Page 11 of The Inn

“Jeeps might be made for snow, but you aren’t.” I reach through her window, across her body. I turn off her ignition and pull her keys out of the starter. “This is how life works out here in the country. The snow and ice come and reasonable people stay home. I hate to break it you, but Europe will have to wait.” I hold the mountain of keys in my hand among the attachments I find pepper spray, a fuzzy ball, and a keychain that readsfuck the patriarchy.“What the hell do you have on here anyway?”

She presses her hand to her forehead. “I understand that people stay home, but this isn’t my home, remember? So stop it. Give me my keys. I’m leaving.” She reaches for her keys but I pull my arm away. “Girls can drive in the snow too…. Only maybe not me. I guess I can’t really. But that isn’t because I’m a girl. I mean, I have a Jeep!”

Summer wraps a hand around my bicep and I hate that I like her touch so much. I don’t want her to leave even if I’d never admit it out loud. I jerk my arm away from her and when she steps out of her car, I snap.

I turn away from CC and throw her keys as far as I can into the white abyss in front of us. They immediately disappear, submerged into the pure white, falling, snow. CC’s mouth hangs open in shock, but I don’t care. I stand in front of her, blocking her into her car with my body until they disappear altogether.

“There we go. It’s settled. If you try to find them, you’ll freeze, especially in those wet clothes. So instead you’ll stay here at the farm where I can make sure you’re safe and warm. When the snow melts and your keys to the whole damn world will show back up. Then you can leave.”

I can’t help but notice she isn’t blinking either. Something in me tells me I might have crossed a line. But I stand by my decision. I won’t have her slipping and sliding down the road. It isn’t safe.

CC’s eyes are alive with fire and as wide as saucers when she finally opens her mouth to speak. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

CHAPTER7

JAMESON

I can feelher reluctance as she follows me into my house. CC is practically blue by the time we get into my living room and I wrap her in a blanket. Where this woman thought she was going to get in this weather is a complete mystery to me. But that’s just like a city girl, no respect for nature.

She hasn’t said much since we got inside. But she isn’t thrilled at being here, that’s for sure. It’s a bit more unsettling to be on her bad side than I predicted. She has no reason to be glad to spend more time with me. I haven’t exactly been welcoming and I don’t feel good about the way I treated her last night. But talking through my feelings isn’t my strong suit.

I show her where the bathroom is and wonder if she can sense that she’s the first woman other than Mom or Dakota to step foot inside this farmhouse in a very long time. It’s been too long, really. Whether she can tell or not, it’s a piece of information I won’t be offering up anytime soon. In fact, maybe if I’d had another woman in here sometime in the last five years, I wouldn’t be so infatuated with this one.

l grab sweats and a long sleeve shirt for her from my dresser, then toss them onto the couch near her. “They aren’t covered in flowers, but they’ll have to do. Go put them on and I’ll wash all of your clothes in the meantime. The snow shouldn’t last but a few days. Thank God you brought a full closet of cottage-core for your single-night stay.”

“Thank you.” She picks up the clothes, holding them up to her body but she doesn’t smile.

She’s going to drown in my clothing when she puts them on, but the chill seems to have taken the fight right out of her. CC disappears down the hall. I take the opportunity to get the fire going. In minutes the red-orange glow of warmth washes over the room. If she’s going to be here, I’m going to make sure she’s comfortable. It’s the least I can do at this point.

“Wow, it’s so nice and warm in here. I guess I didn’t realize how cold I was.” CC’s voice startles me out of my thoughts.

When I turn to face her, I love the sight of her thick body wrapped in my thin clothing. The shirt is large and dangles off of one shoulder. I get a glimpse of her cleavage, no bra required. The sight has me taking a deep breath. It’s a challenge to keep my eyes fixed on her face as another flicker of desire ignites and whips through me without warning.

“Here, I made you a cup of tea.” I hand her the warm mug. “Go sit by the fire, you’ll feel better in a minute.”And then your nipples will stop torturing me through that thin shirt.

“Why’d you stop me? I would’ve made it at least to the next town. I could’ve gotten a hotel for the night.” She sips her tea. “You could’ve had your peace.”

“CC, I can’t have you out wandering around in that Jeep in the middle of a snowstorm. You’re going to give me a heart attack.” I sit on the couch beside her. “It wouldn’t have been right.”

“Aw, so you do have a heart in there.” She presses her lips together in a pretty pout and pokes at my chest. “Last I heard you wanted me gone as soon as possible.”

“I was upset and I never should’ve said that.” I like the way her touch feels.

The flirty silence between us grows heavy, stifled by the memory of last night. I’m overwhelmed with regret. That reaction was just like me, too much, too intense. She shouldn’t be poking around parts of my past I don’t want to talk about, but how could she have known?

I clear my throat. “Listen, I’m sorry about last night. I never should’ve talked to you like that. It’s um… a difficult topic for me.” I swallow back the lump in my throat. “I’ve never discussed Jake with anyone else. But I can tell you—”

“You don’t have to, I understand. Sometimes in my job, we push too much. We forget that the stories are about real people with real emotions.” She puts a hand on my forearm, sincerity crackling in her eyes, and I hold it there.

“No, it was uncalled for. Maybe a small part of me wants to talk about it. Not because of the article, but because I think you know how to listen.” My throat runs dry.

She settles back onto the couch and takes a sip of tea, but her hand never leaves me. The peace in the silence between us feels like safety and it stirs inside of me. Emotions well in me and without warning, I find myself ready to talk. From there, the story spills out.

Tears well behind my eyes. “It was my fault. The wiring that I put in was faulty. Olivia and me, we were there with him in the barn. We wanted to throw a party to impress our friends. Dad had just passed and we thought it’d be a good distraction. There weren’t any lights except one overhead socket. So Jake climbed the ladder to the loft where the junction box was. That’s who he was, strong, unafraid, always ready to help. Like the best parts of Archie and me combined. He was the spitting image of our father. He was only up there a few minutes when we heard the explosion.”

She leans in toward me, placing a hand on my thigh.

I continue, “The smoke was wild, black, and immediate. I climbed the ladder and I swear when I saw him, he was fine. He nodded at me. Jake was alive. He was going to climb down right behind me. Then I saw Olivia down below. She was frozen in shock as the fire got closer to her. I bolted down the ladder, picked her up, and dragged her out of that barn. When I turned around, I really thought he’d be there. I expected Jake, right behind me like he’d always been. Only this time, he wasn’t. I let him die, I couldn’t keep him safe. The truth is, it should’ve been me. He was more equipped for this role of taking over the family business.” My heart thuds in my chest.

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