by Jill Sanders
“So, you like Italian.” She shifted slightly and held up her fingers. “Own a dog named Blue, work as the fire marshal, drive a used… Is this a Jeep?”
“Yes. I’m hoping to trade it in for a real Jeep, not a Cherokee. But she gets me around all year long, so I’ve held onto her.” He patted the steering wheel.
She smiled. “Is there anything else I should know about you?”
“Nope, that’s it. Oh, I like having tea and cookies with my mom or my gran.” He shrugged. “Gran’s mother came over from England and teatime sort of became a family tradition and stuck.” He turned towards her. “What about you?”
“Me?” Her stomach dropped. “There’s nothing really to tell.” She instantly wished she hadn’t asked him about himself.
“You moved in with your grandmother just before your senior year. You graduated from?” he let the question hang in the air.
“South San Diego High.”
“College?”
“University of California in San Diego.”
“For how long? What’d you major in?”
“Seven years. I kept switching majors,” she admitted. “But my central focus was business.”
“From what I’ve seen, you’re pretty good at it.” He glanced at her.
“That remains to be seen. I haven’t even had time to think about my marketing plan for this fall.” She shook her head.
“I think word of mouth has grown so much. I mean, everyone in town is talking about the changes that you’re making up there. People are excited to see what you’re doing.”
“I plan on having an open house, once everything is ready. Of course, we’ll be lucky if everything is done by the start of the season.”
“David and his men will get it done. I can’t tell you how much those men have been looking forward to working. Some of them have been scraping by since the big rebuild after the fire.”
“I’ve noticed they are eager to work,” she agreed. “The way things are going, I’ll have enough work to keep them busy for over a year.”
“Oh?” he glanced at her. “What else needs to be done?”
“Besides all the work I’m doing in the common areas like the bar, the dining room, and the pool house, I’m overhauling each of the guest rooms. Putting in new carpet everywhere, and in some cases, new tubs, toilets, and tile. When that’s all done, I’m thinking the kitchen might need an upgrade.” Her eyes grew unfocused as she thought about all of the changes she’d dreamed of. “I would like to add an outdoor dining area for the warmer months, to bring spring and summer clientele. Maybe add a few attractions for those months. Build up the outdoor pool area.” She closed her eyes and tried to plan out. “Make a beautiful area to rent out for weddings or larger events.”
“You know, back when I was in high school, a couple buddies and I took a weekend trip to Colorado. In the summer months, they host downhill bike races on the slopes,” he said.
She turned to him. “Like, extreme sports kind of stuff?”
“Sure. We found out about it and went to see it ourselves. There were more than three thousand people there just to watch a bunch of grown men going downhill and falling off bikes.” He chuckled.
She smiled. “Not into that sort of thing?”
“At the time, I was still thinking I wanted to go into the medical field. All I could think about was the cuts, bruises, and broken bones.”
She chuckled. “I seem to remember you breaking a few bones and getting cuts and bruises on the field. Just how many sports did you and Reggie play in school?”
“That was different,” he countered as he pulled off the highway.
“Oh?” She narrowed her eyes. “How so?”
“Because it was a team sport.” He chuckled. “Okay, so maybe not that different. But still, I was a lot younger back then.”
“Old man?”
He pulled into the parking lot. “No, but when we do drills, my body reminds me that it’s not as young as it used to be.” He smiled as he shut off the car.
She waited while he rushed around to open her door for her. He took her hand again, and she held back a giddy giggle as they walked into the restaurant together. She felt like a schoolgirl all over again, like when Reggie had taken her to the Cannon Fall’s Grill for her very first date.
They were seated in a booth and told that someone would be over to take their order. A woman walked over to their table and at first Raven didn’t recognize her. Then she spoke, and Raven went completely on guard. She wondered why she hadn’t remembered the girl until now.
“Well, well, isn’t this cozy. Imagine running into the two of you here. I’ve been meaning to stop by and… see you,” Julia Garza said, her eyes never really leaving Cade except to jump over to run quickly over Raven.
Raven had never gotten along with Julia. The girl, and now woman, had been such a bully but also easily the most popular girl in school.
And from the looks she was giving Cade, she was a woman after a man.
“Julia, I didn’t know you worked here,” Cade said in a clipped voice. “I thought you worked at the diner in town?”
“I do,” she answered quickly. “And here as well. So, are you two on a date then?”
“We were just…” Cade started.
“Getting drinks,” Raven interjected quickly. “A quick stop.” She motioned to the bar area. “The bar was full.” Thankfully, it was at this time.
Julia tilted her head slightly as if annoyed that Raven had spoken to her.
“Do you want your usual?” she asked Cade.
He glanced at Raven.
“I’ll have a glass of Merlot.” She set down the drink menu.
“I’ll have the same,” Cade added and handed over the other menus.
After Julia assessed them again, she left.
“That was…” Cade started.
“Uncomfortable?” she said with a slight smile. “It usually is, bumping into your ex.”
His eyebrows shot up slightly. “Oh? Have a lot of experience with that?”
“No, but I’ve seen enough movies to spot the situation.” She leaned on the table. “So, you and Julia? How did that happen?”
He sighed, then scanned the room, no doubt making sure she wasn’t within earshot.
“A moment of weakness. Needless to say, I hadn’t known about her… personality flaws until after we’d dated for a few months.”
“Months?” she asked, a little shocked. “It only took me two days to know who she was. And that was in second grade.”
He chuckled. “You didn’t have the hindrance of hormones.” He leaned a little closer and lowered his voice. “And a two-year sexual dry spell beforehand.”
“Two years.” She shook her head and felt her heart flutter. What would he do if he knew she’d had a ten-year dry spell?
“I had been busy.” He shrugged. “Rebuilding around town and building my place.”
“So that was when? A few years back?” she asked. When he nodded, she continued. “Does Julia know? She’s acting like you broke up with her yesterday.”
“Yeah.” He nodded behind her, signally that Julia was coming back. He waited until she set the two glasses in front of them and left before finishing. “She only started acting like that in the past few weeks.” He sighed. “Which tells me that she’s building up to something. I’m sorry about this. We can head out.” He motioned to the wine.
She took another sip and then glanced around. Julia was leaning on the bar, watching them as customers waited for their orders. She agreed.
Cade tossed some bills on the table and helped her slide out of the booth. He held her hand as they walked out together.
“There’s a good burger place just down the street?” he suggested.
“A burger sounds great,” she admitted as he held the car door open for her.
“I’m sorry about this,” he said again after sliding into the driver seat.
“Don’t be. No one but Julia should apologize
for anything she does.”
“True,” he agreed. “Did you learn that in counseling?” he asked, glancing at her sideways.
She’d learned early on not to be ashamed of getting help. After all, talking to the doctor was the only reason she’d felt strong enough to get out of bed each day.
The guilt she’d felt had pretty much paralyzed her those first few months after the fire. After losing everyone who had ever mattered to her, she’d learned to let go of her teenage pride that made her care what other people thought of her.
“That, and a few other things,” she said with a slight shrug as he parked in front of the burger diner. “Wow, this place is still around?” She glanced out the window. “My parents used to take me here when I was a kid.” She smiled, remembering the memories.
He chuckled. “Paul, the original owner, still runs the place. I think.”
Instead of waiting for him to come around and open her door, this time she climbed out herself.
“It’s strange, seeing some things that haven’t changed over the years,” she said after stepping inside. “In town, everything is so… different. With a few exceptions.”
“Yeah, a few people got really lucky,” he agreed as they walked in and sat themselves in a booth near the front door. “My grandmother being one of them. Actually, it was only because her house was still standing that we could tell where everything else in town had been.”
“Part of the guilt I felt for years was because I’d had to leave town,” she admitted.
His eyebrows rose, and she waited for more questions she knew were coming from him. But he surprised her by changing the subject to the progress on the resort.
She supposed he wanted to avoid going too deep into the conversation so as not to upset her or himself. Still, she reflected on it while she filled him in on the progress.
While they waited for their food, she told him how things were moving much faster than she’d expected with the construction in the lobby area.
“Most of the changes are superficial. I mean, it’s not like they’re tearing down walls or rebuilding the entire space. Well, they did tear down one wall,” she pointed out with a smile as their burgers were delivered by an older woman. “Which took five men less than five minutes.” She giggled. “Part of me wanted to be swinging the sledgehammer myself.” She took a bite of her burger. “My god, these are just as good as I remember them being.”
“I try to make it out here at least once a month,” he admitted before taking his own bite. “Too much of the greasy foods and my uncle will whoop my ass in the gym.”
Her eyes narrowed when she remembered his uncle. “You’re uncle Sean, right?”
“Yeah.” He nodded and took a sip of his soda.
“He was a police officer?” She felt her stomach roll. She didn’t know why she’d forgotten that he was related to the man who had found her, tucked away, hiding from the fire in a cave. A cave she couldn’t remember crawling into as the fire raged around her, taking everything that was dear to her away.
“Yeah, still is,” he said easily, too engrossed in his food to notice her incertitude. “Became sheriff a few years back. That’s how I walked into my job. The position became available, and he encouraged me to run.” He shrugged and she forced herself to relax and to continue eating.
Normally, when she grew too upset, she’d go without food. Which was why for the first few years after the fire, she’d lost so much weight that they’d talked about putting her on feeding tubes.
“You like your job?” she asked, trying to sound cheerful.
His eyes met hers and, for a moment, she thought he could see through her façade.
“I do. I think it’s a far better fit for me than the medical field I was aiming for. What about you? Did you work before returning here?”
“I had a few odd jobs here and there. My last job was working for a marketing firm.”
“And you decided to return here after your grandmother passed?”
“Yes, it was one of her last wishes. She’d helped my parents when they’d purchased the property all those years ago. Something tells me that she knew my uncle was running it into the ground.” She nibbled on a fry.
“Is it that bad?” he asked.
“I’m not sure yet. I’m meeting with Joe Ramsey tomorrow. Now that my uncle can’t get into the accounts…” She felt a huge weight release when she remembered removing him from all the accounts and locking him and her aunt out of all the financials.
“I bet you’re relieved knowing that part of the job is over. Having to deal with Colin,” he said.
“I’m struggling with feeling sorry for him,” she admitted. “I mean, if I find out that he really did steal from me, from the resort, then I won’t struggle any longer, but until then…” She shrugged. “Part of me wants to believe he couldn’t do something like that. The man I remember…” She pushed her half-empty plate away.
“And the other part?” he asked.
“The other part wants him to be guilty so I can never have to deal with him again.” She closed her eyes. “Which makes me just as terrible of a person as he is.”
She opened her eyes when Cade took her hand in his. “Why would that make you a terrible person?”
“Because I’d enjoy knowing he was locked up. Alone. Suffering. Away from his family.” She looked at their joined hands, Cade’s large tan hand next to her own smaller, pale, freckled one.
Just the simple kindness he showed her by the move almost had tears building up behind her eyes.
“One way or another, I guess I’ll find out tomorrow,” she added with a shrug. For some reason, she was growing tired. Maybe it was opening up to someone, other than her shrink, for the first time in years. Maybe it was the long day she’d had. Whatever the reason, she leaned back in the booth, breaking their connection, and looked out the window.
“It will get better,” he said suddenly. She glanced back at him.
“Most of the town still believes I’m responsible for…”—she motioned with her hand— “everything.”
She watched, waiting, guessing that he wanted to ask her if she was, but instead, he sighed and leaned back, mimicking her move.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
At least he hadn’t blamed her. How did she feel?
For so long she’d hid her feelings. Denied them. Repressed them and tried to forget that she had feelings or emotions at all.
It was one of the reasons that she hadn’t dated after Reggie. She’d been too afraid to unbottle that genie.
“Weary.”
Chapter Ten
When there is a war between fire and water, fire loses. ~ Spanish Proverb
There was so much Cade wanted to ask Raven, but he could tell that she was beyond tired.
“I bet you haven’t gotten a lot of sleep since you came back.” He leaned in and ran his eyes over her.
There was no denying that she was beautiful. Her skin was pale and flawless, her crystal eyes, which also had a knack for drawing you in, were haunting. Her lips were full and, well… perfect.
Still, under all that, he could see slight dark circles under her eyes, as well as the lost look that crossed there on several occasions. Each time it did, he could see her consciously pushing the emotions away.
It somehow only made him want to expose them even more. What would Raven be like unhinged?
She’d barely eaten anything really. A quarter of her burger along with a few French fries. Since he’d wager that she was a few pounds underweight, he guessed she wasn’t a stress eater.
“How about we get out of here?” He nodded towards the door.
She nodded as a response, and he moved to help her slide out of the booth.
Since he didn’t feel like taking her back just yet, he took the long way back to the resort.
Even though it was now full dark, she looked out the window as if she could see everything.
“How long did it take for things to grow bac
k?” she asked.
He glanced over at her. “In some parts, less than a year. Others”—he shrugged— “it’s still growing back.”
“A lot of people left.” It was a statement, not a question.
“More than half the town. People took their insurance money and split. I guess some decided the country living wasn’t for them. When your uncle stopped hiring locals…”
“He stopped…” She sat up a little and looked at him.
“During the season.”
“Where did he hire them from?” she asked.
“Anywhere but Cannon Falls. I know that several regulars who used to work for your uncle were turned away the year after the fire. Some had to move on, out of the town, to find work.”
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
“Like you said before, no one but your uncle should apologize for anything he has done.” He reached over and took her hand in his again. He liked the way it felt. Liked the way she felt.
He’d gained enough information about her over the past few days to know that whatever had happened ten years ago, there was no way she’d caused the fire on purpose. If he’d learned one thing over the years, it was that accidents happened. Hell, he’d caused his mother and grandmother enough grief in his teenage years that they both swore that every grey hair they had was due to him.
Whatever had happened in the past, Raven had a good heart now. She’d suffered as much as anyone had, maybe even more so.
Still, that didn’t stop him from wanting answers. Needing them. But he had time. For now, he wanted to explore what he was feeling between them. What had been building up since the moment he’d walked into her office.
She sighed heavily. “I know you’re right. Still, one thing I’ve learned in the past few weeks is that everyone in town doesn’t believe the same.”
“They’ll get over it. It may be after the first ski season, after you’ve proven that you’re going to keep your word and keep hiring local,” he suggested.
“At this point, I doubt there are enough people left in town to fill all the spots, or places for out-of-towners-to live.”