“I don’t pay you extra to be a smartass.”
“You should. My smartassery is deeply undervalued. What are you doing in Oregon, Arch?”
“Let’s call it a working vacation. I’ll have my home office set up soon. You can reach me anytime.”
“I have a list of messages for you,” she says. “And you haven’t answered your email in three days.”
“I’ll work on that today.”
“Are you okay, boss?”
“I’m great. Better than I’ve been in a long time. But, Les, where I am is confidential. If anyone asks, I’m just out of town.”
“That’s the answer I give anyway. Please, and I mean this most sincerely, check your email.”
“I promise, I’ll do it today. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Be careful.”
She hangs up, and I grin. Leslie’s been with me since I started the business five years ago. She knows more about the day-to-day than I do, and that’s no lie. We joke about her lack of compensation, but I pay her well for the job she does for me.
She’s worth every penny.
Feeling confident that Leslie has the home front taken care of, I briefly think about what I should have for lunch, but my phone interrupts my decision making.
If Cheryl’s calling already, it’s either very good or very bad news.
“Hi, Cheryl.”
“I have some excellent news for you, Mr. Montgomery. The sellers have agreed to your terms and are willing to include the furniture with the full price offer.”
“Excellent.”
“As I mentioned, they’ve moved out, so all of their personal effects are gone.”
“When can I move in?”
“Immediately.” She laughs as if she can’t believe it. Truth be told, neither can I. “We have some paperwork to take care of, and then it’s all yours.”
“Excellent.”
Four hours later, I’ve checked out of the resort and am unpacked in my new ocean-front house in Oregon. Setting up my office didn’t take long, given that the desk and chair, along with shelves were already in the room. All I had to add was my laptop. I will need to find a store soon for a printer-slash-scanner, and I’m sure Leslie will give me a list of things I’ll need, but this will work just fine for now.
I made a grocery run to stock up on the essentials, which for me is roughly five-hundred dollars-worth of food and snacks, some cleaning supplies, and a few bottles of the wine I saw at Ally’s house.
Now, despite all of the food in the place, I decide I’m too tired to cook, so I drive to town and walk into the diner. I sit in a deep red booth, looking forward to the burger and fries I just ordered.
“Archer?”
I glance up, and there’s Ally’s friend from the other day.
“That’s your name, right?”
“Yes, and you’re Ally’s friend…”
“Lindsey.”
“Right. Nice to see you.”
“You, too. I guess I’m confused. I saw her today, and Ally said that you left yesterday.”
“Did she?”
“Yeah. She didn’t look great, actually.”
My heart stops, and my eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”
“Pale, quiet. I figured she was just still getting over the family emergency she went through. But here you are.”
“Here I am.”
I don’t ask her to join me. That’s not appropriate. But I also don’t want her to rush off and call Ally. I want the news that I’m still here to come from me.
“I had some business to see to, and I didn’t want to leave until I knew she was okay. I’ll look in on her before I head out of town.”
Lindsey’s shoulders sag, and a smile spreads over her lips. “I understand. I’m glad she has you as her friend. I wish she’d told me about you before. I always thought Ally was a lonely person, but maybe she’s just private.”
“She’s definitely private,” I agree. “Have a good night, Lindsey.”
“You, too.”
She waves and walks up to the counter where a bag of food is ready for her to take away.
In a town as small as this one, I won’t be able to be here for long without Ally knowing it. And that’s okay, it’s not a secret. But until this minute, I didn’t realize how much I wanted her to find out from me, not someone else.
So, I’ll have to make sure I run into her tomorrow and get going on my plan to win her over.
She never did go for flowers. She wouldn’t turn them away, but posies aren’t the way to El—Ally’s heart.
Donuts and coffee. Every day during her junior year of high school, when I was a senior, I picked her up for school with a bag of maple glazed and a white-chocolate mocha. It was a sugar shock to the system, that’s for sure, but it never failed to make her smile.
I know that she works for the wild animal refuge just outside of town, so I park out front and, armed with all the sugar in the land, walk inside.
“We’re not open to the public yet.”
“I’m not here for the animals,” I reply with a smile. “I’m hoping I can see Ally.”
The man’s eyes widen in surprise. “She’s here, back with the babies.”
“Can you please ask her if she has a moment?”
He nods. “Sure. Hang on.”
He disappears through a door, and I’m suddenly as nervous as I was the other day when I rang her doorbell.
Here’s hoping she doesn’t pull a gun on me this time.
“Can I help—?” The words die on her lips when she walks out and sees that it’s me. “What are you doing here?”
“I brought you breakfast.” I pass her the bag and the cup of coffee with a smile. “I know you work super early and have already been here for a while, but I got a late start. Sorry about that. I hope you still like maple.”
She frowns and glances into the bag.
“I haven’t had one since the last time you…” She swallows, shakes off the rest of the thought, and looks back up at me. “You left.”
“No, you kicked me out. There’s a difference. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.” I wink and lean on the counter that she’s standing behind. “I bought a house. I think you’re going to like it. I hope so, anyway.”
“You bought—?” Her mouth opens and then closes again. “What in the hell, Arch?”
“We can talk about it all later.” I tap the counter with my palm and step back. “I shouldn’t hold you up. Enjoy your breakfast. I’ll pick you up at six.”
“For what?”
“Dinner, of course.”
I turn and whistle as I step out of the building.
I wasn’t lying the other day. She used to make a hell of a spaghetti. But she always loved it when I made tacos. So, for tonight, that’s precisely what I’m going to make her. It works out well because I can prepare the majority of it early, then go pick her up and finish it up when we get back to the house—after I’ve given her a proper tour of the place.