The sun was casting long shadows across the dirt road when Chad turned on to it, heading toward Rustic Acres the next morning. He rubbed his eyes again, hoping he looked more awake than he was. With the nearest motel being almost an hour’s drive away, he was thankful his disposable cell phone had an alarm on it. Lord knows he needed it after lying awake most of the night, revisiting his conversation with Katie over and over in his head.

The woman lived out in the middle of nowhere with only her son to keep her company while she single-handedly ran a small farm. It was no easy task for a family, let alone a lone woman. He’d fought the urge to ask where the boy’s father was, knowing damn well it was none of his business. She was his boss, nothing more, and she owed him no explanation.

The outbuildings came into view and Chad wielded his truck into the same spot under the tree he’d parked the day before. If he was lucky, the shade from it would aid in keeping the truck’s interior at a decent temperature throughout the day.

There was no one about, and an eerie calm had settled like a thick fog. Unsure of the proper protocol when one worked in close proximity of their boss’s house, Chad crossed the porch and sheepishly knocked on the door. When the door flew open, he looked down into the wide eyes of a little boy with glasses and a shaggy mop of blond hair.

“Hey, little man. Is your mom here?” Chad shoved his hands in his pockets, stealing a glance beyond the boy, but saw no one else in the kitchen.

“She’s feeding Cash. That’s our dog.” The boy stared unblinking at him. Almost as an afterthought, he added, “He’s not a mean dog, don’t worry.”

Chad smiled crookedly at the boy, dramatically wiping his brow as though relieved. “Whew. That’s good. Do you play fetch with him?” Chad bent down at the doorway, resting his elbows on his knees.

“He’s horrible at fetch. Cash’ll chase after a stick if you throw it, but he never brings it back. Do you have a dog, Mister?”

“Chad. Call me Chad, little man.”

“I’m Mason, not Little Man.”

Chad held his hands up in surrender. “Sorry, Mason. Seems you like to be called little man about as much as your mom likes being called ma’am.”

Mason nodded, leaning in to whisper to him. “She says it makes her feel old.”

Chad laughed out loud then, unable to hide his amusement any longer. “I’ll keep that in mind. Just let her know I’ll wait outside for her, okay?” The little boy nodded and promptly shut the door, making Chad laugh even louder to himself. He rose from his crouched position and took a seat on the porch steps.

It only took a minute or so for the door to whip open again. Katie stood there wearing an embarrassed grin. “I’m sorry,” she greeted him. “I didn’t realize Mason had banished you to the porch. Please, come in.” She stepped back, giving him room to enter the house.

“It’s no problem, Katie. He’s quite the kid.” Chad stepped in past her, being sure to keep his dew-covered boots on the mat.

“He’s definitely something,” she quipped, then turned to holler for Mason. “Mase, come on! Hurry, please! You’ll miss the bus!” A second later, the boy came running around the corner from the hallway, his backpack awkwardly bobbing up and down behind him. He headed for the door, stopping only to grasp the brown paper lunch bag Katie held out for him. “I’ll only be a minute, Chad. Travel cups are in the cupboard to the left of the window. Feel free to make yourself a coffee while I walk him to the bus. It’s freshly brewed.”

“Bye, Chad! Don’t collect the chicken eggs without me! You’ll do it wrong!”

Humor danced on Katie’s lips as she gave Chad one last glance and disappeared out the door, breaking into an easy jog behind Mason as the screen door swung shut behind her. Silence enveloped him, and he watched the two of them hike out the laneway until his line of sight was obscured by the tree branches.

“I guess it’s just you and me,” Chad mumbled to the half-filled coffee pot. He hummed the tune of one of his favorite Johnny Cash songs while he rummaged through the cupboard to get a travel mug and a spoon, realizing then that an ancient radio was playing the song through dusty speakers. It must have been a local station playing, but the reception was still carrying a constant hum of static despite the antenna being slid as far as it would go against the windowpane.

He felt intrusive, sifting through the contents of someone else’s house without them there, but Katie had offered him the hospitality—and besides, he needed the caffeine if he was going to make a good impression and survive his first day. He’d never admit it to her, but Chad was pretty sure he hadn’t done a full day’s worth of physical labor since he was in his late teens. Staying up all night in smoky bars playing guitar and singing hardly constituted as physical work. He just hoped he could keep up with Katie. He had a feeling she was relentless.

He’d been just about to pour the steaming coffee into the mug when a ringing sound interrupted the silence. Foreign to his ears, it took Chad a moment to realize it was the cellphone in his pocket ringing. He dug it from his back pocket and stared confusedly at the glowing screen. No one had the number, and no one knew he’d gotten rid of his old phone. So, who was calling?

“It doesn’t answer itself.”

He turned abruptly to see Katie watching him from the other side of the screen door. The phone continued to ring shrilly as they stared at each other. Chad shoved the phone back into his pocket and went back to pouring coffee into the mug in front of him.

“Probably just a telemarketer,” he explained. “You want me to pour you some of this, too?” He held the coffee pot up in askance.

Katie nodded as she came inside, standing on her toes to reach a travel mug from the top cupboard for herself. “Probably a telemarketer? You’re telling me you don’t have caller display?”

“No. Is that a problem?”

“Not at all. I just thought I was the only one still in the dark ages. I don’t even have a cellphone, to be honest. Or satellite television, for that matter.” She glanced toward the living room as though to confirm the TV set was, in fact, still there. “Mason just watches movies on the DVD player. Over and over and over.” A wry smile formed on her lips.

“You don’t have a cellphone? And you live way out here by yourself?” Chad hadn’t meant to sound as alarmed as he did, but the protectiveness that surged through him suddenly was difficult to ignore. He leaned against the counter and eyed Katie disbelievingly as the heat from the mug seeped into his hands.

“Cell service is patchy at best out here. Besides, I have a regular phone here in the house and in the office at the stables.” Katie didn’t seem to see the danger in such a situation. Then again, Chad was pretty sure he and Katie had lived vastly different lives up until now.

“Did you get Mason on the bus in time?” Chad changed the subject, not wanting to interrogate her on his first day.

“We made it. You ready to work, Kirkwood?” She gave him a daring smirk, announcing her intent to see if he could truly hack it as her employee.

“Whatever you dish out, boss, I can handle.” He matched her challenging tone, but his mind was screaming at him that this woman was undoubtedly about to outsmart, outwit, and essentially destroy him. And she was going to enjoy doing it.

“You’ll pay for that, Mr. Kirkwood. Let’s go.”

“Bring it on, ma’am.”