Surviving Love - K.F. Breene Page 0,3

rose in the distance.

“It’s beautiful!” she said.

The truck stopped a hundred yards from a wooden archway, the vaulted sign reading “Triple T Ranch.” Jake rolled down his window and leaned back, looking out over the steep mountain drop. He didn’t say a word, but Sara realized this was his way of sharing the moment. Allowing her to take a second and marvel at the beauty.

After she’d had a long look, the truck wheezed to a start again, coughing up the remainder of the hill to a collection of low, squatting log buildings nestled between the trees. Sara hopped out as the truck rocked to a stop, ready to retrieve her duffel bag from the stoic ranch hand. Instead, she followed like a puppy as he shouldered it and walked to the larger main house, spying someone coming out of the entrance and gesturing him over.

“What’s up, Jake?” a guy in his twenties said with a bobbing head. He had spiky hair and a cute, boyish face. His gaze swept past Jake and landed on Sara. His smile flicked brighter. “Hi. I’m Sam.”

“Hi. Sara.”

“She’s house staff,” Jake said, transferring the pack to the new guy. He turned to Sara and tipped his head. “Welcome home.”

Warmth spread through Sara’s middle, followed by a pleased smile. A moment later, Jake was in his truck, the engine roaring as it lumbered away around the house.

“Hi, again. Welcome,” Sam said with a big smile. “C’mon, I’ll show you the way. Where you from?”

“A small town outside Reno—I can carry my pack if you want…”

Sam led her along a wide porch wrapping around the large house. “Nah, I got it. I’ve been to Reno—neat. So, this is the main house. This is where the guests congregate. You’ll stay in the back with the house staff. Staff doesn’t use the front entrance. That’s reserved for guests only. They gawk. We use this one—” Sam held a door open.

As Sara ducked through, she was greeted with pretty basic décor. Cream walls housing a few pictures of landscape—probably Montana’s. There were two couches, a coffee table, and a TV. No people.

“This is the rec room for staff. You’re here, what, four or five months?” Sam paused just inside the doorway.

“Yes,” Sara answered as she had a look around. “The summer for guests and then a month or so to help shut it down.”

“Cool. I’m only here the summer. Anyway, this is the room everyone hangs out in when they have some time off and want to be inside. Usually we’re outside, though. I’ll show you the fire pit later. You’re through here…”

They entered a hallway off the main room and turned right, passing an empty industrial kitchen with a long wooden table.

“We eat in the kitchen, or, again, outside. Most things we do are outside, for obvious reasons. I mean, Montana is much too pretty to be inside all the time, right?”

“Where do you sleep?” Sara asked, noticing them approaching two rooms.

“Already planning to seduce me?”

Sara ducked her head in embarrassment, only realizing how it sounded after the fact.

“Relax.” Sam laughed. “I’m just kidding. Look at your face—you’d think I caught you naked!” He laughed again as he stopped in front of an open door. “I stay in the west bunker. The outside seasonal staff stay together there. That way we’re closer to our duties.”

“Got it. What do you do?”

“I assist the survival expert, mostly.”

“I’ve heard of the TV shows where someone films themselves stranded, but what’s a survival expert?”

Sam’s eyes widened. “Oh, man! It’s cool. He teaches you how to survive in the wild. Like, if you get lost, or something bad happens and you’re stranded, he teaches you how to stay alive until you’re rescued. He has a couple of books out and everything. People come here specifically to take his classes.”

“Oh, wow. Sounds neat.”

He smiled like a little boy at Christmas. “It is. This is my second year as his assistant. He only picks one, so…” Sam shrugged. “It’s kind of a big deal.”

Sara laughed. “Congratulations.”

His eyes were twinkling as they beheld her, smiling down in good humor. “I really hope you like it here. I’ll see you soon, okay? I’ve been here a few seasons in a row. I pretty much know how things run. Just let me know if you need anything…”

“Sure,” she said, looking away.

“Again with the red face. I must need to tone down my exuberance, huh?” Sam smiled and put a warm hand on her shoulder. “Okay then, see ya!”

She took