Fine and

Gage cruised under the single stop light, and quickly left the sparse cluster of buildings cloistered around the lone sentinel. The guardian against chaos blinked yellow and finally red in his rearview before vanishing altogether around a bend.

Then his phone vibrated in the passenger seat, where he’d tossed it with the rest of the merchandise from the hardware store with the extremely cute manager, Jason. Hopefully that’s him. Gage gingerly picked up the phone, maintaining his attention to the road and brought it in view for a glance. There was an unknown number that read, ‘Hey. It's Jason from the hardware store and I was…’

The road came back into attention as the ribbed barrier screamed against his truck's tires. Jerking it a little to stay on the road he narrowly missed a single tractor sign. He tossed the phone back into the seat with a nervous laugh and resolved to read the text once he got to the farmhouse. The rest of the drive passed quickly, Gage’s mind wandered back to the list of things he needed to do and was finishing up the tally in his head as he crunched to a stop in the gravel driveway of a squat two story beige farmhouse. He pocketed his phone, and gathered up his supplies and marched up to the silent building. Depositing the supplies he changed into something warm enough to work in but not bulky enough to get in the way of running the wire fence.

Once more retrieving his supplies, he headed out into the cold February midday to begin fencing repair. Halfway through mending the second big hole a massive snowdrift had made in the middle of December, he remembered that Jason had texted him. He pulled out his phone and opened the rest of the message.

‘thinking maybe we could get some coffee at the best cafe in the northwest. And by best; I do mean: it’s the only one in a fifteen mile radius that has even remotely good coffee. We can also say it’s part of us settling, or continuing, your uncle’s line of credit. If that makes you feel more comfortable. I’m good either way. Alright, I’ll stop rambling and let you decide.’

Gage smiled. He thumbed in a reply, having to take off his warm gloves. After he composed it, he double checked it, then hit send.

He felt it buzz immediately, the phone complaining it had no service. He cursed internally at the very prominent lack of cell coverage he only now just noticed. One more reason he didn’t want to come to this backwater hick town. But his uncle had always been kind to him and the inheritance had come as a complete shock. He’d figured his older more successful family man of a brother would have been tapped to take control. ‘Hell, Hunter’s oldest is almost eighteen.’ Gage thought bitterly.

A gust of wind sent a chill up his coat sleeve and numbed his already chilly fingers. As he wandered around in the snow for a good thirty minutes trying to find a connection his fingers began to lose any sensing ability, leaving him basically handless. He gave up and fumbled the phone back into his pocket, almost dropping it in the snow. Unable to get his gloves back on he left his equipment where it lay, as if there was anyone within ten miles to steal it anyway. Shoving his hands into the thick winter jacket in an attempt to warm them at least a bit, he started the mile trek back to the farmhouse. Gage vowed his next purchase was going to be either a gator or a snowmobile, probably a gator. Snowmobiles are too specific for the season.

Ten minutes of the house getting ever closer he came around the front to see another car parked in the driveway. The familiar vehicle sent chills throughout his body, and just in time for his fingers to start that tingling aching. The wind picked up, the crisp winter air biting his cheeks as he stood there. Fear kept him in place, as his vision slowly tunneled. The only thought running through his head was, ‘How!?’

The howling winter air quieted to a dull roar as his heartbeat filled his head. As the panic set in he stumbled away, careening towards the barn. The barn, she would never go there, she hated animals. It drew him in like a rogue asteroid towards a gas giant. Promising comfort against the cold emptiness of space. Numbly, he barely opened the door and let the hot air inside wash over him with the cacophony of competing animal smells as he slipped inside.

‘She can’t get me here’, he thought with a great sense of relief. The animals sensing his agitation, left him alone as he collapsed in the hay. After what felt like an eternity, his heart slowed, letting the rushing wind wind outside to replace the blood pulsing through his head. Staying put for the moment, he hoped she was gone, but there was no guarantee. She was notoriously stubborn. The text from Jason popped back into his mind.

He pulled his phone out with hands he could feel again, he checked his connection. Still no service. Frustration built up and just as quickly vanished when a single bar blinked into existence. He swiftly double checked his message and squeezed his eyes shut as he confirmed the resend. A different panic rose in his throat as the sound of the message going through disappeared with the howls from outside.

One of the cows ambled over to the edge of their enclosure, curiosity getting the best of them. Henrietta let out a low moo and nuzzled into Gage’s shoulder. Gage absently scratched their head as he thought he was going to have to have the internet renewed here if he was going to get anything done. Hoping she was gone by now he gave Henrietta one last scratch before getting back up and checking the peephole. It was weird for a barn to have one, but in cases like this it actually made sense. Gage couldn’t help but feel there was way more to his uncle than he’d previously thought. He’d only been a couple days and already felt somewhat comfortable, despite the lack of his usual amenities. He was definitely going to miss the clubs, but he was getting far too old for that. At least that's what his stomach would tell him the morning after going out with friends.

The car was still there but someone was exiting the house. It was indeed her. She looked as proper as always and just as deadly. The fluffy scarf reached her waist, accenting the navy blue winter coat. The silver buttons gleamed, matching her dangling earring. Her half buried leather boots left ruts in the snow as she made her way back towards the car, looking Gage’s truck up and down in disgust. He saw her mutter something but couldn’t read her lips. Which was probably for the best. She stopped right before her vehicle and shouted his name. She did it a couple more times before finally getting into her car and spinning her way out, almost taking out the mailbox in the process.

Gage let out a breath he’d been unconsciously holding and yanked the barn door open. The cold air buffeted against the relative warmth of the barn as he trudged up to the farmhouse. His phone dinged a new message. It was Jason. A pleasant heat blossomed in his chest as he opened the message to read it. Focused on the message, he entered the house and began shedding the extra layers. It was a date! He felt almost giddy, unable to control the muscles in his face he was so excited. Looking away from the phone and the dizzying excitement he came face to face with his son in the kitchen doorway.