“And now I’m not sure.” Lily hooked some of her hair behind her ear, and Rick couldn’t take his eyes off the red-gold curls. “I mean, I could never live here, but that doesn’t mean you can’t love it. I can see that you do.”
“I have everything I need here,” Rick said.
Almost everything.
Chapter Eight
“These are some new designs I came up with last night.” Lily turned the laptop around so Rick could see the screen. “Figured if I wowed corporate with another idea, they’d abandoned this Vermont one.”
She couldn’t rely on a few pictures of trees to change their minds. Utopia was an enormous corporation that did whatever it wanted, whenever it wanted. She had witnessed it being ruthless firsthand. They squashed whatever got in their way like bugs, and generally speaking, Lily liked that about the company. That kind of power was godly. She shared some of that power and enjoyed wielding it.
Usually.
Rick leaned forward and scrolled through the designs. An Arctic theme. Glaciers Utopia. All ice and snow and caves. One sketch showed the front doors of the resort. Two huge polar bears standing on their hind legs formed an archway, and a typed note next to the sketch said, “Mirrored doors with painted snowflakes.”
“Well, I’m wowed,” Rick said. “These are incredible. I don’t see how your company wouldn’t go for this idea.” He looked truly impressed, and Lily shoved aside the wave of bashfulness lapping at her shores.
“Would you visit this resort?”
His blue eyes stopped scanning her designs. “I don’t travel.” He said it as if it were a firm truth. Something carved in stone.
“Ever?”
“Nope. I told you, everything I need is here.”
“You’re not curious about what else is out there?” Lily gestured to the front door.
“That’s what the Internet is for,” he said. “I don’t actually have to leave my house to see the world.”
Lily shook her head. “Not the same.”
“Close enough for me.” Rick rubbed a hand at the center of his chest, caught himself doing so, and dropped his hand to his lap. “You travel a lot?”
“All the time. Mostly for work.” She couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually had a true vacation. Whenever she traveled for Utopia, she managed to squeeze in a little sight-seeing, usually with Drew crawling up her ass while she tried to enjoy wherever they were. She’d never gone to any of those places alone.
Except this time. To a place she hadn’t wanted to visit.
“Where have you been?” Rick rested his hand on the thigh of his elevated leg. He massaged the muscles there, and that had Lily wondering at the muscles in other places. Like under that flannel and beneath that blue thermal shirt, which for the record, Rick did look very nice in.
Maybe more than very nice.
“France, Greece, Italy, Japan, China, Russia, Canada, Mexico, and all over the United States.” Reciting the list made her tired. Had she really been to all those places? Why did it all seem like a dream? Why did the memories not seem like her own?
“What’s the matter?” Rick asked.
“Nothing, why?”
“You look sad.”
“I was thinking I don’t travel for me. I go for work. Because someone told me I had to go in order to get a paycheck. My memories of those places are all about the resorts mainly. I mean, I went to the Eiffel Tower and it was great, but I don’t remember what I ate there or what had to be a fantastic view of Paris. I don’t have any photos that don’t involve hotel construction. I remember Versailles Utopia and making rooms themed after famous painters.” Lily exhaled a long breath. “None of those trips were vacations. None of them were personal.”
Lily looked up to find Rick studying her. His pupils were huge, barely a ring of ocean blue surrounding them. She was caught in the depths of those pools. Suddenly everything felt personal.
Rick shook his head as if waking from a trance. He pulled his leg off the chair beside Lily, and a crease formed between his golden eyebrows. He tapped the laptop and said, “These are good. C’mon back to the sugarhouse, and I’ll show you how everything works.”
He used the table to stand, steadied himself, then hobbled toward the front door. “We’ll go out this way. If I know Aunt Joy, it smells like bleach back there.” He gestured to the door behind the pastry case.
“When does the store open?” She grabbed her laptop and purse and followed him. He held the door for her, and she had to pass him to get out. Being that close to him in the doorway felt… good. She may have lingered an extra moment, taking in that woodsy smell of him, trying to rustle up why she hated Vermont.
Poe squeezed between their legs, the coyote’s body brushing up against Lily. She squeaked and jumped outside. Oh, right. Reason number one to hate Vermont—ferocious creatures.
“She won’t hurt you.” Rick’s voice was low and right by her ear. “I promise.”
She nodded as the coyote pawed at something in the dirt. Then Poe got to her hind legs to sniff inside empty barrels at either side of the store’s front door. Lily had to admit the animal didn’t look like much more than an oversized dog. Not that Lily was fond of dogs either, but when the coyote circled back and pushed her nose into Rick’s outstretched hand, she did seem harmless.
“Come here, Lily.” Rick pushed on Poe’s rump until the coyote sat beside him.
Lily dropped her gaze, noticing she’d backed away from Rick and the coyote without consciously meaning to do so.
Keep my distance from that beast. And the man.
She shook her head. “I’m fine right here. Shouldn’t we get going? We don’t have a lot of time.” She glanced at her watch.
“I think you need an intervention.”
“An intervention? For what?”
In California, the folks she knew that needed interventions were usually addicted to drugs or alcohol or sex. Or all of the above. She never did drugs, only drank alcohol at galas, and sex… well, she was taking a break from that. Hard to remember why she was taking a break from sex as she watched Rick scratch that coyote’s neck as if he knew his fingers were capable of bringing great pleasure.
“You’ve got an animal phobia, and while some animals are dangerous and caution should be used around them, my coyote does not fall into that category. I think you should start with her.” He kneeled down beside Poe, wincing a bit as he adjusted his weight, and smoothed the fur around the coyote’s cheeks. Poe’s eyes closed, and she lowered her head to Rick’s knee. “Come pet her.”
A subtle pleading snuck into his eyes. Why did he care if she was scared of animals or not? It mattered to him. Lily could tell in the way he stared at her, in the way he held the coyote still.
She twisted the straps of her purse as she took a few steps forward. Her heart hammered in her chest, but her feet kept taking her closer to this man who insisted she touch his coyote. Now she hadn’t heard a pick-up line like that before.
Hey, sweetheart, wanna touch my coyote?
Poe lifted her head from Rick’s knee at the sound of gravel crunching beneath Lily’s boots. Lily threw a glance around wondering how quickly she could make it to her Jeep should the coyote wish to eat her.
“Don’t be nervous,” Rick said. “Poe is gentle.”
“Why is she named after a lunatic then?” Lily paused a few feet away.
“Edgar Allen Poe was a genius who I happened to be reading at the time I found her.” Rick pushed Poe’s bottom to the ground again. “Sit and wait for Lily to come to you, girl.” He glanced up at Lily again. “C’mon. You said we don’t have time to waste. Let’s go.”
“Insisting I make friends with her is wasting time. Why don’t we hurry along to the sugarhut and get on with it?”
“Sugarhouse. And making friends with Poe is not wasting time. It’s a first step.” He didn’t move from his position beside the coyote. No escaping this situation. She’d have to touch the mangy mutt.
&n
bsp; “Fine.” Lily clenched and unclenched her fists by her sides. She pushed her hair behind her left ear and closed the distance between her and Rick. She would have much rather have petted him, but that was not the invitation he had extended.
Taking in a breath and holding it, Lily walked around to the side of the coyote and extended a hand. Without making a sound, she let her fingers drop onto Poe’s back then retreated a few feet.
Poe turned her head to watch Lily, but made no move to pounce on her. Didn’t even make a noise or anything. Just blinked big, golden eyes. Beautiful eyes.
“See?” Rick said. “No growling, no bared teeth, no vicious attack on your person.”
“Not right now anyway. It’s still possible.” Lily wiped her hand on her thigh.
“As long as you don’t hurt Poe, she won’t hurt you.” He ran his hand along the coyote’s back, and she lowered to her belly.
“I knew there was a catch.” Lily increased the distance between her and the animal. Enough intervention for today.
“It’s true of most animals,” Rick said. “Even the wild ones. If they don’t see you as a threat, they’ll leave you alone. Animals don’t go looking for trouble.”
“Some of them do,” Lily mumbled under her breath.
“What?” Rick asked.
“Nothing. Let’s get to work.” She jiggled her purse where she’d stowed her laptop.
“Okay.” He let Poe lick his face while Lily watched, horrified. The coyote’s teeth were practically grazing Rick’s chin. Nothing but blond beard hairs to protect him from having a chunk of his handsome face taken out, but he didn’t seem the least bit concerned. Lily didn’t think she would ever understand that level of trust in an animal. She barely trusted the humans she knew that much.
Rick leaned his hand on the coyote as he tried to push to standing, but Poe kept moving in a small circle. Lily watched for a few moments wondering what her role was in this situation. Did Rick want help? Did he want it from her? Did she want to help him?
Yes. She did. Shit.
Lily crossed the small distance between them and gently nudged the coyote out of the way with her leg. Poe didn’t put up a fight. Instead she licked Lily’s fingers before running around the corner of the store toward the sugarhouse.
“Gross.” Fresh slobber glistened on Lily’s hand.
“It means she likes you.” Rick accepted the other hand Lily extended to him.
“Wonderful. She better not expect a lick from me any time soon.” Lily put her hand on Rick’s elbow as he stood. She didn’t let go until she was sure he was steady. Maybe she held on a few more moments, for precaution. Not because touching him made the sleeping dragon inside her uncoil from its slumber. Not because she could feel the toned muscles in his arm as she held it. Not at all.
“Thanks.” Rick brushed some dirt off the knees of his jeans and rubbed his elbow.
Had her touch done something to him as well? He looked daydreamy for an instant before swooping his arm out in the direction of where Poe had gone. Lily headed that way and was aware of Rick shuffling closely behind her, one of his hands holding onto the buildings as they passed.
She focused on the plastic tubing spiderwebbing through the trees, connecting them.
“Is the sap running now?” She figured a work-centered question might get her back on track, because her body couldn’t even find the track right now.
“Let’s see.” He diverted off the gravel pathway to the sugarhouse and went to the nearest tree with a tap in it.
Lily stayed on the path, holding onto her purse as if it were a parachute.
Rick studied her over his shoulder. “You won’t be able to see from there, Lily. Come here.”
Why does he keep asking me to come here? Especially when here meant next to animals or into the woods? Better yet, why am I listening to him?
Obediently, she came to stand beside Rick as he pointed to one of the plastic tubes. Clear fluid trickled inside and flowed to a larger tube.
“Guess that answers my question.”
“The flow will get stronger soon. The temperatures for day and night are almost perfect.” His eyes held an excitement as if he were watching magic or something. “The sap follows these tubes,” he continued, “and gets dumped into storage tanks.”
Rick led Lily to the sugarhouse. He unlocked the door and again allowed her to pass inside before him. Drew always went in first wherever they went. He liked to drag Lily along behind him as if she were his personal groupie. He complimented her often and wasn’t afraid to spend loads of money on her, but the little things, like opening a car door and walking side by side, said a lot about how two people felt about one another.
Inside the sugarhouse, Rick turned on the lights, and Lily was impressed with the set up. Everything was sparkling clean yet still smelled like maple syrup.
“From the storage tanks,” Rick pointed out the window where the tanks were located, “the sap goes to the evaporator, which is this.” He pulled two large pans out of a machine to show Lily. “One is the flue pan, where the sap flows first. The bottom has flues to provide a greater heating surface. The second pan is the syrup pan.”
“How do you know when the sap is syrup?” Lily pulled out her cell phone and began texting notes of what Rick was saying.
“We use a hydrometer to check the density,” Rick said. “You have to be careful, because if the sap is cooked too thick, it’ll crystallize. If it’s cooked too thin, it’ll ferment.”
“What happens when the density is just right?” Lily peeked into a tank next to the evaporator.
“The syrup is drawn from the syrup pan and filtered here to remove sugar sand which develops during the boiling process.” He tapped the tank beside Lily.
“Where does the heat come from?”
“I use a wood furnace, because I’ve got tons of wood here to burn. One cord of wood produces about twenty-five gallons of syrup. Other folks use oil, electricity, or natural gas, but wood has always worked for me.”
That explained why the man smelled of freshly cut forest. Lily allowed herself a moment to picture Rick wielding an ax to split logs. For some reason he wasn’t wearing a shirt while doing the chore. A lovely image.
He pointed to the ceiling of the sugarhouse where huge vents were evenly spaced out. “I’ve got a fan system that channels the steam outside. It gets pretty hot in here when the evaporator’s running.”
It’s pretty hot in here now. The shirtless lumberjack vision refused to make an exit from Lily’s mind.
“What do you add to the syrup?” Good. Some of her logical brain was still in charge. Lily got ready to type a list of ingredients she would no doubt have to ask Rick to spell.
“I don’t add anything. Once the sap is boiled, it’s syrup.”
“That’s it?” She looked up from her phone.
“That’s it. Completely natural and the pancake’s best friend.”
“Oh, pancakes are my absolute favorite,” Lily said, sighing a little. “I could eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” She pressed her palm to her stomach, the mere thought of pancakes making her mouth water.
“I feel exactly the same way about pancakes,” Rick said.
They had a moment of just looking at one another before Lily said, “In California, my grandmother and I went to Sasha’s Bistro at least once a month. They have the best blueberry pancakes on the planet.”
“But do they have Stannard Mountain Pure Vermont Maple Syrup to douse said best blueberry pancakes?” He leaned against the counter behind him.
“Sadly, no.”
“Well, it’s decided then. Lunch today is blueberry pancakes with my syrup. You won’t be able to have any other syrup once you’ve tried it.” He looked pretty sure of himself, and that confidence made Lily’s inner dragon’s eyes pop open. She was afraid if that dragon came all the way awake, there’d be no getting her back to sleep.
Rick reached behind him and pulled down a wooden rack with small
bottles of syrup in them. “This shows the grades of syrup that can be made.”
Lily set her purse down on the counter and stood in front of Rick. She leaned closer to get a better look at the syrup samples. “They’re different colors.”
Rick nodded. “These are Grade A.” He pointed to the first four bottles in the rack. “They allow more light to pass than Grade B. We have Grade A Light Amber, which has a mild flavor. Grade A Medium Amber is fuller and darker. Grade A Dark Amber has a strong flavor. The strongest, Extra Dark, is used for cooking, and this last bottle shows Grade B.”
“And your aunt and cousins use the syrup in things they make for the store?”
“Yep, they make maple sugar and maple cream, maple candies, cookies, cakes, breads. You name it, they’ll try to cram some maple syrup into it somehow. The coffee is what keeps a steady stream of regulars coming in though.”
“You sell books too?”
“Swap them. People bring in books and take books. That started out as my own obsession.” Rick scanned the sugarhouse. “I think I’ve told you everything about how this place runs. Come to my cabin. I’ll show you how unhealthy my love of books is. Hope and Sage should be finishing up with the pictures, and we can work on whatever it is we’re going to come up with at my house.”
The dragon’s head was up now. A wing stretched out as Lily followed Rick to the door. Knowing she was about to see the inside of his home made her feel as if she’d passed a test. He didn’t strike her as the type of guy who invited many people, let alone women, into his private quarters. What had she done to warrant such an invitation?
Tried to swipe his land. That’s what she’d done. None of this made sense. Did Rick not truly believe that Utopia Resorts didn’t take no for an answer? Was he that sure his home was safe?
Lily wasn’t.
****
Rick couldn’t understand why he had invited Lily to his cabin. Other than Hope, Sage, and Aunt Joy, who pretty much barged in whenever they felt like it, he never had guests. Guests tended to interrupt the quiet he loved so much. Guests required polite small talk and beverages and other social skills he lacked.
More Than Pancakes (The Maple Leaf Series Book 1) Page 9