My toe stubs against a rock in the driveway. I wince, and my hands fly out on instinct to stop myself from tripping.
My towel drops to the ground.
Tansy gasps. Her face goes bright red as her eyes drop to my dick again. She blurts out a little “eep” sound before she shoves the stick into reverse, whips her head around, and guns it. Dust skitters and billows around me as she goes roaring backwards back down the driveway.
And there I am, butt naked, surround by the dust of her leaving.
This morning can go right ahead and fuck itself.
3 Tansy
It’s a combination of pride and desperation that has me sleeping in the pickup truck, parked in the veterinary office parking lot after hours. For one, where else am I going to go? Cassidy is out of town visiting an old friend of hers for the rest of the week. I’m sure I could call Dr. Watts and explain the situation, and he’d be happy to put me up.
But that’s where pride comes in. Pride and also maybe a little embarrassment. I mean, he’s been nothing but amazing and nice. But he is my new boss. It’s not exactly a great look to say “oh by the way, that job you helped line up for me isn’t going to work and I also don’t have a place to live or sleep right now” to your new boss. Or at least, not if you’re looking to inspire confidence in your new boss that he made the right move in hiring you.
I find a couple of motels nearish-by on my phone. But again, I’m basically broke. Two-hundred bucks a night isn’t exactly in the budget right now.
So, after I spend the day poking around downtown Cherry Falls, I head to the veterinary clinic. I find a nice, quiet spot in the back of the parking lot under some overhanging branches and get cozy. I even manage to pick up the Wi-Fi from the office, so hey, there’s Netflix.
But for a while, I toss and turn. For one, it’s a freaking pickup truck bench seat, not a bed. And two, Cherry Falls seems like a super safe place. But still… single young woman sleeping alone in a car in a parking lot? That’s got “unsolved murder” written all over it.
But the third big thing that keeps me awake is, well…
I blush. It’s a big thing alright—one that I can’t seem to get out of my head. Not to mention the freaking gorgeous man it was—and I’m assuming still is—attached to.
I bolted because of the obvious. I mean it’s not every day you walk in on something like that. It’s not like I was offended or horrified or anything. Really, it was kind of the opposite if I’m being honest with myself. Colt Patton is a hunk, in every sense of the word. I didn’t run away because I was grossed out or anything. I ran because…
I frown in the darkness of the truck. Honestly, I guess I have no fucking idea. I groan. I definitely could have handled all of that better. I could have taken it in stride, and I’d have a job and a bed right now.
Colt sounded like he wanted to explain about the way I found him. But hell, even if the explanation is “because I felt like it,” so what? It’s his freaking guest house, not mine. Sure, if I was already living there and walked in on that, there’d be some boundary issues. But today was just bad timing or something, I guess.
I blush. Maybe great timing, actually.
Eventually, I quit with the Netflix and try and quiet my head. It’s warm out, so even with the perpetually half-open window, I’m comfortable in my clothes with a balled-up hoodie for a pillow and another sweater draped over me like a blanket.
Slowly, the embarrassment of the day fades. Eventually, I sleep.
In the morning, I wake early with the sunrise. Which is good, because it’s not like I need Dr. Watts coming to work and finding me sleeping in the truck he gave me. Not a great look.
I head to a coffee shop downtown to try and figure this all out. One giant mug of strong and black later, and the night in the truck is behind me. But the first order of business is figuring exactly what the fuck my plan is for the next month. The options are a little stark.
I have a job at the clinic, but it doesn’t officially start for four more weeks. Again, I could probably talk to Dr. Watts and explain the situation, but no freaking way. But without the gig at Colt’s ranch, I have no place to stay and a pathetic bank account that’s only going to get sadder to look at it.
Staying with Cassidy would be a lesson in sucking up my pride. But it’s an option when she gets back. But that leaves three or maybe four days of being effectively homeless. And even then, what am I going to say about the job at Cherry Blossom Ranch? I can’t hide that I literally ran away from it from her. She works there.
For a hot second, I think about going home. But then I catch myself. No, New York is not home anymore. And I’m definitely not going back there.
So… now what?
I hog the table at the coffee shop nursing an order of avocado toast and the last of my coffee until the barista starts to give me the stink eye. After that, I move on to the town library. That eats up two hours. Then it’s perusing a bookstore. There’s another thirty minutes. A clothing boutique eats up another fifteen.
After all of that, it’s barely noon, and I’m starting to lose my mind.
I find a bench downtown to plop down on, and I groan. How the hell am I going to do this for the next four days?
