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Once everything was checked off my list of chores, I got up and tended the everyday things I lived for. I had craved the simple life since I was a boy. The city life never called to me. It was too busy—too noisy. In our mountain home, I could hear the wind whipping the bare-branched trees and the subtle creaks of the roof adjusting to the temperatures through the day and night. Also, howls of wolves far and near. The gentle step of a doe as its hoof pressed into the fragile snow blanket.
This was home in terms of place and four walls.
Even so, my polar bear lamented the lack of a mate.
I got up after shutting my laptop, needing to stretch my legs. The bread had already risen since Nacho put it near the fireplace, and it was time for the forming of the loaves. He taught me how to do it, since he was sometimes deep in his work.
I pulled the dough and kneaded it until it turned smooth and pliable then rolled it into two loaves before tucking them into a pan for the second rise. Nacho cut all kinds of designs and lines into his loaves, but mine was simple.
The stew on the stove had thickened while it cooked, the potatoes and carrots now tender and ready.
Once my chores were done and I’d taken a long hike through the forest, I came back and wished for more work.
Something to keep my mind occupied.
A book kept me busy until dinner when Nacho came out. His hair was disheveled, and he grumbled about finishing the edits but it needing a second round.
He was tedious about the whole thing.
“That bad?” I asked, dishing up a big bowl of stew for him. I’d sliced up some bread and put it between us. I ate standing at the counter while he pulled up a stool on the other side.
“No. Good, actually. The editor caught some important things. This is good.” He took a bite of the stew, burning his mouth on it. He wasn’t patient.
“Thanks. It’s from that elk we took down last week. We still have a ton in the freezer.”
He nodded. “We need more for the rest of the winter? I could go hunt.”
“We could probably use one more to be well-stocked. Just in case…”
“In case what?” he asked. We shared a look, being friends so long we could each guess what the other was thinking.
“In case it’s a long winter.”
He huffed out a laugh. “Yeah.”
With not a lot else to do, I got on my laptop and checked to see if there were any fires to put out.
Nothing.
Before I shut it down again, I checked my emails. I usually glanced in the box where spam went, deleting all of it immediately, but one caught my eye.
An advertisement for the Mail-Order Mating app.
Wait, hadn’t we just talked about this? The damned thing was listening to us.
I clicked on the link and looked around, dipping my toes into the water, when Nacho came back into the room.
“You’re still working?” He let out a roar of a yawn.
“Nah. I’m all done now.”
Chapter Four
Marney
The bar was the perfect place to drink my way into forgetfulness. The only place. Quite the party had been planned for our reception with fine wines and liquors, but I had to assume that if anyone was drinking them, it would not be me.
I picked up my phone and texted Claude for at least the fiftieth time since I had learned that I had been part of the decision to call off the wedding. He didn’t need to marry me, but he damned sure could tell me why he decided not to at the last minute. I picked up the shot placed in front of me and tossed it back. It was not the first or even the second or third. I wasn’t sure how many I’d had, but neither did I care. If I passed out right here, sitting on the barstool, at least I wouldn’t be aware of the fact I was that pathetic caricature: a woman left at the altar.
