Something about the smell of the trees and being surrounded by greenery and fresh air takes me back to my roots. I’ve been nostalgic ever since I first drove into this town and it’s a mixture of bittersweet memories.
I love Nashville. The home I have is nestled just outside of downtown on the Cumberland River. My place is a fourteen hundred foot, two-story farmhouse, cabin-style, that my builder and I put a lot of work into, sitting on one hundred acres of pristine, beautiful land. The house itself is a modest three bed, three bathroom home, with stone foundations and a striking cedar shake roof with copper flashing. The implementation of bark siding around my house blends into the natural scenery beautifully. The interior takes on a more modern spin with vaulted tongue-and-groove ceilings, exposed beams, and an open floor plan.
Not exactly a place you would ever want to escape from under normal circumstances, and while I could’ve maybe reclused in my house for a few months, I knew I needed some breathing room in a new place, at least for a while.
When I slide out of my cab seat, my boots hit the gravel with a crunch and I look up to a beautiful blue sky. The sun is weaving its way through the clouds, cascading its light over the surrounding trees like a halo. Oh, the irony. Because if there’s one thing I’m not, it’s an angel. I sure as heck proved it last night when Bailey hauled me over the coals into her little abode.
That only takes my mind back there again, and I don’t need to be sporting a boner when I’m seeing Jed and meeting his boss for the first time.
Thank god I haul myself out of my reverie before that happens, because a few seconds later a familiar voice booms across the parking lot at the main office. My best friend.
“Howdy, stranger,” Jed calls between cupped hands.
I smile because it’s kinda hard not to be happy around Jed. He’s always been the happy-go-lucky kinda guy that loves to have a joke and pull you out of a heap if you’re ever in one.
“Hey, man.” We bro handshake and he pulls me into a firm pound hug.
“How the heck are you?” he asks, even though I only saw him two days ago. Jed grew up back in Nashville, where we were both born and raised, but he moved out here a year or two ago to work at Lawless Farms. It’s been a dream come true for him, and though I missed him when he moved, he’s as happy as a pig in shit around the farm.
“Doing just fine, bro. You?”
“Awesome.” He runs his hands through his coppery hair and thumbs behind him. “Sorry I couldn’t make it last night,” he says regretfully. “We just had a huge shipment, and it was a deadline we couldn’t miss.”
“No problem,” I reply. Little does he know how my night actually turned out.
“Come and meet Zane and I’ll show you around.”
“I’ll grab the burgers,” I say, walking around to my passenger door and pulling out the paper bags with the food. “Three rounds of breakfast burgers with hashbrowns from The Dusty Spur.”
“Sweet. Thanks, man. I haven’t had a Perky Porch in a while.”
I chuckle. “Still getting used to the names of shit around here. It’s sorta nostalgic, though, and takes me back to when we were kids.”
“Man, those were the days,” he agrees. “Then we had to grow up and have all these responsibilities. Speaking of which, how has it all been since you left?”
I blow out a breath as we walk towards the ATV parked just outside the office. We haven’t had a proper catch up yet to talk about everything. “No one knows me here so far, so it’s good,” I say. “Gives me the breathing room I need. But it’s early days.”
“I hate to say it, but people are bound to recognize you sooner or later, bud. Wyoming isn’t the back of beyond it used to be.”
I give him a look with raised eyebrows.
“Well, maybe when it comes tosomethings,” he amends with a chuckle.
“I don’t have a problem if people recognize me,” I say, but it’s half-hearted. “But I’m here to keep as low a profile as possible, just while the dust settles.”
Jed pops a shoulder. “The beard and the hair can only do so much, but I think you’re pretty safe,mountain man.”
I chuckle. “I can only hope so.”
He pats me on the back. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m gonna be,” I sigh. “I appreciate you suggesting this place. It’s just what I needed.”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” he laughs. “You just got here.”
I know what he means, but I feel like it’s going to be good here, and not just because of last night. Spending a night of pure bliss in bed with cowgirl Bailey was an unexpected turn of events I neither anticipated nor was even on the lookout for. So much for keeping things low-key. At least she doesn’t recognize me, and no one else has so far. For now, that’s how I need it to stay.
We jump on the UTV and he starts it up, quickly explaining where we’re going for lunch and to show me around the property. They don’t just sell Christmas trees here—they have lodge accommodation and some luxury cabins dotted around the grounds. Jed also lives on site in a worker’s cottage toward the back of the property, a good distance away. He looks after things around here.
