We came upon a little silver Airstream tucked below some pine trees at the bottom of the sloping hill parallel to the main house. Bridge looked at me and I shook my head to keep quiet until we were alone. Jonah walked off the step bar as I came to a stop near the trailer and ran around to the passenger side, opening the door for Bridge.
“Thank you,” she said, taking his hand and stepping down.
I opened the back doors and started grabbing bags. Jonah followed suit by opening the back door nearest him and grabbed the remaining. I nodded my thanks.
He led us to the trailer and walked the small stairwell to the round pocket door and opened it. I stepped inside after him, directly to my right was a built-in sofa that butted against the width of the trailer, save for a small wall of cabinets that lay perpendicular against the wall farthest from the door. Along that same wall, was a small fridge, closet, and across from those was a small sink and stove. There was also a small laminate table in front of the sofa. Past the center accordion doors laid two small twin beds on opposite ends of the trailer walls and beyond that, a small bathroom with toilet, sink, and tub with shower. The entire place was a trip back in time to the seventies, complete with gold laminate floors and countertops, but it looked and smelled clean and had new mattresses and bedding. I hope they didn’t buy that for us, I thought. I felt bad enough imposing on their hospitality as it was.
“There’s heat, electricity and running water,” Jonah mentioned, setting our stuff on the sofa. “Although, you might want to keep a few extra blankets around when a blizzard comes ’round, and they will.”
“Thank you, Jonah,” Bridge said, studying her surroundings. “We’re very grateful,” she added.
Jonah smiled and nodded. “I’ll leave you to it. Dinner’s in an hour. See you there?”
“Of course,” Bridge answered waving at him before closing the door.
We stood in silence, taking in our surroundings.
“It’s-It’s definitely different than L.A.,” she said, breaking the quiet.
I was used to living in confined spaces living in a Brown dorm, but this was all very new to her.
“You’re going to be okay with this?” I asked.
She stiffened her upper lip. “Of course. I wasn’t lying when I said I was grateful. Besides, maybe they’ve got a shop in town. We can, like, spruce it up a bit?”
I laughed at her. “That’s cool, Bridge. I’ll give you some cash.”
“Can we afford it?” she asked.
I pretended to calculate in my head. “I think we can swing it. Besides, I need to go into Kalispell for a few things anyway. Find a bank, somehow open an account without Dad finding out, find a doctor for you.”
Her face dropped. “I almost forgot,” she said, a sad smile gracing her face. “The whole reason we’re here.”
“Exactly,” I added, inspecting the trailer, “which means boys aren’t even an option out here.”
“What the hell?”
“I saw how Jonah looked at you. I’m just sayin’.”
She rolled her eyes. “Which bed do you want?”
“Bridge, I mean it, no boys.”
She stiffened her back. “Spencer, you really know how to piss a girl off, don’t you? Trust me, my focus is a little preoccupied at the moment.”
Chapter Thirteen
We unpacked as best we could and I noticed there wasn’t a TV or pretty much anything of convenience really.
“We’re going to have to make a list,” I said, stepping back out into the cold.
Bridge closed the door behind her and ran to the truck. We drove back to the main house when Ellie asked us to. The ranch seemed pretty quiet from what we could tell, except for a few guys here and there. One in particular was on a horse and heading toward the barn. He looked like he might have been Native American, but his features appeared mixed. The only confirmation I could get was that he had a long ponytail at the base of his neck wrapped in leather.
“Hummina-hummina-hummina,” Bridge joked.
“No,” I reiterated.
“I can look,” she laughed.
We parked where we had before and made our way up the wood stairs. I dragged my hand over the smooth wooden handrail. I couldn’t believe how smooth the wood was. We knocked on the main door and stood hopping in our boots while we waited for someone to answer. We saw Ellie run toward us and swing open one of the double doors.
“Sorry, we usually enter through the side door. It’s closer to the dining hall.”
We walked in and took in the expanse of the main room. It was larger than our own main room back home. I’d failed to gauge just how large the home was from the outside because it was overshadowed by the surrounding mountains. The walls were covered in Indian blankets and stuffed animal heads. In the middle of the thirty-foot ceiling dangled a large antler chandelier.
It’s all Petticoat Junction and shit in here, I thought as I looked around. I unknowingly slapped my hands together and rubbed them back and forth. I let Ellie think it was about the cold. Now, if I could only find a Bobbie Jo.
Just then, across the main room, entering from some sort of back door, a small figure emerged. She closed the door behind her after a large German shepherd mix shook out his coat and sat panting beside her. Time seemed to stand still as she stomped the snow off her rubber riding boots and removed her large jacket and gloves, revealing the shapeliest body I’d seen in years. She had these long gray socks under her boots that rose to just below the knee over her skintight jeans. My eyes traveled up.