Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
“I’m going into town today,” I tell him one morning after breakfast. “Do you want to maybe come with me?”
Something flickers across his face. I could almost think it was longing, but then he shakes his head. “Can’t. Too many trees to cut down. I’m about to go into the busy season.”
It’s the first thing he’s really told me about himself. “So you’re a lumberjack. It’s nice to know what you do.”
“We can’t all be freeloaders,” he says but the words have no malice, and he grins at me, something sparking in his gaze.
“Did you make a joke?” I clutch at my chest. “Miracles still happen.”
“Yeah, don’t let it get around,” he tells me as he slips into those big, clunky boots of his. I know I’ve only been here a week, but I love the sound of them. I spend my entire afternoon looking forward to hearing them against the porch boards.
“Your reputation is safe with me,” I promise as I follow him out the door to my car. I have four new tires and a new transmission. When I mentioned the funny noise my car makes, he had the problem diagnosed and fixed within two days. He wouldn’t let me pay him for the work or the parts either. Crazy pants mountain man.
As I leave, I give him a little wave, surprised when he returns it.
I drive into town slowly. I could never get tired of this view, all these colorful trees with their red and orange leaves are breath-taking. If more people knew about this, tourists would flood Courage County every autumn. The realization is enough to keep me from posting the pictures online. I want this place to stay my secret treasure.
Before I get to Emma May’s grocery store, I spot a dress in the window of a store called, Sew Cute. I gasp because it’s so perfect. I didn’t even know I wanted to do this until I saw it. But now that the idea is in my head, I know I have to do it.
I park my car in the lot and hurry inside, eager to grab it before another customer does. As soon as I step inside, I hurry to the counter. There’s an associate who smiles brightly and welcomes me to the store.
“I love the dress in the window! Can I get it?”
It might not be my exact size, but it has to be very close.
“Sure thing! I’m Mallory, and this is my shop. The dress you’re looking at is a vintage piece. Most of the designs are mine, but that one was a secondhand find that just needed some loving.” She rolls out from behind the counter, and that’s when I notice her wheelchair. She rolls to the front of the store with a grabber tool.
While she goes to retrieve it, I see Emma May across the store. She waves enthusiastically and hurries over to me, grinning from ear to ear. “I’d hoped I’d see you again soon. How’s the cabin? Is it everything you hoped for?”
“It’s come with some interesting surprises,” I say. For a second, I was going to tell her about the gruff mountain man, but I decide not to. Whiskey wants his privacy. It’s not right for me to tell the tiny town about him if he can’t face them.
“Good surprises?” She asks with a twinkle in her eye.
“Yeah,” I agree, feeling myself smile. I wish I could talk about Whiskey. I’d like to get someone else’s opinion of him. For one, is he always so grumpy with everyone? And for two, is it possible that he likes me back?
“Do you have time for coffee now?” She offers. “You could tell me all about it.”
“Let me just pay for my purchase,” I say as Mallory wheels back to me. She passes me the dress.
Emma May swallows hard. Her chin wobbles, but she holds her composure. “Are you getting married?”
I shake my head. “Not really. It’s kind of a long story.”
“I’d like to hear it one day,” she says softly, a wistful note to her tone.
I pay for the dress and follow her to Courage Cookies. They have a delicious sugar cookie with apple pie frosting that’s probably the best cookie of my life. It’s another hidden gem in Courage County that I’ll have to leave behind in three weeks.
I push the thought away and tell Emma May about the running trails near the cabin I’ve rented. I tell her about the scenic lake and how much I love feeding the ducks that have paused their migrations long enough to rest.
In return, she tells me how things are going at the grocery store and about the cats that roam on her property. She shows me pictures of them, and I show her pictures of Tobias around Whiskey’s cabin. We’ve spent two hours talking about our lives, and it barely feels like it’s been more than two minutes.