I twirled the ring on my right ring finger. It had been my mother’s. I liked to think that it had the magical ability to give me strength. “I mean, I’m going to move here.” Carter’s jaw slackened. “Not necessarily forever. Just for a while,” I hurried to say. “I need some time away.”
Tears filled Carter’s eyes, and Austin immediately reached out to grab her hand. “I was hoping you’d move back to LA. I know you needed time to handle all your mother’s affairs, but now that you’ve done that, you need to be around people who love you. You don’t know anyone here.”
She was right. I didn’t know a single soul in Sutter Lake. That was a large part of its appeal. I sent Carter what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “I think I need some time on my own, to get my head straight. Then, I promise I’ll think about moving back to LA.”
Liam studied me intently, his face solemn. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
I gritted my teeth but forced a lightness into my voice when I said, “I am. I just need to find a place to live. And maybe a job so I don’t die of boredom.”
Technically, I didn’t need a job. My father—or sperm donor, as I liked to call him—had set up a trust fund for me that had more money in it than I knew what to do with. His attempt to assuage his absentee-father guilt. He’d also given my mother a large sum. His attempt to quell his guilt over being a cheating, abandoning asshole. My mother had never touched the money, other than to pay for my schooling. I had no qualms about using mine to buy myself a little break from reality, but I knew I would go stir-crazy if I wasn’t doing something productive.
A fresh start where no one knew me as the girl who had just lost her only family. Solitude away from well-meaning, prying eyes. Peace. It was all I wanted. And if I had to move to the middle of nowhere Oregon to get it, then that’s just what I’d do.
3
Taylor
I studied the different storefronts as my friends and I walked down the sidewalk of my new home. Moving here was impulsive, I knew it, but excitement fluttered in my belly at the prospect. No memories that held me hostage lurking around every corner like they did in Houston or even LA. I could be free here. Able to explore and discover what the next phase of my life might look like. Free to feel whatever emotions came on, without the need to hold it all in so I didn’t worry my friends. Able to simply be.
An older gentleman passed by with a tip of his hat and the greeting of, “Ma’am.” I smiled in return.
An imposing form appeared next to me. “You know,” Austin began, “people in small towns are nosy. As soon as they figure out you’re not a tourist passing through, they are going to want to know all about you. Where you’re from. Who your family is. What your story is.”
I gritted my teeth. Apparently, Austin had been nominated by the group to try and convince me that this was a horrible idea and that I needed to go back to LA where they could watch over me and scrutinize my every move. “Maybe so, but when they realize I’m boring, they’ll move on fast enough.” They would. And I didn’t have to tell anyone shit. I was just a girl from Texas, ready for a change of scenery.
Austin attempted a different tack. “It’s not safe.”
I snorted at that. “What? You think that kind, old man was getting ready to mug me? Or maybe the woman who rented us the house and told us not to worry about locking our doors because no one in town does, was thinking of robbing us blind? Give me a break, A. This is probably the safest place on the planet.”
Austin’s jaw worked. “There can be bad seeds anywhere. And you’ll be here all alone, without knowing anyone. That’s a recipe for disaster.”
I gentled my tone. I knew Austin only meddled because he cared. “I appreciate the big-brother, protective streak, but I’ll be fine. I promise. I’ll get a job and meet some people that way. Then you won’t have to worry.”
“Where? At the local hardware store because you have such a way with power tools?” he asked, gesturing towards an adorable mom-and-pop shop that advertised: “We have a little bit of everything. Come on in and have yourself a look.” Austin pressed on. “Or, maybe you’ll get a job as a line cook because you haven’t almost burned down your own kitchen more than once.”
Spikes of frustration and annoyance pricked at my skin. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
“That may be true, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t let your friends step in when you’ve had a tough go of it. Carter and I were talking…there’s plenty of extra room at our place, why don’t you move in with us for a while.”
My muscles tensed. It was an incredibly kind offer. And it came from the most generous and caring of places. But it sounded absolutely miserable. Me, Carter, Austin, and their nine-month-old son. Controlled chaos is what that would be. Bedlam that would result in me biting my best friend’s head off and making her cry.
No. Just no. “That’s really kind of you—”
Austin raised a hand to cut me off. “Just think about it.”
“I’m sorry, Austin. No.”
His jaw got even tighter. “This is going to be a disaster.”
I’d had enough of this anti-pep-talk. “Your opinion is duly noted,” I snapped and picked up my pace. I passed a café, a Western art gallery, and an old-fashioned movie theater. I’d be visiting the theater for sure.
“Taylor, wait.” My shoulders stiffened at the sound of my best friend’s voice. “I’m sorry. He means well, he just doesn’t always have the most gentle way of communicating.”
My shoulders slumped. “I know y’all think this is a terrible idea, but maybe you could just keep that opinion to yourselves. I like it here. I think it’s the right place for me to be.” Just because it was a spur-of-the-moment decision didn’t make it wrong.
“I’m sorry. We’re just worried about you and want you close.”
I was going to scream. Yell so loudly, shop owners would probably call the cops because they thought someone was getting murdered. How did telling someone that you were worried about them ever help the situation?