“Exactly.”
George snorted. “Yeah, well, I’m not allowed to fall in love with Ginger. She has a daddy.” Derrick started laughing but George wasn’t sure why that was funny. Slater punched Derrick in the shoulder. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing, Derrick is being childish,” Slater replied. “So you and Levi hit it off, huh? I don’t really know him but he’s got a long history with Robin. Robin was married to Levi’s brother Xander.”
“Oh wow. Was married? Did they divorce or something?”
“No, Xander died in an accident about...it’ll be four years this Christmas. From the gossip I’ve heard, Levi and Robin lost touch for a while but got back in contact last year when Mack brought up the idea of a big rodeo show to reopen the ghost town.”
“And now they do the trick riding demos together. Huh.” Funny how life randomly brought people together.
“Robin was saying that he and Shawn might have decided on a house. They’ve been looking for a while.”
“Good for them,” Derrick replied. “You think Reyes and Miles will ever move out of cabin row?”
“Doubtful, not while Reyes is head cowboy at the ranch.”
“What’s cabin row?” Orry asked. Neither of the twins had ever been to Clean Slate Ranch, only Bentley Ghost Town, despite both attractions being on the same property.
“It’s the row of two-person cabins behind the main house where the horsemen live. Early last year, when Miles was hired to be head chef at the ghost town saloon, he moved into a cabin with Reyes, and eventually they fell in love. And with both of them still working on Garrett land, it makes sense to keep living there. They seem happy enough.”
“But Robin and Shawn want to move out of their cabin and buy a house?” George asked.
“Yes, because Arthur needs the cabin space, and neither of them work for him now. They work for Mack. Plus, Shawn is teaching Robin how to cook.”
Arthur Garrett was the owner of Clean Slate Ranch, and he owned the land that the ghost town—and his grandson Mack—resided on. George knew that much from studying the websites for both places. He’d heard enough stories by now of people he’d only briefly met that some of them felt like old friends. And maybe he could get to know more people through Levi.
At home, Orry and George each thanked Derrick for driving before going up the private staircase to their apartment. Lucky was nowhere to be seen, which wasn’t unusual when the lobby was quiet. Orry unlocked their door, and as soon as it was shut, said, “You should have asked me first.”
“It’s just a cat.” George hung his jacket on the hooks by the door. “And it’s for less than two weeks, just until she doesn’t need to be closely monitored anymore.”
“But why did you have to do it?”
“I didn’t. But I work from home and I have the time to basically look at her every five minutes and make sure she isn’t ripping the bandage off. I don’t get the sense Levi would handle that as well as I can. Being stuck inside all the time.”
Orry crossed his arms. “How do you know? You just met him.”
“We talked a lot.” George crossed into the kitchen to get a soda from the fridge. “He used to live a nomadic life and genuinely seems to love the outdoors. He’s also got this Zen vibe going that’s very...peaceful.”
“So you guys are best friends now?”
George stared at his brother, a little confused by the cold attitude. “No, but we are friends. Come on, Orry, he’s the first new friend I’ve made in years that doesn’t already live in this house.”
“And who’s single.”
“What?” What the hell did Levi being single have to do with anything? “So?”
“So I’m worried about you getting attached to an older, single guy after knowing him for a few hours. You have been in a bubble for years, and I don’t want you to get taken advantage of.”
George scowled, equally grateful that his brother was always watching his back and also annoyed by the same. “Come on, Levi isn’t that guy. We’re friends and I’m helping him take care of his cat. He loves those cats to bits, I could tell the minute he saw how hurt Ginger was.”
“Yeah, I saw it too. His face when you told him on the phone.” Orry uncrossed his arms. “He seems okay.”
“He is okay, and you worry too much. Now if you’re done haranguing me, I have to go clean my room. I’m having a guest.”
“Your room is spotless like the rest of the apartment.”
“I need to know the exact right spot for Ginger’s cage. I might have to rearrange something.” Plus, they were going to have a visitor inside the apartment for the first time in ages, and George wanted everything to look good.
His bedroom didn’t have much in it besides a basic single bed, a flimsy side table, and his desk. Hamper. The closet was tiny, but he didn’t own a lot of clothes because he worked from home. Why not wear the same T-shirt three days in a row as long as it didn’t smell? Saved on laundry, too. His desk was near the room’s only window and there was a bare spot on the floor by the wall to his right. Should be a good spot for Ginger. She’d at least have a small view of the outdoors during her confinement.
The bed was made, because George always made his bed after taking a morning shower. He’d read once that if you accomplished one task first thing, you’d had a successful day already. His grandmother had crocheted the afghan on his bed, and he smoothed a hand over it. She was dealing with a lot, and he really needed to visit. It had been too long. She still crocheted things she occasionally sent back to the apartment with Orry, like winter hats and scarves. Others she sold at craft fairs held by their assisted living center.
With nothing else to do in his room, George grabbed his tablet and opened the last book he’d been reading. Perched on the bed, he let time pass. Maybe an hour went by before the buzzer rang out in the living room. He stood, unsure where Orry was, and left his room. Since Orry wasn’t in sight, George hit the button.
“Hello?”
“It’s Levi and Ginger.”
His pulse jumped. “Okay. Come inside and we’re the staircase on the right.”
“Cool.”
George pushed the button that unlocked the front door for visitors. Every tenant had two keys: one shared to get into the house and a second key unique to each apartment. He opened the apartment door to the pleasant sight of Levi ascending the stairs with a cardboard carrier in his hand and a shopping bag in the other. It only occurred to George then that Levi probably had more stuff in his truck, and that he should have volunteered to help.