The Quite Ridge

Chapter 11- Rhett

By the time we got back, the day had already settled into that quieter stretch where everything slowed down without actually stopping. Engines cut off one by one, gravel shifting under tires as trucks lined back up the way they always did. Same routine. Same end to the day. I stepped out, grabbing my gloves off the seat, already running through what needed to be done tomorrow.

Then the office door opened. Maddie stepped out first, saying something over her shoulder, and Sadie followed a second later. My attention landed there without me thinking about it. Same as that morning. She looked more settled than she had earlier. Still quiet. Still not trying to fill space that didn’t need it. But she wasn’t rushing either.

Jace came up beside me, dropping something into the back of the truck.

“You gonna keep staring or actually help?” he said, not even trying to keep his voice down.

I didn’t look at him.

“I am helping.”

“Yeah?” he said. “Could’ve fooled me.”

I reached into the truck, grabbing what I needed, keeping my focus where it should’ve been. Didn’t matter.

“She’s new,” he went on, like that explained anything. “Give it a couple days before you scare her off.”

That got my attention just enough to glance at him.

“I’m not doing anything,” I said.

He smirked.

“Didn’t say you were.”

I shook my head slightly, going back to what I was doing. Jace had always been like that. Said whatever came to mind, whether it mattered or not. Most of the time, it didn’t.

Still, I looked up again. Didn’t mean to. Sadie was standing near the office, talking to Maddie now. Not much. Just enough to keep the conversation going. But her attention wasn’t all there. It shifted. Out toward the yard. Then back again. Like she wasn’t fully in one place.

“You’re doing it again,” Jace said.

I exhaled quietly.

“Drop it.”

He laughed.

“I’m just saying.”

I didn’t answer. Didn’t need to. I grabbed the last of what I needed and shut the truck door, forcing my focus back to the work, to the routine, to everything that actually mattered. That’s all this was. She was new. That was it.

Still, my attention went back once more before I headed out. Not enough to matter. Just enough to notice.