Chase Our Forever (Sutten Mountain #3)

11. Liv

11

LIV

My heart feels like it might beat right out of my chest as I slow down before turning into the long, narrow driveway that leads to my new home. I don’t know if I would’ve ever found the driveway if it weren’t for the freshly painted black mailbox sitting in the clearing with “Livingston” painted neatly on the side.

When Dean mentioned his house was tucked into the mountains when we talked after agreeing to the terms of employment, I didn’t realize he meant it was literally on the side of the mountain with nothing around.

I guide the car down the driveway, shocked by how nicely paved it is. It’s a lot smoother of a ride than the road it took to get out here. I thought the drive into Sutten Mountain was one of the most scenic views I’ve ever seen, but the view panning out in front of me is breathtaking. I press on the brake for a minute, sitting in the middle of the driveway as I take in the scene before me.

The trees have gone from dense and close together, the brilliant hues of oranges and reds painting the most beautiful painting, to further apart the closer the tree line gets to the house.

“Oh my god,” I mutter under my breath, wondering for a moment if I’m in the right place. I know I’m where I’m supposed to be. His last name on the side of the mailbox gave it away. I just didn’t realize the house he built with his late wife would look like this .

I don’t think I can even call it a house—it’s a mansion on the side of a mountain.

Dean’s rich rich. I should’ve known when I saw what my salary was.

It’s the prettiest place I’ve ever seen. It looks like it’s been picked right out of a home magazine and placed here.

And then the view around it is even more breathtaking. It’s tucked into a valley of the mountain, giving way to the most stunning rolling hills all around it. I know I should press the gas and close the distance to the house, but I can’t. I’m too stunned. I’d seen episodes of Yellowstone over my dad’s shoulder occasionally, and the house in front of me looks almost exactly like the one from the show.

It’s rustic but classy. There’s a classic look to it with the light color of the wood. A porch wraps around the front, and might even wrap around the back, too. At least, it looks like it does from here.

“What is even happening right now?” I whisper, lightly tapping the gas to continue down the driveway. I must be dreaming. There’s no way I stumbled upon a live-in nanny position and this is where I’ll be spending my days.

It seems too good to be true—and nothing good ever happens to me.

The driveway gets wider, opening up to a space to the side of the house for what I assume is parking. I park my car there, my gaze traveling over the house up close.

I don’t know what to say as I step out of my car and look up at the beautiful house in front of me. My old car looks so out of place sitting in front of it, nowhere near new enough to sit by something this pretty.

Before I can gather my thoughts, the front door of the house opens, and a flash of dark hair comes racing toward me.

“Livvy!” Clara shouts, a giggle erupting from her small body as she launches herself right at me. I drop my duffle bag and wrap my arms around her, pulling her body to mine.

“Hi, Clara.” I squeeze her tight, a sense of joy taking over me at seeing her again. Her smile and happiness are infectious. I think being around her every day is really going to be great for me.

“You coming to stay with me?” Clara asks, pulling away to look me in the eyes. Now that I’ve sat across from Dean and got a better look at him, I realize how much she looks like her father, and I can’t help but think about what her mother looked like and what features she has from her.

I nod. “If that’s okay with you?”

Her smile gets even wider. “Yes. You can sleep in my bed if you want.”

I laugh as I notice Dean approaching us. I hadn’t even seen him come through the front door. I’d been so focused on greeting Clara that I hadn’t really been paying any attention.

“Honey, Liv has her own room and bed.”

Clara juts her bottom lip out. She crosses her arms over her chest as her eyes narrow on me. “I want a sleepover,” she states matter-of-factly, her eyes bouncing between me and Dean.

“Oh, I promise you don’t want to sleep with me. I’d wake you up all night.”

Clara reaches up and presses her tiny palm to my cheek. The gesture is adorable, stealing a little piece of my heart. “Do you have bad dreams like Daddy?”

I can’t help it—my eyes immediately travel to Dean. He must have nightmares often if Clara knows about them, but I try to pretend I didn’t hear her. It seems like her comment isn’t something I’m supposed to know about by the hard set of Dean’s jaw and the vacant look in his eyes as he looks back at me.

“No nightmares for me,” I tell her, trying to lighten the mood. “I just snore so loud,” I lie. I reach out and tickle her sides a little, making her double over in a fit of laughter.

“Ah!” she screams, trying to wrestle out of my grasp. “Daddy snores, too!” she gets out through more laughs.

I laugh with her, unable to resist with how cute her giggles are. “Oh, so then you know you definitely don’t want me to share a room with you. My snores would keep you up all night.”

“ Fine ,” she agrees with a sigh, finally breaking free from my grasp and backing away. “I want to show you my room.”

“How about we let her step foot inside before we start making demands?” Dean interjects, his eyebrow raised as he stares at his daughter.

“Step foot inside, Livvy?”

I smile at the nickname, playing with the end of her messy ponytail. “Let me get my bags first, and then you can show me inside. Your house is pretty.”

“My daddy built it with my mommy,” Clara declares, looking proudly over at her father. “Mommy doesn’t live here, though. She lives in Heaven.”

Dean clears his throat, his jaw tightening as he takes a step forward, picking up my duffle bag off the pavement. “Let me help you with your bags. Are there more?” He completely ignores what Clara just said, and I let him. I don’t know if the tragic passing of his wife was something I’m supposed to know about yet.

I nod as I open the door to my back seat. Heat floods my cheeks as I look in the back. Suddenly, I’m a little embarrassed for him to see it. It’s clear I’ve been partially living in my car with a pillow and blanket folded nicely in the seat and my small, dwindling stash of food. I’d kept it clean for the most part, getting rid of trash when I had it, but I still can’t hide how all of my possessions fit inside the back seat of this car.

“Uh,” I begin, trying to fake a smile as Clara skips across the driveway. “Just these two additional bags. I pack light,” I add at the last minute, trying to laugh at the uncomfortableness of the situation.

Dean doesn’t say anything. He simply takes my purse, as well as the other bag from the back seat, and closes the door with his free hand. His eyes meet mine, and I hate the look of pity etched across his face. He’s sorry for me, and I hate it. I don’t need anyone’s pity. Getting out of Florida was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. I’m exactly where I need to be, even if I don’t have many belongings to my name.

“Let’s show Liv inside, Clara,” Dean calls over his shoulder, walking to the front door. Only when his footsteps hit the wood porch do I notice he’s wearing a pair of cowboy boots. I don’t know why the sight of them makes me smile, erasing some of the embarrassment from my system. The two times I’ve seen Dean in the past, he wore a suit that screamed business. It feels almost wrong to see him dressed down in a pair of worn jeans and a flannel—the look complete with a pair of cowboy boots.

I hate to admit that I love it. I remind myself that he’s my boss and I can’t be attracted to him. The last thing I need to be doing is studying the way his old pair of jeans expertly cling to his thick thighs, yet here I am, watching him walk to the house in a pair of cowboy boots and worn jeans that only fuel my attraction to him.

My boss is a whole lot more interesting than I was expecting.

I push the thought to the back of my mind, and with a deep breath, I follow Clara and Dean up the porch, excited to see my home for the foreseeable future.