CHAPTER TWO
ABBY
“Thanks for the ride,” I said, about halfway back to my place.
The rest of the trip had been pretty silent. Chase didn't seem like much of a talker, but he seemed like a decent enough person. I wasn't about to open up to some guy I just met though. That's not really my thing.
He glanced over at me with those deep brown eyes of his, a smile curling his lips upward. It was a genuine smile too – the first one I'd seen from him. It was a smile that went all the way to his eyes. At first, I found him a little rough around the edges. His thick dark brown beard covered most of his face and, to me, he seemed like a real country guy.
But, his eyes were softer and gentler than I'd first thought. His smile was nice, and it warmed me up from my head to my toes.
“You're welcome,” he said, as the smile faltered. “Just don't trespass on my land in the future, you hear?”
“Yes, sir,” I grumbled. “I'll go the long way from here on out.”
“Don't you drive?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I'm from the Bay Area where cars aren't really necessary.”
“So, you don't know how to drive?”
I bit my fingernail. “Well – no. Not really,” I admitted. “I just usually always took the BART or called a Lyft when I needed a ride somewhere.”
“Yeah, well, we don't have any of that out here,” he said. “You either walk or drive around here. Or, you ride a horse.”
“People really ride horses to get around still?” I asked, sitting up in my seat. “Maybe I could get myself a horse.”
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Really?”
“What? You don't think I can ride a horse?”
“Sure, I mean, I guess you could,” he said. “If you had someone to teach you, but – ”
“You can teach me,” I said, a smile growing on my lips.
“I'm not a teacher,” he laughed.
He side-eyed me, giving me a once over as if he was considering his options. His laughter ended abruptly though, and his face grew serious.
“And I really don't need you hanging around,” he said, his voice firm. “This was a one-time favor. Got it?”
“Fine,” I said.
Still, I saw the way he'd looked at me. Chase might not be the type to admit it, but I knew he liked what he saw.
“I'll figure something out,” I said.
He looked over at me again, and I could see he was thinking about something, turning it over in his mind and debating it. It was something he didn't want me to see because he looked away as soon as I caught him staring.
“So, tell me, Chase, do you live out here on the farm, all alone?”
His grip tightened on the steering wheel and I saw him clenching his jaw. I noticed that there was no wedding ring on his finger, so I'd assumed he was single. Though, that didn't mean he wasn't dating someone, which made the question valid in my mind.
Not that I should be thinking things like that. No, too soon for all that. Still, I found myself intrigued by this lonesome stranger and his deep brown eyes.
“Yes. I like being alone a lot better,” he said, answering a question I wasn't even intending to ask.
“Doesn't it get lonely?” I asked, turning my body to look at him fully.
I laid my head back against the seat and studied his face, my eyes traveling down to his neck, and then to his arm which I noticed was flexed tightly as he gripped the steering wheel. He was only wearing a t-shirt, and I could see the tattoo that poked out from under the sleeve. I could only see the bottom section of the ink but knew what it meant. Semper Fi.
Chase was a Marine, not that I was surprised. In addition to his gruff, no-nonsense demeanor, he was clearly built for it – over six-foot-tall, strong arms the size of a small tree, a chiseled chest and strong legs. The man was stacked.
He still hadn't answered my question though, so I repeated myself. “Does it – ”
“No,” he snapped, cutting me off. “I'm fine alone. I'm better alone. I don't like people in my hair all the time.”
“Right, okay, so...”
I cleared my throat and tried to think of some way to respond, something to say. But, I was coming up blank. So, I decided to change the subject instead.
“So, are you from Texas originally?”
“Yes,” he said.
The truck turned down the road to my house. He didn't even have to ask for directions, he already knew the way. I guess that's the thing with small towns. Both a blessing and a curse.
“So, did you move back here after you were discharged?” I asked.
Chase pulled into my narrow, dirt driveway, the air in the cab of the truck saturated with tension. I was only renting the house, for now. I guess it had sat empty for a while, so I'd found a good deal on it online. It was just a one-bedroom house at the end of a dirt road. Definitely nothing fancy.
Perhaps staying in a city somewhere, surrounded by people, would have made more sense. But, I didn't want to be found. I hoped that by being in the middle of nowhere, where no one would recognize me meant that Paul wouldn't find me.
“What?” Chase asked.
“When you left the Marines?” I pressed. “Did you move back here right away or – ”
“Let’s get one thing straight, Abby,” he said, his voice gruff and firm. “You seem like a nice girl. You do. But, I have no room in my life for friends. Like I said a minute ago, I'm better on my own. Alone.”
Chase stopped the truck, and that friendly look that had been on his face earlier was gone. It had vanished completely, like a puff of smoke on the wind.
“Who said anything about friends?” I said. “I certainly didn't move to the middle of fucking nowhere to make friends, Chase.”
I pulled on the door handle and spilled out of the truck. Taking one last look into Chase's brown eyes, I swear I saw sadness, too much sadness for one person to bear alone. And seeing it made my heart go out to this obviously damaged, lonely man. I, of all people, knew what it meant to be damaged.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said, keeping my voice low and calm.
“You're welcome. Be careful out here alone,” he said.
I slammed the car door, rolling my eyes as I walked into my tiny rental house.
“Be careful out here,” I muttered as I unlocked the front door.
The things I had to fear weren't out here in the middle of nowhere, Texas. No, the things that I had to worry about would hopefully not find me here at all.
I stepped inside and looked around, letting out a long breath. The place was hardly furnished. The bank rented the property out at a super low price since it had been on the market for so long. I guess there wasn't a big market for tiny little shacks in the middle of a field. Who would have thought?
I managed to get hooked up with a few things though, using what I had in savings – the mattress on the floor in the bedroom being the most important purchase. There was a somewhat ratty and threadbare couch that had come with the place. It probably belonged to the dead guy who'd lived there last. Great. I tried not to think about that.
The kitchen was fully furnished, and the place thankfully came with a built-in counter to eat at. Otherwise, the place was empty. Not even a television. Not that I watched much TV these days, but sometimes it would have been nice just for background noise. The thing that rattled me the most about being out in the middle of nowhere was the complete and utter silence. You could hear the wind rustle each individual blade out there.
I had my laptop and a shitty internet connection. I needed to find a job soon – my savings were going to run out eventually. But, I didn't want to put my name out there just yet. Besides, in a town like this, what could I even do? What jobs would there even be for me? I highly doubted anyone was in the market for a graphic designer in these parts. Freelancing was my only option, but with the shoddy internet, even that might prove to be difficult.
For the moment, I lived off the savings my parents had set up for me before they passed away. The savings that were supposed to go toward starting a family or buying a home were now my sole source of income – and they weren't going to last forever. They would, at least, help keep me alive in the short term though.
I plopped down on the dusty cream-colored couch and realized I forgot to buy some Febreze. It smelled like mildew and stale beer in the place. It wasn't exactly a terrible smell – just the odor of dust and emptiness. Nothing that a little cleaning wouldn't fix.
My eyes fluttered and my head felt heavy with exhaustion. Everything had happened so fast, and I was still reeling from it all. My first full day in my new home, and already everything felt like it was going to shit. I hadn't thought about things like going to the store or how I was going to get around, I literally just upped and moved. I hopped on a plane to Houston and hired a driver to bring me to a house I'd only looked at online before signing the lease. Now that I was there, and the reality of it all was sinking in, it felt surreal.
I was in Texas. Without a car. Without any friends or family to help me get around. With no prospects or plan for how I was going to get by. I had nothing but what I could bring on the plane with me.
I was supposed to be starting over, but no one told me that starting over would be so hard.