Page 37 of Passion in Bloom

“And I’ve been checking in on them.”

“Good. But what are you after?” He folded his hands together. “New locks and windows and shit?”

“That wouldn’t hurt...”

“No, but it’s a bizness expense I can’t see the big bosses okaying. Hell, kid. The owners are talking about tearing out the cabins. They’d rather knock them down than fix anything up on them.”

I feared he’d say that. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to put money into buildings that were so outdated and old. Why invest in something when it would make more economical sense to take it down?

“Something’s sure wrong with them damn water pipes.” He shook his head, bitter about it all.

“Yeah. Ever since you started them digging and looking at the main pipes—”

“I know. I know.” He waved at me, grimacing. “Something ain’t right with them. And that’d be a bigger cost than adding security for her out there. It’s just the two of you out there renting now.”

“It is a priority though,” I argued.

“Oh, of course, it is. I wanna make sure she’s safe. But how given how long she’d be renting there. Hell, how long are you gonna rent your cabin?”

“What do you mean?” I wasn’t sure why he had to shift this topic to me.

“You been out there since you moved here and worked on the ranch. But you ain’t actually planning to stay there for good, are ya?”

I shrugged. That cabin suited me fine. “I like it there. It’s quiet.”

“Yeah, but wouldn’t a house outside of town be a better fit for you?” He raised his brows. “Something with another bedroom for your niece moving in?”

I shook my head quickly. “No. She’s not— Back up. She’s not moving in with me.” If I let her move in officially, my sanity would never be steady. I’d have to hide valuables and money. I’d never be able to know she wouldn’t crash the place. Or bring boyfriends and whoever over. I hated that I couldn’t trust her to be a responsible adult, but her behavior was her choice.

Besides, wouldn’t I only be enabling her if I let her move her for good? Wouldn’t that make it easier for her to assume she’d never need to get a job and make a living to take care of herself if I provided like that for her?

“Well, I still gotta wonder if a house outside of town would make more sense for you in the long run.”

I shrugged, not committing to that. I was planning on staying in my cabin until it made sense to live somewhere else. After my ill-fated marriage with Veronica and living in that ridiculously decorated and too-modern house I hated with her, with way too much space that it felt like we lived in a museum, not a home, I wanted simple. I wanted to be comfortable without much flair or nonsensical need for vibes and themes and all that artsy crap.

“I doubt Heather would stay long in her cabin,” he added.

I sighed and crossed my arms, leaning my back against a column on his porch. “Why’s that? Because she seems flighty in general?”

“Flighty?” He scoffed, giving me another one of those old man waves of dismissal. “She wasn’t ever flighty, whatever the hell that means. If it means she’s prone to taking off, that sounds more like your niece.”

I wondered if I was finally getting my chance to hear a little more backstory about Heather. I wanted to hear her story from her lips, not someone else’s, but I’d take what I could.

“That girl wanted to get outta town when she was younger because of her good-for-nuthin’ parents. And ain’t nobody gonna blame her for that. But hell, she seems like a regular ol’ adult now.” He shrugged. “I don’t understand you young people anymore, but I don’t think she’s gonna stay in that cabin for long cuz she only wanted month-to-month rent.”

That was different from my six-month intervals. I suspected they started half-year rental agreements to better reflect ranch hands coming and going in the past, revolving around the busy seasons.

“That ain’t to say she’s gonna up and go again,” Todd said. “Now, I’m just speculatin’ but if she took off and had a rough time with some sort of slick bastard in the city, maybe she ain’t gonna be rushing out of town so quickly again.”

I nodded, seeing what he was getting at. But in the bottom of my stomach, I sensed a gnawing pit of dread.

I don’t want her to go anywhere.

I liked her close by.

I wanted to know she was nearby in case she needed help she wouldn’t ask for. In case she was lonely and in the mood to connect with my physically even when she couldn’t open up in any other way. And in case she was seeking this budding companionship that grew between us, cautiously and slowly, as if it was a delicate plant to nurture until a bloom could happen.

Because I cared, far, far more than I should’ve.