I hate how painfully attractive he is when he smirks, and I hate that I didn’t want to give his jacket back.
I make the rounds through the dying party and say goodnight as quickly as I can. My teeth chatter as I walk back to the lodge in silence.
By the time I get back to my room, I’m worn thin. My phone buzzes on the nightstand as I slip into bed. My mother is on FaceTime and I couldn’t be happier. We speak almost daily, and I’ve missed a few of her calls due to bad reception and her traveling back to New York from Europe.
“Mom! Hello!” I say, propping my head up on a pile of pillows.
“Sweetie! How are you?” She’s back in her Manhattan penthouse. My stepfather waves from behind her.
“I’m doing well. Hi, Dad!” I say to the man who is more of a father to me than my biological one. He blows a kiss my way, leaves one on my mom’s cheek, and then slips out of view.
“I was beginning to think the woods had already consumed you, my dear.”
“Not yet, although so far, I’ve fallen in a horse trough, cuddled a turkey, and had a rogue bulldog lick my toes.”
“Cuddled a turkey? How feral,” she teases. “So it seems thetrip thus far is not as terrible as you had imagined it was going to be?”
I open my mouth, but hesitate, and she pounces like the seasoned negotiator she is. “Ah. That pause. That’s the pause of someone who has already met someone.”
“I’ve met lots of people so far.”
“I see and what’s his name?”
“Whose name?”
“The name of the man who has put that pink in your cheeks.”
“It was a chilly walk back to the lodge from dinner.”
“What’s his name?”
I groan into the phone. “You are exhausting.”
“Forgive me, but the last time you were in Colorado, it didn’t exactly end well. I’m allowed to be curious.”
“There’s nohe, but there is a man here named Duke Faraday.”
Her brow arches. “Oh dear. That’s either the name of a country music singer or a man with devastating bone structure and a hero complex.”
“It’s the latter unfortunately,” I mumble.
“I see,” she says, the corners of her mouth tugging upward. “And who is this Duke Faraday?”
“The ranch owner. Don’t worry, he’s only intriguing to me in that I need to interview him for the piece I’m writing about the ranch. We’re keeping it professional.”
She gives me a long, knowing look that only a mother—or perhaps a seasoned diplomat—can deliver. “Promise me you won’t run full steam into this one before you know what it is or who you are in it.”
“I won’t,” I say softly. “Like I said. This is strictly business.”
a creature with comforts
ROXANNE
The next morning,Rusty is waiting in the lobby to take me to Duke’s house and show me the library before Allie, Leo, and I start to scout areas for filming. Rusty’s eyes crinkle when he sees me, and it’s nice to be greeted by his kind smile. He tips his hat when I reach the bottom of the stairs.
“Mornin’, ma’am,” he says.
“Good morning,” I say. “Thank you for letting me use your library.”
