“Fantastic. Long in the tooth, but still seems to be enjoying life.”
As they continued mopping, Josh’s thoughts turned to Hayley. He’d been checking his phone every few hours, hoping for a text from her, but apparently she was discontinuing contact with him even before her first date with the new guy.
“There’s a new manager at the Moondance,” he told Jack.
“Oh yeah? Male or female?”
“Male, unfortunately.” Josh looked at his brother. “Why? Are you looking for a new girlfriend?”
“Nope, although it was nice to have Emily here for those couple weeks. I didn’t expect—”
“Emily?”
“I’m sure I told you about her.”
“I’m sure you didn’t.”
“Oh, well, I met her when Tom and I went on that biking tour through the Netherlands last fall, and then she came and visited last winter for a few weeks. Couldn’t handle it and went back to California, but in the time she was here, we had this ritual where after dinner, we’d have a glass of cognac in front of the fire and play cribbage. It seems like an old-couple thing to do, but just having someone regular to fill those after-dinner-before-bed hours—it really grew on me.”
Josh thought of Hayley then, and the bath they’d taken in her damn fine copper tub, and what a nice daily ritual it would be.
“Remember how Mom and Dad used to watch All My Children every night at eight o’clock, and they’d shoo us out of the living room so they could play their VHS tape of the day’s show?”
Jack laughed, remembering. “I used to sneak back and watch from the doorway. I had the hots for Susan Lucci at one point.”
“Isn’t she, like, eighty by now?”
“No.” Jack scoffed. “I’m sure she’s hardly over seventy. But I’m talking like when I was thirteen or fourteen. She would have been in her forties or early fifties. She had that hot-mom thing going on. Hell of a body. You were too young to appreciate her,” he added when he saw how Josh was laughing. “Hey, I have a thought.” He dipped his mop in the bucket and squeezed it, keeping his eyes off Josh’s. “I’m starting to plan my next trip, and Tom’s not sure he can go. You want to go together?”
“You and me?” Josh stared at his brother, dumbfounded. “Travel together?”
At least once a year and usually twice, Jack traveled overseas, places like Botswana, Thailand, Costa Rica, Peru. Tom Steele often went with him, and they invariably returned with stories of adventure sports and short-term flings. On rare occasions, like with Emily, the women they hooked up with visited them in Alaska, but the relationships never stuck. Josh wasn’t sure they were supposed to.
“Why not?” Jack leaned on his mop again.
“Well, there’s the Iditarod, for one thing, and—”
“Dude, screw the Iditarod. It’s not worth your time or your money.”
A hot sizzle of anger flared in Josh’s stomach. “Says who? I happen to think it’s very well worth my time.”
“Really? Why? And is it worth Dad’s time? I mean, you’re basically holding him hostage by making him manage the kennel.”
Josh shook his head, doubling the pace of his mopping to avoid punching his brother. “Some of us don’t mind having obligations to family. You should try it sometime. You might find it rewarding.”
“My obligation’s to you,” Jack said. “And when you came back to work after the Iditarod last year, you could hardly move, remember? It took a good couple weeks until your fingers and toes stopped tingling. You’re spending every dollar you make on the kennel and the race, and for what? Coming in last? It would be different if you had sponsors paying for you, and if you had a chance to win, but … I don’t know, brother. It’s like you’ve got something in your head that keeps pushing you to do this, and I don’t know what it is, but I just wish you’d give some thought to finding something else to do. I mean, you’ve never once said it was fun.”
“It’s not supposed to be fun,” Josh said, feeling a deep-seated frustration toward Jack, who in spite of their uneasy relationship knew him so well. “It’s supposed to be hard.”
Jack shrugged. “I just think you should give it some thought.”
“Fine, but leave Dad out of it. You have no right to even talk about him, since you won’t talk to him.”
“Fair enough. I just figured that thinking about what he might want could help sway you to find a new hobby.”
Hayley, Josh thought immediately. She could be my new hobby.
“I mean, you don’t think Dad would rather be visiting his grandkids in the Florida Keys?” Jack continued. “I’m surprised you don’t remember him and Mom talking about retiring down in Florida. They talked about it all the time.”
“Here’s a thought,” Josh said. “Why don’t you invite Dad to go with you on this trip? Since you’re so concerned about me ‘holding him hostage’ with obligations.”
Of everything Jack had said, that was what burned the most.
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”
“Well, I have no interest in travelling with you,” Josh said, although he’d secretly yearned for years that he could be actual friends with his brother like Tom Steele was. “It’s a hard no.”
“Fine,” Jack said. “I won’t ask again.”
They finished mopping the floor in a silence that stretched for miles.
Hayley walked out of the North Star Café a much richer woman than she’d been when she walked in, thanks to Claire’s generosity. She wanted to share the news of her good fortune, and she wanted to share it with Josh.
She wouldn’t, of course. She didn’t want people to think it was why she’d befriended Claire in the first place, as a way to get at her money. Growing up like she had, where motives were always questioned, she often had a hard time understanding how happy people thought, that not everyone was angling to manipulate a situation in their favor. Therapy had helped during her college years, and now she felt she was able to mostly function like a normal person. There were times, though, when quick, unquestioned thoughts would take over her mind.
Now was one of those times. Was she a gold-digger? Were her motives entirely pure where her friendship with Claire was concerned? It had always been hard for her to accept gifts, even the smallest of gifts, because in her upbringing, gifts were never freely given. There were always strings attached and there was always a price to be paid for accepting.
Claire’s offer—the eventual ownership of a thriving business—was a doozy of a gift.
As she made the mile-long walk to Golden Falls Fitness Studio, where she was meeting Cassie for spin class, Hayley worked through the situation in her mind.
In her defense, she came from a very wealthy family, and had she stayed and been willing to subject herself to their particular form of tyranny, she could have taken control of her trust money by now. The amount bordered on obscene and had been dangled in front of her throughout her life.
Instead, she’d walked away. Applied to Alaska State University without telling her parents and won a full merit scholarship. When she told them, they threatened to revoke her trust fund if she didn’t go to Duke, where she’d also gained admittance. Taking them at their word, she took her birth certificate and high school transcript and moved to Golden Falls, the opposite corner of the country, and never looked back.
Her parents had kept their word about disowning her, and she was glad for it.
Making the move was what Hayley was most proud of in her life, followed closely by working her way through school and establishing a name for herself as an up-and-comer in her adopted hometown. Her motives concerning Claire were pure. In addition to being a great boss and friend, Claire was like the mother Hayley’d never had and always wanted. If she had an ulterior motive, it was that—to be loved unconditionally by Claire, and to return the love tenfold.
It was the same as her motive for finding a man in her life, the kind of man her father had never been, one who was emotionally available, who loved her, who had
time for her.
All the things Josh Barnes wasn’t.
The freezing air stung the tears in her eyes, and Hayley resolutely wiped them away. She picked up her walking pace, tried to focus on her numerous blessings and her plans for the staffing agency, and by the time she arrived at the health club, she already felt better.
The spin class was held in a glass-walled room with a breathtaking view of Denali, and while there wasn’t a bad view in the room, Hayley wasn’t able to grab a bike next to Cassie, as both were already taken. Instead, she took the bike directly behind her. Cassie, who Hayley expected would be early to everything always, had a front-row position and was dressed in a magazine-worthy outfit that showed off her toned body. Not an extra half-inch anywhere, and while Hayley was happy for her, she knew she’d spend the entire class staring at her new friend’s perfectly pert ass. She decided to be inspired by it rather than jealous of it.
“Good morning!” Cassie said over her shoulder. “How was your date with Josh?”
“Oh. My. God.” Hayley nearly lost her breath just thinking about it. “It went beautifully.”
Cassie raised her eyebrows, wanting Hayley to elaborate, but they were surrounded by other women whose spin bikes were definitely within hearing distance. Hayley was thankful when the instructor began class, but not for long because the class almost killed her. She sweated buckets, and when she got off the bike at the end of class, her legs were beyond wobbly. The thought of walking back a mile to her office or home felt like cruel and unusual punishment, so when Cassie offered to give Hayley a ride, she gratefully accepted.
Cassie mentioned she was stopping by the Arctic Skies B&B to see Shannon Steele about doing a feature story on the recent rooftop patio installation of a custom twelve-person hot tub—which was apparently the largest hot tub in Alaska. When they got to the B&B, Hayley went in with Cassie to say hello.
When Shannon opened the door, she gave Hayley a curious look. “You live there, don’t you?” She pointed to Hayley’s apartment building down the street. “In the brick two-story?”
“I do,” Hayley said with a sinking feeling.
“Come on in,” Shannon said, holding the door for them. “I’ll make some tea, and then Hayley can tell me why Josh Barnes's truck was parked outside her house all night when she implied she barely knew him.”
Hayley swallowed guiltily. “I do barely know him.”
“But now she knows him carnally,” Cassie said breezily, waving off any threat of negativity. “A one-night stand, no big deal.”
Hayley gave her a grateful look but watched Shannon’s face, ready for the accusation of false friendship.
Shannon, though, to Hayley’s great shock, gave her a conspiratorial wink instead. “Hey, more power to you. Better to get him out of your system now.”
“Oh, he is,” Hayley said, trying to convince herself at the same time. She looked around with genuine awe at the gorgeous foyer into which she’d been welcomed, and changed the subject with sincerity.
“This is awe-inspiring.” Her eyes took in the grand chandelier. “Is it original to the house?”
“Nope,” Shannon said with a laugh. “It’s a Restoration Hardware knock-off. I’m not actually a huge lover of antiques. I go for comfort. And quality. And stuff you don’t have to fix all the time.”
“Same.” There hadn’t been one comfortable piece of furniture in Hayley’s childhood house.
“Can you show us the hot tub before we have tea?” Cassie said. “I’ll probably need to dash out pretty quick afterwards.”
“Sure.”
Shannon took them through the B&B to get to the rooftop patio, describing all the projects she’d done and still needed to do. Her great-grandparents had built the six-bedroom house shortly after the turn of the twentieth century, and Shannon told them that when her mom passed, she couldn’t bear the thought of selling it. Her bachelor brother, Tom, had a small house north of town and no interest in maintaining such a large property.
Hayley’s admiration for Shannon grew as she toured the B&B. It was clear they shared the same entrepreneurial vigor. The twelve-person rooftop hot tub would be a draw, and when Cassie suggested they do a girls’ night and watch the northern lights while sipping cocktails in the hot tub, Hayley was quick to express her enthusiasm. She loved the patio; it was a great party venue. From one edge, the downtown square was visible, and from the other, Shannon’s backyard.
Hayley went to the railing and tried to get a sense of what the yard would look like without snow. She was startled to see a big bear ambling through.
“Um, Shannon?” she said. “You’ve got a bear walking through your yard.”
“A bear!” Cassie’s voice was an octave higher than normal. “I hate bears!” She came to the edge near Hayley and clutched her arm as she tried to get a look. “A bear almost killed me once. We should call this in. Get that monster out of here.”
“Oh, that’s the one-eared bear!” Shannon said, coming beside them and smiling down at the fat grizzly bear stretching against her storage shed. “He’s kind of a townie.”
Cassie shuddered. “Cody mentioned that they ran a nuisance call on a bear the other day. I wonder if it’s the same one.”
“Watch, he’s harmless,” Shannon said. “We mean nothing to him. Hey, BEAR!”
The bear looked up at them, his head tilted so his one ear could better hear her, and Hayley laughed.
“Go on, get out of here,” Shannon called, waving her arms.
The bear stared at her stubbornly for a few seconds and then turned and waddled out of sight behind the storage shed.
“I think his den is somewhere in town,” Shannon said. “That’s why he doesn’t completely hibernate. He has warmth and food sources nearby.”
“I’m telling Cody,” Cassie said. “He needs to be relocated.”
“Aw, he’s funny!” Shannon said. “He’s been around forever.”
They ended the tour in the spacious kitchen, where Shannon had installed commercial appliances and created a baking station at which she prepared pastries daily for her guests. Hayley’s favorite feature was the long counter-height farmhouse table, for guests to share meals together in the kitchen if they preferred.
“Sit,” Shannon said, gesturing toward the table. “I’ll get the teakettle going.”
They made small talk until she brought over their tea on a tray, along with a plate of chocolates. Cassie and Shannon indulged in multiple chocolates, but Hayley, not wanting her spin class to have been for nothing, confined herself to one, seeking solace instead in the calorie-free cinnamon tea.
“So, a one-night stand with Josh Barnes,” Shannon said. “That’s how we started, too. I advise you to be careful. He’s kind of addicting.”
Tell me about it, Hayley thought.
“It’s already over,” she said. “I have a date on Saturday with the new manager of the Moondance.”
“I met him last night!” Shannon said. “He was cute. You must have gotten to him first, because he showed absolutely no interest in me.”
“Was there anyone else there you connected with?” Hayley asked.
Shannon shook her head.
“You used to date Dylan Hart, didn’t you?” Cassie said.
“I did,” Shannon said. “A long, long time ago. He was my first. My high-school love.”
“I heard there’s bad blood between you,” said Cassie.
“Not on my end,” Shannon said. “We do have a history, though, and my brother would kill us if we got together again. I like to think that’s the reason why Dylan won’t talk to me, but the truth is, I don’t really know.”
“Dylan’s a firefighter, too,” Cassie told Hayley.
“Yeah, firefighters are my kryptonite,” Shannon said, taking another chocolate as if to distract herself.
“I met Dylan briefly at Singles Night,” Hayley said. “He’s … I guess smoldering is the word.”
“He was at Singles Night?” Shannon’s vo
ice had a pout to it. “Did he go home with anyone?”
“Dylan often goes home with someone,” Cassie said. “And it sure sounds like you’re not over him.”
Shannon sighed. “Does anyone really ever get over their first love?”
“Yes,” Cassie and Hayley said simultaneously and then laughed, also simultaneously.
“You should find my brother a match,” Shannon said to Hayley. “I want to be an auntie.”
“What kind of woman is Tom attracted to?” Hayley asked.
“Free spirits.”
“Really?” Cassie said. “That’s odd because he seems so steady and reliable. I’d think he’d want someone the same way.”
“He had to grow up fast when our dad died,” Shannon said. “He never had the chance for a rebellious phase. Plus, he had to act all big-brotherly during my extended rebellious phase, and I’m sure it wore on him.”
“How did your dad die?” Hayley asked. “If you don’t mind my asking.”
“Not at all,” Shannon said. “Although it’s refreshing to think there’s someone in this town who doesn’t know. He was a bush pilot and his plane went down in rough weather.”
“Oh, how awful.” Hayley put her hand on Shannon’s arm.
“I was ten, and I’m sure Tom stuck around Golden Falls because of me. By the time I left for college he was already on the fire department and working his way up the ranks. So—” She faced Hayley directly. “You need to find my brother someone who’s worthy of him. Someone adventurous but not flighty, and someone who won’t take off on him in the middle of the night, like his one real serious girlfriend did. Because Tom’s a great guy, and he’s got a lot of love to give, and I can’t really tell if he’s happy being single or not. It’s not the kind of thing he’d ever admit to me if he wasn’t. He never wants me to worry about him.”
“In other words, you need to find women who’ll come to Golden Falls and actually stay,” Cassie said.
“That’s the plan,” Hayley said. “‘Bring Your Heart, Leave Your Baggage,’ as my friend Rebecca likes to say.”
17
Bring Your Heart (Golden Falls Fire Book 2) Page 14