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“I figured you’d like it.”
Her eyes darted down to the table, noting an open sketchbook in front of a seat at the far end. From where she was perched, she could see it clearly, and a flash of awe danced through her. It was a beautiful, realistic rendition of the mountain that bordered the town. The mountain was like a silent sentinel that she frequently thought of as watching over them with its snowcapped eyes, and the picture before her captured it perfectly.
“Did you sketch that?” she asked, nodding her head to the sketchbook.
“I did,” Zach said, a bit of pink dotting the tips of his ears.
For a moment, she wondered if he was embarrassed by her question, but for some reason she didn’t think that was the case. Curiosity rushed through her.
“It’s really good,” she told him. “It captures the scenery so well. If that one picture is any indication, you’re incredibly talented.”
“Thank you.” He dipped his head in acknowledgement.
Colette brought her mug back to her lips, taking another quick drink.
“So,” she began as she set it back down on the table. “I know you said you’d be here for at least a month. But do you have any idea how long you’ll be staying past that?”
He arched an eyebrow at her, a look of amusement passing over his handsome features. “Trying to get rid of me so soon?”
She chuckled. “Nothing like that. You’re just my first tenant, so I’m curious how much time I’ll have to make a plan for getting this place listed when you leave.”
He nodded and then blew out a quick, frustrated sounding breath. “Honestly, I have no idea.”
Colette scrunched up her face in confusion. “You don’t know how long you have until you need to be back in Rochester?”
“No.” Zach ran a hand through his hair. “It’s not like I have anything to go back to.”
The words struck a chord in Colette, and she had the sudden urge to reach across the table and take his hand, although she quickly stifled that impulse.
“You don’t have a job or anything waiting for you back home?” She kept her voice low and kind, doing her best to make sure he didn’t feel as if she was judging him, regardless of what his answer was.
He nodded his head toward the sketch on the table. “I’m an artist. Or I was. But as far as a job waiting for me back home? Not at the moment. No. I used to work with a gallery, but they dropped me recently.”
The words fell from his lips hesitantly, like it was the first time he’d voiced it all out loud. She got the feeling that he was uncomfortable talking about it. So despite the curiosity running through her, she didn’t press any more, opting instead to give him a soft smile and a genuine, “I’m sorry to hear that.”
He shook his head. “You don’t need to be. Honestly, it’s probably for the best.”
His words sounded sure, but the stooped curve of his shoulders and the dejected tone of his voice told her that what he was saying may not be the entire truth. It was as if he was saying it only to try to assuage his own misgivings or feelings of doubt about the entire situation. That was something Colette herself was all too familiar with, and she felt a sudden rush of empathy toward him.
Zach cleared his throat and locked eyes with her. “So tell me about the woman that owned this place.”
Colette could sense what he was doing, grasping at straws to change the subject so he wouldn’t have to keep talking about his career. And she was more than happy to oblige.
“Emma was amazing,” she told him honestly, a smile tugging up the corners of her lips. “Fierce, loyal, kind. And so funny. She loved to watch corny reality television, specificallyThe BachelorandThe Bachelorette. I’ve lived in the guest house cottage and on the property since right after I came to Snowy Pine Ridge after high school. And she was like a mother to me.”
Her words got a little choked up at the end, and Zach’s eyes lit with something like sympathy.
“She sounds incredible.” He gave her a small, encouraging smile and Colette nodded.
“She was.”
“Did she have any family left around here?”
Colette shook her head. “Just me. She was also really close with my cousin, Derek. He’s married now, and he and his wife are expecting a baby. Emma was so excited for the baby to arrive.”
Sadness filled Colette all over again as she thought about the last time she and Emma had talked about the baby. The woman’s entire face had lit up as she’d talked about how much she was going to spoil the new bundle of joy.
“Derek owns a dog sled business here in town,” Colette continued on, pushing past the small kernel of grief that had unraveled in her chest. “It’s a lot of fun. You should check it out!”
