Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
MILLIE
O h my God! What the hell was that? Did he mean to almost kiss me? There’s no way. It had to have been an accident. Right?
I’ve spent the entire night tossing and turning, trying to figure out what on earth just happened. I know I should be thankful his phone brought us out of whatever spell we were under, but God, I was desperate to feel his lips on mine.
I groan when I look over at the clock in the corner and see that it’s almost six in the morning. When we pulled into the driveway last night, I’d been ready to collapse as soon as I walked through the door, but after the almost kiss, I haven’t been able to stay still for more than a few minutes at the time. I might have dozed for thirty minutes at the most, and I know the restless energy in my body isn’t going to let me rest any more.
God, today’s gonna suck, I think with a grimace, before pulling myself out of the bed. Oh well, might as well get up and try to be productive.
Digging through my bag, I throw on a pair of leggings and a long-sleeve running top before hunting for my tennis shoes. After slipping them on, I toss my hair into a ponytail, grab my phone, and open my door to head out for a run.
When living in D.C., this had become a regular part of my routine when I needed to clear my head. It was probably the only thing I’ve done for myself over the last few years, and while I’ve never been particularly fast, I love the opportunity it gives me to organize my thoughts.
The house is dark and silent as I make my way outside, so I assume Brian is still asleep. Not wanting to wake him with a text, I scribble out a note on a piece of scratch paper.
Going for a run. Be back around seven. Call if you need me.
Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, I head outside and do some quick stretches before taking off. I don’t really know where I’m going, but Brian’s neighborhood seems safe, so I decide to just make a couple loops around the block to make sure I don’t get lost.
The sun is starting to rise, and I smile at the array of colors in the cold morning as I finish my warm-up and start to push into my first sprint of the day. I’m just starting to gain speed when I hear an unfamiliar voice from one of the houses across the street. “My, my, you must be the new event planner, huh?”
Startled, I look to my left where I see an elderly lady I don’t recognize sitting out on her porch with a cup of coffee. She gives me a smile and says, “Millie, right?”
My face must show my shock, because the old lady lets out a cackle and continues. “I guess no one’s warned you how fast word travels around here. I’m Miss Ethel. Welcome to Springside, hun.”
I stare at her for another minute trying to figure out the best way to handle the situation, before finally saying, “Uhh, yeah. How did you know my name?”
Ethel lets out another laugh before she says, “Oh, hun, word was out about you probably about the time you hit that deer and totaled your car. We don’t get newcomers around here too often, but we’re real glad you’re here.”
Wait, not only does this woman know my name but she also knows about the wreck?
I’m contemplating making a run for it despite the fact that I’m confident I could take her if I really needed to, but instead I ask, “Umm okay. Good to know, I guess… What are you doing out here so early, Miss Ethel?”
“Oh, dear, I love watching the neighborhood come alive in the morning. Plus, how else would I get all the gossip? Seeing who’s sneaking where is a good way to make sure I don’t miss anything,” she says with a laugh.
My God. This woman wasn’t kidding . I briefly recall Huey’s warning about the "nosey sons of bitches” around town, and fight to laugh at the absurdity of this little town.
“Oh, I gotcha. Well, it’s nice to meet you, Miss Ethel. I’m sure I’ll see you around,” I say, ready to return to my run.
“Oh yes, dear, I’m sure you will. Excited to see what you do with our Christmas events this year,” she says with a smile. “I’m on the Gingerbread Gala committee, so we’ll have to chat soon.”
Great, can't wait for that. By then you’ll probably know the name of the dog I had when I was in middle school and my high school GPA. With that, I nod and give her a polite wave before returning to my run.
I try to block out the world and organize my thoughts as I run but after a lap around the block, I can’t help feeling like there are eyes on me. After taking in my surroundings, I realize that almost every house I pass suddenly has someone sitting on their front porch. Some are sipping coffee and pretending to be preoccupied with something on their phone, but most are openly staring at me as I pass.
I look ahead to see another older woman standing in her driveway a few feet ahead and waving her hands to flag me down. God, what’s a woman gotta do to run in peace around here? Without anywhere else to go, I slow to another stop and pause my playlist.
“You’re the new high falutin’ visitor from the city, huh?” she asks, looking me up and down.
“Uhh, yeeaaahhh, I guess so,” I say, uncomfortable with the look of disdain on her face.
“Listen here, girl. Everyone here may be content to buy your story but I’m onto you… If you think you’re gonna slip in and scope out our city for that supposed ‘ex’ husband of yours, you’ve got another thing coming. We don’t need some big city real estate company trying to come in and take over our city,” she says angrily, adding in some air quotes around the ex-husband comment as if she’s trying to emphasize her point.
I stare at her stunned for a moment. Is this woman for real? She’s clearly watched one too many Hallmark Christmas movie marathons.
“I’m sorry, I must have missed your name,” I say as I try to come up with a response for the outlandish accusation she just threw at me.
“I’m Miss Sally. And just know, y’all will never get away with your little plan,” she says, before throwing another dirty look my way and turning to make her way back inside.
Ahhh, yep. I’m with Brian. If this is her normal behavior, she totally deserves to have her house rolled.
Shaking my head, unable to believe that the previous conversation actually happened, I take off again, needing to burn some of my angry energy. As I get going, I see more people outside, pretending like they aren’t looking at me. I try to tell myself that this is probably their usual morning routine, but when I pass a lady that looks like she’s in her eighties trying to take a picture of me, I’ve hit my limit.
This place is actually insane… Where on earth did I break down?
Annoyed that even my runs aren’t free from the chaos of this town, I decide to give it up for today even though the mile and a half I’ve covered isn’t even a quarter of what I normally need to quiet my anxious thoughts.
I’m walking through the front door when I see Brian sitting at the kitchen bar looking over some emails and drinking a cup of coffee, reminding me of the initial reason I needed to move my body this morning. He’s wearing pajama pants and a long sleeve T-shirt, and his hair is still tousled from sleep. On top of that, he’s wearing a pair of glasses that make him look even sexier, which, before now, I wouldn’t have thought was possible.
“Good morning,” I say, my voice coming out angrier with frustration than intended.
“Good morning, Millie. Everything okay?” he asks, and I fight the urge to smile despite my annoyance at the sound of concern in his voice.
“Oh yeah, everything’s wonderful except for the fact that everyone in this neighborhood has lost their mind. I tried to go on a run and it started with a lady who could be my grandmother knowing all about me and it ended with all of your neighbors sitting outside on their porches watching me. One at the end was even trying to take my picture!” I exclaim incredulously before adding, “Oh, and I had the pleasure of meeting Miss Sally too. She’s actually horrible!”
“Wait, what did Miss Sally do?” he questions, his concern already turning to anger.
“That woman has lost it. She accused me of basically breaking down here on purpose so that I could get the inside scoop for my ex-husband. I guess she thinks we’re gonna turn main street into a shopping mall or some other Hallmark bullshit.”
At that, Brian stands, and I can feel the fury rolling off him. “What the actual hell? Stay here, I’m going to talk to her right now.”
I try to ignore the twist my heart gives at his protectiveness but completely fail. Through the entire time Allen and I were married, he never once defended me, even when his friends called me white trash and other derogatory names. They thought that because I’d attended public school and needed scholarships to attend college, I wasn’t as good as they were. But here Brian is, only a few days after meeting me, ready to run down the street to defend me.
“No, no. You don’t need to do that! Anyway, how did the other neighbor know so much about me?” I ask, trying to distract him from causing a scene he’ll definitely regret once he calms down.
Brian lets out a groan. “Let me guess, Miss Ethel caught you first thing too, huh?”
“Oh my gosh, how’d you know?”
“She’s pretty notorious in this neighborhood for sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. She probably sent out a STS alert as soon as she saw you step out the front door.”
“What in the ever-loving hell is the STS?” I ask, feeling lost.
“Basically, it’s an email thread that the old ladies use to share all the gossip,” Brian explains with a grimace. “And considering the fact that I’ve made it a point to never have a woman over because this town is nosey as hell, they’re probably losing their mind with theories about us.”
“Great. So not only am I the new out-of-towner, I’m also about to be the new-in-town hussy,” I whine. “It’s over, I should just get out now, I guess. There’s no coming back from this.”
Brian looks at me seriously. “Millie, it’s fine. I'll mention something about how you’re staying here because of the water issue at the inn really loudly when I go to the post office this afternoon, if it would make you feel better. That’s one of their favorite places to stand around and gossip. After that, there’ll probably be at least ten little old ladies offering to take you in.”
“Nope, I’m good on that front, thanks. I’m pretty certain Miss Ethel worked for the CIA or something in a past life, and she freaks me the heck out,” I say with a laugh.
“I guess this didn’t happen in D.C.?” he asks with a smirk.
“Uhh, that’s the understatement of the decade. I lived in our penthouse in D.C. for ten years and I still couldn’t tell you a single thing about anyone who lived in the building, but I’ve been here less than forty-eight hours, and everyone knows my entire life story. I’m sure they’re all lovely people…except for Miss Sally, obviously, but anyway, I just wasn’t expecting the Springside paparazzi on my morning run.”
Brian laughs at my outburst and shakes his head. “Damn, yeah I guess when you look at it that way, this is a bit of an experience.”
“Yeah, you could say so. Anyway, give me a few minutes to shower, and I’ll be ready for work. I’ll meet you back out here before eight.”
“Sounds good. There’s coffee in the pot. I’ll be here when you’re ready. See you then,” he replies before turning back to his emails.
“So, I feel like I should warn you,” Brian says with a wince as we pull into the parking lot of Deer Valley an hour later. “Miss Ethel, Miss Sally, and my nosey neighbors probably aren’t the only ones in town who’ll be wanting to know all about you. I’m hoping they’ll all be on their best behavior, but as you saw this morning, the people in this town tend to have trouble minding their own business.”
“You don’t say,” I mutter under my breath.
“Just know they don’t have bad intentions, but they tend to get a bit over excited about newcomers. Just think, the last guy insulted Huey during his first day as the fire chief, so they hated him at first. You’re off to a much better start than he was.”
“What do you mean he insulted Huey? How rude!” I say, feeling suddenly protective of the older gentleman.
Brian lets out a laugh at my reaction as we get out of the car. “It was all a big misunderstanding, and he and Huey are great friends now. Anyway, just promise me you won’t go running for the hills if they all turn up today.”
“Ugh, I promise. But just so you know, this town is not normal. At least I can grab some coffee before—” I say just before we enter the inn, where there are at least twenty people standing around the fire.
“Good morning, Mayor,” one of them calls out. All the eyes turn to stare at us as we approach, and all the conversations they’d been having before our entrance come to an abrupt halt.
Are all these people seriously here because of me? Surely not, right?
“Good morning, Wayne,” Brian responds. “What are y’all up to this morning?”
“Well, we thought we’d grab lunch at the restaurant,” the man responds, and the crowd behind him nods.
“Yeah, we’ve heard great things about the Christmas specials y’all are trying out,” one of the women adds.
“Hmm, y’all do realize it’s not even nine in the morning, right?” Brian questions, raising his eyebrow.
“Oh, umm, yeah. We, uhhh, just wanted to make sure we didn’t have to wait too long, you know? I’ve heard y’all are wrapped up with that snowstorm we had come through,” another responds.
Brian lets out a chuckle before saying, “Oh right. So all of you decided to come to lunch for the first time ever, just by chance?”
Several in the group steal guilty glances at each other before just nodding back at him. Well, I guess that answers that. This town is seriously on another level.
“Awesome, well in that case, we’ll leave y’all to your wait then. We’ve got a meeting to get to,” Brian says, motioning for me to lead the way to his office.
Before I can move, one of the ladies pipes up, “You must be Millie! Welcome to Springside!”
I look to Brian, and after a moment, we both burst into laughter at the absurdity of the morning.
“Yeah, Christmas specials my ass,” Brian says, shaking his head. “Y’all are really something else. Come on, Millie, we don’t have to give in to their craziness,” he says, reaching to pull me around them, and while I appreciate that he’s giving me an out, the antics of this town are growing on me rapidly. Plus, it doesn’t seem like it’s gonna stop anytime soon, so I may as well learn to embrace it.
“No, no, it’s fine,” I tell him before turning back to the crowd in front of us. “Hey, everyone, I’m Millie. It’s nice to meet y’all.”
The next twenty minutes are a flurry of people introducing themselves and asking questions about everything from living in D.C., to my totaled car.
Damn, these people really did their research, I think to myself as one asks me if we had a good trip to Saddle Ridge yesterday.
After a few more minutes, Brian finally says, “All right, y’all got what you wanted. I expect a full report on how your lunch was when I see you at the Cattlemen’s breakfast next week, Wayne. Hopefully, it’s worth the wait.”
“Sure thing,” the older man says, tipping his hat at us as we walk to the office to get started for the day. Settling into the overstuffed armchair in the corner and pulling out my notebook, I can’t resist the urge to smile. Damn, despite the craziness of my arrival I have to admit, I think this town is gonna be a fun new adventure.