He looked around. “You’ve been busy.”
I followed where he was looking. “I’ve still more to do, but it’s coming along.”
He nodded to where I was digging. “A garden?”
“That’s the plan, but it’s harder than it looks. Would you like some iced tea or coffee?”
“No, thank you,” he said, turning from my house to me. He was tall, almost a foot taller than me, and I was five six. “I don’t want to take up your time. I just wanted to stop by because I know you’re from New York, but living here is a little different.”
“Yeah, the raccoon welcoming committee drove that point home.”
He chuckled. “I don’t want to scare you, but I don’t want you to be caught unaware either.”
That didn’t sound good.
“Avoid clusters of rocks because there are rattlesnakes around here.”
Rattlesnakes. Well, shit.
“There are mountain lions and bears, but they usually stay to themselves.”
“Mountain lions and bears?” I felt the blood drain from my face.
He looked contrite before he said, “I’m sorry. I spend my time around animals. I’m not really good with people. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“No, I appreciate the warning. I knew there would be other animals sharing this place with me, but I was thinking raccoons and skunks and deer, not snakes, mountain lions and bears.”
“Just don’t leave your cans out, and you should be fine.” He turned toward his truck but added, “And there will be sounds, a scratching sound is likely antlers being rubbed against a tree. Screeching could be owls or bats, barking could be wolves, screaming could be eagles. When you’re here long enough, you’ll get familiar with the various sounds, and they won’t have you running for the phone.” He pulled out a business card. “But if you aren’t sure, call me.”
His visit was meant to put me at ease, and I was grateful he made the trip, but I was a little freaked out. I took his card. “Thank you.”
“Welcome to Little Hill,” he said, before he strolled to his truck. I watched him drive off, all the time second-guessing whether I should put in a vegetable garden because that was like ringing the dinner bell. I didn’t think too long on it because another truck appeared. I saw the writing on the side. It was Graham. It was nice putting a face to his voice. He was probably in his forties, short black hair, and pale green eyes, but there was absolutely no question he had Native American blood.
“Cedar, good to have the face to go with the voice,” he said in way of greeting. My thoughts exactly.
“Hi, Graham.”
“I see you're gardening.”
“Yeah, it’s harder than I thought.”
He chuckled. “Only because you’re sitting on a lot of rock. That you got that much done on your own is impressive.”
That was good to hear. I was thinking I might need to start working out.
“I have the plans for both the porch and the patio,” he said.
“I’ll put on some coffee,” I offered.
He followed me inside and stopped at the threshold. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d been here for years.”
I stopped walking and looked around. I’d been pleasantly surprised that not only did my furniture fit the size of the living room, but it looked awesome, the chocolate suede leather sofa and two burgundy side chairs, one of which Lucifer had claimed as his, the patterned area rug with those colors and mustard yellow, ivory and pale blue under them. Even my wood and glass top coffee table and end tables worked. I’d bought two large iron vases and had them filled with fresh flowers that anchored each end of the mantle. I wanted a painting of the area for the center of it. A basket of wood and fire tools sat on the hearth. Prints I collected of forests from all over the world were framed in thick black frames and arranged on the one wall, a print of New York on another wall.
My bedroom was a little snug with the king-size cherry sleigh bed, dresser and bedside tables, but it made the bed the focal point, dressed in white with lots of colorful throw pillows.
We walked into the kitchen. And again, he let out a whistle. “No flies on you.”
“It was very therapeutic.” I said, as I worked on the coffee. I collected rustic ceramic dishes, plates, bowls and mugs. It was a mix-and-match, but the earthy colors looked really pretty in the glass paned cabinets.