The Sterling family estate stood beyond a pair of iron gates in the foothills west of Denver, where the air smelled of pine and the city disappeared behind ridges of darkening mountains.<\/p>\n
Adam saw the house through the windshield and whistled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t a house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna kept driving.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has wings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do airports.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gray stone rose three stories above terraced lawns. Warm light glowed through tall windows. Several cars already lined the circular drive, including a black Mercedes Adam recognized from the company parking garage.<\/p>\n
Derek\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Luna noticed it too.<\/p>\n
Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel.<\/p>\n
Adam watched her profile.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounded convincing.\u201d<\/p>\n
She exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate weekends here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n
She parked.<\/p>\n
Before getting out, she remained motionless.<\/p>\n
Adam waited.<\/p>\n
Finally Luna said, \u201cWhen my father was alive, everything here felt different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam glanced at the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe liked these weekends?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe manufactured them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe would schedule breakfast, hikes, dinners, games. He believed forced proximity could turn relatives into a functioning family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam smiled.<\/p>\n
Luna did too.<\/p>\n
Then the front door opened.<\/p>\n
A silver-haired woman appeared beneath the portico.<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n
Eleanor Sterling walked toward them before Adam could retrieve the luggage.<\/p>\n
She embraced Luna first.<\/p>\n
A real embrace.<\/p>\n
Luna stiffened for half a heartbeat, then hugged her back.<\/p>\n
Eleanor stepped away and looked at Adam.<\/p>\n
She had Luna\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n
Not the color.<\/p>\n
The unsettling ability to make silence feel like examination.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo,\u201d Eleanor said. \u201cYou\u2019re the secret husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam extended his hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdam Bennett.\u201d<\/p>\n
She ignored the hand.<\/p>\n
Instead, she hugged him.<\/p>\n
Adam looked helplessly at Luna over her shoulder.<\/p>\n
Luna appeared amused.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re thinner than I expected,\u201d Eleanor said when she released him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat? Photographs make him look broader.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had worse reviews.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eleanor laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I like him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease don\u2019t encourage him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToo late.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inside, the estate was less cold than Adam expected.<\/p>\n
Framed family photographs covered one long wall.<\/p>\n
Luna as a child with missing front teeth.<\/p>\n
Luna on horseback.<\/p>\n
Derek in a baseball uniform.<\/p>\n
Henry Sterling holding both children beside a lake.<\/p>\n
Adam slowed before one picture.<\/p>\n
Henry stood behind Luna at what appeared to be a university graduation. She looked younger, obviously, but also lighter.<\/p>\n
Unarmored.<\/p>\n
Luna stopped beside him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was proud of you,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n
She crossed her arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before he could ask more, a familiar voice came from the hallway.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdam.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek approached carrying a glass of whiskey.<\/p>\n
He wore an open-collar shirt and tailored trousers, somehow managing to look more calculated dressed casually.<\/p>\n
\u201cWelcome to the family home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope Luna warned you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek looked at his sister.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have traditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s mouth flattened.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was going to mention charades.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hate charades.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate losing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek\u2019s gaze returned to Adam.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat seems to be a family trait.\u201d<\/p>\n
The implication settled in the space between them.<\/p>\n
Eleanor called for Derek from another room.<\/p>\n
He raised his glass toward Adam and walked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharming,\u201d Adam murmured.<\/p>\n
Luna picked up her bag.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
They were shown upstairs by an older housekeeper who clearly knew Luna well.<\/p>\n
The woman opened a set of double doors.<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Sterling put you in the west suite.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna stopped.<\/p>\n
Of course she did.<\/p>\n
Adam entered behind her.<\/p>\n
The room was enormous, but only one feature mattered.<\/p>\n
One bed.<\/p>\n
A very large bed.<\/p>\n
One extremely visible bed.<\/p>\n
The housekeeper smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother thought newlyweds deserved privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna made a sound that could have meant anything.<\/p>\n
Adam coughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s thoughtful.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the door closed, they both stared at the mattress.<\/p>\n
Adam put his suitcase down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were about to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was going to compliment the curtains.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam walked around the bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a sofa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna inspected it.<\/p>\n
It was decorative, narrow, and approximately five feet long.<\/p>\n
Adam was over six feet.<\/p>\n
She sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll take the sofa.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s my spine.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll sleep on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdam\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a large bed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
He shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re adults.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re contractually forbidden from doing anything weird.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t how the clause is written.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClose enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna placed her bag on a chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll decide later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dinner began at seven thirty.<\/p>\n
Fourteen relatives filled the long dining table.<\/p>\n
Adam met cousins, an aunt, two family friends, and one elderly uncle who immediately asked whether Adam intended to \u201cput some ordinary blood into the Sterlings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna nearly dropped her water glass.<\/p>\n
Derek smiled for the first time all evening.<\/p>\n
Eleanor changed the subject.<\/p>\n
The meal became an examination disguised as conversation.<\/p>\n
Where had Adam grown up?<\/p>\n
What did his parents do?<\/p>\n
Why advertising?<\/p>\n
What did he love about Luna?<\/p>\n
That last question came from one of her cousins.<\/p>\n
The table quieted slightly.<\/p>\n
Adam could feel Derek watching.<\/p>\n
He had prepared answers.<\/p>\n
Her intelligence.<\/p>\n
Her discipline.<\/p>\n
Her ambition.<\/p>\n
All safe.<\/p>\n
All plausible.<\/p>\n
Instead, Adam looked at Luna.<\/p>\n
She looked wary.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cShe notices things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna blinked.<\/p>\n
Her cousin smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam thought about the wrong payroll deposit.<\/p>\n
About Luna remembering the Hensley meeting.<\/p>\n
About the night she had come home furious because someone at work insulted him.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe notices who gets blamed when they don\u2019t deserve it,\u201d Adam said. \u201cShe notices when someone is pretending to be okay. She notices details she pretends not to care about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna was very still.<\/p>\n
Derek lifted his wine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds almost convincing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eleanor gave him a warning look.<\/p>\n
Adam turned toward Derek.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve known my sister forty years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThirty-seven,\u201d Luna said.<\/p>\n
Derek smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019ve never heard anyone describe her quite that sentimentally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve never been married to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the cousins laughed.<\/p>\n
Derek didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Later, the family gathered in a sitting room where Henry Sterling\u2019s portrait hung above the fireplace.<\/p>\n
Adam found Luna alone near the bookshelves.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stood beside her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour family asks questions like federal investigators.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHigh praise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked toward the portrait.<\/p>\n
Adam followed her gaze.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas the trust really his idea?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said he thought marriage would make you stable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thought the board would distrust an unmarried woman inheriting control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds old-fashioned even for a dead billionaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wasn\u2019t a billionaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine. Dead rich man.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Then her expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe worried about me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I didn\u2019t need people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that what he said?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConstantly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd was he right?\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at the fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam wanted to answer.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Something about the room made cheap reassurance feel disrespectful.<\/p>\n
Near eleven, guests began going upstairs.<\/p>\n
Luna and Adam returned to the west suite.<\/p>\n
She closed the door.<\/p>\n
Locked it.<\/p>\n
Checked it again.<\/p>\n
Adam noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think Derek\u2019s going to burst in?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou checked twice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s habit.\u201d<\/p>\n
She removed her earrings and placed them carefully on the dresser.<\/p>\n
Adam turned toward the windows to give her privacy while she took a robe from her bag.<\/p>\n
A few minutes later, she disappeared into the bathroom.<\/p>\n
When she returned, she wore loose pajama pants and an old university sweatshirt.<\/p>\n
Adam stared.<\/p>\n
Luna stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou own normal clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGo to hell.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed.<\/p>\n
She threw a pillow at him.<\/p>\n
He caught it.<\/p>\n
\u201cViolence. Very believable marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
He changed in the bathroom.<\/p>\n
When he came out, Luna was already beneath the covers, positioned as close to the far edge as physically possible.<\/p>\n
Adam switched off the main lights.<\/p>\n
Only the fireplace remained.<\/p>\n
He climbed into the opposite side.<\/p>\n
The mattress barely moved.<\/p>\n
There was at least three feet between them.<\/p>\n
Adam stared at the ceiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could fit another married couple between us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t give my family ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed quietly.<\/p>\n
The silence that followed felt different from the penthouse.<\/p>\n
There, distance had rooms built around it.<\/p>\n
Here, distance was three feet of linen.<\/p>\n
Adam turned his head.<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s face was lit faintly by the fire.<\/p>\n
Her eyes were open.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not sleeping.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither are you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled.<\/p>\n
She looked toward the ceiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you ever think you made a mistake?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSigning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam considered lying.<\/p>\n
Instead he said, \u201cEvery day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her expression tightened.<\/p>\n
He continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd every day I decide I\u2019d still sign.\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother\u2019s safe. The debt collectors stopped calling. I can breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the rest?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something changed in her breathing.<\/p>\n
He continued before courage disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI expected you to be unbearable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are unbearable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut not the way I expected.\u201d<\/p>\n
She waited.<\/p>\n
Adam searched for the exact truth.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re lonely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s face closed instantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere. That.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat thing where somebody gets close to a real subject and you turn into the executive version of a locked door.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have no idea what you\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
He rolled onto his back.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I know what lonely looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
The fire shifted.<\/p>\n
A log cracked softly.<\/p>\n
After a long time Luna said, \u201cMy father died believing Derek and I would eventually stop fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kept arranging situations where we had to depend on each other. Joint committees. Shared responsibilities. This trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe the trust wasn\u2019t about marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe he thought whoever you married would give you somebody outside the family to trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would make the entire situation worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I hired mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam winced.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you say it like that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt sounds exactly as bad as it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
They both laughed softly.<\/p>\n
Then Luna became serious again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this were real\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam waited.<\/p>\n
She swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there were no contract, no trust, no money\u2026 would you still be here?\u201d<\/p>\n
The question was almost a whisper.<\/p>\n
Adam turned fully toward her.<\/p>\n
Luna didn\u2019t look away.<\/p>\n
He could have protected them both.<\/p>\n
He could have joked.<\/p>\n
He could have reminded her that this arrangement had rules.<\/p>\n
Instead he answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her breath caught.<\/p>\n
Adam felt the space between them differently now.<\/p>\n
Not empty.<\/p>\n
Charged.<\/p>\n
Luna moved first, though barely.<\/p>\n
An inch.<\/p>\n
Maybe less.<\/p>\n
Adam raised one hand.<\/p>\n
He stopped before touching her.<\/p>\n
She closed the distance herself.<\/p>\n
Their first kiss was quiet.<\/p>\n
No sudden music.<\/p>\n
No practiced movie perfection.<\/p>\n
Just the tentative pressure of Luna\u2019s mouth against his, followed by the shared realization that neither wanted to stop.<\/p>\n
Adam touched her cheek.<\/p>\n
Her hand slid behind his neck.<\/p>\n
The second kiss was not tentative.<\/p>\n
When they finally separated, Luna rested her forehead against his.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a terrible idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should not do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither moved.<\/p>\n
Luna whispered, \u201cYou\u2019re agreeing too easily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to respect management.\u201d<\/p>\n
She laughed against his mouth.<\/p>\n
Then kissed him again.<\/p>\n
Later, they lay facing each other beneath tangled sheets, fully clothed except for the boundaries they had spent weeks protecting.<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s head rested against Adam\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n
His hand traced absent circles along her sleeve.<\/p>\n
Nothing about the moment was part of the contract.<\/p>\n
That frightened him.<\/p>\n
It also felt more honest than anything they had done since signing it.<\/p>\n
Luna murmured, \u201cDo you regret it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou answered quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had time to decide.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam looked at the dying fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably before tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
She lifted her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long before?\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not answering that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCoward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExecutive harassment.\u201d<\/p>\n
She settled against him again.<\/p>\n
Minutes passed.<\/p>\n
Maybe longer.<\/p>\n
Morning light was beginning to pale the curtains when Luna suddenly sat upright.<\/p>\n
Adam woke instantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n
Her gaze was fixed on the dresser.<\/p>\n
A tiny red point glowed beside the lamp.<\/p>\n
Luna threw back the covers.<\/p>\n
She crossed the room barefoot.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam followed.<\/p>\n
Luna reached behind the lamp and removed something smaller than a coin.<\/p>\n
Black plastic.<\/p>\n
Lens.<\/p>\n
Wireless indicator.<\/p>\n
Adam\u2019s stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cA camera.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s face changed completely.<\/p>\n
Whatever tenderness remained from the night vanished beneath something colder than anger.<\/p>\n
She turned the device over.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t part of the house security system.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam looked toward the bed.<\/p>\n
The angle covered nearly the entire room.<\/p>\n
Someone had watched them.<\/p>\n
Or intended to.<\/p>\n
Luna\u2019s hand began to shake.<\/p>\n
\u201cDerek.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam took the device from her.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you prove that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could claim someone else planted it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe won\u2019t have to claim anything if we can trace the signal.\u201d<\/p>\n
She grabbed her phone.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
Adam was still staring at the camera.<\/p>\n
A worse thought arrived.<\/p>\n
\u201cLuna.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this transmitted live, taking it apart won\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
She understood.<\/p>\n
Her face went pale.<\/p>\n
Whatever had happened between them\u2014private, uncertain, unscripted\u2014might already exist on someone else\u2019s screen.<\/p>\n
Luna wrapped her arms around herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted proof we were pretending.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam looked back toward the bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may have gotten the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t make this better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her phone vibrated.<\/p>\n
Both of them looked down.<\/p>\n
A message from Derek.<\/p>\n
No words.<\/p>\n
Just a photograph.<\/p>\n
A grainy still image of Adam and Luna asleep beside each other.<\/p>\n
Underneath it, a second message appeared.<\/p>\n
Interesting weekend.<\/p>\n
Luna stared at the screen.<\/p>\n
Adam felt every good thing about the night turn sharp.<\/p>\n
Derek hadn\u2019t merely suspected them.<\/p>\n
He had been inside the room without ever opening the door.<\/p>\n
And now he knew something neither Adam nor Luna had been ready to admit.<\/p>\n
The marriage might have begun as a lie.<\/p>\n
What happened in that bed had not.<\/p>\n
The Sterling family estate stood beyond a pair of iron gates in the foothills west of Denver, where the air smelled of pine and the city disappeared behind ridges of … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6168,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6171"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6191,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6171\/revisions\/6191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}