I walked up to the counter of the small deli where I had been eating practically every day and smiled at Jack, the owner. He was older, maybe in his early sixties, with salt-and-pepper hair, beautiful blue eyes, and a smile that made you all warm inside. He ran the deli with his wife, Jen, and their kids. They had one daughter, Sheila, and two sons, Adam and Lou—both of whom had asked me out at least once.
“Hey, Jack. How’s it going?”
He laughed. “It’s going. The usual?”
I nodded. “Yes, please, and can you make it to go? I’ve had a long day of unsuccessful job hunting and want to relax.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your job hunt, but that’s no problem at all to make it to go.”
I stood off to the side and noticed a guy staring at me. When I looked at him, he blushed and turned away.
He was cute—tall, with dark hair and what seemed to be dark eyes. He was built, but wasn’t too built.
When he glanced my way again, I offered a polite smile, and he returned the gesture. He also made no secret about looking my body up and down. I was wearing my black pencil skirt with a light blue button-down shirt. I’d only purchased a few business outfits, since I wasn’t sure if I would have to start waiting tables again, my fallback if I couldn’t find a more professional job.
I looked down at my phone, hoping he got the hint that I wasn’t interested in anything more than being polite. The last thing I wanted to do was get involved with anyone. My focus was purely on finding a job and then an apartment.
“Mallory!” Jen called out from the counter. I rushed over and took the bag and can of Diet Coke from her.
“Thanks, Jen. See you around.”
“Bye, sweetheart. Good luck with the job hunting.”
I quickly left the deli without looking at the cute guy and walked the four blocks to the motel where I was staying. At least it wasn’t in a bad area of town.ThatI’d made sure of.
Once inside, I locked the door, kicked off my heels, peeled off my clothes, and put on sweats and a T-shirt that said ‘I Love Disney World’. I’d bought it at a secondhand store when I first got here. Disney World was on my bucket list of places I wanted to see when I had the funds to do so.
I crawled onto the bed, sat crisscrossed, and turned on the TV.Friendswas on, so I watched it while I ate my early dinner, a familiar and comforting habit. I had fallen into a routine of being the most boring person on the planet and knew I needed to change things. I vowed that tomorrow, I would start over fresh.
Reaching over, I picked up the phone and called the front desk.
“Front desk, Carol here.”
“Hi, Carol, it’s Mallory Wilson. I’m going to check out tomorrow. Can you recommend a motel in a safe neighborhood, closer to the city center?”
“Sure! And I show that you’re all paid up through tonight, so that makes it easier.”
“Great. Even better.”
I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down the three places she recommended. She said, “My cousin is looking for a roommate. She works for a law firm downtown, and I was actually telling her about you. I can give you her number if you want, and you two can chat.”
My heart nearly flipped in my chest. “Yes! That would be amazing. I’ll call her first thing tomorrow.”
“Wonderful! I think you two would get along great.”
After Carol gave me her cousin’s number, I set it on the side table, finished eating, and headed to the bathroom to turn on theshower. Realizing I’d forgotten my pajamas, I turned and walked back out to my suitcase.
Immediately, I came to an abrupt halt.
“What…how did you get into my room?”
CHAPTER TWO
Liam
Grass Range, Montana
I sat on Moonshine, my favorite horse on the cattle ranch I owned and operated and looked out over the land sprinkled with Angus cattle. Billy rode up and stopped next to me.
