3

I wonder what the rest of the family thought when no one inherited any of her fortunes. I still can’t believe no one even called me to tell me that Leslie had died. But then no one visited me after my accident either. Everyone was too busy to bother, except Leslie. I had a feeling she was in the car with me because her favorite songs just happened to play on the radio the whole way home. When I arrived, I saw a pickup truck in the driveway that looked familiar. It wasn’t until I saw him sitting on the steps that I knew who it was. I smiled even more at the sight of Scott. He stood up as I parked right behind his truck.

“Hey Sunshine!” he smiled at me. He walked over and only pretended to hug me. He knew I didn’t like to be touched and he was alright with that.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I called yesterday and told you I was going to be in town. You didn’t call me back, so I thought I would come over and surprise you.” He took hold of my gloved hand and kissed the back of it. “I missed you. So, what’s new with you?”

I laughed, “Come on in and I’ll make us something to eat. You’re not going to believe what I’m going to tell you.”

Scott followed me inside and sat down at the counter while I warmed up beef stew for lunch. I told him about losing my job and my Aunt Leslie passing away. He was very supportive. He often heard me talking about her, but never got to meet her. He visited me almost every day when I was in the hospital after the accident, but when I came home he had to go back to work. He wasn’t too upset about leaving me then, because he knew that Leslie would be staying with me during my recovery. Even so, he called nearly every day to check on my progression.

I handed him a steaming bowl of beef stew, and then I told him about inheriting the house and land. I mentioned the money, but didn’t tell him how much. I just said I didn’t have to work anymore. I probably should have told him the news first, then handed him the stew, because he almost choked on a piece of beef when he heard it.

“680 acres! Did you inherit a town?” he managed to get out, after coughing a few times.

“It’s all wooded, except for the yard around the house. Out in the middle of nowhere, no neighbors, I can do my writing in peace.” I liked this idea.

“Maybe you should sell,” he said. “I know you don’t like people to touch you, but you can’t cut yourself off from all human contact. Didn’t you say your aunt was eccentric? I wouldn’t want you to end up that way.” He was concerned that this was not a good idea.

“She was carefree, not crazy. I'll be fine. It will be nice to get back to nature for a while. There’s a lake for swimming and fishing, and trails in the woods for jogging. Animals to see. I think it will be fun.” He knew there would be no debate, my mind was already made up.

“Bears! There will be bears in the woods. Do you own a gun?” He was still trying to talk me out of it.

“I don’t think there are bears in the woods, but I know there are wolves. I haven’t seen them, but you can hear them howling at night. A good-sized pack of them.” That news didn’t sit well with him. “And yes, I always take a handgun with me when I go into the woods.”

“What if someone tries to break in? You said there were no neighbors.”

I laughed, then said, “Have you forgotten I've a black belt in three different martial arts styles, and I was a semi-pro MMA fighter. Lord help anyone who tries to break into my house.”

“Well, I'm in town for a few days and my semi-truck is empty for most of it. I can move you to your new home.” I knew he wanted to get a look at the property himself to make sure I was going to be ok there.

“Thank you, thank you!” I squealed and then hugged him tightly. But I accidentally touched my cheek against his, and immediately a vision appeared.

He stopped moving; I hadn’t touched him since the accident. “What did you see?”

Uhm, not much, thank god. “Do you have a spare tire in your truck?” I asked, and he nodded yes. “Good, you’re going to need it.”

He growled, “Great, and I just got new tires on the truck.”

“Sorry,” I felt bad telling him.

“Don’t worry about it, the vision could have been worse,” he said, smiling, “At least I got a hug out of it. A flat tire is worth it.” I giggled at that and replied, “Let’s relax tonight and start packing tomorrow.” He agreed and we headed to the living room to watch movies for the rest of the evening.

*****

Packing wasn’t that hard. I only had a one-room bedroom apartment. We had it packed in two days. The rest of the time I spent getting the electric, propane, and other utilities switched to my name, and trying hard to find an internet provider in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, my cell phone service worked well at the house. I had already gone to the bank in the morning to check on the account, and they verified it was all mine, really mine. Most of the money was in accounts that drew interest - enough that I could live on the interest alone, and I liked that. I wrote myself a check from the big account and placed the money in my regular old account because I already had a debit card for that one. The card for the new account had been mailed to the house, it was in a pile of mail waiting to greet me there.

We loaded up Scott’s semi and drove out to the house. I didn’t have enough stuff to fill it, but it was good to have since the house was three hours away and we would have had to make several trips using just my car and his pickup truck. We did stop once so Scott could change a tire. He just glared at me the whole time. At least I warned him that it was going to happen. He was the one who thought it was going to be on his pick-up and not the semi. It was night by the time we arrived; I stood in front of the huge, two-story brick house and smiled. I'm home.