CHAPTER 39
KELSEY
Sterling Springs, New Mexico
“OK. Didyou drink too much coffee on the plane while I was asleep? You haven’t stopped tapping the steering wheel since we got in the car. Or is this about that surprise that you still haven’t given me any details about?”
Sutton waggles his brows at me from the driver seat of the rental car. We’ve been driving for almost an hour, heading north from the small Taos regional airport. “No to the coffee question and it would not actually be a surprise if I gave you more details. Now, come on. Drink some more water and rest. You’re going to love it and we’re almost there.”
He grabs the bottle of water from the cup holder and holds it out for me. I shake my head and groan before taking the bottle from him. I might act like I’m irritated when I snatch it, but I appreciate it. Once we were airborne, he got me some medicine and hasn’t stopped supplying me with water. I unscrew the cap and take a long drink before gently leaning back into the plush leather seat to not make my headache worse. The seat’s not as nice as the ones in his SUV,but it still feels good to relax and I’m glad the drive has been smooth. I’m sure the ride is more relaxing than the one in the sports car that TJ rented because Grace wanted to do some sightseeing around Taos and the other towns nearby.
“You’re enjoying prolonging my misery way too much.” I set the bottle of water down and look out the passenger window, thankful that I remembered to pack my sunglasses.
Looking out over the scenery, there’s gorgeous granite mountains in the distance to the east and north. To the west, it looks like endless farms and ranches scattered along the banks of a wide river. “That’s the Rio Grande, right?”
He nods and I straighten in my seat, looking down the road. Unlike the cool tones of the Tetons with their dense forests surrounded by grazing lands for elk, the land here is earth tones—a beautiful array of desert yellows and terracotta reds. It’s every bit as beautiful as he described it and I can already picture him growing up hiking in the mountains here. Off in the distance, I can even make out a small pocket of snow on one of the peaks that hasn’t melted yet.
“Is there skiing around here besides Taos?” I ask, taking another sip of my water.
He looks at the mountains out of the corner of his eye before focusing back on the road. “There’s a small resort, not too far from here, in a town called Red River. Nothing fancy, just a locals kind of place, like Snow Queen in Jackson.”
He points at a road that leads off the highway and into a narrow mountain canyon. “Actually, that road leads to an abandoned ski area that shut down about ten years ago.” I look down the road and make out a faded sign forRio Ski. He sighs and continues. “When that closed, it took a good number of jobs with it.”
“Why’d they close?”
He shrugs one shoulder. “That’s a sore subject aroundtown. They just didn’t get enough snow and some investors were going to install upgraded snowmaking and a new base area, but that didn’t exactly work out.”
I look back at the road ahead of us when another sign catches my eye.
Welcome to Sterling Springs
We might be known for Silver, but we’re second to no one
I don’t know why, but up until now I’ve never thought twice about his family’s name and the town. That can’t be a coincidence. “Wait, is the town named after your family?”
He chuckles as we start to pull through the roundabout and start down what looks to be the main road through town. “Did you seriously just realize that?”
“Well, is it?”
“Yeah, it is. Our family owned a silver mine and the town was built to support it. The mine’s been closed for a long time, but the town is still here—barely.”
I slowly turn to look at him. “Wait a minute. You’re telling me your family, the Sterlings, mined silver in a town named after them? Sterling silver? Please tell me people had a long list of punny silver nicknames for you guys.”
“Oh, there were plenty of them.”
We continue down the road, and I notice all the quaint two and three story shops lining the street, which is aptly named, Silver Street. There’s a diner, a bakery, a pharmacy, all the little things you’d expect in a small town. There’s also a fair share of vacant, boarded up storefronts—something we only see in Jackson during a renovation.
Sutton puts the turn signal on and we start to slow down. I look over to see that it’s an auto repair shop with a big neon sign on a pole out front,Second Place Automotive.
I chuckle, this must be his family’s shop. “Second Place? Who would want that as a business—oh my gosh, is that a silver pun?”
He parks in front of one of the garage doors and flashes me a pleased smile. “You’re catching on fast.” He undoes his seatbelt and opens the door. “Now, I want to show you the surprise.”
He shuts his door and sprints around the hood of the SUV to my side, opening my door and holding out a hand for me. I take it and smirk. “Such a gentleman.”
His lips curl into a devilish grin. “Hold that thought because you might not be calling me a gentleman later.”
A moment later, he’s standing in front of one of the garage bays, still bouncing around like an eager kid on Christmas looking at the giant poorly wrapped present that he obviously knows is a bicycle. He bends down and slides open one of the garage doors. I shake my head, covering my mouth because he’s so excited that it’s contagious. “Please tell me you didn’t buy me a car.”