There, that was better. At least I didn’t feel as though I was quite as on display.
Since I hadn’t been given a time limit for my “settling in,” I took my time hanging up the clothes I’d been wearing, then went over to the window to do my best to get my bearings. It was still just early afternoon, even though the day felt as though it had already been a hundred years long. The sun shone brightly, the deep blue sky streaked here and there with wisps of high, thin clouds.
From what I could tell, the property here backed up to a creek, just as Rafe had surmised. Cienega Creek, I told myself. Like every other river or stream I’d seen in the southwest, this creek was lined with cottonwoods, now mostly bare, although a few brave yellow leaves still clung to some of their branches. On either si
