He opened the door, swung his feet out, leaned over the seat, grabbed her case, then made a dash to the porch, slamming the door behind him.
“That works,” Tony said with a grin when he saw Shay give them a thumbs up. He went into the cabin, leaving the door open for them. Tony and Faith were able to get all the groceries in one trip, and they shook the water off the bags and themselves before entering the cabin, laughing as Shay handed them each a towel.
“When did you encounter this rain?” Tony asked as he wiped his face.
“It started when we were in the store,” Shay said. “How has the weather been while we’ve been gone?”
“This is the first rain, and it’s been warm enough that the snow all melted.”
“How did you know we were back?” Faith asked as she started hefting the bags onto the kitchen table.
“I was sitting in my truck, I had just gotten home from work, when I saw the headlights. At first, I thought it was Staci, but then I saw the trailer and figured it was you guys.”
They nodded and Faith paused from unloading the groceries. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Who owns these cabins?”
Tony cocked his head to the side with a confused look. He studied the couple before him, and knew they were serious inthe asking. “I guess, if you want to get technical, Erin does. She’s the one that paid for the lumber, she’s the one that had Ryan, oversee building them. The land is hers, so are the barns, so I don’t see why the cabins wouldn’t be either. Why? Does it make a matter?”
“No,” Shay said as he walked over to Faith and laid his hands on her shoulders. “I asked Faith to live with me here. We started a relationship while we were in Kentucky.”
“And I was wondering if we had to tell anyone.”
“Not really,” Tony said. “When Staci and I moved in together, she had a cabin over at Broken Two when she first arrived here, then when our relationship took off, we decided it was better to live here.”
“Why?” Faith asked. “I’m not being nosy, I’m just asking. Wondering.”
“Here we have two acres. There it was like a quarter of an acre. The four cabins are close together, almost like on a street in a neighborhood. I like having the feeling of being spread out here. Not on top of one another.”
“Got it,” the couple nodded. “Thank you for being honest with us.”
“You’re welcome. Not that I don’t want to know more about your trip, but I should get home to wait for Staci. She should be home any second. We can catch up tomorrow.”
They walked out onto the porch with him, and he paused as a camper van came slowly down the drive. “That’s her,” he said with a grin as he lifted the hood of his poncho, and ran over to her. They watched as he waited until the door opened, then he flopped one side of the poncho over her head, and they ran to their cabin. After Tony turned to wave, Shay and Faith went back inside the cabin.
Without talking, and working together, they took care of the groceries, and made dinner, all while only making small talk.
“Are you okay?” Shay asked after he pushed his dinner plate away and settled back in his seat to study her.
“Yeah, why?”
“You’ve been quiet since we got home.”
“I know,” she said as she slid her own plate to the side and settled back. “You asked me to share your cabin with you two days ago. Why is that?”
“Because I know you’re the type of person that needs to work something out in your mind before you can give an informed decision. You will go over a list of pros and cons until you get to the answer that is right for you.”
“Correct, well, I’ve been quiet since we returned for almost the same reason, but not quite.”
“I don’t know if I follow.”
She picked up her glass of water and took several sips before she answered. “I know what’s in the trailer. I’ve been picturing where to put it here in the cabin. You know, unpacking in my mind.”
“Oh, now that you say that, I totally understand. I’m sorry for thinking you’d changed your mind about living with me.”
“Nope, just picturing where to put everything.”
