Her first stop was to pick up fishing gear. She didn’t know much about fishing, but with the water within walking distance it seemed like a good hobby to take up. Plus, she could eat what she caught. Maybe. The thought of gutting a fish made her squirm.Maybe I’m a catch-and-release kind of fisherman.At least it would get her out of the cabin and into the fresh air.
Shopping for the stuff didn’t take long. There wasn’t that much to choose from in the store on Main Street, so she just bought a variety of things: a tackle box, two fishing poles, and a book about fishing.
With her purchases safely in the truck’s bed she checked offNEW FISHING GEARand then walked down the block to thehardware store to stock up on sandpaper and exterior paint. She couldn’t wait to go wild on that rusted eyesore of a horse trailer. She might even paint the dull gray weathered outdoor furniture. She picked out a pretty aqua color for the chaise, eager to add some color to her life.
She was known for the beautiful colors in the note cards she sold online. It was time to bring more color to the cabin.
“What can I get you, young lady?” The man wore an apron that had more paint on it than fabric.
“I’m going to need a quart of exterior paint in each of these colors.” She fanned the color strips she’d pulled from the display. Red, yellow, blue, white, black, green, and purple, because that was one color that she always found tricky to mix without it turning muddy.
“You want to come back in a while?”
“Sure. How long?”
“How big a hurry you in?”
“Not that big.”
“How about tomorrow morning?”
Living on country time would take some getting used to. “That’ll be fine,” Natalie said with a smile. There’d be no painting this afternoon.
On her way back, she daydreamed about creating a series of cards with repurposed horse trailers on them. One like Courtnie’s coffee shop, maybe an ice-cream stand, and one with birdhouses and feeders.
The cards she’d done with the retro campers were suddenly outselling even her best sales months. Must be the camping time of year.
With extra time on her hands, she stopped in to pay a visit to Orene.
“Well, isn’t this a wonderful surprise? Come on in!” Orene held the screen door wide. “I’ve been wondering how you were doing up there in the cabin on your own. Everything going okay?”
“Couldn’t be better. You were right. Tucker has taken great care of the place.”
“No surprise there.” Orene led the way to the sitting room. “I see you got something else to drive. That’ll do you better up on the mountain for sure.”
“Yes. It was perfect timing.”
“How’s that?”
“Uh, well…” Natalie searched for just the right words. “It’s kind of a long story.”
“I’ve got nothing but time. I’ll put on a pot of tea.” She headed for the kitchen. “Come on. Keep talking.”
“Um, okay, yes, tea would be nice. So, I had some bad luck recently.”
Orene stopped mid-reach for the teapot. “You weren’t in a car accident, were you?” She swept her finger in the air. “Turn. Let me look at you.”
“No. No. Nothing like that. Well, I suppose luck had nothing to do with it.”
“You sit while I get the kettle going.”
She flumped down into a chair, revisiting why she thought coming here was such a good idea in the first place.
“Okay, so what went wrong?”
“It happened a while back,” Natalie said. “Before I ever came here.”
“Well, whatever it was must’ve kick-started you toward Chestnut Ridge, so no matter how bad you thought it seemed, there’s a bright side if you ask me.”
