Half of the properties look as though a tornado ripped through here and destroyed everything, leaving nothing but rubble in its wake.
“Shit,” I muse, looking at what I’m sure used to be a thriving little town. There’s a main street with stores lining either side, but the road is covered in a thick layer of red country dust, and as we pass through, it kicks up behind us, creating a cloud that seems to engulf the whole town. “This is sad. I wonder what happened here.”
“Same old bullshit, probably,” Stone says. “The grocer marries the town doctor and has a bunch of kids, but the small schoolcan’t handle the demand, so they move away to offer a better life for their children. Only now, the town doesn’t have good health care or fresh vegetables, and no one steps in and takes over, so more people move until there’s no one left to run the farms or stock the shelves. They run out of supplies until they have no choice but to abandon what’s left of the town and move to more populated areas.”
My gaze sweeps toward Stone, my brow arched. “Wow. Who would have known you were so versed in small-town abandonment issues?”
He rolls his eyes. “Seven years behind bars gives you a little perspective,” he says. “Plus, a little common sense tends to go a long way.”
“You calling me dumb, Stone Blackthorne?”
“If the shoe fits, Riley Maddox.”
I cringe at the sound of my real name on his lips, but I quickly shake it off, not wanting to dwell on it right now. “If I didn’t want to fuck you so bad, I’d beat your ass right now.”
“I’d like to see you try, but you and I both know you couldn’t get within two feet of me.”
I scoff and cross my arms over my chest. “I don’t need to punch you in the balls to prove I can beat your ass,” I tell him. “It’s an old town, I’m sure there’s a bunch of forgotten pistols somewhere. We’ll duel at dawn, but be warned. I cheat to win.”
“I know. I was the one who taught you how, but you’re delusional if you think for even a second that I can’t out-cheat your cheating.”
“Shit. Prison really changed you.”
He glances at me, his brow arched. “How would you know? I thought you couldn’t remember anything.”
I grin. “I don’t,” I say, getting all giddy. “I’ve just always wanted to say that.”
Stone shakes his head as he turns off the main street and heads deeper into the abandoned town, passing what looks like the remains of an old school, a gas station with bags over the pumps, and then a residential area.
Most of the houses are in ruins and clearly haven’t stood the test of time, but there are a few still standing. I wouldn’t exactly say they’re inhabitable, but considering the state of everything else, I suppose they should be awarded a gold star for their longevity.
Stone drives past them, deciding that they’re all somehow still too visible from the highway, despite us now being at least a few miles away, and it’s not until we approach the very end of the small town that we find a few farms, their houses still standing tall . . . mostly.
Stone picks the one with the cast-iron gates out front and a big barn to hide the Firebird in, and as we drive up the long gravel road, I can’t help but feel that this place would have been cute back in the day. Now it looks as though it’s been used as a party house for rampant teens looking to get fucked up.
Just like most of the properties around here, the windows have been boarded up, and the blue shutters are barely hanging on. The decking on the porch is one broken board away from an unfortunate amputation, and as for the house itself, it looks as though it’s being strangled by an overgrown vine.
Back in the day, this house would have been the perfect farmhouse. A big ranch house with a wrap-around porch. It’s giving Yellowstone, and I’m obsessed. Judging from the size of it, it would have been built with a big family in mind—a family who no doubt had more than enough money lining their pockets. It’s two stories, and probably has a basement, storm cellar, and an attic. There’s a huge barn outback, and what I can only guess might have been horse stables, then beyond that, a small cottage. Maybe a home for the farmhand and his family.
Considering it’s not in ruins, it’s our best option for the night.
Stone drives right up through the broken barn doors and brings the Firebird to a stop, far away from any prying eyes. Not that there are any around here. The town is more than deserted. It’s a damn ghost town. I’ve never seen anything so eerie.
We clamber out of the car, Stone grabbing our survival bag and small blankets, just in case, and I roll my eyes when he goes as far as to lock the Firebird. “Worried someone is going to steal it?”
He doesn’t respond, just shakes his head as though he can’t possibly wait to fuck the attitude out of me. “Hurry up,” he says, nodding toward the main house with his chin. “It’ll be getting dark soon.”
“Yes, sir,” I say with a salute.
I trail after Stone, looking up at the huge home, and finding myself more than intrigued to see what’s going on inside. I definitely have to use a bit of imagination to picture just how incredible this home used to be when it was sparkly and new, but I bet the inside is just as beautiful, and with just a bit of love, I’m sure this place could really be something amazing.
Stepping up onto the porch, I laugh to myself, finding a few of the old decking boards well past their prime, just as I knew they would be.
“Watch where you’re walking,” Stone mutters, making his way toward the front door, but hell, he must weigh more than triple my body weight. He’s the one who should be watching himself. If I fell through this deck, he could scoop me out with his pinky finger, but if he falls, that right there is where he’ll spend his dying days. But it’s fine, I’ll add a nice floral arrangement, you know, try to make it really nice for him. Though I can’t lie, if he were to suffer death by decking before I get a chance to take a ride on that particular pogo stick, I’m going to be pissed.
Reaching the front door, Stone trails his fingers across the frame, searching for a spare key, but I grab hold of the handle instead, my gut telling me it’s already open. When the door immediately swings wide, I chuff with pride.
Called it.
