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I thought, though, maybe, with Kira, I could have a chance. Maybe I had found the person to try again with. Being a hopeless romantic doesn’t look good on me, though. It’s a waste of time and effort. “I need to use the bathroom,” I say, and walk away before she can say anything else.
Once the door is shut, I close the toilet, sit down on the lid, and drop my head in my hands.
11
KIRA
“Miss? You alright?”
I am roused from some dream I immediately forget about when I notice a strange man standing over me, his hand jostling my shoulder.
“Jesus Christ, who are you?!” I yelp, throwing myself into the corner of the couch. I reach for my glasses, fumbling until I get them twisted in my fingers. The second I throw them on, the world comes back into focus.
The man, an older fellow with a dusty mustache and a baseball cap on his head, holds his hands up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!”
“What are you doing in here?”
“I manage the property for Mr. Ricks. Name’s Gerald, Miss.”
I remain incredibly still, going so far as to hold my breath. The man looks nice enough. His hands are up in surrender. If he wanted something from me, I’m sure he already would have taken it. And if he broke in, I certainly didn’t hear it. I was sound asleep.
I notice for the first time, the house is quiet. No rain. In fact, the sun is streaming in through the skylights.
“Wait, how did you get here? The bridge –”
“Town’s already gotten it back in order. Rush job. Couldn’t have anyone stranded up here.”
I sit up straighter. “And you got in…”
“With a key, Miss.” Gerald holds up a ring of keys. “I promise, I’m just here to check on the grounds and make sure the power was back on. Mr. Ricks told me he had some family staying up here and bid me to come check on you. Glad I did, otherwise you might have been stranded out here for a while.”
I scan the room. “And the power?”
“Got the generator up and running for you, Miss. Took the liberty of throwing out some of the spoiled groceries.”
“Where’s…”
“The gentleman you were here with just left.”
My heart sinks. “He left?”
“He was the one who got the bridge all sorted out so fast. Privately built, rush job. Not cheap. In fact, once he got the all clear, he was the first to drive across it.”
Orlie left. Left me here.
At least he didn’t leave me stranded, I’ll give him that.
But he left me alone. Maybe I don’t deserve to feel broken up about that. I was the one who told him that we had to end things. Maybe this is what I deserve.
I had to do that, though. I couldn’t let him break my heart again. Even if he hadn’t meant to, even if he apologized. He’s my boss. And if I’m going to continue working at Wynters Group without issue, I can’t be afraid that he might hurt me.
“I’d be happy to go run some errands for you, Miss, if you like.”
“No, no, that won’t be necessary.” I get up and straighten myself out. I must have fallen asleep pretty early last night. From the looks of the easy chair and the mussed blanket, I bet Orlie slept there. Slept in a room with the woman who’d just told him no.
I shouldn’t feel bad. Orlie Wynters probably needs to hear more noes. Growing up with all that money, it probably took him years to know the meaning of the word.
“Thank you for checking on me,” I say to Gerald.
