Page 12 of Oops I Fell For The Rancher Next Door

Griffin:

Jasper says you've been scarce. Everything good?

Me:

Everything's good.

Griffin:

That's three words. From you that's a novel. Who is she?

I stare at the screen. Shelby's breathing is deep, even. Her hand is curled around my wrist in her sleep, holding on.

Me:

My neighbor.

Griffin:

The one who bought the old Jenkins cabin sight unseen? Mabel's been talking.

Me:

Mabel's always talking.

Griffin:

Be careful.

Me:

Too late for that.

I set the phone down. Press my mouth to the back of her head. Close my eyes.

Too late by about two weeks.

Chapter Five

SHELBY

Two weeks of good. That's what we get.

Two weeks of Cade at my door in the mornings with coffee from his stove because it's better than my instant. Two weeks of dinners that alternate between his kitchen and mine, him teaching me to bank a fire so it lasts through the night, me teaching him that garlic goes in everything. Two weeks of falling asleep in his bed, walking home across the dewy grass at dawn to shower and pretend I didn't just spend the night with a man I've known for less than a month.

My cabin has heat now. A working generator. A fence that could stop a truck. A porch step that holds.

And every time Cade puts his hands on me, every time he pulls me close in the dark with his mouth at my ear, my name in his low voice, the fear gets quieter.

Not gone. Quieter.

The email arrives on a Tuesday.

Service is spotty at the cabin, but I drive into town for groceries twice a week now. The parking lot outside the hardware store gets one solid bar. Sometimes two. Enough to load my inbox.

[email protected]: Shelby, my attorney has advised me that the property purchased in Bear Creek Valley, CO was acquired during our legal separation using funds from our joint savings account prior to final disbursement. As such, it may be subject to equitable distribution. Please have your attorney contact Ellen Marsh at her earliest convenience to discuss. Kevin

I read it three times. Sitting in my car with the engine off, groceries in the back, hands steady because they've had years of practice at not shaking when Kevin makes the floor tilt.