Running the Numbers by Roxanne Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

face, with parking spots either carved into the mountainside or paved patches beneath the foundation of the house. The third turn was softer than the other two, rounded in a flat semicircle, framed by patches of tall grass and low shrubs.
    There, sitting perfectly flat on a small strip of even ground, a small log cabin. Nothing too special. It sat back far enough from the gravel road so two vehicles could park parallel without impeding traffic. It faced north, thick pines filtering a killer view of the town far below. Two small windows flanked the front door, painted a dull red to match the battered shutters.
    The deal slid neatly home when Blake spotted the nifty yellow For Rent sign staked into the ground. “Stop.”
    Sadie hit the brakes, jostling them both against their seat belts. “Why? What? Is it a bear? Did you see a bear?”
    “Right there.” He pointed. “The place for rent.”
    She squinted past him, through his window at the sign, then turned an incredulous glare to him. “ That place? No, no. Listen, there’s a place a little farther up, okay? It’s got three bedrooms, in case you have family come visit, a big stone fireplace, and a top-notch kitchen. Also, the rent sign isn’t handwritten.”
    Blake opened the door and got out, drawn by a subtle tug of a deep secret desire realized. This was the place he’d seen in his daydreams of a simple life lived with simple pleasures. It was as far from the game as he could get. A place to hide away and rediscover who he was, rather than obsessing about the jerk he’d become. A place to heal.
    “It’s perfect.”
    * * * *
    Sadie retrieved her jaw from its unhinged position and blinked.
    Blake morphed before her eyes. His face alighted with childlike wonder, a genuine smile—the first she’d seen—played across his lips, and he bounced on the balls of his feet as he approached the cabin. In his fascinated stupor, he hadn’t bothered to close the truck door.
    She climbed out and came around to shut it. Blake peeked through windows of the cabin, his smile growing with each inspection, even as he wiped away dirt from the panes with the side of his fist.
    She didn’t get it. She found the cabin unimpressive and bleak. Blake made great money. He could afford something with more creature comforts. The other house had a big balcony with Adirondack chairs already set up, ready for prime coffee sipping.
    His life. She pulled her phone from her pocket.
    Blake glanced at it. “If you’re calling my therapist, tell her the jacket’s not necessary this time. I promise I haven’t lost my mind.”
    Oh, wow, a joke. Sadie thought back to the last week. She hadn’t witnessed any signs of an actual personality inhabiting Blake…until now. In fact, he was alarmingly similar to Amanda. But maybe he wasn’t dull and boring, after all . Maybe the guy was depressed.
    Sadie cocked her head and peered at Blake. “I bet she’s been burned by that one before.”
    He turned his delighted smile on her, and Sadie’s skin warmed. “I guess she can bring it along in case.”
    Sadie shook her head. Damn if this guy wasn’t getting to her.
    Blake looked back at the cabin and kept talking, as much to himself as to her. “I know, it seems crazy. Because I’m…whatever the hell I am.” His voice lowered some, and his usual starched tone colored over the small bit of happiness he’d had for a minute there. “I was partner in my old firm. Success never once made my life better, though. Ambition to be the best, to have the best—it only made me lose sight of my values. And when I lost those, I lost just about everything else. Ambition used to be a quality we frowned upon as a society, you know that? And I can see why. It’s why I have to step back and find a little humility. I can’t just think about it. I have to live it.”
    An ambitious player in the game, Sadie took the dig personally. “Sounds to me like a personal flaw. Not everyone who achieves success, or has the