It’s the one thing I’m good at.
Twisting the metal doorknob, she pulled it open and dragged her suitcase up the stairs. The place smelled of must and hot leather, but it wasn’t too bad. The kitchen area seemed clean enough. It was small, obviously, but she didn’t need much space. She wheeled her carry-on to the back where she found a horseshoe-shaped couch.
Looking around, she didn’t see anything more than a kitchen, a table and banquette, and a couch. No bedroom?
Okay, whatever. That’s fine.
Sunlight streamed through the windows. There are no curtains. That might be a problem. But whatever. She’d just have to make the best of it. Exhausted, she dropped her purse on the floor, set her suitcase against the wall, and collapsed on the couch.
Wait. She had to be up at five. She found the energy to plug her phone into the outlet and set the alarm.
Tomorrow was a new day, and she’d kick its ass.
Chapter Three
Phinny’s bedroom in Kentish Town sat right on High Street. She was used to honking and drunken laughter, emergency vehicles racing by, and car doors slamming as people got in and out of cabs.
Calamity, Wyoming was eerily silent.
She pried her eyelids open only to be assaulted by sunlight. Rolling onto her back, she came up against something firm. She patted it. Sheets. A blanket. A pillow.
She didn’t recall seeing them there when she’d come in yesterday. Who brought them?
Still groggy with jet lag, she got up and stumbled into the bathroom. She tried to wash her hands and face, but nothing came out of the faucet. She’d have to fix that. Coming back out, she glanced at her phone. The alarm hadn’t gone off yet, so she collapsed onto the couch and closed her eyes.
* * *
A deep, masculine voice hurtled her out of a deep sleep. Phinny lurched up.
“Seraphina?” Someone pounded on the door. “Hey, you in there?”
Muffled voices discussing whether they should enter without her consent had her jumping to her feet. “I’m here.” Sometime during the night, she’d slipped out of her black dress and put on her traveling clothes. On bare feet, she padded down the short hallway. “I’m coming.” She threw open the door to find several people staring at her. “Hello. Hi. I’m up.” Groggy, she swayed. “Would you like to come in?”
The man closest to her had an amused look while the guys behind him snickered.
God, she hated being underestimated. It was her Achille’s heel. “I’m sorry if I overslept. I don’t know why my alarm didn’t go off, but I’ll take a quick shower and be ready to go in no-time.”
The man cocked his head. “You realize this thing isn’t hooked up to anything, right? You can’t shower, and you don’t have electricity.”
“What?” She twisted around to take in the RV, the reality of her situation slapping her in the face like a soggy towel. “But Declan told me to stay here. I assumed…how am I supposed to live here for a month?”
He held up both hands. “I’m just the foreman. I’ve been waiting for two hours for you to get up, but I’ve got a lot to do for the festival, so I’ve written up a list of chores you need to get to. Right away, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course, I don’t mind.” She blew out a breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Sir—”
“Hank. Just call me Hank.”
“Hank, I’m going to need you to hook up my new home to make it habitable. I’m more than happy to pitch in around here, but I need the basics like power and water.”
“Like I said, I’m just the ranch foreman.” He shoved a piece of paper at her. “You’ll want to start collecting those eggs. Tigger can only restrain himself for so long.”
“Tigger?”
“Right. I could’ve explained everything to you two hours ago, but I’ve got a place to run here. I don’t know if you know this, but the Gongshow’s one of the biggest, most profitable cattle ranches in the country.”
His disdain woke her all the way up. Because she hadn’t earned it. “Given that I was told to stay here, it never would have occurred to me last night when I tried to charge my phone that my new home wasn’t hooked up. Now, I know. It won’t happen again.” With a nod, she shut the door.
What the hell am I supposed to do? She hadn’t showered since yesterday morning—and that was just a quick rinse because her roommates had used all the hot water.
It took a moment for reality to kick in. The puck chaser thought she’d go running back to her luxe life in London. Ha. Hilarious. What he didn’t realize was that even if she had a fancy life to return to, there wasn’t a chance in hell she’d let him win this challenge.
Screw him.
I’m two hours late, so I’ll just get caught up on my chores, and then I’ll use the bathroom at the main house.
Thinking she’d only be here for a few days, she’d brought a black dress and heels for the funeral, pajamas and flip flops for the downtime in her motel room, and her cashmere wrap in case it got cold on the plane. She glanced down at the skinny jeans and pin-striped boyfriend-style shirt she’d worn for travel.
She couldn’t collect eggs in either the heels or the Ferragamo ballet flats she’d brought. Since losing her parents’ credit card, she’d taken extremely good care of her belongings, and she couldn’t risk a scuff, scratch, or stain since nothing could be replaced.
Honestly, she’d thought for sure the mother who’d dressed her in designer clothes from the moment she came out of the womb would give up on this stupid game. She could’ve at least passed along her hand-me-downs instead of dropping them at the charity shop.
But, no, her parents remained firm in their commitment to teaching her what life looked like without Cameron Lumley.
Trust me, I get it.
Well, for today, she’d have to wear her flats and jeans and roll up the sleeves of her shirt. Maybe she could find clothing to borrow in the house. Surely, Kurt had a girlfriend who’d left something behind. He wasn’t married—obviously—or there’d be no battle for his estate.
Fortunately, she’d brought her portable charger, so she plugged her phone in and headed outside. With the sun already cresting the snow-capped mountain peak, she headed for the barn, reading the list as she walked.
Her steps slowed.
Horse barn:
Muck out the stalls
Feed horses: quart of grain and 2 flakes of hay
Fresh water
* * *
Hen house:
Collect the eggs and bring to bunkhouse for cook
Feed and water
* * *
Vegetable Garden:
Weed
Collect ripe vegetables
* * *
Pig pen:
Feed pigs: scraps from bunkhouse and
feed from bin in barn
Fresh water
* * *
She had no idea where to begin. Sure, she’d spent lots of time on her family’s estate. An only child, she’d had too much time to herself, so she’d often hung out with the staff. Not that she’d done the work, of course. But she’d paid attention.