Ahead of her, Adrian veered onto another dirt road flanked by a tall sign dubbing the area as Rustic Ridge Ranch: Bed & Breakfast & Horseback Rides.
The driveway was a long one, bumping and jostling as she shadowed behind him to a large, beautiful home that put the sophisticated cabin in the woods to shame.
Two levels high, with exposed logs and green shutters, it was rustic posh to the max. A large, long barn was located several hundred feet away, separated from the main house with corrals and pens for animals. Several horses grazed within one of the adjacent pens, bending to sniff the patches of grass at their hooves. A handful of cars took up space in the gravel parking lot off from the main house.
Goldie knew she should be leery about trotting off and following a complete stranger home, but something inside of her had offered a comforting nudge. While fear had trickled in during the drive out here, she was glad she’d come. This place was incredible, much better than the natty hotel they’d passed.
Her stomach twisted at the comparison. The hotel might have been a little more affordable. This, though, this ranch was so charming and inviting, it must cost a fortune. She would have to put the reservation here on credit and then take the next thousand years to pay it off.
“Just for one night,” she told herself. Aunt Bethany would get back to her by tomorrow for sure.
She exited and found herself filled with amazement. The air smelled sweet, like hay and honeysuckle. Birds chirruped in the trees lining the left side of the driveway. A wrap-around porch hugged the front and sides of the main house. Flower boxes were exploding with tulips, and pansies. Daffodils dotted the beds in front of the hugging porch, and the sense of being rooted settled straight into her.
Her house back in Baldwin had never felt like this, like she wanted to dig a hole, plant herself in it, and never leave. It was picturesque and more fairytale-like than anywhere she’d ever visited. It had a back-in-time, settle-in kind of feel.
Adrian slammed his car door shut, jolting her out of her daydream. She jumped a little inside at the sight of him. Yep, she could get used to a view like him, too. He really was good-looking, with the casual swatch of his hair sweeping to one side, the shape of him in his jeans and the way his shirt spread tight across his shoulders.
“This is it,” he said.
“This is seriously the most incredible place I’ve ever seen.”
A shrug. “It’s all right, I guess. Shall we? The reception desk is just inside.”
Goldie was ready to retort. All right. All right? How could anyone with eyes look at this place and classify it as just all right?
The interior was staged like something from the Parade of Homes. Cozy and homey, it idealized the rustic part of its namesake. Cowboy hats hung above doorways, muted colors of green and brown were in every fabric, and sage and wheat filled up vases on tabletops. Exposed wooden beams stretched overhead, while a stone-clad fireplace and chimney climbed up the wall where leather couches welcomed visitors to sit. The open area also hosted a collection of round, wooden tables where a few people were sitting with coffee mugs. Massive windows also displayed an exquisite view of the surrounding land.
“There you are.” A middle-aged woman with dark hair cut to a stylish A-line scampered toward Adrian, trailed by a chocolate Labrador. The dog seemed much happier to see Goldie than the woman did. Adrian stopped at the reception desk where a teenaged version of himself sat staring at his phone.
“Goldie,” Adrian said, gesturing. “This is my mom, Sylvia Bear. Mom, this is Goldie Bybanks. She’s my friend.”
Goldie’s stomach cinched. Could people who’d only met hours ago be friends this soon? She supposed so, considering the phrasing she’d used in her email. She warmed at the implication. He’d called her his friend.
“Pleasure to meet you,” said Sylvia, though the words were nicer than her expression.
Adrian slapped the reception desk, yanking the boy’s attention from his phone. “And this is my little brother, Jordan.”
“Hi,” Goldie said with a timid wave.
The good-looking teenager blinked a few times before giving her a robotic wave.
“She needs a room, Jordan. Mom said we have something available?”
Jordan set his phone on the desk and focused on the laptop before him. Adrian stepped away to speak with his mother, leaving Goldie to ruminate. Doubt began to waft through her. What was she doing? She couldn’t afford to stay at a place like this, not with these unfamiliars and their mother who kept glaring at her with all the pleasantness of a threatened raccoon.
Maybe Aunt Bethany was home now. If only she’d given Goldie her number. Goldie was ten seconds from withdrawing when Jordan said, “Here we go. Room Four.” He pronounced a fee that would have covered two weeks’ worth of groceries. “Credit or debit?”
Goldie was grateful Adrian wasn’t close enough to witness her humiliation. “Credit,” she said, handing him her card. Whatever his conversation with his mom entailed, Mrs. Bear didn’t seem too happy about it. Their glances kept shifting in Goldie’s direction.
Just one night, she told herself again, pushing down the nausea at spending so much money.
Jordan returned her card, along with a good, old fashioned key. Every other hotel Goldie had stayed at used plastic cards, but this was a legitimate, dangling key.
“You’re up there,” he said, pointing toward the stairs. “Second door on the left.”
“Thank you.”
Adrian returned his attention to her, acting more chipper than he had earlier. Was he that happy to be home? “Here, honey, you don’t need to worry about that. Jordan, whatever you just charged her, cancel it. She’s my guest.”
Did he just call her honey? Not charge her for the room, was he serious? “That’s really not necessary,” Goldie argued, but Adrian bent for her bag as confusion from what he’d said rankled her.
“I insist,” he said, adding a wink.
What was with the winking? He was bounding up the stairs before she got the chance to ask, and she was hot on his heels, eager for an explanation.
“What was that about?” she asked, rushing to catch up to him.
Adrian glanced behind her but didn’t slow his pace. She didn’t fail to notice the patch of red in his cheeks. “Here we are. Room Four.”
He waited for her to unlock the door, followed her in, and then closed it behind him.
Goldie’s eyes widened, her senses pitching into high alert. Had she made a mistake trusting him? What about the warm feeling she’d had? “What are you doing?” she asked.
Her conversation with Sadie may not have been that far-fetched, though she seriously doubted he would try anything. He seemed too classy, too put-together, to ruin his own life or hers like that. But what if she was wrong?
Adrian set her bag on the bed and faced her, running a hand through his dark hair. “Sorry about that. I wanted to talk to you, about tonight.”
“By calling me ‘honey’?”
He cleared his throat. “Right. Again, sorry. My mom is under the impression I need to marry a girl I used to date. I told her I was going with you to the fundraiser tonight, and since my mom can’t believe I’m picking an outsider over Danica, I may have given her the impression you and I didn’t just barely meet…”