“Yeah, it is,” he said. “My aunt died a couple years back, and the estate was tied up for a long time. But it’s mine, free and clear now.”
“Lucky you,” she said.
He looked at her, gave her half a smile, and said, “I’d do anything to have my aunt back. Including giving this all back. She was everything to me.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t know what that feels like.”
“No? Too bad. Everybody needs the security and love of family,” he said. “Come on. Let’s get you inside.”
Chapter Five
Gabby walked into the open side door and up the inside stairwell. She was grateful for indoor steps, given the wintery conditions here. At the top, she opened the suite door and stopped in amazement because, when she thought about a room over a garage, she certainly wasn’t thinking about the quality high-end furnishings that this complete suite appeared to have. Granite countertops were in a tiny-ass kitchen; what looked like leather furniture was in a small living room with a big TV and a small gas fireplace. The bed in the corner was partially surrounded by tapestries, giving privacy, but, at the same time, making the one room seem divided, so somehow bigger. She shook her head, looked at him, and asked, “Are you sure you want me to stay here?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”
She frowned. “Because you could get a lot of money for this.”
“It’s been sitting idle so far,” he said. “And, yes, I could rent the place, but again we’re back to not having made those decisions yet.”
“Wow,” she said, “lucky you.”
He snorted. “Well, let’s make that lucky you right now.”
“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “I really do appreciate it.”
“You okay here for the night?”
“I’m fine,” she said quietly. “Not a whole lot left of the night anyway.”
He nodded. “Stay inside, please. I’ll check in with you in the morning.”
“Fine,” she said, watching as he left. She dropped her large carry-on bag beside the suitcases he’d brought up for her. Absolutely everything she owned sat at her feet. Except for her board, which was getting repaired, but she wasn’t even sure how she was supposed to get the money for that. If it was even worth fixing. She didn’t work tomorrow morning—this morning actually—and that was a good thing.
On the other hand, it wasn’t good because she really needed the money. She reached up and scrubbed her face, wandering toward the bed and stopping in amazement at the room she found herself in. The cost for a room like this at one of the local hotels would be hundreds and hundreds of dollars, something she surely couldn’t afford.
Aspen was well-known as an expensive tourist destination, and she had never expected to spend a night in a fancy place like this. The trouble was, she couldn’t enjoy this fully. In light of the murder, none of it mattered. And, even more distressing, she didn’t know which of her roommates was dead, only that one of them was. She used the bathroom and found her nightie in among all the rest of the clothing she’d piled into the one suitcase, changed into it, and curled up in bed.
Staring at the window with its curtains wide open and the snow falling outside, she wondered how her life had ended up here, with her in this corner. And how utterly alone she suddenly felt. She used to be incredibly good friends with Wendy, but somehow Wendy had been keeping a secret from Gabby and a major one at that. It was distressing in a completely different way. She had no clue what she was supposed to do with that.
Obviously Wendy could do whatever she wanted to do, but, at the same time, it was tough to wonder how long the relationship with Meghan had been back up and running.
Gabby hated to say it, but it was almost a betrayal because she and Wendy used to tell each other everything, and yet this had obviously been hidden from Gabby. And the fact that Wendy was afraid of Gabby’s response meant that Gabby had also failed their friendship. She shook her head as she burrowed deeper into the blankets.
She loved Aspen—like, seriously loved being here—and it would break her heart to leave. Even with the murder, Gabby felt at home here, more so than at any other place she’d ever lived.
However, apparently Wendy was ready to leave. So how did that work out with her partner, Meghan?
With so many unknowns rolling around in Gabby’s mind, it seemed her life was so confusing, and she didn’t know what to think. But true sleep was further off. She lay here, dozing in and out, yet never getting into a deep fulfilling sleep for the bulk of the night.
When she finally woke up, her eyes were gritty with tears—tears stuck in the back of her head. She groaned and rolled over.
“Imagine if I’d paid for this,” she wondered aloud. “It would be worse to think that a wonderful night in this beautiful place was unappreciated because of a bad night’s sleep.” She sighed heavily. “But now, since I’m off today, what will I do?” she whispered to herself, as she propped up against the headboard.
She didn’t bring any foodstuffs with her because she had none, but could something be here? Even if old and stale, she’d really appreciate some food and coffee. Heck, a hot cup of tea sitting in bed would be lovely too. She crept out of bed, surprised that it was still fairly warm in here. At her apartment they used to turn the heat down to save those pennies. It was so cold, but they could pile on the blankets, and the first person up would turn the heat back up again.
She reached the little kitchenette, found a coffeepot, one of those individual-serving things, where you stuck in a pod. But were pods even here too? After a little digging in the kitchen, when she opened a drawer, she crowed in delight to find several of them inside. She wondered if it would be overextending the hospitality that had been given her if she made use of the coffee.
Then she decided she could simply offer to pay for it, if nothing else. She made herself a single cup and found an unopened package of shortbread cookies. At first she hesitated, then figured she was in for a penny, why not a pound, and grabbed the package and took it to the bed.
There she crawled under the covers and pushed the pillows up behind her and sat back, looking at the view from her window of the snow swirling outside. It was morning, and the sky was light, but she still felt sad. It was a new day and a new dawn, and, although she was normally an optimist, it was hard to find something really positive to think about today.
When her phone rang, she knew it would be Wendy.
“Where are you?” Wendy asked, her voice raised.
“Why do you care?” she muttered. And then groaned. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair. I’m at a small studio apartment for the night. Where are you?”
“I’m at Meghan’s,” she said.
“Good.”
“Look. I feel like I deserted you last night, and I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, it felt a little like that too,” she said, “but at least you had a place to go. I’m fine though, so don’t worry about me.” It was hard to have this conversation because everything felt odd and unusual between them right now.
“And, Gabby, I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you about starting the relationship again.”