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“It’s not you I don’t trust. It’s everyone else,” she responds predictably.
“We can’t control everyone else. Not even here,” I repeat the same thing I’ve been telling her for years. She knows it’s true, too. She just has trouble admitting it since she feels safe here.
“You’ll give me the address where you’re staying? And call when you get there?”
“Of course,” I agree. The address part could prove tricky, but I’ve got time to figure that out. And besides, I’d call anyway so she didn’t worry.
“Okay,” she sighs heavily. “As long as you take the right precautions, that’s fine.”
Mom also likes the illusion that she’s giving permission I didn’t ask for, but I’ll let her have that since I’m getting what I want.
“Speaking of precautions, what’s this I hear about a bump on your head?” she changes the subject.
Moving away keeps sounding better and better.
Chapter 7
Deacon
“Whathaveyougotfor me?” I ask my supplier, Paul, as I trail behind him to the stone he called me about. “I hope it’s worth the drive.”
Katah Vista is so far off the beaten path there’s no convenient place to source materials, making this quarry in Jefferson one of the closest locations to find granite for my outdoor designs. When I got the call that they mined a new section and found something I might like, I jumped at the chance to see it. Besides, it’s not like I had anything else to do.
There’s still too much snow on the ground to move any dirt, so all I can do is fine tune my designs and line up the materials I need. Normally that excites me, dreaming up the finished product is almost as fun as building it, but lately it’s been hard to focus. My mind keeps drifting toher.
It’s been nearly three days since I saw Tiff, and that’s unusual. Murphy’s is my go-to spot for food, and seeing her is virtually guaranteed any time I set foot inside. Missing her one day is odd, two days unusual. But three? Unheard of.
Lennon said she’s doing inventory at the mountain location, so she’s not exactly hiding out. Not in her house anyway. She is hiding though, I know it.
Truthfully, that might not be a bad thing. I’ll never get her out of my head if I see her every day, so a little distance is undoubtedly safer. Logically I know that, but it doesn't mean I like it.
It’s a vicious cycle—the need to see her constantly warring with the need to stay away—and knowing that she’s within reach, yet not, has me perpetually on edge. That’s why I jumped at the chance for a little road trip. I was going stir crazy at home.
“Pretty sure you won’t be disappointed,” Paul says as we stop at a section of rock streaked with blacks and creams and the occasional hint of rust. The colors are more rustic than modern, which I personally think has a cozier feel than the stark white that’s all the rage right now. While sleek and sophisticated fits in some places, a rec center isn’t one of them.
“Not bad,” I agree as I pace back and forth in front of the stone. “Have any samples I can take back with me to confirm? I’d like to see how this looks in different light throughout the day, and whether it will work with the other rock I’m considering.” I’ve already got the stone for the walkways, but I’d like to contrast that with a different material to frame the flowerbeds.
“Yeah, I can spare a few pieces.” Paul makes a note on his clipboard and radios one of his employees to bring some to my truck. Then we head to the office to get out of the light snow that’s started to fall.
“Gonna be a dumper,” Paul observes as he gazes out the window.
“You think? The weather said mostly rain today and snow later tonight, when the temperature drops.”
“My knees say it’ll be bad.” He rubs one of them tenderly, making me wonder—not for the first time—if I won’t regret the physical nature of my career when I’m his age. The idea of my joints aching at the first sign of bad weather makes me queasy.
“I’ll get straight on the road, then.”
We shoot the shit for a few more minutes as we watch the stone being loaded in my truck, and when the guys signal they’re done I offer him my hand. “Thanks for the heads up. I’ll let you know in the next day or so if this will work.”
“Take your time. There’s plenty more where that came from.”
Zipping my coat I spin toward the door, pausing to check my phone when it beeps from my pocket. “Shit,” I exclaim as I read the screen. “Road’s closed.”
“Must be windy on the far side of town.”
“Windy enough to close the roads?” I arch a doubtful brow.
“There aren’t any trees to block the wind between here and the mountains, so it’ll whip you off the road before you know what hit you. And if there’s snow mixed in with that… Visibility could be near zero.”
