Page 35 of Sunkissed Colorado

Spotting Rosie behind the customer service desk, I made a beeline there. “Hey, Auntie.”

“Baby Z!” Rosie’s magenta curls bounced as she reached out to hug me, and she waved me around to join her behind the desk. A sheet of wax paper lay by the computer with a slice of gooey coffee cake. “Want to share some breakfast? Oh, hold on.” She bit her lip. “The gluten. Wait here. I can go grab you something else.”

I touched her arm to stop her. “Not that hungry, but thank you for remembering. I need a different favor today, actually. A bigger one.”

Her eyes lit up. “Anything for you. What do you need?”

“Any chance you have space for me and Chloe at your house?”

Once again, I hadn’t slept well at the Pine Cone Motor Lodge. I’d had that feeling again of being watched after getting home so late from the brewery last night. And then people were shouting in the parking lot at four in the morning. I wasdonewith that place.

I’d even moved a piece of furniture in front of the motel room door to block it, which was probably not the safest idea if there’d been a fire or something. That whole place looked like it was made of popsicle sticks.

But the other small issue that hadn’t helped me sleep? My disastrous conversation with Callum in the storage room.

I didn’t know where to begin with what he’d said last night. Rewriting sixteen years of what I’d believed to be true. My mind was spinning in circles trying to make sense of it. Of Callum not being the sadistic asshole I’d believed.

So, naturally, I was focusing my efforts on something else instead.

“Only for a few days until I find something more permanent,” I added. “I just can’t take the Pine Cone anymore.”

I’d left my car parked down the block with Chloe in her cat carrier and all the windows cracked. My trunk held the sum of my belongings, since I’d checked out of the motel this morning with absolutely no intention of going back.

Thankfully it was a perfect sixty-eight degrees outside today. Not a trace of humidity, unlike sweaty summer months in Chicago. I’d missed summer in the mountains.

“Of course, Z! Jimmy and I would love to have you.” Then Rosie paused, her expression shifting just slightly. “Keep in mind, Jimmy’s a night owl.”

“Yeah?”

Rosie lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Well, he keeps me up. That’s all I’m saying. But then he’s up at five-thirty for his tai chi routine in the living room.”

Stay optimistic, I told myself.They’re doing you a favor. “Taichi sounds nice. Maybe I’ll join. Stress relief would be good for me.”

“Jimmy would love that. Usually he does it naked, but I’ll ask him to put on a robe or something.”

I felt my face scrunch up involuntarily, though I tried to keep my voice pleasant. “That would be good.”

“And then he does his chanting.”

“Chanting?”

“Kind of a medieval monk thing, I guess? It’s very relaxing and melodic.”

“That’s…unique.” Wouldn’t have expected it of Jimmy Perkins, either. From what I remembered, he seemed more like the grizzled hermit type. But if he made Rosie happy…

I glanced out the window and saw Callum walking by, of all people.Gah. He stopped in his tracks, backing up to stare at me through the window.

I looked away quickly.

“And after that, when Jimmy’s all loose and feeling the good vibes, well, you’d probably be off to the brewery by then, right?”

Oh lord. “I’ll make it work. I won’t be in your way. I can pay rent.”

“The guestroom used to be a closet. Couldn’t in good conscience charge you money for it.”

This just kept getting better and better.

But if Rosie was willing to take me and Chloe, then I couldn’t exactly complain. It was only temporary anyway. Grandpa was paying me right now for the hours I put in, so I’d be able to afford a cheap apartment lease soon. Especially if I found a roommate.