1
Kian
All the bookstold you not to make huge decisions after a major loss. But I needed to get out of there. Between losing my papa and ending things with Danny, I just needed a fresh start.
In Montana, though! Really, Kian! Really?
I didn’t know crap about ranching. Plus, I was a little scared of anything bigger than a teacup poodle. It wasn’t like I couldn’t rebuild and rebrand the websites and branding at home.Not that you have one anymore.Yeah, maybe selling the family house after Papa died hadn’t been my smartest idea. But God, without him, it just hadn’t felt like home anymore. It hadn’t felt like the home I’d grown up in with both my parents gone.
And I couldn’t exactly ask Danny to vacate the condo we shared, especially being the one that had ended things. I could still see the confusion in his eyes. We’d grown comfortable and complacent in our relationship, but as I was walking away from the only place I’d known and into the unknown, I couldn’t help but wonder—was that such a bad thing? Then again, did I want forever with someone that was more like a permanent roommate? We rarely even had sex anymore. I couldn’t even remember our last date… There had never been a time I thought there would be a gaping hole in his heart if I was gone. And maybe that was asking for too much…but I was asking.
Now wasn’t the time to be asking those questions. The time would have been a month ago. Heck, even two weeks ago.
I shook off that thought and looked at the GPS. “Thirty minutes away.” I wasn’t far from the town of Asheville, Montana. The last few miles had been nothing but green, rolling hills and land as far as the eye could see, and wow, was the countryside beautiful. Open fields and clear skies. I bet that even the air smelled fresh, nothing like the city.
You’re not in Philly anymore, Kian.
I didn’t believe in fate, but when my best friend from college, Rhys, called after Papa passed away to offer his condolences, we’d talked for hours. Just like we always did. Time never seemed to pass with him. Even though it had been almost a year since we spoke on the phone and several years seeing each other in person.
Which was your fault. Rhys had tried calling me several times, but I hadn’t been in the mood to talk.
He’d moved back to Montana after school, and we’d kept in touch via email, phone calls, and FaceTime. But even those had stopped almost completely on my end after Papa became sick.
That gut-wrenching feeling hit me again. Even though I knew it was coming, it didn’t stop it from hurting any less. No matter how many times I’d told myself he was with Dad now, it still felt like I was being sucked into oblivion with pain.
My hands tightened around the wheel. Yeah, I definitely needed a fresh start. Besides, I had Daddy and Papa with me. Their ashes were mixed, so now they were together in death as they had been in life.
You’re still all alone in the world.
Ignoring that nagging voice had become a daily exercise. Especially when it called me silly for leaving Danny and the comfort of stability to start somewhere new. Truthfully, I wanted what my parents had. It was like they’d breathed in sync. Dad had treated Papa like he was the center of the universe and everything revolved around him. I wanted that. That kind of love and devotion… It wasn’t too much to ask, was it?
That thought wasn’t getting me anywhere. I was focusing on the future and the move. Even though moving without a place to live wasn’t the best idea.
Yeah,’cause when you’re less than twenty minutes away is a good time to realize that.
It wasn’t technically starting from scratch. I knew Rhys. From the moment we’d met on the first day of orientation, he had taken me under his wing and taken care of me. Sometimes, I forgot I was older than him by a couple of months.
He was my one true friend.More like your only friend. While I’d never been good at the whole “making friends” thing, Rhys hadn’t really given me a choice; he’d declared us ‘besties.’ His actual words had been, “We’re going to be best friends. I just know it.”
I had thought he was crazy, or worse, he’d see me and decide I wasn’t worth it. I’d been terrified college would be as sucky as high school, so I went with it, all the while waiting for the other shoe to drop. However, it never did. Instead, he’d made four years of college that could have been utterly unbearable…wonderful.
He’d come over to my house a lot since I used to live in-state. However, this was going to be my first time at his house, despite being invited several times in the past.And you said no. But here you are, moving without ever even having been to Montana.
Well, I was here now. That was when I saw the sign that read ‘Asheville’ and underneath it ‘Population: 1,928.’ Fuck, I’d never been to a town that small. Rhys hadn’t been exaggerating when he said everyone knew each other.
Maybe this was a bad idea. I’d be the new guy, sticking out like a sore thumb. Shit…Well, you’re here now, and it’s not like you have anything to return to.
As a freelance graphic and web designer, most of my work was virtual. So technically, I could live anywhere with Internet access. Asheville just had someone that felt like family.Rhys is family. Breathe.I repeated those words to myself over and over.
As I got into what I guessed was downtown, I was surprised to find that it wasn’t anything like I expected. For such a small town, everything looked stunning. Main Street actually looked like something out of a postcard. A very Dutch postcard.
They even had a windmill. How had I never heard of this town? It was like stepping into Europe. Hold on, was that a chocolatier? And a gelato shop? Maybe I should have taken the time to look up my new home because it looked like I wasn’t ending up in the Middle of Nowheresville, Montana.
I followed the GPS until I arrived at the large arch that read ‘Crazy Bear Mountain Ranch.’ I shook my head at the name and made a mental note to ask Rhys what on earth had inspired it. Especially since it was also the name of the company.
Though I guessed it was working for them since you couldn’t walk into a store without finding their pastries, milk, beef, sausages, meatballs, and several other beef and dairy products with their name on them.
I still couldn’t believe I would get to work on their whole rebrand.
