Chapter 7
Because sleep had become the enemy.
Every night for darn near a week, she’d been jolted awake at exactly three a.m., her heart hammering, the same faint melody like a distant whisper, soft enough that she wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it or not.
Then she’d get up, search, wait for it to stop, and cry, the notes of What a Wonderful World echoing maddeningly in her head. An ear serpent, not an earworm.
The second night, she decided she was overtired. The third, she was certain she’d lost the music box in her apartment and tore the place apart looking it. By the fourth, she was convinced George was sending her a message from heaven and, for some reason, he didn’t want her to sleep.
Some reason named…Matt.
Glancing to her left, she took in Matt’s strong profile behind the wheel of the Escalade he’d rented to navigate the winding mountain roads. Pines rose like sentinels behind snowbanks on either side of the canyons they cut through, sunlight glancing off branches so bright she had to squint.
“You okay over there?” Matt’s voice was like honey, low and kind no matter what he said.
She blinked and forced a smile. “I’m fine. Really. Just didn’t sleep much.”
He glanced at her before turning back to the road. “That’s the third day in a row you’ve said that. Are you feeling all right?”
The genuine concern touched her, a sign of a good man. Too good for her to confess that she thought her late husband was floating out from the heat vent in her apartment playing music so she would…not be in this car going to look at houses with that man.
“Did you find the music box you were looking for?”
She had told him about the lost box, but not why. And, once again, she chalked it up to class and goodness that he listened to her talk about something that might seem trivial to him.
“No,” she said. “I looked everywhere. I just hope it didn’t get bunched up in packing paper and accidentally thrown away.”
“When was the last time you saw it?”
She grimaced because she absolutely couldn’t remember, which was awful. Not only would she have lost a treasured memento, there’d be no explanation for the night music. None that wasn’t…supernatural.
“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “But I guess I’m just not sleeping well.”
Matt waited as bit, then asked, “Is it this…errand? Is that what’s troubling you, Mary Jane?”
Was it? Or was it the dear way he used her full name, which was not formal at all. On the contrary, it felt intimate and personal.
“Looking at houses for you to buy?” she asked, guessing that’s what he meant by this errand. “I don’t think I’m losing sleep over that.”
Or was she?
“Are you sure?” he asked, the question echoing her doubts. “I would fully understand if this felt like too much. We talked about pacing this relationship and I want to do that.”
That was true. He had promised that they would take things slow. No sudden moves, no sweeping declarations. Just quiet companionship and a lot of patience. He wasn’t asking her to live in one of these houses…not yet, anyway.
She’d been grateful for that, but then that music woke her up every night.
“We’re just fine,” she assured him. “How many houses is it today? Three?”
“Three.” He smiled. “A Goldilocks tour. Too cold, too hot, and maybe just right.”
Just right for what, she wondered as she looked out the window. For him to live half an hour away from her and be her…boyfriend?
The word sounded preposterous at their age.
Would he eventually want her to live there, too? Of course, she wouldn’t do that without the blessing of marriage and they certainly weren’t at that point in this relationship.
But they could be…and then what? Did she want to leave the lodge? She loved her apartment! It was truly home, despite the recent torture.
“And she’s thinking so hard again.”
MJ laughed. “Sorry.”
“Please, MJ.” He reached over the console and took her hand. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”
“I did.”
He squeezed her hand and slid a playful but easy-to-read look her way. “Come on, now. We’re honest with each other, right? And open? Communication is key and all? So, tell me what’s got you so quiet.”
“Okay, okay.” She sighed. “I’m wondering…what we are.”
“What…like us? Our relationship? Is that what you mean?”
She nodded. “Are we…a couple?”
“A couple of what?” he joked, adding a wink. Then his expression grew serious. “Only if you want to be, MJ. This is all up to you.”
“Me?” She nearly choked. “It takes two to be a couple.”
“Well, I’m all in,” he said without a second of hesitation.
All in? What did that mean? Even the word “couple” felt foreign to her. She’d never been a couple with anyone but George.
“Oh, looks like we’re here,” he said, glancing at the dashboard screen and saving her from deepening the conversation. “Pick this up later? Over dinner?”
She nodded, looking out the window as the house appeared around a bend—an architectural marvel of steel and stone perched on the edge of the canyon, all sharp lines and glass walls that caught the light like a prism.
“Now this is something,” Matt said, pulling into the completely dry driveway—which meant it was heated.
MJ eyed the place doubtfully. “Wow, that’s luxurious. I mean, if you like the spaceship-crashing-into-the-slopes concept.”
He choked out a soft laugh and jutted his chin as the driver’s door of a navy-blue Tesla opened and a tall man in his forties stepped out. “There’s Christopher, my agent. Do you even want to see this place?”
She let out an unsteady breath, not sure how to answer that. Truthfully, as he’d said.
Gathering her thoughts, she turned to him. “I do want to see it, mostly out of curiosity. It’s your house, Matt. My thoughts on it don’t matter.”
Disappointment clouded his eyes. “But I want you to like it. And I really value your opinion. And…I don’t want to do this alone.”
Do what alone? Buy the house or live in it? What was he asking her?
Christopher walked toward the Escalade, giving a wave and a warm smile. “Morning, Matt.”
Matt held up his hand in greeting and turned to MJ, searching her face. “Let’s just look and then we can talk, honey.”
The endearment felt good, but she just nodded. They were here now, and she really was dying to see what a house like this looked like on the inside.
Climbing out, Matt handled the introductions and chatted with the Realtor, chummy enough that MJ realized these two knew each other fairly well. Matt had been in and out of the lodge frequently these last few days, but MJ had been preoccupied with the soft opening and a few new guests.
Obviously, Matt had been seriously house-hunting while she was making people comfortable.
With some small talk about the square footage, the HOA fees, and the asking price—all of which were quite high—they walked up to a massive contemporary front door and she followed Matt inside.
The entryway was like one for a small hotel, dazzling and open and ultra-modern. There was no furniture, as the owners had recently decided their ski house should be in Aspen instead of Park City.
“This was their second home,” Christopher explained. “So it’s essentially a blank slate for you to decorate.”
Decorate? MJ looked around. Nothing she owned or would want to own would work in this soulless house.
“Come see the kitchen,” Christopher said, gesturing for them to head to the back. “It’s the heart of this house.”
MJ looked around that heart—massive, icy, angular, and not even functional—and decided she simply couldn’t cook here.
“You hate it,” Matt murmured as Christopher stepped into the dining room to give them privacy.
“I’m not—”
“I know, MJ,” he said. “But I do value your opinion.”
She exhaled and looked around, taking in the panoramic window offering a mountain view that was probably half the reason the house cost so much.
She took a few steps, hearing her shoes tap on floors that looked like an ice skating rink.
Imagine walking barefoot across that marble, she mused.
Imagine coming in on a snowy pre-dawn to make tea in this… mausoleum.
Horrifying.
“It, um, doesn’t have a heart,” she replied as he watched and waited.
“Yeah, it’s…sterile,” he agreed.
They exchanged a few looks of mutual distaste as Christopher walked them through the rooms and pointed out the many luxurious features.
He was obviously good enough at his job that he picked up on their opinion, even though they didn’t say a thing. Before he even opened the door that led to the walk-out basement and media room, he tapped his electronic tablet.
“On to the next?” he asked. “I think it might be more to your liking.”
A few minutes later, they were back in the SUV, with the GPS programmed for house number two.
MJ shifted in her seat, suddenly wondering why the questions about living in the same town or being in a relationship hadn’t plagued her for the last year.
She’d just hoped Matt would return and knew they had great potential to be… a couple.
There was that word again.
“Want to talk about something completely different?” Matt asked.
“You do know me pretty well,” MJ replied, laughing.
“I know you’re figuring things out, and I promised you space and time to do that. So, let me tell you about Wade’s visit to that vet college that Elise attends.”
“Oh? He went to Great Basin?”
“He did and came back quite enthused.”
“About the school or…”
“About everything,” he said. “He absolutely loves Utah and never expected to. He was blown away by the school, which is apparently quite unique in the veterinary world, and he is, uh…smitten.”
“With Elise?” Her voice rose with a little thrill. “Oh, how nice. Elise is a beautiful young woman who is absolutely not defined by her disability. I’d love to see her find someone.”
He reached over for her hand. “Listen, today is just an exploratory and fun trip to see houses. I do have to live somewhere. This is just…an option. Don’t worry.”