Chapter 7
KELSEY
I suck down a long drink of my margarita, slurping up the last drops through the straw. I close my eyes and let out a contented sigh. “I swear these might actually be better than the Frisky Fox spicy margs.”
Jason sets down the pitcher on the coffee table on their apartment balcony, smiling with a hint of pride.
“I’m sure you could make one just as good.” He grins at me, knowing full well that I’ve picked up shifts at various bars around town over the years. As it turns out, making fancy specialty coffee drinks isn’t that different than making cocktails.
I shrug and hum contemplatively. “Maybe, but they just taste better when you make them for us.”
“Fair enough.” He leans down to give Monica a quick kiss. “Let me know when you girls need another round.”
He heads back inside with Felix on his heels, sliding the door shut with a dull thud.
It reminds me of when I lived here with Monica and it was easy to just come upstairs on a break and let Felix out.
So until I can afford to live in Jackson again, bringing him with me will have to do.
Otherwise, I’d have to get my parents to check on him with the long hours I’m gone.
I know they would, but I’m stubborn and hate relying on other people.
Felix has always been generally aloof toward men, with the exception of Jason and Sutton. I grumble under my breath at the thought of the latter and how my traitorous dog still worships him. My not so subtle displeasure prompts Monica to raise a brow at me.
“How did those deliveries go?”
I set my drink down and bury my face in my palms. I groan in exasperation before throwing my hands out wide.
“I mean where does he get the fucking audacity?”
She sits back in her chair and crosses her legs. I don’t miss the pleased, smug grin she’s directing at me.
“The audacity to do what exactly?”
I huff and pick my drink back up.
“I don’t know. To just be freaking him all the damn time.”
She barks a laugh. “Wow. You’re really painting a picture for me.” She looks over the rim of her cocktail glass at me. “Come on. Please, tell me. What’d he do now?”
I take a deep breath and exhale through my nose, muttering into my drink. “He stole my car.”
Her eyebrows shoot up and her eyes widen. “He did what now?”
“He just—” I flail my free hand around in front of me. “Took my car and left.”
“Oh really? He just took it?” She eyes me skeptically. “Who would want to steal that piece of shit?”
“Hey! It’s not a piece of shit. It’s just thoroughly loved.”
She raises her brows at me again. “Yeah. Keep telling yourself that. So where is he now?”
That’s a good question. I know he leaves town all the time, like he can’t be bothered to stay here.
Especially in the off season when the restaurant is closed Sunday evening and doesn’t reopen until Wednesday.
From the second floor balcony, I look into the Teton Mountains to the west and see the sun setting—realizing I’ve really never bothered to wonder where he goes or cared to find out before.
“I don’t know. I just know he’s not here. It’s like he’s dying to leave this place every chance he gets.”
She hums to herself.
“What?” I ask, turning back to her.
“Nothing. I just didn’t know you were so up to date on his whereabouts.”
I glare at her, but she just keeps grinning.
“So wait. If you don’t have your car, how are you getting home?”
I sink back into the patio chair and hold my drink to my lips. Licking off some of the salt rim, I look down and mumble into my glass again.
“He left me the keys to his Porsche.”
She sits straight up so fast she almost spills her drink. She looks at me, speechless and blinking rapidly. Her shock only makes me shrink further into my chair. OK. Maybe he isn’t as much of an asshole as I like to make him out to be.
“Excuse me, what?” she asks finally.
My eyes flit beyond the balcony, toward the parking spot in the alley below us. She follows my gaze and her lips part when she sees the black luxury SUV sitting next to her and Jason’s truck. She shakes her head and slowly, her smug grin returns.
“Woof,” she says, taking a sip of her drink and looking out toward the mountains in the distance. “What a freaking man.”
I roll my eyes at her, but deep down part of me knows she’s right. By anyone else’s standards, Sutton is an extraordinary man. Just not for me.
I look over my shoulder at Felix in the backseat. He’s curled up in a ball, completely passed out after a day at Cowgirl Coffee and spending the rest of the evening with Jason.
He looks absolutely adorable like this—snuggled into the wool blanket I found in the hatch of Sutton’s SUV, and laid down. Even if I’m still pissed about the entire thing, I don’t want Felix to damage the nice leather upholstery.
I mean who just takes someone’s car? I don’t care if he said he was going to fix my brakes. I don’t care that it be might the nicest thing someone has done for me in ages. He can’t drop in to save me like that when I don’t want him to.
I groan in frustration, slamming my hands against the steering wheel. A second later, I feel a pulsing sensation under me and along my back.
No way.
My eyes scan the buttons on the wheel and sure enough, I see the little icon of a seat with squiggly lines. I want to be mad, but these massaging seats might be the greatest invention ever.
After dialing in the settings and vowing to myself that I will own a car this nice one day, I see the roundabout that leads out of town to the mountain pass road.
Almost immediately, I slam on the brakes when I spot the sheriff’s cruiser, lights flashing, blocking the entrance to the road.
I pull forward and stop when the sheriff in a bright yellow safety vest approaches.
I roll down the window and he tips his hat to me.
“Evening, ma’am. Where are you heading?”
My eyes drift past him and I point in that direction. “Well, I was trying to head to Rodgers. When’s the road going to reopen?”
The corner of his mouth pulls into an apologetic smile. “Not anytime soon, I’m afraid. You’re going to need to take the South Pass.”
Shit. Taking the southern mountain pass adds a full hour to my drive home, but it’s the only other option to get to Idaho from Jackson. Guess that’s just my luck tonight.
“Got it. Thanks.”
He nods. “Sorry. Wish I had better news.”
I start to roll up the window, thinking about the times this has happened in the past. This pass is notoriously bad in the winter, when avalanches can cover the road and make it impassable for hours while they clear the snow. That thought makes me pause in my tracks.
“Wait, Officer. Why is the road closed?”
This time, he grimaces at my question. “A landslide came down near one of the creeks that crosses under the road. All these heavy spring rains have really done a number on the mountain side in that area.”
Basically an avalanche with dirt and mud. Taking a detour tonight sucks, but it’ll be back to normal after they clear that.
I nod. “What time should it be open tomorrow morning?”
He shakes his head and sighs. “I don’t think you get it. The landslide washed out the road. There’s no road left in that section.”
My face must tell him everything I’m feeling. Shock, anger, confusion. This isn’t a minor inconvenience. This is a huge disruption for me. Hell, for hundreds of people that take this road to work every day.
“It’s going to be closed for a while. You better get used to taking the South Pass while they rebuild that stretch of road.”
His eyes drift away and I make out the lights of another car in my rearview mirror. He taps the roof of the SUV. “Drive safe tonight.”
With that, I start to pull away. I turn up the intensity on the massaging seats and reside myself to making the most of the extra hour I’m going to be spending each way on my commute for the foreseeable future.
As I drive away, I can’t block out one question from creeping into my mind. I’ve been exhausted and barely scraping by while living in Rodgers and driving to work in Jackson. What if I can’t even do this anymore?