“Yeesh. Warn a lady next time.”
“It’s my land.”
“I think you like scaring me.”
“Did you turn in your story?” I asked.
She didn’t respond.
A couple of days later, I was finishing up in the garage when I felt my phone buzzing with another message. A thrill went through me when I saw her name on my screen before I could catch myself. At least with text, I didn’t have to see her smile. This was slightly better.
“There is an insanely loud bird outside my window.”
“It’s black but not a crow. I think it’s possessed.”
“It will not SHUT. UP.”
Once again, her texts came rapid fire instead of as one cohesive thought. She blurted whatever came to mind.
“Constant interruptions must be so annoying,” I typed back, wondering if the dry tone came across. Would she pick up on my teasing or think I was just being a jackass like so many people often did?
I watched the little dots, indicating her reply.
“Just so you know, when you admit that I’m annoying you, it only makes me want to do it more. I WILL CHARM YOU YET, SIR.”
I moaned out loud. Little did she know …
“Please stop yelling.” I typed. “Those birds are grackles. Their calls can get annoying.”
This time, I didn’t bother hiding my smile. My mother often complained about the same thing.
It sounds like an old grinding, rusty gate all the time.
“Unrelated to the gun thing, do we know if grackles are a protected species?” More texts followed instantly.
“I’m just kidding.”
“Mostly.”
I chuckled loudly. I couldn’t help it. At least nobody was here to see me.
“You don’t count,” I said when Ripley raised a hairy brow at me.
“I think you’re just avoiding your work,” I typed to Claire.
“I’ll have you know I turned in my story.”
My heart stuttered. She was done? Did that mean she was leaving? She signed for two months. She paid for those two months. She was responsible for fulfilling her end of the deal. My jaw ground together. If she thought she could get out of that contract?—
“I’m boooored,” she wrote.
“I never thought I’d say this, but I miss peopling.”
“Think the road to town is okay? I think I need to interact with a human before my reflection starts talking back to me.”
“Do you always text in threes?” I messaged instead of answering her questions.
I couldn’t answer. I didn’t want her going into town alone and couldn’t explain why. An offer was on the tip of my tongue. A much more unbelievable and awful idea gained momentum and moved through my mind. It was now mid-October, and Cozy Creek did autumn up in a big way. The town drummed up tourism outside of the ski season, and that meantallthe fall things: hay rides, carnivals with caramel apples and kettle corn, costume contests with cute kids, and a pet parade with even cuter animals. If it was fall-themed in any way, Cozy Creek did it.
