Seb was glad too, and while the cabin was his retreat, he wished he had more time to spend up here. Maybe someday he would again, once his problems withThe Timeswere settled.
Buford and Glenda had designed and built the one-bedroom, one-bath home with chocolate-brown wood flooring, maple walls, and a high ceiling. The living area and kitchen were one continuous space, and a red cast-iron stove stood in the corner, cords of firewood stacked nearby. The weather was too warm to use the stove now, but in the late fall and winter, there was nothing better than a warm fire, some stout coffee, and a good book to read.Or possibly write.
“The bedroom is down the hall in the back.” Seb opened up another window. “You’ll see the bath right across from it.”
“Thanks. I’ll put up my stuff.”
After Logan disappeared, Seb checked the near-empty fridge, save for mustard, ketchup, a jar of pickles, and two cans of Coke. The pantry had more supplies, but if he had been thinking, they probably should have stopped at the store on their way here.
“This is really cool, Seb.” Logan walked into the room. “Thanks for giving me such a great place to stay.”
“It’s not the Clementine Inn, but it’ll do.” He turned to Logan.“Supplies are pretty low. I can run to the grocery store and get you a few things.”
“It’ll be okay for one night. I brought some stuff with me in my pack. I wasn’t exactly sure about Jade’s reception.” He shrugged. “I don’t want to keep you if you have to get back to work.” Logan stood by the brown suede recliner next to a matching overstuffed couch. “I can take care of myself.”
Independence. A quality the young man shared with his sister. “You sure?”
“Positive.”
Seb was tempted to stay but needed to get back to town. Even without the Clementine history series to work on, he had plenty to do. “Make yourself at home. There are some wicker chairs on the back porch and a hiking trail in the woods behind the house. It’s about a mile and a half around and will bring you back to the cabin.”
“Thanks, but I’ll stick around and wait for Jade. We were supposed to talk tomorrow, and I can tell I threw her off schedule. But maybe she’ll change her mind.”
Seb didn’t miss the hope in Logan’s voice. “Oh, before I forget, cell reception can be spotty up here, so I can’t guarantee your phone will work. I have a landline just in case.” He opened up the junk drawer and pulled out a small pad of paper and a pencil that was worn to the nub. He scribbled down his phone number, address, and his nearest neighbor’s same information. “Just in case,” he said, handing the paper to Logan.
After saying goodbye, Seb headed back to Clementine. Before he reached his office, a crazy thought came to mind. Should he go to the inn and check on Jade? Make sure she found her briefcase?
No. She wasn’t his concern or responsibility. He did hope she would go see Logan and work out whatever was going on between them. Whatever that was, he had to remind himself once again that it wasn’t his business. And she was after his actual business. That was enough to maintain his distance.
Chapter 9
Earlier than she had ever been awake—if you could call it that—Kalista dragged herself down the stairs to the basement where she was supposed to meet Tyler for delivery girl training. Yesterday afternoon she managed to fall asleep, even though the electricity didn’t come back on until eight o’clock. Viv woke her up for dinner, and when she left the bedroom, Bo was outside grilling steaks while the electric company truck was parked at the end of the driveway working on the damaged pole.
The three of them had a delicious supper, minus the baked potato since the oven wasn’t working. Bo was incredibly nice, and he clearly loved Viv and vice versa. Their dinner was the highlight of her time in Arkansas so far and she’d easily fallen back to sleep.
But getting up at two in the morning was an absolute pain. She didn’t even bother to brush her hair—just put it up in a scrunchie and slipped on shorts and a long-sleeved sweatshirt with UCLA on the front. It wasn’t like she had anyone to impress.
When she reached the last step on the basement stairwell, Tyler appeared in front of her. “Hi,” he said, way too cheery for this hour in the morning.
She nodded and yawned again.
“I know it’s early,” he said, pushing up his glasses. “But you’re late.”
Kalista looked at her watch. “Only by fifteen minutes.”
“When you’re delivering papers, fifteen minutes is a lot. Our customers expect their papers to be delivered on time. I’m sorry, but I have to give you a warning. Company policy.”
“Fine.” She waved him off as he stepped aside.
“Unless you have an acceptable reason, if you’re late again, you’re fired,” he said, with all the force of a golden retriever.
Don’t tempt me.She could already tell she wasn’t going to like this job, and getting fired would be a relief. But she was just as sure that her father would probably apply more restrictions if she lost her first job on purpose. “I’ll be on time from now on.”
Tyler grinned. “Great. Let’s get started.” He headed for the other side of the basement where the huge stacks of newspapers were on long tables against the wall, plenty of pep in his step.
Ugh, he was annoyingly energetic. She shuffled behind him and half listened as he explained which newspapers were for her route.
“Sometimes you’ll have to put flyers inside before you roll them.”
