3. Taylor
Taylor
“Look on the bright side, honey. No one knows you have an uncle living in Hallow Creek.”
Biting back my frustration, I drop my ass on the bed, my cell phone pressed against my ear.
I’d spent the last five minutes airing my complaints about the state of this so-called ranch resort, and I doubt she heard anything I said.
“Did you know they’re closed until the first week of December? ” I ask.
Silence.
“Mom?”
She clears her throat. “Yes, Roman had told me.”
“And you conveniently forgot to mention it.” So typical of her.
“What difference would it have made?”
“What difference—Mom, I wouldn’t have come here. What am I supposed to do for an entire month?”
Mom sighs. “Honey, do we need to have this conversation again?”
“We don’t, but—“
“The goal is not for you to be entertained. Keep your head low, stay out of trouble, and pray to God the authorities don’t find anything connecting you to Noel’s death.”
A sinking feeling appears in my gut. “They won’t.”
“And I’m sure you’re right, sweetheart,” she says. “But that’s not our only problem. You know that.”
Huffing out a breath, I fall back onto the bed, staring at the knotty wood ceiling. It turns my stomach whenever I imagine what they might find in Noel’s phone.
“Look on the bright side. This is an opportunity for you to learn a few things from Roman—at least until they reopen. It might not be your ideal first job, but those skills can take you a far way.”
Of course. She has conveniently forgotten about Radiance, the non-profit I worked for during college.
I’d spent two years building marketing campaigns, planning fundraising events, and loving every minute of it.
Until Mom announced she was running for Congress and my involvement with the organization suddenly became a liability—her words, not mine.
Apparently, she was attracting the kind of donors who wouldn’t appreciate that her son was doing work for a queer institution.
She made one phone call, and I resigned three days later.
Just like that, my first real job disappeared, and it still fills me with resentment whenever the memory crosses my mind.
I won’t remind her about it, because she will only say it was for the greater good.
So is law school. I allow her to have her way, not only because it’s easier but also because it assuages my guilt.
I wasn’t the easiest child to raise after my father went to prison.
“Um...” Mom takes a deep breath. “Also, honey...”
I perk up. “Yes?”
A beat passes. I sense that I won’t like what she’ll say next.
“I think you should tell Roman.”
Everything inside me goes still. “Why?”
“Because he’s wondering why you left the city, and his suspicions aren’t exactly... I’ll just say, accurate.”
Which means he probably thinks I got caught up with drugs or something more terrible. Great. Now I understand his behavior toward me.
“The truth would put his mind at ease,” Mom presses.
I don’t respond. Mom doesn’t even know the entire truth. She thinks I had a one-time, drunken sexual encounter with Noel, but I’d been secretly dating him for six months.
What am I supposed to say to Roman? No, I didn’t kill anyone. I just fell for a man who lied to me for six fricking months. Not only was he married, but he had kids— three of them. God. I can’t think of it without being sick to my stomach.
And now he’s dead.
I swear to God it wasn’t me.
“Say something, honey.”
Scrubbing my face, I push the awful memories away. “Roman is almost twice my size. I don’t think he’s even remotely afraid of having me around.”
“Roman’s not scared. He only needs to understand why you’re there,” she replies. “He won’t judge you for a drunken mistake you made ages ago.”
Her words echo in my head. Maybe he wouldn’t judge me for being with a man, but he would probably think I’m an idiot. I had a 3.9 GPA for Christ’s sake. I graduated with first-class honors. How did someone so intelligent miss every sign that Noel had a family?
Mom paid a lot of money to make that story disappear, and I’d like to keep it that way. So no, I won’t tell Roman.
“Besides, you have a girlfriend now, someone who might be your wife someday.”
Celeste has been my best friend since high school and is the only person who knows my secret. She’s also the only person who knows she’s not my girlfriend, and that I will never marry her. “None of that matters, Mom. I don’t want Roman in my personal business.”
Surprisingly, she doesn’t argue. “Fine, but at least make yourself useful while you’re there. Help with some light work around the ranch. Show Roman how much you appreciate him for taking you in.”
I still don’t understand why he agreed to do it. Besides that unwelcome glare he greeted me with, I haven’t seen him since he stomped into the house. I’m not so sure I want to show appreciation to a man who probably doesn’t want me around.
“Mhm. I’ll think about it.”
“Come on, honey. It will be good for you. Time will fly so quickly you won’t even realize. Before you know it, you’ll be on a flight back home.”
It’s those last words that persuade me. My phone won’t be enough to keep me preoccupied until the resort reopens. I can handle feeding a few horses. No sweat. “Fine. I’ll help.”
“Thank you.”
We exchange a few more words before ending the call. I toss my phone onto the bed and lean back against the headboard. Three months. Ninety-one days. I can survive ninety-one days. I’ll work a little, stay out of Roman’s way, keep my head down, and then I’ll go home.
My phone beeps with a reminder I’d set when Jude had popped back in half an hour ago. It’s dinnertime. I rise from the bed, smoothing out the creases in my pants. Ninety-one days before I go back to having dinner without nervous flutters in my stomach.
I’m already counting them down.