Slay Bells - Hildie McQueen Page 0,7
be seeing you both here,” she told Henry and Williams. “Strange trip so far.”
When the Hawkins’ look to Greg, he shrugged. “Gabriela was the one who spotted naked Henry and called us.”
Both nodded but didn’t say anything.
Footsteps sounded and everyone looked to the doorway behind her.
“Hey Jeremy,” Henry said with a wide grin. “Greg brought me here. Today is the day I’m supposed to be sleeping outside naked.”
Natalie rolled her eyes.
Rick put down his cup and blew out a breath. “Here we go.”
Greg shook his head. “I hate to do this to you bro, but with the new baby, Patty would kill me if I brought him to our house.”
There was a deep groan from the man behind her. Gabriela would wait to be introduced, then hopefully get Natalie to take her to her cabin.
“The writer I told you about is here. Come meet her, Jeremy.” Natalie motioned to Gabriela, who’d just taken a sip of coffee.
Gabriela turned and the coffee went down the wrong pipe. She gasped and coughed, and then began hacking like a dog with a bone stuck in its throat. Tears appeared and someone pounded her on the back.
Meanwhile the hunk from the airport switched between frowning and lifting his eyebrows as if waiting to see if he would have to intervene and resuscitate her.
Yep, the day seriously sucked balls.
By the time she’d been able to breathe normally and once again attempt to drink the rest of the coffee, the hunk was nowhere to be seen.
“Let’s get you settled. You look dead on your feet,” her hostess said while guiding Gabriela toward the front door.
Much to Gabriela’s delight, she was to stay in one of the small cabins. “Oh my goodness, it’s so cute!” Gabriela exclaimed at the small wooden house. The front entrance was shaded by a small snow-covered porch, on it a whitewashed rocker.
They walked in and she put the suitcases beside the front door.
“Over here is the kitchen. It’s small, but adequate,” Natalie said as she motioned to the right. “I stocked it with coffee, there is creamer in the fridge. There is also bread and butter, plus a couple jars of jam. We make them here at the ranch.”
Natalie walked down a short hallway. On one side was a small bathroom, across from it a bedroom. “It’s small, but spacious. I sometimes wish I lived here. So much less to do.”
Gabriela couldn’t help but smile. The small cabin was straight out of a fairytale. Every detail decorated in pale greens and blues. The furniture was distressed, shabby chic style, which suited the whitewashed walls perfectly.
“It’s lovely,” Gabriela assured Natalie. “I may not want to leave.”
Natalie smiled widely. “You can stay as long as you wish.” She let out a breath. “There isn’t much going on early tomorrow, and there is breakfast food here. Please come over at noon for lunch.”
“Is there a grocery store nearby?” Gabriela asked, already planning to spend her mornings at the small dining table while drinking tea and taking in the beautiful view.
“The nearest one is in town. I’ll give you directions tomorrow,” Natalie offered. “I best let you get some rest. We can discuss details of the Winter Festival once you are refreshed.”
She accompanied Natalie to the door. “Do all of you live here?” It was a good way to find out where the hunky detective lived. Not that he would be interested in a walking disaster.
“No, not permanently. Henry does on occasion at the bunkhouse, when there’s work. Jeremy will be here on and off for the next few weeks to help out with the festival. I suppose we’ll keep Henry here too to help after today.” Natalie chuckled. “But he’ll have to keep his clothes on.”
“That would be nice.” Gabriela laughed. She liked the woman. Although she was pretty sure they didn’t see many non-whites other than perhaps Native Americans in the area. It was nice they’d not batted a lash when she’d showed up. As a dark skinned Mexican, Gabriela had wondered how people would react to her there in Montana.
San Diego was a melting pot where many nationalities co-existed. It was nothing new to be at events or shopping and not only see people from different ethnicities on a regular basis, but also hear different languages.
Natalie studied Gabriela for a moment. “Do you have any dietary restrictions? I can whip up a gluten free version of almost anything. You’d be surprised at the special requests we get from guests during the summer.”
“Nope.” Gabriela