Chapter 8
The view that spread out before her was breathtaking and made Serena forget everything that’d happened today for precious moments. Made her forget the controlling, ice-cold father whose actions had driven her to Rimrock Creek in the first place.
She’d grown up running these hills as a teen, thought she knew every nook and cranny. But this? This was someplace she’d never been. And it was stunning.
The road meandered down into a small valley and a cluster of buildings nestled there.
A peaceful stream wound between the gate and the house, spanned by a cute little bridge.
As they got closer she could see an old barn, an updated house, and several outbuildings including a bunkhouse and four adorable cottages.
Behind the bunkhouse and the barn was a set of corrals where a few horses dozed lazily.
They hit the bottom of the valley and headed toward the front area and two dogs bounded out to greet them, their tails waving like flags.
She was out of the truck before it even came to a stop, crouching down to love them up.
There was nothing better than a little animal therapy, she thought, as they wagged and licked and snuggled up against her.
Walker had come around to the front of the truck and leaned against the hood with a bemused smile.
Bemused but pleased, she realized. With a laugh she stood and gave the dogs one last pat.
“What are their names?”
A peculiar expression crossed his face, but he answered readily enough. “Becker and Holmes,” he said. “They were teammates of ours.”
Were.
Oh. The dogs were named for his dead friends. And that comment put everything into perspective. Her knock over the head meant nothing when it came to the things that Walker had faced when he was in the Army. The people he’d lost.
“Well, they’re gorgeous and I want to take them home with me.”
His smile returned. “I think you’d have to fight Jesse for that,” he said. “You know Jesse, right? Garrett’s ex-wife?”
How about that? She was finding out all kinds of interesting things today.
“I wasn’t aware that Garrett had an ex, but I think Jesse came in for coffee when I first opened,” she said.
“Apparently Madeline was not cluing me in on all the good gossip.” And neither was Gena.
She was going to have a talk with her employee about not dishing on the juicy secrets of Rimrock Creek.
“We call her the ranch manager, but she actually does a lot more than that. She takes care of the horses and the dogs and all that stuff, but she also books the cottages for when we have someone staying here.”
“I’m confused, is this a dude ranch?” With all the brouhaha that had happened a few months ago the words dude ranch had never entered the discussion.
Walker was shaking his head as they began to walk toward the main house and cottages.
“No, it’s more of a, I guess you’d call it, a VRBO for veterans.
Word-of-mouth only, no advertising. It’s somewhere you come when you need to get away from everything.
Even if you don’t ride horses, you can go for hikes or sit in nature in the quiet.
It helped us a lot when we were building it. ”
She rounded on him. “Okay, there are obviously many, many things that I am unaware of. I’m going to need details and pronto.”
He ran a hand over the back of his neck.
“Let’s get you settled first. Is a cottage all right or would you rather stay in the main house?
I know part of you staying here is because of your head injury, not only the fact Garrett wanted to hold the scene, but I want to give you some space if you feel up to it or need it. ”
She looked over at the cottages. Each had a little front porch with potted flowers and a patch of green grass in front.
Rockers and porch swings adorned each as well.
“One of the cottages would be lovely since I’m feeling fine, no nausea or dizziness or any of the things Lila mentioned,” she said.
“But I don’t want to put you to any trouble. ”
He was shaking his head. “No trouble at all. We keep them ready in case someone shows up. Kujo will be set up in one of the other ones.” He altered his trajectory over to the nearest cottage and opened the door.
“Having said that, you have to promise that you’ll take a room in the house if you start feeling any ill effects from when that asshole slugged you. ”
“I promise,” she said, though it went against everything she’d learned as an independent woman over the years. But Lila had said she needed to be around people, so she’d follow her friend’s advice. And honestly, for at least tonight, she wanted to feel absolutely safe.
The interior of the cottage was as charming as the exterior, with glowing hardwood floors, a comfortable-looking couch with a low coffee table, and a small kitchenette tucked into one corner with a dorm fridge.
Two doors sat opposite the front entrance, presumably leading into the bathroom and the bedroom.
The walls were painted a buttery yellow and white curtains with embroidered trim stirred at the windows.
“This seems a little girly for big brawny veterans.” She said. “I mean I love it, but…”
“The psychologist said that these were calm colors, had the potential to remind people in crisis of hearth and home,” he shrugged. “So we went with that.”
She looked at him through her lashes, so he wouldn’t know she was scrutinizing him.
Who was this man? A man who so easily admitted to using the recommendations of a psychologist?
Who helped out wounded veterans. Who was starting a new business with this Kujo person?
Who was rich, or at least that was the conclusion she was drawing?
It wasn’t the Walker she’d known, which was an uncomfortable realization.
It was also the tiniest bit thrilling, she had to admit.
“Well,” she said to fill the silence. “It’s perfect.”
He withdrew to the doorway. “I’ll let you get settled. Come on over to the main house when you’re ready.” Then he was gone.
She ran a hand over the back of the couch and realized she was alone for the first time since her attack.
She looked around the cute room and let a sigh escape.
She liked to think she was a kickass woman, that she’d embodied that mantra when she stood up to her father and struck out to do her own thing, when she left relationships that no longer served her, and eventually when she moved to Rimrock Creek.
When she’d come to the only place that had ever truly felt like home.
She opened her backpack, pulling out the change of clothes she’d packed and some toiletries, setting them within easy reach on the little table next to the kitchenette. Set up her laptop on the kitchen table so she could check email later if she felt like it.
Then she sat down on the couch, wrapped her arms around herself, and allowed herself the tiniest of cries.
Because someone had hurt her. Someone had violated the sanctity of her house and then assaulted her.
She was so, so lucky he hadn’t done more.
The potential for him to take advantage of her sexually while she was unconscious hadn’t really occurred to her until Lila’s question.
She didn’t cry for long; she wouldn't allow herself to do that, and when she was done she felt better. Stronger. She learned a while ago that allowing yourself to feel something and act on it did not mean you were weak, unlike how she’d been raised.
Parker Gates had never been a particularly loving father, even when her mother Crystal was still alive.
He’d perfected stone-cold distancing after his wife’s death, sending Serena to boarding school a month after Crystal lost a long, arduous battle with cancer.
He’d planned on stashing her there for summer break “to bolster your education so you can get into an Ivy League school.” She’d lasted all of three days at the almost-vacant institution before she’d walked out and bought a bus ticket to Arizona. She’d been almost thirteen.
She’d arrived unannounced at Madeline Blackstone’s magical home and her mother’s sister had welcomed her with open arms and let her truly grieve. In doing so, she’d shown Serena a different way to be.
And so, when she’d turned twenty-one and earned her bachelor’s, she’d changed her last name back to Blackstone and struck out on her own, free of Parker’s icy indifference, except when it came to expectations.
As always, thinking about her father and their relationship--or lack thereof--depressed her, so she shook off the thoughts and went into the bathroom to freshen up a bit. It didn’t really look like she’d cried, merely that she was tired, which anyone with a brain would understand.
She peeled back the bandage on her head. The wound had scabbed over and looked hideous, but she hid it with a side sweep of her hair after deciding to leave the bandage off.
She tilted up her chin, squared her shoulders and left for the main house.
The porch of the main house was as welcoming as the one on her little cottage, but on a grander scale.
Becker and Holmes greeted her as she walked across the gravel driveway and she stopped for a moment to give them some pets.
Knowing that they were there, even if she was only here for the night, made her feel more like herself.
She stood on the porch and turned around to see the stunning view.
With dusk approaching, the air around them had gone soft, the tiniest bit misty. Pi?on and pine scented the air, sharp and earthy and exactly the opposite of what she’d left behind in Dallas.
The door opened, and she turned to see Walker framed in the doorway, looking like the star of every delicious cowboy movie she’d ever seen.
“You’ve made yourself a beautiful place here,” she said, meaning every word.