Page 4 of Tattered and Torn
The living room looks comfortable and inviting, but it’s the kitchen that catches my eye. The stainless-steel appliances are top-notch, as are the cherry cabinets and granite countertops. I open a few cupboard doors to find them filled with stylish glassware and plates. I check out the silverware drawer, as well as the cookware neatly organized in a cabinet next to the oven. Almost everything I could possibly need is already here. “It’s perfect, Hannah.”
I say almost because my set of chef’s knives is one of my most prized possessions, and I made sure I brought mine with me from Chicago.
“Excuse me, Gabrielle,” Burke says from the open door. “Where would you like me to put these?”
I turn to see him standing just inside the apartment, my two suitcases in hand. My backpack is slung over his shoulder.
“You can set them down there.”
I notice his head is turned slightly to the left, shadowed by the brim of his cowboy hat. I realize I’ve never seen his full face. It’s like he keeps the left side in the shadows on purpose.
Burke sets my luggage on the floor. “All right then. I’ll leave you two ladies to it.” And then he’s gone.
I’m a bit stunned by his abrupt departure. “Crap. I didn’t get a chance to thank him for the ride or for bringing up my luggage.”
Hannah pats my back. “No worries. You’ll see him again soon. You can thank him then.”
I roll my big suitcase into the bedroom. Hannah follows with my carry-on and backpack.
The bedroom is just as impressive as the rest of the apartment. The focal point is a cherry four-poster bed with a matching dresser and two bedside tables. The walls are painted a soft gray, complementing the cream-colored comforter and pillows. “Remind me to call and thank Sophie,” I say.
After taking a few moments to freshen up in the bathroom, I join Hannah for a tour of the rest of the lodge. I’m dying to see the restaurant, of course, but I want to save that for last. We return to the ground floor and check out the pool and sauna, the game room, and the snack room.
“The kitchen is open for meals only during certain hours of the day,” Hannah says as we enter the snack room. “But guests are free to come in here any time they want for something to eat or drink.”
Refrigerated cases offer a variety of beverages—soft drinks, water, bottled teas, bottled cold coffees—as well as premade sandwiches, salads, yogurt, and desserts. There is also a single-serve coffeemaker, a kettle for tea, a microwave oven, and a display of chocolates and other candy.
When we return to the lobby, I happen to glance out the front doors and catch sight of Burke and Killian talking outside.
Killian says something to Burke, who nods. As Burke walks away, he takes off his hat and wipes his face on his sleeve.
I finally catch a glimpse of the left side of his face.
Oh, dear. What happened to you, Burke?
Chapter 2 – John
As I cross the gravel drive and head for the barn, my pulse is still racing. Normally, I’m a pretty calm and measured guy. Not much riles me up. But honestly, being around Gabrielle Hunter threw me for a loop. Yeah, Hannah told me to look for the prettiest redhead at the airport, but she was mistaken. I mean, yes, Gabrielle was most definitely the prettiest redhead at the airport, but what Hannah failed to mention is that Gabrielle is the type of woman who makes a man go weak in the knees.
Once I’m inside the barn, I take a moment to collect myself. I’m too old to be feelin’ this way. I’m also too old for Ms. Hunter. She’s probably in her late twenties, and I’m at least a decade older than she is, if not more.
Besides, an ugly monster like me would have no chance in hell with a goddess like her. I can just imagine how the single men will be hovering around her, like moths to a flame.
My thoughts are interrupted by a sharp whinny coming from the last stall on the right. “Yeah, I hear ya, buddy.” I head down the center aisle. When I reach Zeus’s stall, I reach over the gate to scratch his neck. “Hold your horses, will ya?” And then I smile at my own joke.
I grab Zeus’s halter off the hook beside his nameplate with my left hand and unlatch his stall gate with my right. My gaze goes unerringly to the tight, puckered skin covering the back of my left hand. I should be used to seeing it by now. These burn scars are a decade old. Surely that’s plenty of time for me to come to grips with them. I’d planned for the Army to be a life-long career, but fate had other plans for me—namely an IED, improvised explosive device, in Afghanistan. I ended up with facial burns, a burned left hand, and shrapnel embedded in my left leg. After receiving a medical discharge, I came back home to heal my wounds, and eventually I ended up here.
As I lead him out of his stall, Zeus nudges me with his big black head.
“Yeah, I know, pal. It’s good to see you, too. Now let’s get you saddled. We’re takin’ some folks out for a morning trail ride.”
Zeus’s whinny reverberates through the barn.
Nora Ellison, my earnest young assistant, comes up behind me and pets Zeus’s forelock. “Hey, boss. The other horses are saddled and ready to go. I left Zeus for you ’cause I know you prefer to saddle him yourself.”
Nora’s a local girl, just twenty-two years old, who works here at the stables. She grew up on a horse ranch, and she’s been riding since she was five. She’s a natural around horses.
“Thanks, Nora.”