“You might just be their only customer,” Hank laughed. “Slow time of the year.”
“Is there a busy time of the year around here?”
Hank just shrugged and flashed me a smile that was missing a few teeth.
I grabbed my duffle from the back of the truck, shook Hank’s greasy hand, and made my way to the motel.
I walked into the motel lobby and rang the bell on the desk. A large man walked out, easily towering over me, with a beard that would have made ZZ Top jealous. His smile, though, was warm, and I could see from the sparkle in his eye that he was just glad to have someone walk through the door. His nametag read Chuck, and when I was sure he didn’t recognize me, I felt my nerves ease up a bit.
“Welcome to the Ludwig Motel. What can I do you for?” Chuck asked, giving me a pristine smile that made me want to ask him who did his dental work.
“I need a room,” I said, dropping my bag by my feet and running a hand through my hair. I was sweating like a pig and killing time. I was born and raised in Texas, and still couldn’t bear the heat for too long. I just hoped the rooms had air conditioning.
“Well, you’re a lucky one,” Chuck said. “We’ve got fifteen rooms here, and thirteen of them are up for grabs.”
“Great,” I said, feeling a small prick in my chest and taking in a deep breath to ease the pain before it began. I stretched my legs and waited as he pulled out a ledger from under the counter.
Definitely not using one of your software here.
“Name?” Chuck asked, holding his pen over an empty row.
“Chance,” I said.
“Last name with that?”
“Does it matter?”
Chuck looked at me, squinted for a second and then shrugged. “I assume you’re gonna be paying with cash, then?”
I nodded as he wrote down Chance No Last Name in the register. I peeked over, noticing that only one other name was jotted down above mine, and pulled out my wallet. “Could I have a room on the ground level?”
“You can have any room you want,” Chuck smiled. “Other than mine and room ten, your pickings.”
“Good to know I have company,” I smiled.
Chuck laughed and shook his head. “Guy in room ten’s booked the room for six months. Some writer fella who never really leaves the room unless it’s time to eat or take a walk to the diner. Don’t worry, he won’t be bothering you.”
I didn’t really care. I was hoping for some peace and quiet, but actually finding it scared me a little. It was almost as if I had stepped into some Twilight Zone episode, where there were only a few people left in the world, and my only way across the country had blown a head gasket. I checked my phone, made sure I had bars, then pocketed it again. Better safe than sorry.
“How long you planning on staying, Chance?” Chuck asked.
“Couple of days, maybe three,” I replied. “Depends on when Hank can finish fixing my truck.”
“Whatcha driving?”
“1978 Chevy. Blown head gasket.”
Chuck smiled. “Oh, that’s a beaut, that one. Take care of it, it’ll take care of you.”
“Yeah, I guess it got upset that I’ve been ignoring it for a few years.”
“Trucks are a lot like women,” Chuck laughed. “Ignore them, and they’ll welcome you back alright when you come crawling. But they’ll definitely give you hell for it.”
“I had it coming, then,” I smiled.
I didn’t exactly know what it was, but for some reason, I was actually starting to feel better. The tension of the city, coupled with the frustration of the broken-down Chevy, it was all gone. Almost as if I had stepped into a completely different world, a bubble of sorts, and had left everything else behind.
I could get used to this.
Chuck helped me with my duffle bag even though I told him I could manage. He seemed to want to take me on a tour of the place, proudly pointing out different parts of the motel as he led me to my room. It was a cozy little establishment. The rooms were divided into two buildings set in a semi-circle, separated by a small hut that Chuck explained was the bar slash diner.
“Only it isn’t operational unless we have a full house. If you want a drink, Joel’s is a couple of buildings down.”
The swimming pool was at the center of it all, small but clean, fenced in. Other than an older Ford parked at the far end of the parking lot, the motel was empty.
Chuck let me know that his wife came in every morning with fresh pie, and there was always coffee brewing. If I was hungry, there was a diner, apparently next to Joel’s, where they served the “best burgers this side of Dallas”. Most of the townsfolk kept to themselves, which suited me just fine, and other than the twins who worked here in the morning, and some woman named Ashlyn who tended to the flowers that decorated every corner of the motel, I wasn’t going to be bothered much.
It amused me how much Chuck cared about my privacy, and given that I had paid in cash and refrained from giving him my last name, it wasn’t all too surprising. Guy probably thinks I’m running away from the police or something.
He opened the door to my room, and I was hit by the strong smell of Gardenias. The scent almost immediately brought me back home. I was eight again, racing around behind our house while my mother fooled around with her garden. Somewhere in the distance I could hear my father’s tractor, and I knew any minute now he’d be driving the loud monster back, hopping off it and giving my mother a long, wet kiss. Then he’d tell her to stop breaking her back over plants that did no good, and then call me over to help him in the barn.
For a second there, I completely forgot about Austin, about the company, about anything and everything, and was lost in this one solitary memory.
Chuck snapped his fingers in front of my eyes and brought me back.
“Sorry,” I whispered. “The flowers. Brought back some memories.”
“Yeah, they’re really something,” Chuck smiled. “Ashlyn Carter tends those, green thumb, that girl, really knows how to make this place pop. I was skeptical at first, it was Martha who really gave the girl a chance to show us what she can do. And you know what? I’m glad she did. Can’t imagine this place without the flowers she brings in all the time.”
“She really knows how to pick them,” I said, feeling my chest swell as I breathed in the scent of the Gardenias.
“Sure does,” Chuck laughed. “Grows them in a greenhouse behind her place. A real plant junkie, that one.”
The Gardenias were set in the center of a table that took up the space in front of the bed. Beyond it was a small flat screen, and beyond that the bathroom. The room was decorated for comfort, and the large window let in enough light to make it feel homey. But my attention was set completely on the Gardenias.
“Well, if you need anything, you know where to find me,” Chuck said. “But I guess for now you’re all set.”
I was. Looking at my temporary lodgings, feeling the sun at my back and the sweet smell of the flowers filling my sinuses, I truly and utterly was.
6
Ashlyn
Have you met him yet?”
I was barely out of the front office when Martha’s daughter, Britney, grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to a side. If it weren’t for her pink highlights, I wouldn’t have been able to tell her apart from her twin sister, both girls identical to the point where I wondered how they hadn’t completely abused that benefit yet.
“Met who?” I asked, laughing as I tried to balance the flowers in my hand while simultaneously not tripping over my own two feet. Britney pulled me all the way down the corridor to where it branched off behind the buildings. This was where the girls usually hid to smoke their cigarettes without Martha giving them a speech about what it meant to be a proper girl in Texas.
Heather was already there, a cigarette in her mouth and another in her hand which she dutifully gave to her sister once we appeared around the corner. She offered me one, and I quickly declined. Earl’s smoking habits had be
en enough to put me off the damn things anyway.
“The new guy!” Britney almost squealed. “How have you not met him yet?”
“Maybe because I just got here?”
Britney rolled her eyes and gave me her typical high school ‘ugh’ that came with every other sentence she said. Heather only giggled.
“Okay, so first thing you do is go to room seven, knock and use some excuse like, I don’t know, you have to water the plants or something.” Britney was talking very quickly, a little too excited for my taste. Who the hell was this new tenant anyway? “Then you’ll know what I’m talking about.”
“Okay, first of all, it’s great to know you think my job here is to water the flowers,” I said with a smile. “Very encouraging. Second of all, I’m not going to knock on someone’s door just to ogle at him. Sorry, a little too old for that.”
“Your loss,” Heather said between puffs. “You’re really missing out.”
Britney nodded in agreement and grabbed me by the shoulders. “I didn’t know he was in there when I was cleaning up. I walked in, and he was just walking out of the shower. I saw him in all his splendor, and I mean all his splendor.” Britney leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. “And, oh my God!”
“How didn’t you know someone was in there?”
“That’s not the point Ashlyn,” Britney protested, stomping her leg like a five-year-old. “I have never seen a body like that up close and personal. It was like staring at the body of a Greek God!”
I smiled at that, placing my plants down at my feet and ruffling my hair. I was still a little asleep, having had tossed and turned in bed all night. It wasn’t usual for me to have trouble sleeping, and the lack of it made my head swim a bit. My intention had been to change the flowers I could, quickly, and then race back home and jump back into bed. I liked the twins, a lot, but could have done without the ‘behind the bleachers’ conversation we were having.
“Well, Greek God or not, I need to replace these flowers and get back home,” I said.
“Suit yourself,” Britney said. “More for us.”
I winked at her, picked up my pile and made my way back. The flowers were waiting.
I did run into him, sooner than I had expected.
The guest in room seven really was something out of the storybooks. Tall, brown hair, and the most incredible blue eyes that were so clear a girl could easily lose herself in them. I didn’t get to see the Greek God body the twins were talking about, but his shirt clung to him tight enough to let me know that what was underneath must have been chiseled to perfection. Besides, what I could see was good enough. Way too good enough, and when he caught me staring, I quickly turned away and felt my face flush.
I’m back in high school, I thought to myself. I’m standing by my locker, hiding, because the hottest guy in school just noticed me.
When I turned back around, I felt my heart skip a beat as I watched him make his way towards me, a wide smile on his face that blew me away. If I had had any sense, I would have just dropped what I was holding and made a run for my car. In the back of my head, I imagined the twins watching my escape and laughing at me.
But I didn’t run. Instead I just stood there, watching him approach, frozen in place like deer in the headlights. He crossed the space between us in seconds, his long legs making his movements both quick and graceful. It was only when he was a few feet away did I get a clear look at him, and to quote Britney, Oh My God!
“Hi,” he said, sticking out his hand and flashing me a smile I wished I could wake up to every morning.
“Hi.” I would have taken his hand if not for the bundle I was carrying, and I tried to maneuver my way around it but only managed to make myself look even more like a fool.
“Oh, sorry, yeah,” he said quickly, relieving me of my flowers and placing them carefully on the window sill of the room I had been working at. “Let’s try this again?”
I smiled. “Sure,” I replied, feeling electricity shoot up and down my arm when he wrapped his hand around mine.
“Chance,” he said. “And you must be Ashlyn.”
I frowned, a little confused as to how he knew my name, but at the same time holding back a giggle that threatened to break free.
“Chuck told me,” he said, noticing the confusion on my face. “The woman with the flowers, right?”
And that is how I will be remembered for the rest of my life. It’s going to be etched into my gravestone. Here lies Ashlyn Carter, the woman with the flowers.
“That’s right,” I managed to say, reluctantly letting go of his hand and sticking both of mine into my pockets. “Hope they’re not too much.”
“Oh no, to the contrary,” Chance smiled. “My mother used to have a garden of her own, and just the smell of everything here kind of brings me back.”
Did he just compare me to his mother? I wanted to slap myself.
“That’s wonderful,” I said instead. “Not a lot of people appreciate them.”
“Well, Chuck obviously does,” Chance said. “The motel’s like a giant greenhouse.”
I chuckled. “Chuck’s a sweetheart,” I replied. “My biggest client. Well, as big as they come in Ludwig.”
“You should really think about delivering outside of town,” Chance hinted. “I mean, these are actually beautiful, and with the right management tool, you could expand your business tenfold.”
“Woah, slow down, cowboy,” I chuckled and mocked Chuck’s thick Texas accent. “What are you, one of the entrepreneurs we hear about?”
Chance laughed, hesitated for a few seconds, and then nodded. “Yeah, of sorts. Listen, I’m sorry, didn’t mean to intrude on your work. I just wanted to come over and say I really enjoy the flowers, and that what you’re doing here is beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I said.
He nodded, looked at me for a beat, and then nodded again. “I guess I’ll be seeing you around.”
You most certainly will.
“Yes, I guess so,” I smiled.
I watched him walk to the front office, then turned around and let out the breath I had been holding in.
He was still in the front office when I was done putting out fresh flowers in all the rooms. I had gone through my routine a little faster than normal, most of my work done yesterday, and was just going in for a cup of coffee when I saw him sitting on the couch in the tiny lobby, flipping through a magazine. Chuck was bent over a few papers, scratching his head as he tried to make sense of the numbers he was punching into an old-timey calculator.
Chance looked up at me, flashed me a smile, and put the magazine down.
If he keeps smiling at me like that, I’ll lose it.
I smiled back, went to the coffee pot and poured myself a mug, my mind screaming at me to just ignore the coffee and go home. Another few minutes with him, and I’d probably say something stupid that would just make me look like a complete idiot.
Britney came out from the back, stopped in her tracks when she saw him, and then diverted her gaze to me and winked. I widened my eyes at her and mouthed “stop it”, earning a knowing smile from her as she walked out.
“Numbers confusing you again, Chuck?” I asked.
Chuck raised his head, a frown on his face, and looked at me as if he was trying to decide whether or not he knew who I was. He quickly shrugged, pushed the calculator away and scratched at his beard.
“Martha usually does the bill paying and such,” he said, “but she’s at her sister’s for the next two days, and I have no idea where to start.”
“Need help with those?” Chance asked. “I’m a bit of a numbers guy.”
“That’s okay,” Chuck said. “I need to get a hang of these things sooner or later. I can’t keep pushing things off onto other people just because I don’t like to do them.”
Chance stood up, crossed the room with three long strides, and brushed up next to me as he gazed down at the papers in front of Chuck. I sipped at my coffee, wondering what it woul
d be like to just lean into him and have him wrap an arm around my shoulder.
Fifteen, Ashlyn. You’re acting like you’re fucking fifteen.
“See, there’s your problem,” Chance said, pointing at a column on one of the sheets. “You’ve got the cost of your laundry supplies listed under room rents, which is income, when they should be in the expenditures side. That’s why the numbers don’t balance.”
Chuck leaned in, shook his head in disbelief and chuckled. “Thanks, Chance,” he said. “Although I’m not sure if you should be looking at these numbers in the first place. Lord knows they’re nothing to be proud of these days.”
“Glad to be of help,” Chance said, glancing briefly at me and winking. He seemed so laid back, so relaxed. I wondered what the hell he was doing in Ludwig.
“So, business advice and numbers,” I said. “Can you do repairs, too?”
Chance laughed at that. “I’ve got some time on my hands,” he said. “Tell me what needs fixing and I’ll figure it out.”
I laughed and sat down on one of the high chairs near the coffee machine. “Why exactly do you have time on your hands?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said you’re an entrepreneur of sorts, right? Aren’t you supposed to be buried deep in numbers and graphs, choosing your next venture?”
Chance leaned against the counter and fixed me with his eyes. They’re like twin windows to an ocean view. How the hell do you look at those and not lose yourself?
“I’m on sabbatical,” he said. “City life’s a little too much these days, thought I’d take a break from it all, appreciate the great outdoors.”
“And that’s why you’re in Ludwig?” I had to laugh. “Our great outdoors ain’t that great, especially this time of year.”
“Unless you like things dry as the desert and hotter’n hell,” Chuck added.
“No, actually, I’m in Ludwig because my truck broke down,” he answered. “I was on my way to –” He hesitated, then smiled. “Never mind. Let’s just say I’m grounded for a few days until Hank can get the part to fix my truck.”
The Most Eligible Bachelor: A Texas Love Story Page 5