Just an hour and a half after walking into Mr. Parker's new office, I was standing in front of my new home.
The house was adorable. It had been kept up well after the previous owner's death, apart from the uncut grass, but that did little to diminish the ascetically pleasing quality of it. The land beyond it was beautiful, with forrest surrounding the house and long driveway.
Behind the house to the right, there was a barn that was in bad need of a paint job. That had not been in the picture, but I found myself happy at it's presence. Maybe I could get a horse. Directly behind the house, there was a large, fenced in field. Inside of the field, there was an inside shelter for an animal of some sorts. It looked like a baseball dug out, but above ground.
There were a few more fields behind the fenced in one, and beyond those were small, rolling hills. In the distance, there was a thick forrest. To the right of the house, if I squinted enough, I just make out the home of whomever was my next door neighbor.
I loved it.
It was just what I had wanted, and I had known that from the moment that I had been shown the picture. It was also just what I needed; the complete and permanent break from the big city and my previous life.
Sighing with content, I stepped forward towards the house.
I walked up the porch steps and was greeted with an ominous creek. My first thought was to get it fixed, but I decided against it. It gave the house more character. There was a white swing on the porch to the left of the door. It hung by rusty chains, and also needed a new coat of paint.
After opening the screen door, I stuck my key in the lock.
For some reason, I half expected it not to work. But the key slid in easily, and I unlocked the door with a turn of the key. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The first thing I noticed was everything was covered in dust. It was obvious that no one had been in here in a long, long time. Since the poor man had no next of kin, no one had probably been in the house since his death.
The first room I came into was a foyer. There was an old coat rack to my immediate right, and it appeared to be the only thing that had been left in the house. The first room on the right was the living room, and the one on the left was the dining room.
Walking past the stairs that were after the the entrance to the dining room, the were two directions in which to go; a short hallway to the left that had a bathroom and a small guest bedroom and the kitchen, which was directly in front of me.
Past the kitchen was a sunroom of sorts, with only a screen door that led to the backyard. I could see two wooden posts holding a white clothesline wire between them.
"So old fashioned," I muttered fondly to myself.
I went upstairs.
There was a linen closet directly in front of me at the top of the stairs, and two bedrooms on either side of the hallway to my left. There was another bedroom to my right that had a walk in closet (this would be my bedroom) and a bathroom across from it.
I began to bring in all of my stuff, most of it being clothes. I hung most of them up, leaving the rest in boxes to be put away when I had a dresser. After emptying my Jeep of my belongings, I went back into town.
On my way in, I had spied a second hand store that I decided to stop by. I needed furniture - I would not be sleeping not the floor.
I didn't think until about the price that would come with buying furniture. A whole house worth of furniture! I bit my lip, suddenly very glad for my late grandfather. It was very strange to think about the size of my bank account.
The shop keeper was very helpful. She helped me pick out furniture that would go together, and even a theme for each bedroom. The bed frame and mattress I bought for myself could fit in the back and on top of my Jeep.
The rest of the stuff would be delivered tomorrow; the sweet lady even said her husband and son would move it into my house for me.
"Where did you come from, if you don't mind me asking?" She questioned when I had shut the back of my Jeep. I took in a breath, unsure of how to answer it. I hadn't expected this question so soon.
"North Carolina," I answered.
She smiled at me sympathetically.
"You picked a good town. Whatever you're running from, I'm sure you'll heal here."
I found myself shocked. How had she known I was running from anything? My initial thought was to be defensive, but by the kind look in her eyes, her intentions were clearly good. She put a hand on my shoulder.
"Welcome to Hudson."
I smiled back at her.
"Thank you."
My next stop was to get sheets and towels, followed by bathroom goods and food. After hauling in all of the stuff, I put together the bed first as I knew it would be the largest chore. I made the bed, and put the towels away in the bathroom.
After putting away the toiletries and food, I collapsed on the bed.
I was exhausted.
It was after nine o' clock now, it had been a long day. Productive, but long.
I fell asleep on top of the covers, with out even changing into my pajamas first.
The next morning, I was woken up to a loud knock on the door.
I rolled over, my hand reaching blindly for the cell phone. My hand was wandering aimlessly on the bed, eyes still closed, for a moment before I realized I no longer had one.
Sitting up, I was rather confused.
Sunlight was streaming through the windows. Surely I had not slept all night? After hearing another knock at the door, I realized that had to be true.
I meandered towards the door after walking clumsily down the stairs.
Two men stood in front of me. The first was a man with a rather large belly wearing worn jeans and a tucked in plaid shirt. He had a beard, and a friendly smile on his face. Behind him was a younger man, appearing to be about seventeen or so.
"Good mornin', my name is Edgar Russell and this is my son, Brett. You bought some furniture from my wife, Ruby yesterday. We're just here to move it in for you."
"Of course," I answered, stepping back to open the door further. "Can I get you guys some coffee?"
The boy, who seemed to be timid, just shook his head. Edgar answered happily.
"Yes please."
I went to get the coffee started, glad I had bought the coffee maker when I was getting food. I gave him a mug of coffee, which he had wanted black. Yuck. They started bringing in the upstairs furniture first, just small beds and dressers for the guest rooms and a larger dresser, bedside table and lamp for me.
Last was the living room.
I'd bought a very comfortable couch, an arm chair and a wooden coffee table for the living room.
"I can't thank you guys enough," I said as they went to depart, after Edgar had had his second cup of coffee.
"Not a problem, ma'am," Edgar answered. "Just doing our jobs."
I took a couple of twenty dollar bills out of my pocket and tried to hand it over.
"Here, for doing all this work."
"Oh no," He said, "I can't take it."
I frowned for a minute, because he was being polite, but firm. Instead, I tried to hand it to Brett. Brett, who had barley muttered a few words to me, looked surprised. His eyes darted between his father and myself.
"Go ahead, son. You earned it."
He took it shyly.
"Thank you, ma'am," He said, smiling.
"You guys have a great day!" I said as they departed.
It was a second day of nothing but work. The electricity was on thanks to Mr. Parker, but the water was not. I also managed to get the cable and internet set up, as well as a decently sized TV for the living room.
My last order of business was acquiring a new cell phone. I didn't have much to do with it at the moment because, well, I didn't know anybody.
After I'd gotten everything done, I collapsed on the couch exhausted again.
In under thirty six hours, I had gotten everything that I needed for this house. I was honestly surprised at myself for being so productive. I'd never been on my own, though, to know what the process was like.
For the next three days, I did nothing.
I lounged around the house. I also explored the barn and first field but didn't go much further beyond that.
On Friday evening, I found myself wanting to get out of the house. I got dressed, having spent all day in my pajamas. I found a small bar inside, which seemed to be pretty busy. I got a drink (At being 19, I didn't think I'd be able to but I was not ID'd) and found myself a table in the corner.
Instead of watching some game on TV, I decided to people watch. A lot of the population appeared to be my age, or a few years older. Some even appeared to still be in their work clothes, needing to blow off steam after a work week.
After finishing my first, I went to go to the bathroom.
I'd made it about halfway across the bar when an obviously drunk man stepped in front of me.
"Hey, baby."
His words were slurring. I stepped sideways.
"Er- hello," I muttered. He matched my step.
"What's your name?"
"Sarah," I lied, feeling uncomfortable from the way that he was eyeballing me.
"What do you say we get out of here?" He asked, attempting a failed wink at me.
"Um, no thank you," I said, as I stepped sideways. He followed my movement again. I felt my face and ears grow hot. Alarms were going off inside my head.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"You look new in town, and you're hot. Let me give you a tour."
"No thank you," I said more firmly. His voice grew harder.
"Come on, baby. I know you want it."
"I said no," I snapped.
"Let loose a little bit. Let's go," He said menacingly, reaching forward and grabbing my arm. I jerked it out of his grip, pushing him hard. He stumbled backwards a few steps.
"You little cunt," He swore, and he raised his hand to slap me.
He never got the chance to hit. In one quick moment, a man that had been sitting on a bar stool to my left and moved between me and my would be assaulter.
"Wrong move, Ty," The man said in a voice much more angry and menacing than this "Ty" fellow had. He was also much more sober. I couldn't see him properly, though, because I hadn't seen his face. He spoke with the in a thick, southern accent that was known well around here. His seemed to be a bit deeper, though. He went on.
"You know damn well what happens when you put your hands on a woman around here. So unless you want to take this outside, I suggest you hightail your ass out of here. Now."
There was a moment's pause.
"Go fuck yourself," Said Ty. He then stumbled out of the bar.
He turned around, and I found myself face to face with my savior. I nearly gasped in recognition, for I had seen him before. He was the same exact cowboy I'd thought was handsome. The same one who had made it into the Tennessee state bull riding finals.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Y-Yes. Yes. I'm alright. Thank you for that," I said. I was shake up.
"We don't stand for that shit around here. Let me buy you a drink, calm your nerves," He offered. I glanced at the door again, glad to see that Ty was very much gone. I looked at him again.
"My name is Brantley. Brantley Nash."
He stuck his hand out, and I shook it.
"I am Kennedy Valentine."
The smile on his face dropped when he heard my name. His reaction surprised me a great deal.
Brantley Nash turned around and stalked out of the bar, leaving me very, very confused.
Author's Note: I hope this chapter wasn't too boring! I needed to do the stuff about getting the house ready, but I also wanted to make sure it was detailed so you got a good idea of what the house and property looked like! And Kennedy and Brantley have officially met...Err, sort of.