The Quite Ridge

Chapter 8: Rhett

I was halfway out of the truck when another car pulled in beside me. Gravel shifted under her tires, a little too quick for how empty the lot still was. I paused with one hand on the door, watching without really thinking about it at first. Then she shut the engine off.

Sadie.

She stayed in the car longer than she needed to, hands still on the wheel, like she was deciding something before moving. It wasn’t obvious. Most people wouldn’t notice it. But it didn’t match the way people usually showed up here. Most came in already moving, already halfway into the day. She didn’t.

Then she opened the door and stepped out.

And there it was again.

That same thing from yesterday.

Not loud. Not obvious. Just enough to pull your attention without asking for it.

“Morning,” I said.

She looked at me. Not past me. At me.

“Morning.”

Her voice held steady, but her eyes stayed a second longer than they needed to before she shifted them away. I didn’t move. Neither did she.

“How was yesterday?” I asked.

“Good,” she said. “Just… a lot.”

I nodded once. “That’ll happen.”

That should’ve been it. Most people would’ve kept moving. Said what needed to be said and gone inside. She didn’t. She stayed where she was, shifting her weight slightly, like she wasn’t sure if she was leaving or not. There wasn’t anything nervous about it. Just… held.

“You been here long?” she asked, nodding toward the yard.

“Long enough,” I said, glancing at her. “Maddie already tell you everything?”

“I got the basics.”

“That’s enough.”

Her eyes dropped for a second, then came back up. Not avoiding. Just thinking.

“You run it?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No. Just here more than the owner is.”

That got a small reaction out of her. Not a full smile. Close enough to notice.

“Figures.”

The silence stretched again, but it didn’t feel empty. Most people filled it without thinking. She didn’t. She let it sit. That stood out more than anything she said. I didn’t rush it either. Didn’t need to.

“You’ll get used to it,” I said, nodding toward the office. “After a couple days.”

“Yeah.”

Same answer as yesterday.

Didn’t feel the same.

I stepped back first, not because I had to, but because if I didn’t, the moment would’ve stayed longer than it should have. Longer than it needed to for something that wasn’t anything yet. So I moved, heading toward the yard like I always did, like this was just part of the routine.

Still, she didn’t move like everyone else. Didn’t react like everyone else. Didn’t fill space the way people usually did. That stuck longer than it should have. Not enough to matter. Just enough not to ignore.