his chair back and left the table without a word. His sister didn’t seem to notice or care.
There were only a few comments Nataliya made during dinner that were of any interest to Andy. She learned that nearly eight hundred people currently lived in Aspen, ranging in age from five to nearly twenty. “I am not quite the oldest,” Nataliya added. “But close.” Andy also learned that Brian was one of the ten members of the town council, and then determined by the sudden change in Nataliya’s voice that she wasn’t happy about that, which came as no surprise given what he had said about her that afternoon.
After everyone had eaten more than enough, Andy decided it was time to get to the point of the evening when Morgan beat her to it. “So, Nataliya, you said this afternoon that you would let us know this evening if we could stay here or not. What’s your answer?”
Andy smiled covertly at her friend’s bluntness.
Taken aback, Nataliya blinked once, then twice before responding. “Getting straight to the point, I see.” She then took a long sip of water as though purposely trying to create suspense.
“Well, I have to admit, you have skills that we could use here, so for now, I do not see any problem with you staying for a month. After that, the council and I will decide if you can stay permanently. Sound good?”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Excellent. I hope you all enjoyed dinner.” She pushed herself away from the table and stood up. “Well, I apologize, but I have some things I need to take care of before I go to bed. I believe Brian will be coming over to your house tomorrow to talk to you all about the tasks each of you will be given, along with the rules that we all must live by here, myself included.”
Andy had her doubts about that last part.
“I did not want to go over all of that tonight since you all must be tired,” she continued as she rushed everyone to the front door and bid them goodnight.
Once they were through the gate and out of earshot, Charlie declared, “That was rather painless.”
“Almost painless,” his sister responded. “She sure has a way of making everything about her, doesn’t she?”
“Honestly, I was hardly listening,” Andy said. “I was more curious to know how the cheese got into my potatoes. That and her brother’s behavior. What a brat he is!”
“I didn’t notice him being bratty,” Ben piped in.
“That’s because you were too distracted by Nataliya’s flirting,” she said with an edge.
“Hey, I can’t help it if she finds me irresistible.”
“Then she’s got strange taste,” Jim teased, provoking a hard punch on the arm from his cousin.
Annoyed, Andy let out a moan and walked ahead of the others. Morgan caught up to her as the boys held back. “I wonder what important things she has to do at this hour,” she said.
“Who knows? Maybe Brian can tell us more tomorrow.”
“What’s this Brian like?” Morgan asked, lowering her voice.
“He seems nice enough, though we only met for a minute.”
“Is he cute?”
Andy shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so. Does it matter?”
“Not really. I was just curious. You think we’ll get to stay here for a while?”
“Don’t know. I guess we’ll see.”
“I hope so. I think we could be happy here.”
Happy . Happiness had become practically irrelevant. But maybe Morgan was right.
Chapter X
A ndy slept better that first night in Aspen than she had in months and attributed it to the cool mountain air, eating well the day before, and not having to drive around to find a new place to live.
After getting out of bed, she headed downstairs to the kitchen, grabbed an apple, and settled into a comfortable lounge chair on the large deck off the living room. She closed her eyes to enjoy the warmth of the rising sun on her cheeks, only to be stirred moments later by the sound of the glass door opening from the inside. It was Ben.
“Morning,” he said groggily.
“Morning. Sleep
There were only a few comments Nataliya made during dinner that were of any interest to Andy. She learned that nearly eight hundred people currently lived in Aspen, ranging in age from five to nearly twenty. “I am not quite the oldest,” Nataliya added. “But close.” Andy also learned that Brian was one of the ten members of the town council, and then determined by the sudden change in Nataliya’s voice that she wasn’t happy about that, which came as no surprise given what he had said about her that afternoon.
After everyone had eaten more than enough, Andy decided it was time to get to the point of the evening when Morgan beat her to it. “So, Nataliya, you said this afternoon that you would let us know this evening if we could stay here or not. What’s your answer?”
Andy smiled covertly at her friend’s bluntness.
Taken aback, Nataliya blinked once, then twice before responding. “Getting straight to the point, I see.” She then took a long sip of water as though purposely trying to create suspense.
“Well, I have to admit, you have skills that we could use here, so for now, I do not see any problem with you staying for a month. After that, the council and I will decide if you can stay permanently. Sound good?”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Excellent. I hope you all enjoyed dinner.” She pushed herself away from the table and stood up. “Well, I apologize, but I have some things I need to take care of before I go to bed. I believe Brian will be coming over to your house tomorrow to talk to you all about the tasks each of you will be given, along with the rules that we all must live by here, myself included.”
Andy had her doubts about that last part.
“I did not want to go over all of that tonight since you all must be tired,” she continued as she rushed everyone to the front door and bid them goodnight.
Once they were through the gate and out of earshot, Charlie declared, “That was rather painless.”
“Almost painless,” his sister responded. “She sure has a way of making everything about her, doesn’t she?”
“Honestly, I was hardly listening,” Andy said. “I was more curious to know how the cheese got into my potatoes. That and her brother’s behavior. What a brat he is!”
“I didn’t notice him being bratty,” Ben piped in.
“That’s because you were too distracted by Nataliya’s flirting,” she said with an edge.
“Hey, I can’t help it if she finds me irresistible.”
“Then she’s got strange taste,” Jim teased, provoking a hard punch on the arm from his cousin.
Annoyed, Andy let out a moan and walked ahead of the others. Morgan caught up to her as the boys held back. “I wonder what important things she has to do at this hour,” she said.
“Who knows? Maybe Brian can tell us more tomorrow.”
“What’s this Brian like?” Morgan asked, lowering her voice.
“He seems nice enough, though we only met for a minute.”
“Is he cute?”
Andy shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so. Does it matter?”
“Not really. I was just curious. You think we’ll get to stay here for a while?”
“Don’t know. I guess we’ll see.”
“I hope so. I think we could be happy here.”
Happy . Happiness had become practically irrelevant. But maybe Morgan was right.
Chapter X
A ndy slept better that first night in Aspen than she had in months and attributed it to the cool mountain air, eating well the day before, and not having to drive around to find a new place to live.
After getting out of bed, she headed downstairs to the kitchen, grabbed an apple, and settled into a comfortable lounge chair on the large deck off the living room. She closed her eyes to enjoy the warmth of the rising sun on her cheeks, only to be stirred moments later by the sound of the glass door opening from the inside. It was Ben.
“Morning,” he said groggily.
“Morning. Sleep
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