She glanced down at the wine, and realized she was already lightheaded.
“I appreciate the sentiment.”
“A real man, would never do something like that to someone as brave and kind as you. You dodged a bullet.”
She heard the sincerity in his voice and saw it in his face and it was a glimpse of who Kayden was at his core. She hoped she got to know that person a lot better over the next few weeks.
***
Kayden followed her up the stairs to the second story. He was convinced she was a very private and protective person and wanted to know everything about her. Her perfume scent made him want to reach out and taste her neck as she was only a foot in front of him. What was she wearing, vanilla? Almond? Whatever it was it was driving him crazy, especially when she sat so close to him earlier that night.
As Lana continued on to her room, she turned slightly and gave a brief nod as she closed the door behind her. He went into his, and shut the door behind him as well. He’d learned a lot about her tonight and couldn’t understand why he decided to spill his guts the way he did. Why did he feel so comfortable with her? Looking into her big brown eyes, he knew he could be himself and trust her with those thoughts. He let everything out before he knew what hit him.
No woman in his past, not even his mother ever made him feel that reassuring. He regretted what happened to Joel every day of his life, and missed him and his dad so much, it hurt him to think about it sometimes. His solution was to reach for the alcohol and that numbed the pain—for a little while. It had been a long time since a woman showed any genuine interest in him. He knew he was good looking and he had taken full advantage in his earlier years. But now as an adult in his early thirties, it wasn’t something he was interested in anymore.
He wanted someone concrete, someone real. Once upon a time, Kim was the only person he thought he could open himself up to, and when he did, she broke his heart. Lana was special, he could tell. Aside from being attracted to her like a magnet to metal, he was attracted to her conviction and purpose. She put others first and he could learn a thing or two from her in that regard.
He understood why she was so guarded and untrusting of men, once she told him about the broken engagement. That would make anyone think twice before getting close to another person again. Secretly, he was happy it happened, because now a real man could show her what it meant to be loved by someone. Kayden kicked off this bedroom slippers and stood at the window in his room. It was past eleven and the snow had left a cool blanket over the garden, the moonlight making everything sparkle. He thought of his brother’s ashes buried by the bird bath and sighed.
He knew he had to call his mother and get what he had coming to him but he would do that tomorrow. He walked over to the bed and fell onto his stomach, and stared at the bedroom door. He wished he could go to Lana’s room, and grab her and kiss her goodnight. He knew he probably could, but wasn’t ready for the repercussions that would have either. She would probably leave Hamby all together and he didn’t want to push yet another person away. She was still fragile and he wanted her all to himself, so he would be patient, and wait as long as it would take before making a move.
***
Throughout the following week the snowfall was getting heavier and less fun to deal with each day. It was becoming harder for Lana to go visit Rachel due to visibility and the ice on the roads. Her Ford wasn’t equipped to deal with those conditions and it took her a full forty-five minutes to warm it up each time she wanted to drive it. After the night by the fire last week, she kept her distance from Kayden as much as possible, which wasn’t easy when they shared the same roof. Everywhere she seemed to go in town, he would appear. Whether at the grocery store, or in the small shopping plaza, even the library once.
She didn’t think it was on purpose at first but with him, she couldn’t be certain. He would often visit Rachel or the police station for which she was thankful, because it gave her some time alone in the house, then she’d grab a sandwich at Aunt Mae’s for dinner as they had just started to make repairs, in order to get out of the house each night. One day, as she stuffed her face with strawberry shortcake, she spotted him on his cell phone pacing the side walk in front of the diner.
Dressed in jeans and his signature leather jacket, he looked damned sexy as usual, but could see he was upset. Whoever he was talking to, he was pleading with them. His mother most likely. She had overheard an argument he had with her on the phone one day as she was headed to go visit Rachel. It seemed most of their conversations were heated, but at least she understood why now.
Lana scarfed down the cake and took the opportunity to high tail it back to the house. Most days after visiting Rachel, she’d go to the small library and curl up with a book, often finishing them in one sitting. Only once did the librarian have to warn her of closing time which was about six o’clock, and she had to hurry back to the house before dark. Driving through the snow was hard enough during the daylight. They had fallen into a pattern.
She didn’t speak of his brother and he didn’t ask about her ex. A simple “hi” in the morning and goodnight at bedtime. Last night though, she returned to a cooked dinner of steak and salad, but she declined the meal, not ready for another sit down with him at all. She felt bad seeing the effort he had made, but she knew it was for the best. The less time she spent anxious and wrestling with her feelings, the better, and she’d even devised a new plan for the remaining three weeks left of her vacation.
Volunteering at the diner as they made restorations seemed like a fun way to spend her time. She loved the building and the people, so why not help out all she could? As much as she liked the library, the selection wasn’t as big as city libraries and her supply was dwindling.
Her plan was devised: Visit with Rachel in the mornings, Volunteer at Aunt Mae’s in the afternoon and return to the house to sleep. Not the ideal vacation itinerary, but it would do for now.
***
Kayden wondered why Lana was avoiding him so much, afraid that after she got a better look at who he was, she didn’t like what she saw anymore. It made him angry a bit to think he was successful at pushing yet another person away, when he let his guard down in an attempt to do the opposite. At least Rachel was still happy to see him every day, but he knew the visits would have to slow with the impending storm on the way. He wondered if Lana even stopped to check the weather forecast? It was getting more dangerous to drive and soon the town would be on lockdown.
All roads would eventually be closed and it’s not uncommon to be snowed in for weeks at a time. This also impeded his plan to help with the diner repairs. He wanted his mother to allow Capshaw Realty to restore the entrance at gratis, as a peace offering. This didn’t sit well with her and she told him that it would be on his own dime, and she wouldn’t use company money to fix his problems again. Standing in front of Aunt Mae’s and accessing the damage, he knew it would cost at least fifty thousand.
He could handle that easily on his own, but he still had to be careful with what he had. His inheritance was substantial as the company was worth a half billion dollars, but if he was cut off, that would be gone, so he had to spend wisely. Kayden also owned three houses and the mortgages alone would eat up his savings if he was put on his own. After having a heated argument with her, standing in the cold, he looked over at Lana, eating alone as she often did. He wanted to prove to himself that he was changing and evolving and it didn’t hurt to prove that to her as well.
Inevitably, he agreed to take on the restorations himself, but decided he would do it under his own company ledger. Maureen hung up with no acknowledgment or encouragement and that made him angry. It was as if she didn’t care about the efforts he was making to try and better himself. He had to figure out a way to stop letting his mother control his emotions. It was the catalyst to his spiraling behavior and he refused to let it happen anymore.
By the time he got off the phone with her, or got hung up on rather, Lana was gone, her truck alr
eady turning onto the roundabout. Kayden walked up to Aunt Mae and the smiling expression on her face melted into a glare. After twenty minutes of explaining to her what it was he wanted to do, her frown turned into a smile and the ample woman he had known all his life, grabbed him and hugged him. It would take about four weeks and the work would begin once the storm blew over and Aunt Mae was elated.
Now, he was more excited than he’d been in a long time. He was forming his own company, breaking away from his mother and doing some good for the community he loved. For the first time Kayden saw a light at the end of a very dark and lonely tunnel. He couldn’t wait to share the news with Lana and hopefully it would help her to see him better and maybe she’d look at him the way she did before.
6
She rose early the next morning in an attempt to leave the house before she ran into Kayden. Lana took a long hot shower and dressed in the warmest clothes she had. Her favorite pair of denim jeans, a light pink turtle neck sweater, and a brown leather jacket. She pulled her hair up into her signature work bun, but thought it looked too librarian and opted to let her curls hang free. It was seven fifteen when she crept carefully down the stairs to not wake Kayden, but the smell of food, alerted her that she was too late. Coffee and bacon should be a cologne in her opinion, the two were a perfect match. As she reached the bottom of the landing, Kayden was at the stove cooking, while two place settings were up on the granite counter top.
“Morning,” he beamed as he stirred the scrambled eggs.
“Morning. You’ve been busy.” She looked at the spread which included cheesy grits, pancakes, bacon, coffee, and now the eggs which he was plating up.
“Yeah. I didn’t sleep much last night anyway and wanted to make breakfast,” he smiled, putting the pan in the dishwasher.
“You didn’t have to do that. I would’ve gotten something at Aunt Mae’s,” she lied. Lana wasn’t looking forward to freezing in the parking lot, while hunched over another breakfast burrito.
“Don’t be silly, eat up.” He grabbed one of the stools and pulled it out for her.
She looked at him, a thin smile on her lips and sat. She wasn’t getting out of it and the sound her stomach made sealed the deal. He sat next to her and poured her some coffee.
“This all looks amazing, thanks.” She took the steaming mug and mixed in some yellow packet sugar substitute and way too much creamer by some people’s standards. She couldn’t drink it any other way.
“You’re welcome,” he replied with his signature wink.
He picked up the TV remote on the counter and turned it to the weather channel. From the TV you could hear the weather man: “Three inches of snow last night, which isn’t bad, but later this week it will be up to five feet. Yes, you heard right, there's a blizzard headed for the following counties, Hamby, Shelby, Covington…”
He turned the TV off.
“I think we need to go into town and get some supplies before we get snowed in completely. In another day or so it'll be too late.”
“You mean snowed in like, can't step outside snowed in?”
“Yes darlin’.”
“For how long?”
“Who knows. Winter is coming,” he said with a smile.
He caught her watching an episode of Game of Thrones last week so she picked up on the inflection in his voice.
“My vacation ends in two and a half weeks; I have to be back to work.”
He took a sip of his black coffee.
“I doubt it will last that long.” He knew he was lying and hoped she couldn’t sense it on him the way she usually did.
Lana continued eating and it hit him as he watched her. She had to leave eventually. She had a life of her own outside this place. The blizzard would most likely last way longer than a couple weeks, but he didn’t want to tell her that. She may pack and leave Hamby sooner than he was ready. It was selfish, but he couldn’t help it.
“So do you want to go shopping after breakfast?” he asked, digging into his cheesy grits.
“Sure,” she replied surprised at how skilled he was in the kitchen.
They ate in silence for a few minutes when he put his fork down and turned as she was mid bite into a crispy piece of bacon.
“Thank you,” he said.
Lana still had a mouthful of food so it took her a minute to swallow and clear her throat before responding.
“For what?” she asked confused.
“For listening to me last week when we were by the fire. I really appreciate that.”
“Oh. You’re welcome. Anytime.” She said as her heart almost stopped at the look in his eye.
“You really have a good bedside manner. I guess that’s important being a nurse,” he smiled then started eating again.
She relaxed a bit now and stared down at her plate of food.
“It helps,” she replied and continued eating as well.
They ate and continued talking about her job as a nurse, then his work in architecture. It was really nice to have a conversation where she wasn’t pissed or lusting after him or both. After, she helped him clean the kitchen and it all felt way too domestic for her. She was itching to get out of the house. Lord only knew what people in town thought about them both being under the same roof. Another scandal was the last thing she needed in her life.
***
Stepping outside in the brisk morning air was a wakeup call. It was fifteen degrees outside, but felt like negative fifteen. Kayden locked the door behind them and Lana trotted down to her truck, keys in hand.
“What are you doing?” he asked, as he started down the snow covered steps.
“Um, getting ready to leave. I know you don’t think we’re gonna hold almost three weeks of groceries in that?” She asked pointing to the Lamborghini.
“Well I had planned on ordering the bulk of the stuff and having them delivered.”
She frowned at him.
“Seriously, you can’t even buy your own groceries?”
He smirked at her and put his keys in his pocket.
“Fine, you lead the way.” He said extending an arm to the driver door.
She opened the truck and slid in, the leather seats colder than ice. Kayden went to the passenger side door and observed the damage. Damn, he thought as he struggled to pull the door open. With a loud crunching creak of metal, the door gave way and he jumped in and had to slam it several times to get it to stay closed.
“Sorry,” she said, starting the engine, “there was this idiot who hit me on the way up here—oh sorry. You already know this story,” she said chuckling and he laughed.
“Okay, I had no idea it was this bad.”
She reversed the truck slowly out of the drive way, forgoing the forty-minute warm up, turned and began rolling down the hill toward the town square.
“I’ll be sure it gets fixed before you have to leave. Scouts honor,” he raised his hand and put it over his heart. She smiled at him the way he liked.
Maybe he wasn’t such a bad person, but he definitely had some issues to work out. He reached over to the heater and turned it on and ice cold air blasted through.
“It takes a while for that to actually work,” she said.
“Time for a new ride ya think?” He replied while rubbing his hands together.
“Nothing wrong with this one, Richey Rich.”
He grinned and relaxed back in the bucket seat, his knees hitting the dashboard. As they drove down to the round-about, it seemed the whole town was milling about, carrying firewood or pushing shopping carts through the snow. Winter storms were not taken lightly. The snow casted a different light on the town. It was still cozy, but the amount of snow falling was unforgiving and she doubted anyone would be holding hands and taking strolls again anytime soon.
“You sure about that time frame for the storm?” she asked as she observed the frenzy around them.
“Yeah. I’ve lived here my whole life practically. This is just the way people are here. Better safe than sorry.”<
br />
She nodded and pulled onto the roundabout, passed Main and turned onto Patterson Court. Along this street were clothing and jewelry shops, boutiques, an outdoor farmers market and a grocery store. The store sat across from the only hotel in town, Spence Hotel. Patterson Court was considered a strip mall of sorts rather than a busy thoroughfare. The owners of the farmer’s market, a couple in their mid-sixties, were putting the last of their produce in the back of a pickup truck, when Lana pulled into the grocery store parking lot. She cut the engine just as the heater finally began to kick in.
***
Once inside Fresh Picks Grocery store, Kayden immediately walked up to the employee standing near the customer service counter. The grocery store was quite warm and had the faint smell of apple pie and cinnamon. Lana observed Kayden and his interaction with the tall man in his blue vest.
“I’m going to need a few assistants if you have them,” he said to the man wearing a name tag that read “Sherman-Manager” on it.
A smile erupted on his face as he scurried away behind the customer service desk.
“Yes sir, give me one moment,” he replied proudly over his shoulder and grabbed the intercom on the wall.
“Jason and Dominic to the front please, VIP service. Jason and Dominic to the service desk please.” Sherman said, then placed the intercom down with a proud smile on his face. An older couple passing by them turned to Kayden and Lana and glared at them as they walked out of the store. If she weren’t already cold, that look would have really done the job. Kayden leaned in close to her.
“Don’t’ worry,” he whispered, “it’s me they can’t stand. Not you.”
Then, two teen boys around seventeen, each arrived with a shopping cart in hand. They’ve obviously done this before. Kayden handed them each a list and a hundred-dollar bill.
“What was that?” Lana asked as they giddily ran away down separate aisles.
“They’re going to get the dry goods and we’re going to get everything else. He pushed one of the carts down the produce aisle and she grabbed the second one and followed.
Crashing Into Me (Crashing Into Me #1) Page 7