I want her to teach me her ways.
She’s an icon, this woman.
“So,” she says, placing her elbows on the desktop and lacing her fingers, leaning forward with interest. “How much do you know about New Heights?”
Damn, she doesn’t even give me an out. “West has told me a little about it,” I hedge. “You run a fund to help rebuild the town, right?”
She nods, elegant brunette ponytail bouncing behind her with the motion. “That’s correct. But what you might not know is that we have grants available to people moving to the town.”
I can’t stop my eyebrows from shooting up. Itry, but they don’t listen to me.
Her cat got the canary smirk tells me she knows she got me too with that one. It’s me, I’m the canary.
“We have several types of grants available, and I would be remiss to not at least inform you of your options on them before you flash us those taillights and move onto wherever is next. Think of me as a recruiter for the town at this point, poaching talent that will help us grow and blossom for decades and generations to come.”
I think I’m stunned speechless. Maybe it’s by her aura, maybe it’s by this vivid picture of the future she’s painting for me. One where I have a home. A gorgeous small town, nestled in the scenic mountains, full of people who have been kind to me, with nothing but good memories here.
A fever dream must be what shows me Weston and me walking down that street out there, swinging a child between our arms, on our way to get ice cream. Something I’ve never been crazy enough to consider after the betrayal of my own father, but Rory’s started a movie in my mind I have no control over.
Whatever the cause of my temporary insanity, all I do is nod at her in permission to go on.
She smiles demurely and does. “We have one available grant for young professionals moving to the city to open a business within the community here. There’s another that helps offset moving and resettling costs for those who plan to work within the Smoky Heights community.”
I try not to let my face fall, it doesn’t seem to be listening to me today, but silly me somehow got my hopes up and let myself dream for just a second there. Weston already talked to me about getting a job in town, and that doesn’t interest me any more than opening my own business here would. No, thank you. Even if I were trying to turn over a new leaf, I don’t need to bringthatmuch attention to myself, thank you very much. I’ve gotten enough stares just walking down the street. If I were to work atthe new diner, for instance, as an outsider? I feel like I’d become a zoo exhibit, faces pressed to the glass to get a look at me.
“There is also another,” Rory continues, and I swear my ear physically perks up, like a dog’s, “where a stipend is granted to young professionals who move to this town who already have remote work.”
“What? Why would they do that?”
“We’re far from the first to offer it. In towns where populations are declining, sometimes they approve a special fund to lure new residents in, so to speak, who are either already parents, or of childbearing age, and offer them either land or money with the promise to stay in that town for a certain amount of time. Beyond just bringing new life to the community, it can also help stimulate the local economy. Someone like yourself, a digital nomad with a reliable work history, could be a great candidate for it.”
“So you’re…giving away money? Or land? For new residents to move here? Whether they already have a job or want to get one here?”
Rory nods decisively. “That’s correct. In our case, it’s money. Or even more money if they plan to open a business here. And we also can help with housing too.”
If I could stammer, I would. I’ve never been in shock fromgoodnews before.
And as if I could like this woman, or her family, any more, she reads it on my face and doesn’t push me.
“I’m not going to force you to make any decisions, Amelia. I just wanted you to know that you always have a home in Smoky Heights if you want one. And New Heights can help with the transition to make it a little easier on you if you ever want to take us up on it. You wouldn’t even have to decide yet, you could just do an application and make up your mind once the approval is back.”
The door tinkles with the arrival of another townsperson who must need her help.
“Be right with you,” she calls, then turns back to me. “Just do me a favor and scan this QR code before you go. It’s the link to our site and the application forms. Then I’ll let you go if you promise me you’ll think it over.”
And though I try every trick I’ve ever had to use to stay focused on the next town, the next step on the path to safety, I can’t get this picture she painted out of my mind. A future where I’m brave enough to stay in one place. To fight for what I want. To build a life, with connections, and friends, even a partner. Where I run into people I know on the street and it’s not looks of pity, or horror, or whispers behind hands, but smiles I get instead.
I never knew how much I could want for myself until I came to Smoky Heights, and I’m not sure I can forgive these people for that.
THIRTEEN
WESTON
Wyatt ducks his whole upper body beneath the hood, getting his face right up and in there as his arm slips between parts to finish threading the last of the bolts. The concentration on his face means he’s not watching me give Ameliathe eyes. Reminding her of what’s coming next. Her. Then her again, her again, and eventually, both of us.
I doubt she’s forgotten. It’s been tough for me to think of anythingbuttonight, unless of course, I’ve been thinking aboutlastnight. And last night isn’t what I should be thinking about when I’m close enough to my fucking brother for him to feel my stiffy if it decided to poke its head up.
So I force my eyes back onto the engine, the rebuild and install that’s being given the final QC by the boss of this garage. Yeah, it might’ve taken me a lot longer than Wyatt to do the work needed on her engine and transmission, but he only had to spend a few hours in total to oversee the whole thing, and that saved Amelia a ton of money. I’m not complaining about all the extra time I got with her either. Painting building after building during the day, her sitting out to work on her laptop while I worked on her parts at night.
