Chapter 5
MAKE THE RIGHT ONE
Two hours later, Reenie was throwing open the windows in the old cabin and trying to air it out.
She hadn’t even known this was here. It was down the road from the main house and in the opposite direction from the rest of the operations here.
As much as the property had changed and what their business was, the view of the mountains in the back was the same.
She couldn’t wait for her first sunrise and sunset. To feel some kind of peace and security, even if it was for a short period.
There was a knock at the front door and it opened before she could get to it.
“Why isn’t this locked?” Clay asked.
“Sorry,” she said. “I was going to bring everything in.”
“Cleaning supplies,” Clay said, dropping a box of things on the table. “You’ll need it. My mother is bringing over sheets and towels and anything else you need.”
“I don’t want to impose.”
“You’re not. There is no furnace here. I’ll show you how to light the wood burning stove. My truck is full of wood and I’ll bring it in.”
“I’ll help.”
“I’ve got it.” Clay turned and left.
Ford’s older brother wasn’t as friendly as she remembered.
A heck of a lot bigger. Much bigger than Ford who she’d always thought was huge.
Considering a stranger was living on his property that he had to babysit, it wasn’t hard to guess why Clay wasn’t welcoming her with open arms.
Not that anyone ever welcomed her in her life anywhere.
Which was wrong because Brooke Ridgeway hadn’t once questioned why Ford deposited her in the kitchen and told her to stay put.
Brooke walked over and gave her a coffee, took one look at her, and remembered exactly who she was.
Not only did she remember her, but she pulled her into a warm hug and told her she’d grown into a lovely young woman. Whatever was going on, she said, her door was always open if she ever needed to talk.
A tear escaped out of her eye before she could stop it.
This family just kept giving. It was the jolt of courage she’d been chasing when she came back. The flicker of hope Ford had given her as a child, the kind no one else ever offered her as an adult.
Her few relationships all started the same. Men like Oliver sweet-talking her, telling her how pretty she was and how they needed someone like her in their life to take care of them.
She dove in hoping for the same care in return, but it never happened. She gave and gave and was empty in the end.
Now as Reenie pulled the cleaner out of the box with a rag, she went to the sink to dump it in a bucket she’d found in a cabinet.
A bang had her jumping and dropping the bottle of Lysol on the floor, the cap in her hand and cleaning liquid spilling everywhere.
She bent to grab it and saw Clay stacking the wood he’d dropped by the stove. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“It’s fine. I’m a little jumpy.”
Ford’s brother turned to stare at her. “You’ll be safe here. You can trust me like you do Ford.”
“Thank you. I don’t know how long I’ll be here. I don’t want to inconvenience anyone.”
“If you leave, you’ll only force Ford and me to come get you.”
She froze. She’d been forced back before and it was not a feeling she ever wanted to experience again.
“I’m free to leave, Ford said.”
Clay snorted. “Sure. If you want to hide the rest of your life. But if you want that freedom, you’ll let us help you. It’s your choice. Make the right one.”
Clay walked out again.
Great. That’s who was going to be monitoring her here?
She turned back to the bucket and dumped the cleaner in it and wiped down the kitchen counters. The layers of dust had her sneezing, but there was no way she could live like this.
It wouldn’t take long to clean. The place wasn’t that big.
One big open room that had a couch and a chair in it. Had to be twenty years old easily, but since they’d been covered with drop cloths she’d already removed and left on the front porch, they would do.
There was a table and mix-matched chairs between the living room and galley kitchen. A kitchen that only took up one wall, had a black fridge that might be as old as the furniture, an ancient gas oven that she hoped worked, and four cabinets. Two on the top, two on the bottom.
She was pulling them open and found some plates, glasses and pots and pans. New enough that it looked as if someone had been here in the last decade but hadn’t stayed long.
As she brought them down to wipe the shelves, she realized there wasn’t much dust there.
“Has someone been living here?” she asked when Clay returned with more wood.
“Me,” he said. “I used to stay here when I came home from leave before I moved back. I turned the water back on before you came over. The knocking of the pipes will stop once you run more water. Don’t worry.
There is an electric hot water tank for the shower and sinks.
The only heat source is this wood burning stove.
The place is small enough that it doesn’t take long to warm everything. ”
“It’s perfect,” she said.
“Did you look around at anything else?”
“No. I removed the tarps and was opening the windows.”
Clay moved to a door off the living room. “Here is the bedroom.”
She walked over but stayed a few feet behind him and looked around his body to see a bed.
He took a few steps away for her to go past him into the room.
“This is great.” The bed looked to be a double. She didn’t know how Clay slept on it comfortably with his size. The mattress was bare, no pillows either.
Clay came into the room and opened a skinny door revealing a closet. There was a bar that might be three feet with hangers on it. On the floor was a plastic bin he pulled out.
“Pillow and blankets. We’ll get the rest to you before tonight.”
“As you said. Your mother told me I could do my laundry at the house.”
“There is no washer and dryer here,” he said. “No room for it. There is a satellite dish that will give you internet. It’s pretty good. Works for the TV and a laptop if you need it.”
“Thanks,” she said.
It saved her from asking that. She needed internet to check on her business that no one knew about.
A year ago she’d set up an online shop with printable templates, invitations and calendars.
Nothing she had to do other than manage her shop and create new items to upload. She tried to add a few every month to keep her shop fresh.
She deposited the couple hundred dollars a week she’d earned into a secret account.
Her escape fund.
That was how she thought of it. Not enough to live off of completely, but plenty to fill the gaps.
“You’re expected to be at the farmhouse for dinner at six tonight,” Clay said.
“What?”
“My mother knows who you are, but not what is going on. Ford will be there before you to fill my parents in. Remember Blaze, Gale and Ash?”
“Yes,” she said. “Your brothers and sister.”
“Yep. Blaze and Ash are working tonight, Gale will be here.”
“Is your whole family being brought into this? I don’t want to cause problems.”
Reenie didn’t know how long she’d be here. Her hope was just a few weeks. Enough time to make sure that Oliver wasn’t coming after her or had moved on with his life.
Even if it was a few months, that was fine, but for the next few days she had to get more things in order and calm down from being on the run.
She hadn’t had a full night’s sleep in over a week, always afraid someone caught up with her.
Clay’s attitude might be gruff and far from warm, but for the first time in a long time, she felt safe.
She hadn’t felt safe much in her life.
The last place might have been on this property around the Ridgeway family.
“Our family sticks together. You’ll be better for it in the end. But Gale is an attorney. You need to talk to her.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head.
“There are rules,” Clay said. “Ford will explain more. Blaze is an ER doctor.” Clay’s eyes landed on her arms. She had her sleeves up to clean. “He’ll want to check out those cuts.”
She yanked her sleeves down. “They are fine.”
“Suit yourself,” he said. “I’m just the messenger. If you think I’m being unrealistic, you haven’t spent enough time around my mother.”
It was the smirk that had her stilling. “I talked to your mom already.”
“That was before. Once she finds everything out, you’re under Mama Bear’s care. Enjoy.”
It was the laughter that Clay had when he walked out that confused her more than anything.
She rushed to the door to see if he had left. He hadn’t shown her how to light the wood stove.
But he was only grabbing another box out of his truck.
“What’s that?”
“Food. Or staples to start. One thing that will be discussed tonight. If you can go around town to buy anything or if it’s just ordered and delivered.”
She looked in the box at coffee, bread, milk, peanut butter, some packaged goods, sandwich meat, apples, which made her smile, and a few other things that would come in handy.
It’d get her through a few days easily while she tried to figure it all out.
“I appreciate everything. I want to pay for this.”
Clay shook his head. “My mother would never accept it. Ford said you wanted to work off the rent; that will be good enough. And we’ll figure out what and where tonight at dinner. Do you have a phone?”
“A prepaid one. My name isn’t linked to it.”
Clay put a piece of paper on the table. “Phone numbers. The family’s numbers. Put them in your phone. Text me and Ford ‘Fuji’ and we’ll know it’s you so we’ve got your number.”
“Fuji?”
“It’s a kind of apple.”
“Got it.”
“If you need anything, reach out. At the end of the road in the other direction, past the bakery is the mill. That’s where I’ll be.”
She’d seen the sign on the building from a distance that said Ridgeway Hard Cider.
“I’ll be fine,” she said.
“I’m going to show you how to light the wood stove. Make sure it’s out when you leave. Don’t want Ash getting on our case.”
She frowned. “Why?”
“He’s a fireman. We don’t need any accidents here nor damage to our property.”
“I’ll be careful.”
She watched him load the wood in the stove with a few pieces of kindling, then stuff in some paper, light a match and ignite the paper with it. He used a metal poker to push it around until the kindling was on fire.
“You should be good,” he said. “These are the air vents. Close them off when you want to put the fire out. It will smolder and then you can spread the ashes around with the poker to ensure it’s out.”
“How long does that take?” she asked.
“Fifteen to twenty minutes. If you don’t need anything else, I’ve got shit to do.”
“I’m good. Thank you, Clay. All of you.”
“Thank Ford.” He walked to the door, closed it behind him and she went back to cleaning. The door whipped open ten seconds later. “Lock the fucking door.”
She rushed over to do it before her heart exploded in her chest a third time with Clay scaring her.