Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Zoe
What a day! Who would have ever thought that driving around a farm all day would be as exciting as it was?
I’ve heard of places like this, but I never thought I would actually visit one.
It wasn’t just a ranch; it was acres of rolling hills and land so full of beauty that I was in awe the entire day.
After our tour, we were fed a delicious lunch, and then we drove to their manufacturing facility, which was also on their property, just a little ways down the road.
Watching how their products were made was fascinating.
We learned all about how they processed the tallow and then turned it into all the different products they offered.
Now, as we say our goodbyes, I can’t help wondering how the night will go, with just the two of us again.
It’s only four-thirty, so obviously, we’ll both need to eat. Will we do it together? Should I just order DoorDash to the room? And then what? We just spend the rest of the night in our separate rooms?
So many questions, but I don’t have the nerve to ask him any of them. I’m just thankful I won’t be the one driving so I won’t have to make any decisions. I’ll just go with the flow on whatever he suggests from this point on.
He starts the car, and before he drives away, he turns to me. “So, what’s the plan?”
Fuck. This is exactly what I didn’t want him asking.
“Um …” I glance around like I’ll find the answer out the window in the middle of nowhere.
“Well, we need dinner. Let’s see what’s around here.” He opens the Maps app on his phone and puts food in the search bar.
I laugh as I see very few options pop up, all at least twenty minutes away. I’ve never used this feature on my phone because I have so many options, all within walking distance from my house. The idea of a restaurant not being a short walk away is totally foreign to me.
“Around here, it’s a lot of locally owned diners. Are you okay with that?” he asks, showing me his phone.
“Yeah, something local sounds fun.”
He clicks on the one in between where we are now and our hotel, and then we get on the road.
Thankfully, it’s a quick drive, so we’re there before we know it, and we both exit the car.
“Hey, you two. Go ahead and sit wherever you’d like,” a woman calls out when we walk through the door.
David motions toward a booth off to the side, and I slide in first.
“Hello,” the woman says as she walks toward our table with two menus in her hand. “Haven’t seen you before. Are you guys just traveling through?”
I giggle in surprise. “Do you know everyone around here?”
She lets out a sharp laugh, but David speaks up first.
“Sorry. Please excuse my friend. She grew up in New York City. She doesn’t understand how life is here, in Montana.”
“New York City,” she announces in a much higher tone than before. Then she laughs, as if she told a joke that we seemingly weren’t in on. She waves to us, dismissing the fact that we missed the pun. “You guys are too young. It’s from a salsa commercial back in the day.”
“I got it, honey!” a man from the kitchen yells out, holding a spatula.
“See, he gets my humor. Well, anyway, welcome to Montana. What brings you to town?”
I glance at David, wondering if he wants me to speak. I’m glad he decides to speak first.
“We’re here for a work trip. We just met with a client up the road.”
“If people as fancy as you two are here for a work trip, then that means it has to be with the old Sutton Ranch.”
David nods. “That’s the one.”
“Only they would bring that New York crowd to these parts. None of them stop here though. Guess we ain’t fancy enough for them.”
David places his hand on his chest. “I grew up in small-town Montana a few hours from here, so to me, a place like this is home.”
“Then welcome home, baby. We’re glad to have you. What kind of drinks can I get you?”
David motions for me to go first.
“I’ll take an iced tea,” I respond.
“I’ll just have water for right now.”
“You got it. Go ahead and look over the menu and let me know if you have any questions.”
She leaves, and I open the menu, laughing at how simple it all is. There are no fancy dishes or elegant fonts. It’s just a list of the food they offer.
“It’s a different world here, isn’t it?” David asks.
“I’m shocked, but it is!” I flip the menu, realizing that’s all they offer.
“Life is simpler here. I think that was the hardest part of moving to the city. Sometimes, I miss the slow life.”
David looks back at his menu, and I pause, taking him in. In all of our conversations, he never said he missed back home. I think being here has brought some insight into his life.
“So, why did you pick Columbia to go to school and not somewhere here?” I ask and instantly regret it when his head snaps up.
“How did you know I went to Columbia?” His brow furrows in question.
I internally panic, then just spit out, “It’s kind of a prestigious school. People at the office know that’s where you went.”
Thank goodness he buys my answer and continues, “I wanted something different. Something more.”
“And did you find it? That something more?”
He closes his menu and meets my eyes with a nod. “Yeah. I mean, we have a kick-ass job. I couldn’t ask for much more there.”
I purse my lips and tilt my head just a little. “But you miss home?”
He lets out a breath. “Yeah. Not all the time. Being here makes me feel that way. But we’ll get home and in the swing of things, and I’ll be right back to normal.”
“So, what is your normal then?” I ask, changing the question to hopefully lift his spirits back up.
“My normal?” he asks, his face not hiding the fact that he’s surprised I asked such a personal question.
“Yeah. What do you do for fun? You made a big stink about me not having a boyfriend staking claim on me while being on a trip with you. But what about you? I don’t think I’ve seen you on your phone once since we’ve been here.”
He shrugs. “I’m not really a phone guy during the day.”
“Now, is that just a rule because you’re working or because you don’t really have anyone to talk to?”
“Probably both,” he says nonchalantly as the waitress brings our drinks.
“Here you go.” She sets them down, then pulls out her notepad. “Do you guys have any questions, or do you know what you want?”
David and I look at each other, a moment flashing between us like we both thought the same answer to that question but it has nothing to do with food.
I quickly blink to break our eye contact and point to the menu still open on the table in front of me. “I’ll take the BLT.”
She nods, writes it down, and then turns to David. “And for you?”
“I’d love to try your fried chicken, ma’am.”
She grins from ear to ear. “Good choice. Sam back there has a very special recipe.”
“Why do I get the feeling I’m missing out on something here?” I point between the two of them. “Is fried chicken a Montana thing?”
David lets out a sharp laugh. “No. It’s not a Montana thing, but if a diner has it on their menu, you have to try it. There’s nothing like real fried chicken. Not the fast-food-chain kind.”
“He’s right. And Sam’s cooking is one of the things I love about him,” the waitress says with pride.
“Then change my order to the fried chicken. I need to find out what I’ve been missing all these years.”
“You got it.” She grabs our menus and leaves us alone again.
I reach for my tea and bring back up our conversation. “So then, there is no girl in your life. Why not?”
He shrugs. “I was engaged, as you learned last night.”
I nod. And through our text messages, but that’s beside the point.
“What happened?” I ask even though I already know.
He tells me the entire story of what happened between him and this chick.
As I listen to him telling it again, almost word for word as the first time, one thing affects me the most. If he was this truthful on the app, then everything else was just as real.
There were times when I wondered if he was just feeding me lines, but the more I get to know him, the more I realize just how genuine he really is.
Every moment on that app was him being him.
He wasn’t trying to impress me or be someone he wasn’t.
It was just David.
Then it hits me—the same David I was falling for last week is the same David sitting in front of me right now, and I have no clue what I’m going to do about it.