“Great, I can either drive Miss Daisy in the slow lane or risk life and limb on Thunder Foot. Let me just go over and talk to him. You know, see if we can come to terms before I commit.”
Jeet chuckles. “Good luck, although the last couple of times I took him out, he seemed a little more sedate.”
I’m not taking his word for it. I walk to the end of the stable to Thunder Foot’s stall and find the black stallion busy eating oats out of his trough. It looks like one of the barn cats decided to use his feeder as the nest to house her latest litter. As a result, the horse has a bunch of tiny creatures batting at him while he eats. He doesn’t seem to mind.
“Thunder,” I greet him in the manner I plan to continue. Cautiously.
He doesn’t even give me the courtesy of looking up from his food. I tell him, “I need a ride, but I don’t want it to be my last in this life. You got that?”
He snorts like he’s saying, “What a bozo.”
I pick up an apple out of the barrel next to his stall and palm it. Slowly lifting it to his mouth, I offer, “I’ll bring more of these, but you have to behave.”
He releases a soft grunt that I choose to believe is acceptance of my terms. “Okay, Jeet,” I call out. “I’ll take him. Is there a specific time I need to have him back?”
“Nope. We don’t let the guests take Thunder out. He was your dad’s mount, so you can have him all day if you want.” My dad could ride a comet across the sky if he had to. I’ve never known a better horseman than him.
Jeet puts a brown sack in the satchel of Thunder Foot’s saddle and says, “Chris sent down lunch for you. Where are you heading?”
“I don’t know yet. I just want to run,” I tell him.
“Okay, but you know there are spots out there without cell phone reception. I want to make sure we know where to look for you if you don’t come back.”
“Thunder and I have an understanding. He gets all the apples he wants, and I come back in one piece.”
Jeet shrugs. “That horse is a lot of things, but he’s honest. If that’s your deal, I’ll plan on seeing you later.”
I decide to head up to Cheater’s Ridge and have my lunch looking down on the valley. The view is unparalleled and always brings me peace. My mount starts out by trying to buck me off. I figure he’s just trying to get used to me. He’s probably gotten out of the habit of carrying anyone on his back now that Dad is gone.
Three miles later, I’m hanging on for dear life as he jigs and jags in an attempt to get rid of me. I stop at Twitter Creek to let him get a drink, but when I reach into the satchel for his apple, he finally bucks me off. I lie on the ground winded while he ignores me and meanders off to refresh himself in the water.
The last time I rode Thunder Foot I was with Emma. He took an immediate dislike to her and spent the entire time trying to bite her. She never came out with me again. Looks like this stallion has a keener sense of people than I do. Emma turned out not to be the person she portrayed herself to be at all.
I remember what Cheryl said about seeing her down at the market and wonder what she’s doing in Spartan. I sure as heck don’t want to run into her, which shouldn’t be too much of a problem with me staying in the fishing cabin. But the question still niggles, why is she here?
Thunder doesn’t want to let me back on, so I grab his reins and we walk companionably the rest of the way to Cheater’s Ridge. Sitting down on a big rock staring out at the magnificence below, I wonder if I could get zoning to build up here.
I spend the next hour contemplating what style of house I’d like, and which rooms would overlook which views. The only downside to my living up here is that I might turn into as big of a recluse as Billy Grimps. I have a feeling it would be worth the risk.
Chapter Seventeen
The Mothers
Libby: Addie’s banging on the door like she’s trying to break it down.
Ruby: Why don’t you let her in?
Libby: I’m scared.
Ruby: What happened to your spunk, girl? You’re the same woman who made a citizen’s arrest when you saw some creep harassing kids at the park. If I remember correctly, you tied him up with Addie’s jump rope and sat on him until the police arrived.
Libby: Yes, but I didn’t lure him out to the woods under false pretenses.
Ruby: Addie made her deal with Brogan all by herself. You weren’t even there.
Addison
“Open up!” I yell while taking my aggression out on Aunt Ruby’s door. I’m not sure if my mom’s even in there, but the act of hitting something is highly cathartic.
A good five minutes into my workout, my mom finally answers. She smiles like I just got there and haven’t been knee deep in Big Bad Wolf mode. “Hi, honey. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”
“Why are we really here?” I demand, pushing my way past her.
“I told you, Ruby said something about updating the inn.”
“She didn’t seem to have any idea about needing the changes made by Christmas.” Even though my mom’s friend tried to play along, there was a solid flash of confusion when I mentioned the deadline.
My mom shrugs. “All I know is what she told me on the phone.” She hurriedly changes the subject. “What are your plans for the day?” Before I can answer, she says, “I was thinking about walking down to the river and having a picnic.”
“I’m going to stay in my room and turn on the air conditioner full blast before taking a hot bath.” I’m guessing the cabin I’ll be staying in won’t have air conditioning or a bathtub and while I could probably sneak up to the lodge for a bath, I don’t know how often I’ll be able to.
I don’t want Brogan crying foul and trying to collect on our bet. Why did I leave his prize up to him should I lose? He’d probably have me bungee jump off the falls right into a cougar den. The tiny hairs at the base of my neck stand on end at the thought. I’m never going to be able to leave the cabin. I’ll be a prisoner there unless somebody else is with me.
“Let me know if you change your mind,” my mom says.
“I’ll be staying on after you leave,” I blurt out.
“What are you talking about?” She doesn’t sound as surprised as she could. I wonder if Aunt Ruby already spilled the beans.
“I accidentally bet Brogan I could stay in one of the cabins for a month.”
“Addison Marie, are you crazy? Why would you do such a thing?” It might just be me, but she actually looks like she’s trying to suppress a smile. I want to call her on it, but it disappears as quickly as it arrived so I can’t be sure.
I finally tell her, “He just makes me so mad by acting like he’s the only one who can rough it. I wanted to shut him up.”
“But a whole month? What about your clients? What about your life in New York?”
My righteous anger turns into raw panic. “I don’t know what I was thinking. What have I done? I have to reorganize so many things.” My Pilates class for one. I have to cancel my hair appointment and text the building manager to keep watering my plants. I’ll have to let the office know, but they’ll be delighted because the more I work, the more money they make.
“Don’t be silly. You should just back out.”
Silly? That word makes me dig my heels in. “I’ll figure it out.” My voice quivers as tears spring to my eyes.
My mom immediately wraps her arms around me and comforts, “You’ll show that overblown man-child who’s boss. I believe in you, honey.” I might be losing my mind because I swear she giggled in my ear at the end of her words of encouragement.
“Thanks, Mom. I’m going up to my room now. Text me where you’ll be and maybe I’ll join you later.”
That’s when a truly terrible thought hits me. Brogan has no cell reception at his fishing cabin. I can only assume I’ll be in the same boat. And if there’s no cell reception, I’m guessing the internet is out. And with no internet there will be no work, no design software, no way to look at samples, no Netflix. OMG, what
in the hell am I going to do up there for a month?
I decide I’d better go online and do some cyber shopping and stock up on things that will keep me entertained. I’ll have everything shipped to the inn and pick it up when it arrives. I should also download a bunch of books onto my Kindle. How am I going to recharge my Kindle? Mother of God, this is turning into some kind of Survivor episode, and I’m way more of an HGTV kind of girl.
I stop in the gift shop on the way to my room and grab a book and a couple of magazines to keep me entertained while I wait for my purchases to arrive. I also pick up an assortment of chocolate bars and some bug spray. From what I remember, the mosquitoes in Oregon are nowhere near as bad as they are in the East, but they’re still around this time of year. As for the chocolate, well, that will be my comfort. I’ll probably gain ten pounds while I’m here, but that’ll be a small price to pay.
I make a mental tally of things I’ll have to order and am shocked by how much I’ll need. I pull my phone out and call Aunt Ruby. “Can I go up and see the cabin now so I can get an idea of what I need to buy?”
“I’ll send up everything with the cleaning crew. Don’t you worry about a thing.”
She has no idea what my comfort items are, so I tell her, “I’d feel better seeing it sooner rather than later.”
“I can’t take you now, but Brogan might be able to.”
“Why him?” I want to scream, but I manage to resist the temptation. “Maybe you could just point it out to me on a map and I’ll find it on my own.”
“Didn’t you get lost up there earlier today?” she wants to know.
“I know where I’m going now,” I lie. “Billy showed me a few tricks to keep my bearings.” I’ll need to know how to get myself back and forth for the next month, so I might as well start learning now.
“All right. I’ll mark the spot on a trail map and have it sent up to you. I’m sure the path to the cabins is overgrown so you’ll need to be careful.” As an afterthought, she adds, “You have hiking boots, don’t you? And, er, you know what poison oak looks like, right?”
I put hiking boots on my list. Then, I think of the warning from childhood, “leaves of three, let them be.” But the truth is, I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen the stuff and I sure as heck don’t want to start out this ridiculous bet itching from head to toe.
Damn, dammit. I concede, “Maybe you should have Brogan show me.” I don’t want that man to think I need him for anything, but I have to see where I’m staying. “Please tell him I’ll meet him in the great room in ten minutes.”
“I’ll do that, dear. Make sure to wear socks when you’re hiking up there. You’ll want to protect your ankles until I can get the grounds people to clear the area.”
I would give both of my baby toes to be home in my apartment, nice and safe in an urban jungle fifteen floors above street level. I’d order Thai food and a bottle of wine. I’d take a bubble bath and watch Game of Thrones.
Tears spring to my eye like I’ve been dropped off on another planet and will never see Earth again. I’m not sure I’m tough enough to see this bet through, but I’m sure as heck going to give it my best shot.
Chapter Eighteen
The Mothers
Ruby bursts through the front door to her quarters and throws her arms around her best friend’s neck in a big hug. “Addie is going to check out the cabin!”
Stepping back, Libby asks, “Why is that so exciting?”
“Because I told her I couldn’t show it to her right now and that if she wanted to see it, Brogan would have to take her.” She pumps her fists in the air before shimmying around in a happy dance. “It’s starting, Lib!”
“You showed me that cabin on our walk this morning, and I can assure you my daughter is going to freak out when she sees it.”
“Like you did the first time you stayed in a cabin?” Ruby continues to dance around joyously.
“Do you remember the size of those bats?” Libby cringes in horror.
“I remember Bob taking you in his arms and protecting you. I also remember the two of you were inseparable after that trip.”
“We were, weren’t we?” she smiles dreamily before joining her friend in celebration. “It’s on like Donkey Kong, Rubes!”
“I don’t think people say that anymore, Lib. They’re not cool enough.”
Brogan
“Sure, Mom. I’ll show Addie where her cabin is.”
“No funny business, Brogan. Be nice to her.”
I’m not sure what kind of funny business she’s referring to, but I’m guessing Addie isn’t the only one who remembers our somewhat sordid history. “I will be as sweet as a hot fudge sundae with a cotton candy chaser.”
“Good boy. Addison will meet you in the great room in ten minutes,” she says before hanging up.
While she might have been there in ten minutes, I end up being late. It takes me forty minutes to tie up a phone call with my agent. When I finally get there, Addie looks equal parts anxious and annoyed. I kind of feel sorry for her, but I also know this experience won’t kill her. By facing her demons, she might even learn to love the great outdoors.
“Hi there,” I say with what I’m hoping is a contrite look for my tardiness.
“Where have you been?” she demands. “I’ve been waiting for almost an hour.”
Her annoyance pokes me the wrong way. “You know I don’t work here, right? I didn’t have to come at all.”
“Then why did you?” she snaps.
“My mom asked me nicely. I find when people are nice to me, I want to be accommodating.” I challenge her with a pointed look.
“Well, you’re here now, so let’s go.”
“Did I hear the magic word?” Okay, so maybe I’m poking the bear, but come on, a little civility never hurt anyone.
Death stare. “Please,” she mumbles so quietly I can barely hear it.
“What was that?”
“PLEASE!” she shouts so loudly that other people in the room turn and stare at us.
“I bet you were top of your class at charm school,” I say under my breath. Louder, I add, “Let’s go.” I don’t wait to see if she follows behind, I just take long strides toward the door.
Once we’re outside, I ask, “Would you like to walk or take a golf cart?”
Her eyes shift longingly toward the golf carts. I know she’d prefer one of them, but she answers, “I have two feet, I can walk.” Clearly Addie has never heard the saying, “Pride goeth before a fall.” If she had, she sure as heck wouldn’t have let her pride force her into a wager she has no chance of winning.
I decide to throw her a bone. “You’ve hiked a lot today and we still need to come back to the lodge for dinner. Let’s take a cart.”
Her body sags in relief like she’s just gotten that stick removed from her backside. I get behind the steering wheel and watch as she perches next to me in such a way that she could jump out at a moment’s notice.
“Relax,” I tell her. “It’s going to take at least fifteen minutes to get there.”
“Fifteen minutes? How far is this place?”
“Not much farther than my cabin, but this is a golf cart, not a Ferrari,” I point out, earning another sour look from my passenger.
The ride is so silent it’s almost like being alone. Addie has her phone out and appears to be trying to figure out at what point she’ll lose her signal. As we pass the kissing tree, she asks, “Why can’t I get cell service out here?”
“We’re about ten miles from the nearest tower. Also, the heavy vegetation blocks whatever signal we might have been able to get.”
“It doesn’t feel safe to be out here without having access to a phone,” she says, sounding vulnerable.
“You do realize that in the early years of camping with our parents, they didn’t have cell phones. And when they finally got them, they never had service in remote areas.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she replies. “They didn’t have any of that stu
ff on Little House on the Prairie either, but that’s not the time we’re living in.”
“If it makes you feel any better, my cabin is fewer than five hundred yards from yours and I survive just fine without phone reception.”
“Will you be able to hear me scream at that distance?” she asks nervously.
“Five hundred yards is just over a quarter of a mile, so yes. Just do it loudly.” I can only imagine how often I’ll be running up there because of a twig snap or a bird flying into a window.
I pull off the path at my place and announce, “We’ll drive as far as we can, but at some point we may need to walk if the path narrows.” She looks terrified. The only cabin I’ve been into in the last several years is the fishing cabin, so I have no idea how bad things have gotten back here.
Amazingly, I’m able to drive the whole way and wonder if Billy has been out here doing some clearing. The cabin Addie will be staying in doesn’t look as decrepit as I thought it would. I get out of the cart first and head to the front door. When I notice she isn’t with me, I call out, “You coming?”
Her face has taken on a gray tone. I’m guessing Addie Cooper will do just about anything to prove me wrong about her, so I add, “Do you want to concede defeat already?”
She hops out of the cart and stands so straight you’d think she was a puppet whose strings were pulling her off the ground. “I’m coming.” Stomp, stomp, stomp until she’s standing next to me. “Do you have the key?” she demands.
“These places don’t have locks. They’re out in the middle of nowhere.”
“All the more reason to have a lock,” she says with horror etched across her brow.
“Things out here can’t open doors.”
“What kind of things?” her voice trembles as she asks.
“Skunks, wild dogs, possums, bats …”
“Don’t forget the cougars,” she interrupts. Her whole body convulses as she says this.
“And black bears,” I add.
Love is a Battlefield (Seven Brides for Seven Mothers Book 1) Page 8