Chapter 4

Home. Jo thought about what Ms. Blue said the next day as she got ready for college orientation. Most of her clothes were still in her suitcase or boxes, but she managed to throw together a decent outfit: aka something that wasn't too wrinkled and that actually fit the season. She really should've put more stuff that she wanted to wear into the suitcase, but she had thought that she would be faster at unpacking. Apparently that wasn't the case.

Was this house really a home? Was the town her home? It didn't feel like it yet, though maybe that was because she was uncomfortable in her own skin these days. But just because people here were nice to her and knew her grandparents and dad didn't mean that this place was for her. It was temporary, a place to hide out while she unraveled her current predicament.

Anyways, she guessed that actually going to the college and getting more settled in would make it feel a little more like she at least lived here. Right now she felt like a random renter who was somehow well known.

Properly dressed and hopefully not looking too much like she had grabbed the first cleanish things out of her clothes boxes, she headed into town. She hoped she had enough money to cover the books. While she wasn't poor, she knew most of her money would have to go into some restoration projects to make the house a little more livable. New furniture was a must.

The community college was actually situated outside of the city limits on the other side of town, nestled in between pine trees and boulders. Someone had built it with the surroundings in mind, so the buildings seemed to blend in better with their environment than some built in the small downtown area.

With a large bag in tow for all her books, Jo headed toward the auditorium, where the new students were having orientation. There were lots of people milling around, talking, sitting in groups on the grass in front of the building. She guessed that they came from the surrounding towns and villages because there was no way all of these people lived in Jackson's Hollow.

The community college itself was named after a local tree and definitely wasn't intimidating: Sugar Maple Community College. It sounded sort of delicious? But she hoped the mascot wasn't something like the Sugargliders. Though, actually, that'd be hilarious.

Jo joined the crowd moving into the auditorium, noting briefly the bear statue in front of the building. Ahh, probably the Grizzlies or something then. So did they, what, grrrr at games? Jo grinned. Hey, she was getting better at keeping herself entertained. Something to be said for this country life.

The auditorium was only about half full, with the crowd breaking into traditional stereotypical seating positions. There were a bunch of bored kids in the back, lounging in the seats without any backpacks or notebooks--probably kids who could care less about college but were forced to go for one reason or another by their parents. In the front were the academics and the must-be-seens, distinguished by their dress--sensible versus stylish. And in the middle were her people, the ones who just wanted to be lost in the crowd but cared enough to not sit all the way in the back.

Jo decided to sit toward the back end of the middle section, hoping that would protect her from getting-to-know-you small chat. She had never had much tolerance for "the weather is lovely" type of conversations. Much to her mom's eternal despair.

Several people filed to the side of her, but left a few seats between her and them. Perfect--a buffer. From Jo's observations, people avoided those awkward one to two seats between groups like they carried the plague. Fine with her. A few more people sat in front of her as well, but seemed absorbed in their conversation with each other. Perfect.

"Is he coming today?" A brunette in front of her asked a guy with wavy blond hair. "They've been keeping him busy this summer, haven't they?"

The guy shrugged. "Yeah, you know how it is. Something came up yesterday too that needed his attention. But he said he'd be here."

The girl looked around. "Too late to save him a seat though. Think he'll be pissed?"

The guy scoffed. "Not my job to do everything he wants. Anyway, most of this town would be happy to give their seat up for him. I'm not worried he won't feel special enough." The girl swatted him on the arm, a little hard for just being playful, in Jo's opinion, but the guy just laughed.

Then the brunette straightened up, looking back toward a point behind Jo. "Oh, there he is." Despite herself, Jo turned and looked, curious to see who exactly was so beloved in this town that people would give up their seats for him

Seriously? Jo's heart rate sped up in spite of her determination, and she rolled her eyes and looked straight back at the stage again, determined not to give him any more attention than he already had. Of course it was him. Well, at least the arrogance made sense now. If the town treated him like a minor celebrity...maybe his family owned half the businesses in town or something.

Around her, heads turned toward the aisle, probably to gawk as the ridiculously tall hiker-hater swaggered his way to a seat. She fished in her bag for her phone, determined to not oggle him like everyone else. Was his mom or dad the mayor or something?

While she was looking at her email, she felt someone making their way down the row of chairs toward her. No... She glanced over to see the leggy one coming her way. He dropped a rough canvas bag in the chair beside hers even though there were plenty of seats left elsewhere and then sat down, barely fitting in the space provided. He was just a big guy, and he dwarfed the auditorium seats.

"So. Jo Scott."

Jo kept her eyes on her phone, pretending she hadn't heard him.

"You didn't say you were part of the Scott family."

"I thought moving into the Scott house implied it," she said curtly. Why hadn't he gone and sat with his friends?

"Anyone can move into a house," he said, leaning forward, elbows on his knees. She almost wanted to lean back; even though he was still technically one seat over, it seemed like he was looming over her.

"Does it matter who my family is?" she asked, finally turning toward him.

His hair was messy, like maybe he had just gotten finished with a run and hadn't bothered combing it. Instead of the dirty jeans and white t-shirt he had been wearing yesterday, he was wearing black jeans and a t-shirt from the college. Maybe someone in his family was a trustee. He smirked. "No, but it makes it easier to believe you're not just some tourist."

Because that's what really mattered here. "Great."

"How long are you planning to stay?"

"Seeing how I'm sitting here getting ready for orientation, I'd say longer than a week," she said, unable to help the sarcasm. This guy really seemed to bring it out in her.

"We'll see if you last a month."

Jo stilled and narrowed her eyes at him. "Is that some kind of threat?"

Ryker held up a hand. "Not unless you're offended about being a city kid. Are you?"

"I can handle myself in the woods just fine, thank you. Not all of us have to be aspiring park rangers in order to live here."

Ryker frowned at her. "Is that what you think I am?"

"That or a game warden. Which is it?"

He let out a low whistle, his eyes amused, and then shook his head at her. "Look, I'm just saying, you're probably going to get bored of this place pretty quick. There's not much to do, and you won't like it."

"You don't know the first thing about me." She hardly felt like she knew herself these days.

Ryker looked at her for a long moment, and then gave a half-grin that completely transformed his face. It looked like he could actually be a friendly human on occasion. Jo sucked in a breath, and then forced herself to breathe normally. Of course, as Jo had unfortunately learned, outward appearances meant nothing.

"You're right," he said, "I don't know much. But...I do know a few things." He leaned back and settled an elbow on the armrest that could become a desk attached to the chair arms. He started ticking off everything he said on the fingers of one hand. "You're Jo Scott. You moved into your folks' place, which everyone around here knows is just short of falling apart, you already had to make a trip to a repair store, and you seem...super enthusiastic about starting college here."

Jo raised an eyebrow at the dry tone he used when listing the last item. "What do I need to do to declare my enthusiasm, shake some pom poms and shout chants?"

Ryker made a sound somewhere halfway between choking and laughing. "I was just thinking of a college sweatshirt, but sure, that works too."