Wyatt:Did you tell her about Nolan?
Me:Not yet. But you can bet your ass I’ll be going to Boston to pay him a visit when I’m in town. Hecan’t come after her, and I want to see his face to know if he’s lying.
Wyatt:Let me know what you need. I’ll keep digging. I found a Hugh Chiave that owns a Black Key Ranch. Try to find out if that’s who it is. I’ll do some more digging before I reach out to the local PD.
Me:Thanks, brother.
Settling into my desk, I pull up my email for the blog. I’ve been getting quite a few requests for travel content and it makes me happy that my blog is doing well. I always knew that Nolan was full of shit, I just should have listened to my gut long before I did.
After my email is cleared out, I start on scheduling some social media content when my phone rings, interrupting me.
“This is Cooper Keaton,” I answer.
“Cooper, this is Ryan Martinez. I’m a manager over at the The Liberty Bell, a boutique hotel in Boston. We recently found your blog and are under new management. We were hoping that you would want to come spend a night and blog about the hotel?”
This is perfect. I can take a job and make a visit to Nolan.
“When were you thinking?”
“We’re open whenever you have the time. We’d really appreciate the exposure on our renovations.”
Tapping my pencil on the calendar in front of me, I ask, “How about tomorrow? Is that too soon? I could come and then getyou up on the blog in the next two weeks before the summer season.”
Maybe if I offer the incentive they’ll let me come tomorrow and then I can go see Nolan in the next couple days before he gets too far into his shit with Aubrey.
“Wow, that’s great! We’d love to host you tomorrow. We’ll have the suite ready for you.”
“Perfect. I can’t wait to see the hotel. See you soon.”
Hanging up, I lean back in my chair, happy that I have an action plan to help Aubrey. Or at least to try to help her by doing something. I don’t like sitting around waiting for Wyatt to come up with an idea.
Me:Hey, I got a job in Boston tomorrow night so I won’t be around to watch Aubrey. Are you on shift?
Wyatt:Yeah, I can do a couple drive-bys. Let her know that she can call me if she needs anything.
Me:Thanks. Will do.
I push off from my desk to go find Aubrey and Lily. They’re probably in the pig barn if Lily had anything to say about morning chores. She’s obsessed with those little piglets.
Me:Where are you guys?
Aubrey:Take a guess.
Me:>
Aubrey:Winner, winner. >
Laughing, I slip on my boots and head out the door to go find them. I’ve mostly been sleeping at Aubrey’s and the cabin that I moved into has become one big office. On the off chance I sleep here, like last night, it feels weird waking up without the girls.
The barn doors are open and I hear Lily’s giggles echoing through the large space.
“Where are my favorite girls?” I call out.
“Ova hewe!” Lily calls back.
“With your best friend, I see?” I point to the small black piglet sitting in her lap and sniffing at her face. “Is she looking for leftover syrup from pancakes this morning?”
“You know she is. At least her face gets cleaned one way or another.” Aubrey laughs.
