Confused, I call out, “It’s open!” Hattie doesn’t usually knock.
But the knock continues. I can’t hear if she says anything, but maybe she needs help carrying something in? I put the pasta back in the pot and head for the front door. When I open it, I’m shocked to find my one-night stand on my porch. My stomach turns sour as I see her smiling at me. Doesn’t she know how much grief she’s causing us?
“Hey, I didn’t realize you lived here,” she says.
“Yeah, well. I do.” I cross my arms and lean against the front doorframe.
“I was just hoping to chat with whoever’s in charge. I was told a few people live on the property, and they told me to come here.” She’s still dressed in her black dress from the funeral. She didn’t even stop home to change first?
“You couldn’t even wait a night?” I scoff.
“I’m supposed to be back home tomorrow. So it would be easier…” Her mouth forms a line, and she waits for me to say something. But I don’t, because I’m still pretty pissed. Mostly at myself for sleeping with her. I feel like I let my guard down accidentally.
“I guess I’ll just come back then.” She sighs and turns to walk down the front steps.
“I can show you around. I don’t want you getting lost or anything,” I grumble.
“Thank you.”
“Just give me a minute.” I sigh and head inside to grab my phone. I make sure all the flames on the stove are off and then put my boots on before meeting her outside.
“I’m Bells, by the way. I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.” She smiles and offers me a hand. I just stare at it until she drops it awkwardly.
“Tilly.” I don’t offer anything else.
“I can see you’re upset about this. I honestly didn’t know my aunt was going to do this. She never said anything to me. We haven’t even spoken in a few years,” Bells says.
I scoff. She’s just making this worse. Way to push the knife in even deeper—Benny didn’t even know this woman. She isn’t some relative she was secretly close with. She’s a stranger—one who just happened to share the same bloodline. I’m pissed. I’ll get us through this tour as soon as possible, and hopefully she’ll be back on her way to the city. I can’t stand thinking about her actually selling this place.
FIVE
Bells
Iget the feeling things aren’t going to be easy working with Tilly. She already hates me, and I can’t say I blame her. This is unexpected for me too, but the way she’s looking at me is terrifying. I’m glad I texted my best friend, El, before I got here. It feels like the beginning of a serial-killer movie. Not that I really think she’ll kill me. But she’s basically an angry stranger.
I follow behind her along the dirt path, glad I opted for my gym sneakers. I had a feeling heels wouldn’t do me any good here; turns out, I was right.
“That’s the barn. We have six horses, but I already said goodnight, so we’re not going in there. That way is their pen where they run around during the day,” Tilly says.
“Do horses have a bedtime?” I joke, but Tilly just stares at me.
“Along this road, we have Hattie’s house. She’s the on-call vet for the animals. She’s a single mom who lives there with her son. And there’s another house where Lina lives—she owns the bakery you see to the right.”
I can’t tell if she’s laying it on thick or just trying to give as much detail as possible.
“The farther we go down this path leads you to the actual orchards. We have six varieties of apples that grow yearly. It’s usually my job to tend to them. That’s not something that can be taught overnight or explained in a tour.”
“Got it.” I nod. Clearly, this isn’t going to be a smooth transition.
“And you stay in that house?” I motion to the red one closest to the barn.
“Yes.”
“Where did my aunt stay?”
“The first house on the property—the white one? That was hers,” Tilly says, her jaw tight.
“Got it.” I nod again.
