re lying to me, but I don’t know enough about photography to argue with you and not sound stupid.”
“You never sound stupid.”
“And that’s why I love you. Because you are kind and say nice things to me, even when they’re lies. But I still think you’re lying to me right now about this situation too.”
“I’m…not.”
“Yeah, you are. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing! Can’t a girl have a little no-strings-attached fun?”
“Of course she can. But that’s not your style.”
“It’s not?”
“No. Your style is to carefully observe. And then observe some more. Preferably through a telescopic lens. And then as soon as someone comes in for a closeup, you pack away your camera and go home.”
“Sister, are we talking photography right now? Or did you just refer to my cootchie as a camera?”
“Told you, I don’t know squat about photography.” Barbie sounded smug.
“So you are comparing my cootchie to a camera.”
“Wrenbird. I can’t believe you went home with a guy and now you’re leaving before breakfast when the sex was, as you said phenomenal .” She exaggerated the word to the breaking point.
“Yeah. I kind of can’t believe it, either.”
But it was too late to turn around and go back. What if he was awake? How desperate would that be, walking back into his house? How needy? How much of a turn-off?
And in Wren’s world, guys hated a needy woman.
“I do have work early today though,” she added lamely.
“Do you at least have plans to see him again?”
Wren felt a smile steal across her lips. She glanced from the road to the passenger seat beside her.
To Elias’ scrubs top folded neatly and draped over her tote.
I’ve lost my mind, I’ve lost my mind, I’ve completely lost my mind .
“Actually, I do, yes.”
The chorus didn’t leave her alone, even when she got home.
It sang through what few dreams she had in the hour and a half of sleep she got before her alarm went off. It echoed off the shower walls. And it serenaded her as she grabbed a yogurt out of her fridge and headed for her garage. To block it out, Wren turned on the radio as loudly as she could and sang along to every song on her way to her gig.
Wren pulled up in front of a house in a secluded neighborhood in the mountains. She parked across the freshly paved street and studied the property. Just as she thought, the light would be perfect as soon as the sun rose a little higher. She went around to her trunk and unloaded her gear. She closed the trunk and set the case holding her drone on top of it—her pride and joy and current obsession, not including a certain lion-faced paramedic.
Wren was fiddling with the drone camera’s aperture setting when the real estate agent who’d hired her drove up and parked behind her car.
“Good morning,” Chase Brandt said as he got out of his Jeep. And wow, he’d picked up two coffees on his way. How nice .
“Good morning. Thanks for this.” Wren lifted one of the coffees out of the carrier.
“Thank you for coming out so early.” Chase pulled out the other coffee and tossed the carrier back into the Jeep.
“No problem. I think you’ll be pleased when you see how the sun hits the property this time of day. That natural stone fa?ade in the back’s going to light right up.”
Chase studied her. “You explored the back yard already.” He kept his tone neutral but she could tell by his face she’d suddenly lost some of his trust. She tried to ignore the anxious clenching in her stomach.
“No, I wouldn’t go onto the property without you here. I just looked at the photos in the previous listing, the one that didn’t sell the house. And I can see why. In the wrong light, the backyard looks dark and uninviting. I’m going to change that this morning.”
Chase’s stern expression eased as he smiled. “Fantastic. That’s what I’m looking for.”
Wren’s stomach unclenched. She was still new enough at real estate photography that if she wasn’t careful, she’d second-guess herself out of a job. Chase was going to need handling with kid gloves—at least she was an expert at that.
Just treat him like your touchiest subjects. Don’t back down, don’t show fear, a little light flattery goes a long way .
“Between my photos and your charisma, this house will be sold in no time.”
Placated, Chase’s smile widened. “Your lips to God’s ears. The remoteness doesn’t always appeal to people. But the new road helps.” He took a sip of his coffee while Wren set hers down and went back to her drone. She set the shutter speed to medium to minimize blurring since the wind would probably pick up as the morning got warmer. She didn’t need blurry trees in the wind.
“All right. I’m ready to go. I’ve got half an hour of fly time before the battery dies. I brought an extra one, but I don’t anticipate we’ll need it. I should get all the shots we need within about fifteen, maybe twenty minutes. The weather’s perfect.”
Chase raised his coffee cup in a salute. “Fantastic. Just do me a favor and make sure you don’t film the property off that direction.” He turned and pointed into the woods opposite the house. “I went around and let all the neighbors know we’d be doing drone shots, half as a courtesy and half-hoping if anyone’s thinking of selling they’d be impressed. But the guy who lives over there warned me off.” He chuckled. “Then his wife asked about getting drone shots taken of their property.”
Wren raised an eyebrow. “Are they thinking of selling?”
“No. They’re actually building some sort of camp or B&B or something and she wants to have photos for a website once it’s done.” Chase shook his head. “Just, if you go up really high, make sure you don’t catch their property. The wife was sweet, but her husband was a real bear.”
“No problem. Thanks for the warning.” And the possible lead she thought. “If I do happen to catch their property, I can always crop it out later.”
Satisfied with the drone, Wren set its launch pad on the ground next to the car and placed the drone on it. She’d preprogrammed a flight path that would return the drone to its launch pad as soon as the battery started getting low, a habit she’d formed even though she didn’t think she’d need it today. Wren picked up her phone and inserted it into the drone controller. The drone lifted off and Chase leaned in to watch the screen on her phone as she worked.
“Right now, we’ve got really good ambient light. I’m going to start out low and get some shots of the front of the house first before the sun gets too much higher. Otherwise, we’ll have the same problem as the previous agent did with the backyard. It’ll be too backlit and appear shadowed.”
Wren thumbed the gimble dial, adjusting the camera angle to forty-five degrees. She took some shots as Chase nodded.
“Looks good,” he said.
Wren sent the drone higher but kept the camera angled. A high shot straight down was cool when photographing a beach, but in this case, she’d just get a flat-looking shot of the roof—not very sexy when selling a house. She took some photos then moved on. Once the drone was in place in the backyard, she turned it. Yup, the light was perfect, showing off the sandy-colored stone. The back patio begged for a happy couple enjoying coffee and croissants on a leisurely Sunday morning.
She turned her attention to the hot tub and lap pool just off the patio. The sparkling water reminded her of Elias’ perfect lagoon-blue eyes. She shook off the distracting memory and tried to focus on her job. A couple of leaves floated on the pool’s surface, but she could clean that up with her editing software. A few more angles, a few more shots, and she brought the drone in for a landing.
Chase had stayed quiet while she worked, but now that the drone landed, he was full of questions. He asked again about fly time, then about the cost of the drone.
If too many real estate agents decided to learn how to fly drones, she might be out of a job before she even got started. Wren tried to keep her voice light. “Are you planning on becoming a drone pilot yourself?”
“A drone pilot? I don’t think I could fit into a cockpit that small.” He chuckled at his own joke.
Wren smiled. “You need a remote pilot license if you want to do this professionally. Classes, tests, all that, then you need a top-notch drone. I’ve spent a small fortune already.”
“Huh.” His interest seemed to wane. Good . “What’s the zoom like on the lens?”
“Really strong. I could have done interior photos from the backyard through the patio door and picked up the texture of the oranges in that bowl on the counter.”
“Cool. Speaking of, let’s get some interior shots.”
Wren carefully packed her drone up and grabbed her camera bag. She winced as she lifted it, remembering too late how much her shoulder hurt. She set the bag back down and picked it up with her other hand. She was still getting used to carrying her equipment on her other shoulder.
“Shoulder pain?” Chase asked.
“Yeah. Hazard of the occupation, lugging heavy equipment around. If I were smart, I’d get a new rolling bag. I broke a wheel on mine. But that can mess up your elbow after a while.”
“Ever try acupuncture? I know a guy, works miracles.”
Wren hid her smile. Serge . Chase ran in the same circles as Barbie, which was how she got this gig. “Thanks, but I’m looking into other options.”
“You afraid of needles?”
No, but I’m terrified of fires now . Wren only shook her head.
The house was big and they spent over an hour inside, photographing every angle imaginable. The sun was well up and the day already warm by the time they finished. Back outside, Wren took a few more shots of the front of the house.
“Thanks for your help,” Chase said as they walked back to their vehicles. “When can I expect the photos?”
“I’ll have the best ones cleaned and uploaded to the cloud for you by Sunday night, and a video of that loop the drone made around the house.” Wren had every intention of finishing in the afternoon—under promising and over delivering was the name of the game. “You’re my priority today.”
“Fantastic.” Chase gave her a smile and shook her hand. “I’ll look them over and if I like what I see, I’ve got a couple more properties that could use some drone photos.”
Yes!
“Sounds good.” She looked into the woods opposite the house. “What did you say the name of the good-cop, bad-cop couple was?”
Chase laughed. “That’s a fantastic description of those two.” He took out one of his business cards and wrote their names and address on the back. “If you’re thinking of doing some work for them, make sure you talk to her . You’ll get further.”
“And maybe not get my head bitten off?”
Chase laughed again. “Exactamundo.” He saluted her and got into his Jeep.
Wren got into her car and took a deep breath once she was behind the wheel.
That went well . She had hoped to get some more work out of Chase. He sold a lot of high-end properties all around Boulder County.
Then again, the way prices are skyrocketing, pretty much every property is high-end anymore .
Wren suppressed some old, bad memories and the shiver that always went along with them. She rubbed her aching shoulder then started her car. She had a choice—she could try and drum up more business, or she could go down into Lyons and grab another cup of coffee from a certain coffee shop first.
It might be too early still to go knocking on doors, she told herself, trying to ignore how much she wanted to see Elias again.
Now for coffee. And with any luck, a little something extra.
She sighed. I just wish I knew what I was doing .