Something tightened in my chest. “What did she sound like? Did she have a nice voice?”
“Um…I—” Travis stammered over his words as he unlocked the truck, the sound of the locks shifting. I opened the door and whistled for Rusty to hop in before I followed behind. Travis’ voice sounded far away for a moment before rising in volume as the truck shifted and he settled in the driver’s seat. “I don’t know. I mean, I guess she had a nice voice. It was kinda…smoky. She definitely ain’t from here. I didn’t recognize the area code at all when she gave me her number.”
Even as excitement sparked, an answering wave of disappointment washed over me. If Travis had gotten her number then it didn’t matter. I didn’t know what Travis lookedlike, but he didn’t seem to have any problems picking up girls. “Did she smell like vanilla and lemongrass?”
“I don’t fuckin’ know, man. I wasn’t smellin’ her. Why all the questions?” A defensiveness lingered in his words.
“I ran into a girl in there and, uh, was wonderin’ if it was the same one you were talkin’ to.”
“Oh.” Travis’ voice softened, interest replacing the defensive edge. “Well, what did she look like?”
I rolled my eyes, a huff of laughter escaping me. Travis and I had worked together for going on almost a year now, and the kid still forgot I was blind most days. I mean, in the end I couldn’t really blame him. He wasn’t the only one to forget. I preferred that though than people going out of their way to coddle me. I didn’t need coddling. Didn’t need handouts. I could work, and ride a horse, and hold my own fine enough.
“I don’t even know what you look like, dumbass. How the fuck am I supposed to tell you about her?”
Travis chuckled one of those goofy, low-pitched laughs I’d come to expect from him. “Oh, shit. I forgot, man. I’m sorry.”
I snorted, rolling my eyes. “It’s fine. So, this girl you met… Did she seem like she was in a rush? I don’t know, maybe embarrassed?”
I hoped that it wasn’t the same girl I’d met. I didn’t want to smell her perfume or hear her soft, warm voice again and know that she wasn’t around because of me, but for Travis.
“Nah, this girl wasn’t goin’ anywhere fast, that’s for damn sure.”
A trickle of relief settled over me. Not that I’d probably ever see my mystery girl again. But still. “So, you said the girl you were talkin’ to is from out of town?”
“Out of state, actually. She’s here with her friend, visiting the girl’s family, I guess.” Travis’ words floated over the sound of the engine rumbling to life. I felt the vibrations as the truck shiftedinto reverse. I clutched my bag in my lap, while petting Rusty with my free hand. His warm breath fanned against my leg as he panted at my feet.
“Nice. You gonna see her again?”
“I think so,” he replied. “She told me to text her later, see what they were up to. Hey—” Something—correction—Travis’ hand smacked against my shoulder. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough to startle me a bit. His words took on an excited edge. “Maybe her friend’s the girl you were talkin’ to!”
I nodded. “Yeah, maybe.”
But I wasn’t holding my breath. The world was small, but it wasn’t that small.
Chapter four
That’s Texas
Quinn
My nerves danced throughmy entire body as I followed the navigation’s instructions, turning into a gorgeous drive lined with weeping willows and green pastures on either side. I hadn’t seen Dad since my graduation almost a month ago. It’s when I’d first met Georgette. She’d been…well, let’s be honest, she was a lot, but Dad seemed to be happy, so that’s all that mattered.
“Holy shit. This is the place they’re renting?” Whit’s voice was full of awe as she gaped out the window. Not gonna lie, I was a bit in awe myself.
We came to a small fork in the road, where one lane branched off toward a fancy barn, a sign by it readingBroken Creek Ranchon it. I followed the main road to the house, all the while, my nerves winding tighter and tighter. Why wouldDad rent this place? I mean, I knew they were planning on having the wedding here, but still. I guess you could get away with irresponsible things like this when you were ridiculously wealthy, though. At least, knowing Dad, he’d probably found this place for a steal because of his high profile realtor job.
But something still didn't sit well with me. Something wasn’t right. There were missing pieces. And whatever this gut feeling meant, I doubted I would like it.
I scrolled through my phone and pressed my dad’s contact, the ringing sound all but deafening as it connected to the car’s speakers.
“Queenie! You almost here?” he asked, excitement in his words. I bit back a groan at my little nickname. It was cute when I was, like, ten, but I’d long since outgrown it. I put up with it though, because, well, it was Dad, and Dad got to do things like that.
“We’re actually pulling up now.”
“Great! Just park in the driveway. We’ll be right down.”
I hung up and continued up the path. My breath left me in a whoosh as the tree-covered drive opened up and a massive, I meanmassiveplantation style house with white wood siding and black accents loomed up before us. The nicely paved dirt path gave way to a flagstone circular driveway with a gargantuan fountain in the middle. A bronze statue of a cowboy and his horse rested in the center of it. A large, at least, six car garage stood off to the right.
