AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Seventeen
Bear
GRETA TURNED A CIRCLE in the middle of my cabin and looked around.
I didn’t know what she was thinking. Most of the time, she couldn’t keep her mouth shut, and now when I wondered what she was thinking, she wasn’t talking.
“This gonna be okay for a couple of days?” I asked. It was only a two-bedroom cabin nestled in a valley of the mountains. I loved it but being in the middle of nowhere wasn’t always what other people liked. I did have a neighbor who was a shout or phone call away, since I knew it was not a good idea to be completely isolated.
Greta turned to me and propped her hands on her hips. “I am in the middle of the Rocky Mountains in a beautiful cabin with my own lumberjack.” She threw her hands in the air. “These conditions are horrendous,” she laughed.
I ran my fingers through my hair and smiled. “So, you’re saying it’s livable?”
Greta ran to me and launched herself into my arms. “I would say this is a perfect getaway from the chaos going on in Rockton right now, but we’re not here under the best circumstances.”
“You’re right, mama, but once we get everything squared away with my mom, we could take a day for ourselves before we head back to Rockton.” I didn’t want to be a downer the whole trip. I wasn’t lying when I had said I had prepared for this the past five years. Hell, for the five years mom lived at Hills Park, it had been like a preview of what it would be like without her.
“I just wanna wake up and have a cup of coffee out on your deck,” she sighed. She pressed a kiss to my lips and nodded to the deck behind me.
We were in a valley of the Rockies, but the scenery was still breathtaking. Mom had lived here until she had to go to the assisted living, and I had moved in. It was a place that would always be like home for me.
“But first,” Greta drawled. “You need to eat and get to bed. I don’t even know how you are still standing after driving over fifteen hours today.” She rested her hands on my shoulders and gave me a stern look. “You should have let me drive at least for a couple of hours.”
I set her down and shook my head. “I’m used to making drives like that on my own, mama.”
“Well, then we shouldn’t have made the two-hour detour to see the Leaning Tower of Niles.”
I shook my head. “That was the highlight of the trip for me.”
She scowled and rolled her eyes. “You would say that since you were the one who didn’t get yelled at by the security guard. You can’t even try on a hat anymore these days.”
It was true when it came to Greta. If there was trouble to be found, she was going to find it. “I think the problem the guy had was the fact you ripped the tag off and started walking around the souvenir shop with it on.”
“I was going to buy it,” she insisted.
“With no tag?” I laughed.
She slugged my shoulder. “You could have helped me more than you did,” she complained.
“I didn’t know what the hell you were doing until he was talking to you.” I was going to have to be a lot more vigilant when I was out with Greta to make sure she didn’t wind up in trouble or even jail.
She walked into the kitchen and opened the freezer. “I’m assuming no one delivers out here,” she hummed.
“No, but I do have the freezer pretty well stocked.”
She grabbed a plastic container out and read the label out loud. “Elk meatballs with alfredo.” She looked at me and quirked her eyebrow. “Did you make this, or do you have a woman hidden away who cooks for you?”
I laughed and shook my head. “Not exactly. She lives in the house down the road with her husband and three huskies.”
Greta closed the freezer and set the container on the counter. “Good answer. Now, you go shower, and I am going to heat this up and make something with it.”
I nodded to the pantry to the left. “You should be able to find something in there.”
She saluted me. “Got it. Go shower.”
“You don’t want to come help clean my back?” I asked.
She rolled her eyes and moved to the pantry. “If you’ll remember correctly, I washed it yesterday when we were at my place.” She turned and glanced at me over her shoulder. “Twice.”
“Ah,” I laughed. “Now that you mention it, I do remember.”
“Shower, and your elk meatballs will be waiting for you.” She stepped into the pantry and let out an audible gasp. “Holy fuck bucks. This place is bigger than my childhood bedroom.” She peeped her head out and smiled. “You might want to take your time in the shower. I’m more than likely going to have to facetime Meg to show her this. I would be a horrible niece if I didn’t.”
I shook my head and made my way down the hallway to my bedroom.
The cabin wasn’t huge by any means, but it was a good size.
Apparently, the pantry was more than adequate for Greta and Meg.
I was back in Colorado sooner than I thought I would be, and Mom was gone. Both in body and in mind.
This was a day I had dreaded, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
The woman in my kitchen was making sure of that.
Greta was exactly what I never knew I needed.
