She shakes her head. “No, ma’am. Your agent said it’s five thousand a day, and that’s what you’re getting. That’s one of the perks of having an investment group as our partner.” She rubs her fingers together to indicate cash. “Deep corporate pockets. You could probably charge twice as much, and they wouldn’t blink.”
“Is that a dare?” Again, I don’t comment on the fact that it’s probably Sawyer paying my steep rates. Let him see how well I’ve done. I figured out too late that money matters to him, so there’s something…full circle about making his company write me a fat check.
“No, thank you! I’ll never be dumb enough to give you a dare again.”
Smart, given the number of dares I completed in our camp days. Eat an ant? Check. Pretend to be a cat for an entire day? Check. Introduce my pillow as my boyfriend for a week? Check.
She lets down her bike’s kickstand, so I do too and follow her after she lifts Juniper out of the baby seat and heads toward the cabin. “Let’s get you settled.”
A squeal escapes me when we step into my new digs. “Natty! This isamazing.Pottery Barn threw up in here but in the best possible way.”
She laughs. “That was the goal. Effortless, rustic chic. We hired a designer, and he made these places come to life.”
“Courtesy of your partner again?”
“Our very silent partner. We make the choices and send in the invoices. It’s a good dynamic.”
The ATV grows louder outside, announcing Ben’s arrival.
“Come on, I’ll show you around while he gets your stuff unloaded.”
The cabin is less than a thousand square feet, but it contains a full kitchen, a cozy living room with fireplace, and shelves stocked with board games and books but no TV in sight.
The only bedroom is a master suite, the bathroom complete with an old-fashioned enamel tub that I already yearn to soak in while I stare at the trees through the picture window. Soft throw blankets and cozy wood leather furniture fill every room, along with pillows and rugs begging to be touched.
“It’s perfect,” I say. “I love that you don’t even have TVs here.”
“TD,” Juniper chirps, the first non-babble word I’ve heard her say. “Mick Moush.”
“The big cabins have TVs,” Natalie says. “There’s no cable, but we have a large library of DVDs.”
“Mick Moush,” Juniper insists. “TD.”
Natalie smiles. “She loves watchingMickey Mouse Clubhouse. On repeat. He’s a good nanny when I need to get stuff done. Anyway, cell service is as bad as ever, and no internet out here either. If you need it, come up to the office anytime. You can use the internet there.”
“That’s great. I’ve felt so plugged into my life lately. It’ll be good to have a reason why I can’t return my agent’s phone calls for a week.”
“Or your mom’s?” Natalie asks, a knowing look on her face.
“Don’t you therapize me.” I grab a pillow and shake it at her. Juniper claps and giggles. If there’s anyone in the world I’d talk to about my hard things, it’s Natalie, but that’s not what I’m here for.
“Are you going to go see her?”
“I don’t think so.” I hold up my hands to fend off her next suggestion. “Only because I’ll be busy this week helping you. I was home over Christmas, and it was…not terrible.”
“That sounds encouraging.”
“It was good, even. My dad’s totally healthy again and he found a great assistant manager, so he’s taking more time from the store to putter on personal projects. I met Grace’s new man, and they’re super happy. He’s moving to Charleston with her soon, so they won’t have to do long distance.”
“Good. You didn’t say anything about your mom.”
“I gave her a dog.”
Natalie watches me, waiting.
“She’s happy with her dog?” I try.
“Is she happy about the show? Or the cookbook?”
