But now, Paige didn’t just love Port Landon, she was in love with it. Everything about it. As Bryce led the way, with Jazz trotting along beside him, she took in the mesmerizing array of impatiens, daisies, and lilies that burst in color from the gardens as they passed each house on their way to what Bryce would only refer to as ‘the neatest place in Port Landon’ – the Hansel and Gretel House. She had tried numerous times during their journey to get the boy to disclose more information, but his lips were sealed. Each time she looked to Cohen for help, he merely shrugged, the same mischievous grin playing on his lips.
Their evening walk became even more intriguing as the paved road came to an end and they were forced to disappear into the trees, following Bryce along a narrow dirt path. It was only wide enough to allow for single file, but Cohen remained by her side as much as possible, tramping through the overgrown brush.
The forest seemed to envelope them, blocking out the setting sun and casting hazy shadows all around them. Paige focused on the path under her feet, being careful to watch for rocks or uneven ground that might cause her to fall flat on her face.
‘I feel like I’m being led into some kind of horror movie scene,’ she called ahead to Bryce.
The boy laughed, but his footsteps didn’t slow. ‘It’s just called the Hansel and Gretel House, Paige. It’s not like an old witch is really going to try to cook you for dinner! At least, I don’t think she will.’
‘That’s encouraging.’
‘Hey, you wanted to see the cool spots in town,’ he shouted. ‘It doesn’t get much cooler than this.’
Cohen barely spoke on the way, and Paige was enjoying the sound of the birds and the gentle breeze that made the leaves and bushes rustle, swaying against each other. He spoke up, then, leaning in to keep his voice from carrying toward his son. ‘He’s getting a real kick out of this, you know. I promise, it’s nothing scary. I wouldn’t have let him drag you out here if it was.’
‘Oh, trust me, I’m enjoying this, too,’ she assured him. ‘It’s just that I rarely left the city limits for over a decade, so the prospect of traipsing into the middle of the forest is a relatively new one for me at this point in my life.’
‘Never underestimate a ten-year-old to make you do things you never thought you’d do,’ Cohen quipped.
‘I never said I’ve never done it,’ she chuckled. ‘It’s just been a while.’
‘I keep forgetting you’re from Michigan.’
Paige tripped on a stone she’d missed while she had been too busy paying attention to Cohen, and his arms jutted out faster than she expected to steady her. Startled, both by the jolt forward and the strength in his hands as they held her firmly upright by her upper arms, Paige went rigid and still, processing the warmth of his fingertips permeating through her thin T-shirt sleeves. ‘You’d better believe I’m a Michigan girl.’ A failed attempt at sounding steadier than she felt. And that unsteadiness had nothing to do with her clumsy feet. ‘I’m not saying I’m the outdoorsy type, exactly, but this?’ She glanced around at the picturesque forest that surrounded them. ‘This, I could get used to.’
She meant it. She could see herself doing things like this in her spare time – hiking, exploring, maybe even gardening or learning to fish. She’d never done those things before, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t interested in trying.
There were lots of things she was interested in trying. Lots of things she could get used to. And having the company of Cohen, Bryce and Jazz was high on that list.
Cohen watched her closely as he let his grip on her arms loosen, dragging his fingertips down her arms until his hands reached hers, entwining them together. He moved slowly, methodically, watching for signs he was misinterpreting this, giving Paige every chance to pull away from him.
‘I could get used to this, too,’ he said.
It was a soft-spoken confession, but it hit her hard and fast, quickening her pulse and robbing her of common sense. She couldn’t speak, too stunned to think about anything but those seven words and the handsome man who uttered them. She did manage to squeeze his fingers gently, the only encouragement she could muster in her overwhelmed state. If she tried to do anything more, say anything more, she’d do something crazy. Heck knew her brain was coming up with lots of romantic ways she could respond to him.
‘It’s a different way of life when compared to city life, I’m sure,’ he added. Judging by the sudden throatiness of his voice, Paige wagered she wasn’t the only one struck by the warmth of their tangled fingers. ‘But it’s got its perks.’
‘It sure does.’ God, even that sounded cheesy, but she couldn’t help herself. The synapses in her brain couldn’t seem to fire properly when he was touching her, yet she couldn’t bring herself to let go. She didn’t want to. Because she liked the feel of her hand in his. A lot. ‘Have you always lived here?’
A mundane question from her own lips. That was good. She was regaining her wits. It was enough to get them moving again, falling into step side by side, her right hand linked with his left, with matching faint smiles dancing on their lips.
‘I’m from Lansing, but once we finished school and—’
‘We?’
‘Stacey and I,’ Cohen explained, his throat moving visibly. ‘She was a veterinarian, too. We met in college. Once we finished school and got married, we decided that we didn’t want to raise a family in the city. A little research on the internet led us to find out that Dr James Alton was retiring and selling his veterinary practice in Port Landon. The rest is history.’
Paige hadn’t expected her line of questioning to head in this direction, but it sobered her. She quickly confirmed that Bryce was far enough ahead and out of earshot before she continued. ‘I didn’t realize you both had worked together, as well. No wonder it’s so busy now.’ She immediately regretted her choice of words, because Paige knew it sounded like what she’d really meant was ‘… now that she’s gone.’ Because of it, she cut the sentence off abruptly.
Cohen seemed to pick up on it, but he remained unfazed. ‘It is busier since Stacey has passed away.’ He gave her a sad smile. ‘But it’s okay. Bryce and I do pretty well, and this little community is the reason we’ve grieved and moved past it as best we can. It’s been eight years, and we’re okay, I think.’
‘And you attribute that to Port Landon?’
‘Absolutely.’ He nodded. ‘This town came together in the wake of the car accident. They cooked food for us for months. Hell, some of the elderly ladies still bring casseroles and whatnot to the clinic just in case I don’t have time to cook in the evenings. The clinic would have been shut down for those first few months if Dr Alton, the vet I bought the practice from, hadn’t taken it upon himself to team up with a locum doctor and fill in for me. Around here, Paige, you don’t have to ask for help. It’s offered. Without hesitation. Which is exactly why I’m so grateful to you for coming up with the cupcake fundraiser for Helen O’Connor. She helped to look after me and my family when we needed it. Now, it’s my turn to return the favor.’
Paige felt her heart swell. This man had been through so much, but what mattered most to him was making sure the residents of his town, the town he called home, were taken care of. The realization that Port Landon mirrored a close-knit extended family wasn’t lost on her. ‘We’ll look after Helen,’ she promised, squeezing his hand again. ‘We’ll turn cupcakes into cash, and we’ll make sure she gets every penny.’
‘Thank you, Paige.’ Cohen’s throat moved again, and his footsteps stopped abruptly. It forced Paige to halt, too, and Cohen cupped his other hand over their clasped fingers. ‘You have no idea what that means to me.’
She took in a sharp breath as the heat of his palm sank into the top of her hand. Everything stopped. She could no longer hear the chirping of the birds or feel the caress of the breeze. The only thing her brain could register was the cloudy emotion in Cohen’s eyes and the warmth in his fingertips as they held hers. ‘I think I’m starting to understand.’<
br />
‘We’re here!’
Bryce’s voice snapped Paige out of her trance. She stole the opportunity to slip her hand from Cohen’s, fearful he would realize the way she was trembling from the sizzle of electricity in his touch. She turned toward his son in hopes of evening out her breaths. Bryce looked about ready to combust, vibrating with excitement. She could relate.
He pulled down on some low-hanging tree branches, revealing the most whimsical old cabin she’d ever seen.
‘Bryce!’ she cried, shocked. ‘This place is phenomenal.’
It was like they had stepped back in time, somehow. The little cabin was no bigger than twenty feet wide, and it was dilapidated and weather-worn, but the building was still standing despite its bowed roof and cracked, crooked foundation. Wooden, grayed shingles still covered the peaked roof, but what parts weren’t covered by dark green moss were frayed and chipped, giving them an almost furry look. One rounded window still remained intact to the left of the front door. Others had long since been smashed by vandals or broken over time as the house sagged with age, left with only paint-chipped, broken frames to cover the blackness of the cabin within. The boards that made up the walls were gray and cracked, but they gave the illusion of being smoother than the rough-cut lumber they’d once been, sanded down as the years eroded them away.
‘Pretty cool, huh?’ Bryce’s chest puffed out, his eyes gleaming with pride as he wandered around the perimeter of the house.
Paige couldn’t take her eyes off it. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she replied, awestruck. ‘In a vintage, forgotten kind of way. And you’re right, it looks exactly like I would imagine the old witch’s cabin would look in Hansel and Gretel.’
‘There are multiple stories and local folklore about whose cabin this originally was,’ Cohen explained, coming up behind her. ‘But the truth is no one really knows for sure, and we may never know.’ He was fixated on the cabin, too.
‘Whose property is this?’ Paige asked, her voice distant.
‘It belonged to James Alton.’
Paige’s gaze snapped over to meet his. ‘The retired veterinarian,’ she said. ‘Wait. Belonged?’
Cohen’s mouth quirked up on one side. ‘The house Bryce and I live in behind the clinic was Dr Alton’s, too. He sold me everything – the clinic, the house, and his fifty acres of vacant land – with the stipulation that if he visited Port Landon after the sale, he could park his travel trailer on this property while he was here.’
‘You own the Hansel and Gretel House.’ There was no mistaking the whimsy in her voice.
‘I do. I don’t think it’s safe enough to go inside, so Bryce and I have never tried, but we do like to hike our way out here and visit it from time to time.’
Bryce and Jazz disappeared around the back of the cabin, and Paige stepped close enough to run her fingers along the worn board that made up the top of the railing on the small front stoop. ‘And you let other people walk back here, too?’
Cohen shrugged. ‘I don’t stop people from walking along the path to get out here as long as they don’t cause more damage to the cabin. Father Time and Mother Nature are doing a bang-up job of that themselves.’
Paige brought a hand up to cover her heart. ‘You’re a generous man, Cohen Beckett.’
If she knew him at all, she thought he looked mighty proud of himself for gleaning that compliment from her. ‘I try,’ he replied. ‘But I was hoping you’d be the generous one.’
She stopped near the corner of the cabin and looked back toward him. ‘Oh? And what would you like me to be generous with?’
‘Your time,’ Cohen said. He didn’t look away from her as he closed the gap between them. ‘I was hoping you’d share some of your time with me. I know you don’t have a lot to spare, and I get that. But Bryce has been itching to spend an evening over at his friend’s house, and I was hoping you’d let me use that opportunity to … take you out. Just the two of us.’
‘Take me out?’ She squeaked out the words.
‘On a, uh … on a date.’ It sounded like a question as it toppled from his tongue. He was just as riddled with nerves as she suddenly was. He didn’t touch her, not once, but something about the way the hope and anticipation were blazing in his eyes, mixed with that anxiety, as they burned into hers …
Paige’s breath caught. ‘Cohen, I—’
‘I know you’re a busy woman, Paige,’ he continued, talking faster now. ‘And I know we’ve got this fundraiser to work on together and that we’ve already been spending time together on these walks, but I just thought maybe we—’
‘I can’t.’
Cohen’s mouth closed, and he stared at her. ‘I … oh.’ He hadn’t expected her to decline, she suspected. And certainly not so fast.
Paige’s chest tightened. She could feel the panic rising in her throat. The words had fallen from her tongue before she could think them through. A knee-jerk reaction. And now she couldn’t take them back. ‘Cohen, I’m sorry, I just meant that—’
‘It’s okay.’ Despite the fact that they were losing sunlight by the minute, she could see the confusion and disappointment that shadowed his gaze. But he forced a half-hearted smile on his face. ‘I totally get it. It’s no problem.’
She felt ridiculous. How had this gone so completely wrong, after being so completely right? After he’d taken the chance and held her hand and made her feel so completely alive? ‘Wait, Cohen. I just think—’
‘Paige.’ He reached out and gripped both of her arms as though to steady her again, mustering up an encouraging look. ‘You don’t have to explain yourself to me, okay?’ The sentiment made her feel even worse, but she nodded reluctantly. Cohen released her from his grasp. ‘Now,’ he added, ‘Let’s go find Bryce before the old witch does.’
Allison stared at Paige, her head tilted to one side, eyes wide in bewilderment. She had never been one to mince words. ‘You’ve got to be freaking kidding me.’
‘I don’t know what came over me.’
The coffeehouse was slow for a Saturday morning. Paige was thankful she had the option to open a little later on Saturdays and designate Sundays as her one full day off from the bakery a week, but Allison wasn’t so lucky. Coffee shops were meeting spots, hangouts. Most folks wanted to do their hanging out and meeting up on the weekend. So, Allison worked almost every day. She switched on and off with her other staff members, but everyone needed a day off sometime. It was Allison’s turn to manage the weekend rush, but as far as rushes were concerned, this Saturday had turned out to be more of a crawl. Paige had been able to use the slowness of the day to her advantage, pulling her cousin into one of the red vinyl-covered booths in the far back corner and telling her everything that had happened the night before with Cohen.
‘Let me get this straight.’ Allison held her hands out, halting any further conversation on Paige’s part. ‘He invited you on a walk with him and Bryce, into the woods to show you the cabin that’s pretty much Port Landon’s pinnacle of folklore, while the sun is setting. Then, he makes the first move to hold your hand and asks super-politely if he can share your spare time and take you out on a real, honest-to-God date … and you just said – and I quote – I can’t?’ Her hands flailed out on either side of her, her expression exasperated. ‘Paige, what is wrong with you? The man suggested a date with you, not that he have his sultry way with you right then and there in the middle of the freaking forest!’
Paige sighed, wishing she knew the answer. She could always count on her cousin to be upfront with her, but hearing it put so bluntly made it sting all the more. ‘I know, I know. And the truth is, I wanted to say yes!’ she hissed, attempting to keep her voice down so the few other patrons wouldn’t overhear. ‘I mean, I meant to say yes. I would have said yes if I’d just given my heart a second to catch up with my brain. But, Allison, it was almost like it was the only answer I was capable of giving at the time. I answered so automatically, I don’t even think I realized I turned him down until Cohen’s face fel
l.’
‘That’s because that’s what you do.’ Allison dragged each syllable out for emphasis. ‘I don’t even know if you realize it, but it’s your claim to fame, my friend.’
Paige crinkled her forehead. She might have realized what she’d done now, which was too late, but that didn’t help her to understand what Allison was getting at. ‘What are you talking about?’ The dark roast coffee at Portside was the best coffee she’d ever had, but somehow she just didn’t feel like the caffeine was going to be enough to handle whatever her cousin was about to say.
‘Paige,’ she groaned, clasping her hands over her eyes and dragging them down her face. ‘You’ve conditioned yourself to believe you don’t have time for love. Even in New York, you would mention guys from work that you got along with really well, and then you’d immediately follow it up with some off-the-cuff comment about not being able to pursue it, or having to focus on your work instead, or not knowing where you’d find the time to give the relationship any attention. So, you would push the man away. I mean, does the name Alex ring any bells?’
Paige vaguely remembered some of the conversations her cousin was referring to, though her memories of them didn’t seem as full of potential romance as Allison was making them out to be. And she knew very well who Alex was and why Allison was bringing him up. Her ex-boss at Livingston Designs was a clean-cut and successful man she’d both admired and looked up to. He was undeniably handsome in his tailored suits and his unfailing work ethic. She might have pushed the particulars into the recesses of her mind when it came to anyone else she might have been approached by – or convinced herself she really didn’t have the time to even think of them again at all – but Paige remembered turning down Alex’s numerous suggestions that they see each other outside their long work hours. Her own fears of muddying the waters between their perfect working relationship and a possible romantic one still haunted her from time to time. She couldn’t let herself believe she had made a mistake by dismissing him and choosing the path she’d taken to Port Landon. Still, she insisted, ‘I’m not that bad.’
The Forget-Me-Not Bakery Page 9