I can’t stop remembering my prom date standing me up, or all of the times that I was ignored by my classmates. All of my old doubts swamp me and I can’t seem to focus on anything. There’s just one thought that keeps circling in my head.
Why is Teller interested in me?
He’s a good looking guy, charming, funny, smart. He must check a lot of women’s boxes.
I wonder what he sees in me.
14
Bandit watches me from his spot on my bed as I sort through my closet, trying to find something suitable to wear for my date tonight. The new dog bed and toys that I bought him earlier today go unnoticed as he sprawls out over my comforter.
His new food and water bowl are downstairs in the kitchen and out of everything that I bought for him today, those bowls and the treats are the only thing that he’s paid any attention to.
Teller had brought Bandit back to me this afternoon after he had finished fixing up one of the cabins next door and my heart had melted slightly when I saw how sweet he was with my dog.
I’ve decided to do what my mom obviously wanted me to do and try to let people in. I’ve already started it with Lyla, Madelyn, and Iris. Even me telling all of them about my mom dying and the bucket list was more than I would have shared before I got to Destiny Falls.
I’m going to go with the flow where Teller is concerned. I’m sick of fighting my attraction to him, tired of being alone. Maybe if things get serious, we can try a long-distance relationship or I can convince him to move to Boston with me.
I trust Teller. He’s proven himself to be a good guy, and I know that he would never do anything to hurt me.
“What do you think, Bandit?” I ask him, pulling the dark blue dress out.
The dog barely glances at me and I sigh, deciding on the dress and my comfortable flats. I’m not sure what we’re going to do on our date tonight, but the dress feels low-key and also dressed up for whatever he has planned.
Stan has agreed to watch Bandit for tonight. I’m not sure if he’s warming up to the dog or if he’s just trying to encourage me dating Teller instead of Chet.
Teller should be here in a few minutes, so I hurry through putting on some makeup and tying my hair up into a high ponytail.
“Come on, boy,” I call and Bandit hops down from the bed happily, following me back downstairs and into the living room.
Stan is set up in the living room and Bandit heads over and hops up on the arm of his recliner. Stan side-eyes the dog but doesn’t say anything.
“Are you sure that you’re okay watching him tonight?” I ask as I slip on my shoes.
“Yeah, we’ll be fine.”
Teller pops up behind me in the doorway, and I smile when I see that he’s changed into a button-down shirt and a pair of black dress pants. His hat is still backward on his head, his unruly black hair curling around the edge.
“Hey, I tried to knock, but no one answered.”
“Great watch dog you got here, Sutton,” Stan quips, and I roll my eyes at him, petting Bandit’s head before I leave.
Bandit wags his tail, smacking Stan in the face and I try not to laugh when I see Stan give Bandit a death glare.
“Ready to go?” Teller asks me and I nod.
Stan said that he would watch Bandit tonight while I was out and I was so shocked by the offer that I said okay before I remembered that Teller was planning on picking Bandit and I up tonight. I doubt that Teller will mind though and I’m happy to see that Stan and Bandit are bonding.
“See you later,” I tell Stan and he waves, his eyes locked on the TV but I see him smile as we head out.
Teller’s hand rests on my lower back as he leads me out to his truck and helps me into the passenger seat.
“You look beautiful,” he tells me as he starts up the truck and pulls out of the drive.
“Thanks, you too.”
“So, I thought that I would cook for you, but if you don’t feel comfortable going to my place, then we can head into town.”
“I guess that depends,” I say.
“On what?”
“Can you cook?”
“Yeah, I can cook,” he says with a laugh and I grin.
“Then a home-cooked meal sounds great.”
Teller doesn’t live very far from the Mystery Cabin and downtown Destiny Falls. His house is a two-story cabin nestled in the woods. It’s on a hill and I can just see the top of the bridge from here.
Teller parks out front and rounds the hood to help me out.
“Come on. I’ll give you the tour.”
He leads me up the front porch steps and inside. We walk into his living room and it’s exactly how I pictured it. Leather sectional, wood coffee table, a thick blue rug, and a giant TV hanging on the wall above the fireplace. It’s both warm and inviting and also masculine.
The stairs lead up to the second floor, but we bypass that and head into the kitchen. It looks like a chef’s dream and I wonder how much time Teller spends in here.
“It smells great already.”
“I started a roast earlier today. Hope that’s okay?”
“Sounds delicious. Stan and I have been living off of sandwiches and canned soup since I got here.”
“Sounds about right.” Teller laughs.
Teller starts the oven and lines up biscuits up on a baking sheet as he asks me about my day. He tells me about fixing up the cabin and how Bandit had spent the whole time lying on the porch in the sun.
“So tell me about yourself,” Teller says as he sets a plate full of delicious looking pot roast down in front of me.
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything, but let’s start with the basics. Where did you grow up? What was your family like? Where did you go to school?”
“Uh, I grew up in Los Angeles. It was just my mom and me. My dad was never in the picture.”
“His loss,” Teller says, and I’m grateful that he doesn’t make a big deal out of it.
“I went to college at Boston University and then got my MBA from Wharton.”
Teller whistles, looking impressed.
“I just graduated a few months ago and had a job lined up in Boston for a company that I did an internship at last summer, but I went home to be with my mom.”
“Do you regret not going to Boston?”
“I’m still planning on going. I’m only in Destiny Falls for the summer.”
Teller takes a bite of his food and I notice that he seems upset by that news.
“What about you? Where did you grow up?” I ask, trying to change the subject.
“I grew up in New York. My mom was an ER nurse and my dad was a firefighter. They’re both gone now. My dad died in a fire and my mom had a heart attack and passed away.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He nods, taking a sip of his water before he goes on.
“I became a firefighter right out of high school, but New York is so expensive and I just got sick of working all of the time and barely scraping by. I wanted to see the world and find a different place to settle down.”
“So how did you meet Stan and start at the Mystery Cabin?”
“I was passing through and stopped for gas. Stan was there hanging up a help wanted sign and I asked him what he did. The Mystery Cabin sounded interesting and so I took the job. I like Destiny Falls and your uncle.”