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Gemma sighed. “If I find you a rental, will you take the job?”
So her negotiating skills worked here. “Yes.”
“Done. You start tomorrow morning at seven. Don’t touch my coffeemaker. It’s my baby and I’ll murder anyone who hurts her. Leave me your coffee preferences and I’ll handle it,” Gemma said briskly as she moved to the door. “And be ready to move. I’ll have that deal done in a couple of hours.”
That got her on her feet. “Seriously?”
“Things move fast in Bliss,” Gemma announced. “Except when they move real slow. I’ll have your county vehicle ready in the morning, so you can turn your rental in this afternoon. You can use it for personal driving unless you’re leaving the state.”
The door closed behind the whirlwind that was Gemma Wells.
And Elisa thought about the fact that her life here in Bliss might have just begun. She found her cell phone and called her sister. It was time to get started.
* * * *
Hale wasn’t sure if any of his plans were working. Not that they were his plans. It had been Max Harper’s idea to tempt Elisa back into bed and then give her so much pleasure she couldn’t think straight and oops, how did that ring get on her finger? Van wasn’t so sure that would work—or that Max was a brilliant mentor. Given that Max was pretty much living what Hale considered to be the perfect life, he disagreed.
“Did someone rent my brother’s cabin?” Van came in from the porch, shrugging out of his coat and hanging it on the hook by the door. It was a sunny day but still cold, with a light snowfall that clung to Van’s dark hair.
Hale looked up from the list he’d been working on. The bathtub was installed, and now it was time to work on the kitchen. That meant a long trip into Alamosa, and he didn’t want to forget anything. There was a hundred miles between him and the nearest real supply store. He could get a lot of basics at the Trading Post, but anything beyond that required the drive. “No idea. Did you ask him?”
Van shrugged. “Nah. I don’t want to bother him. He’s getting ready for the holidays. They’re having a big party at the office this afternoon.”
“You could be there.”
“I want to be here,” Van insisted, though he’d stopped arguing about it. “Marie’s truck is parked in my brother’s driveway. I wonder what that’s about.”
Hale moved to the big front windows, looking out over the only recently paved road. The Taggart cabin was nestled in a curve, with an acre of land on either side that went all the way down to the river. This was the last cabin on the road. To the east sat national forest land. The closest full-time neighbor in this part of the valley was Caleb, Holly, and Alexei’s big place. There was a smaller cabin across the street that Van’s brother had bought even before Taggart had purchased his place. It was a two bedroom with spectacular views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. But Jake tended to only come up during the summers. He would bring the kids for a month or two at a time, and Adam and Serena would join them for a week here and there. Jake spent the whole time with his son and daughter fishing and decompressing in a way Adam and Serena didn’t seem to need to.
That was part of the beauty of their relationship. They could be themselves. If they needed alone time or time away from the city and the other didn’t enjoy that, they weren’t alone. There wasn’t pressure on Jake to do what Serena or Adam wanted to do because Serena and Adam simply did it. And Adam always had someone to watch baseball with. Serena could take writer retreats with her friends knowing Adam and Jake had the homestead locked down.
Sure enough, Marie’s truck was parked on the gravel drive that led up from the street. She stood on the porch, a key in her hand.
That was the moment he realized another car was coming down the road. A familiar car.
He knew because he’d driven that car before. The sedan moved slowly across the road and turned into the driveway, parking beside Marie’s truck.
“Holy shit. It’s Elisa.” She’d said she was looking for a place, but he’d never thought it would be so close. He’d expected her to stay at her dad’s.
Van moved in beside him. “Are you serious? She’s moving into Jake’s?” Now Van had his cell phone out, and he didn’t seem to care about Jake’s office party. He punched a number in and put the phone to his ear. “Hey, did you rent the cabin to Elisa Leal?”
Hale watched as the woman of his dreams slid out and waved Marie’s way.
