Snow Belle (Madison Creek Bed & Breakfast Book 1)

by Jackie Castle

  “But you’re so good. You play such wonderful music. You should be out there, shining—”

  “Stars burn out eventually. Haley, what’s important to me is what the Lord wants. I need to line up my dreams with His or I might spark for a moment, but it’ll be for nothing. He’s the one who puts the plans and purpose in our lives. Without Him, we’re nothing more than lost lambs wandering around in the dark.”

  She looked down at the next verse. ‘Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?’ She had to admit, she was pretty toasty right now, snuggled beside Ethan Winters.

  Did the Lord bring this wonderful man, this talented violinist, past her drive on purpose? There was a thought to ponder. Was Ethan changing his mind about wanting to go to New York? He was just too talented to remain here in this little town, even if they did revive it. Wasn’t he?

  “‘Though one may be overpowered,’” she finished reading the last part, “‘two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.’” Her fingers touched the words. “The thicker the rope, the harder it is to snap. That’s sure true.” She knew when you needed to tie up a bull securely, you used the thickest rope you could find. “Okay, I want to do this. But—” she looked around the house, slowly standing as she mentally made a list of supplies she’d need to buy. “We’ll need to do some major cleaning.”

  Ethan followed her into the kitchen. They stopped in the arch between the living and dining room.

  “All the old magazines and books. We’ll move them to one of the back rooms. The floors need a good scrubbing.”

  He stood silently beside her, grinning like a coyote that just bagged a fat rabbit.

  “What?”

  He pointed up. “Told you I found some mistletoe, too.”

  She glanced up to see the greenery hanging from an old nail above them.

  “Well, of all the conniving…” But she couldn’t stop smiling herself. She stretched up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek at the same moment he bent down to do the same. Their lips met instead. For a moment they both froze, mouth to mouth. Warmth ran up from her chilled toes to the top of her head. She melted against him. His arms went around her, pulling her close to his body. His kiss grew with intensity and she added her own bit of kick as she kissed him back with equal passion.

  When they finally pulled away from each other, she grabbed her cap, which had started to slip off. “Wow. Yankees do know how to smooch.”

  He laughed but said nothing for a long moment while he stroked her hair back from her face. The merriment from the moment before dissolved into a mixture of intensity and something that smoldered to the point she thought they were standing on hot coals. “Haley, I’m seriously thinking of…” His breathing grew deeper.

  She slid her hands around his neck, letting her fingers entangle themselves in the dark hair growing over his collar.

  “I do need to go home. For a while and work out a few things. But…”

  “What? Ethan, what’s going on in that mind of yours?”

  “I want to come back here. I’ve fallen in love with this town. But even more, there’s a certain Snowbelle I’m falling for. And I’m wondering if … there’s a chance for us.”

  “Me and you? Haven’t you seen enough to run for the hills?”

  He hugged her tighter. “I don’t want to run anywhere. If Pecos Bill can catch a tornado, I’m hoping to rope you in, little lady.” He’d put on that mock southern drawl, but she laughed.

  Oh, but she wanted him to stay. She’d so wanted this. Deep down she’d hid that wish, afraid to let it see the light of day. Afraid to acknowledge that want.

  She cupped his face and kissed him more tenderly, reveling in his soft lips and strong arms holding her tightly against him. She fit so perfectly in those arms. Never before had she felt such a thrill, such a completeness as she did with Ethan. Between the kisses, she managed to get a yes out.

  He eventually pulled back. “First things first, right? We better get going if we’re to spiff this place up in time. Plus, we’ll need to let them know our plans to be included in the list of events.”

  She nodded, then kissed him again.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ethan set the last of the boxed magazines in the back room as Haley requested. She’d driven off to town in Lady Blue to get a few cleaning supplies so they could get the house ready for visitors.

  They’d both gone into town the day before to see about getting put on the list of activities. They managed to locate a couple of extra horse-drawn buggies to ride with the Madison carriage.

  He checked once more to make sure he’d cleared all the clutter, then hurried upstairs to look for the extra boxes of decorations Haley said he’d missed. If they were going to do this, they’d do it right, she’d decided. He loved the excitement in her eyes once he’d convinced her to go along with his plan.

  Now he hoped he’d not been too hasty. Surely folks would come. He made sure to get word out that there would be special Christmas music with the Diner band he’d performed with Thanksgiving Day.

  Already the house looked amazing, now that they’d cleared away most of the junk. They’d gone into the woods earlier that morning and collected pine branches, holly, and more mistletoe. Haley spread the natural decorations all around the house, and had some pine needles and cloves simmering on the stove to fill the house with wonderful spicy scents.

  She’d wanted to start early to get the mustiness out.

  Tires crunched on the drive. Ethan hurried outside to help her and stopped in his tracks over the loot piled in the back of the truck. Haley got out, her cheeks flushed, but that beautiful grin split her face. “I went a little haywire. Stopped by the nursery and bought a few bunches of poinsettias to brighten up the garden room. Figured some might want to sit in there to have their drinks. And I got more lights. Cain’t never have enough bling, Aunt Daisy says. She’s right excited about this and offered a few things we can use to decorate with.”

  Wally leapt from the cab of the truck and tore off after a flock of birds pecking around in the snow.

  Ethan helped her unload the truck. She’d bought food to make snacks, cleaning supplies, more ornaments and ribbons, along with a couple of cans of paint. “I’m not sure we have time to renovate the house, Snowbelle.”

  She smirked, then stopped by him for a quick kiss before she snatched the brushes from his hand. “I’m just gonna touch up the trim a bit. I’m as nervous as an armerdiller in a parking lot.”

  He had to search his memories to remember what an armerdiller looked like. Then he recalled that was the little animal with a shell like skin on its back that resembled a speed bump. Once he made that association, he found her quirky joke funny.

  For the rest of the day, they worked until they both fell onto the couch beside the tree in exhaustion. She rested her head against his chest and stared at the twinkling lights in silence. He loved this. Sitting here with her. He could see himself living this life and being perfectly happy. Maybe he would be tossing away his chance to become a real violinist, but people here seemed to enjoy his music. There still might be other ways to get his music out to the public.

  “I’m starving,” Haley said against his neck. “But I don’t want to move.”

  He needed to look over the songs he’d play for the event. Instead, he wrapped the beautiful woman resting beside him in his arms and kissed the top of her soft curls. She smelled of cinnamon and orange spice. And everything nice….

  “This …” he sighed, “is too peaceful to be disturbed with more work. Let’s just sit here and blissfully starve together.”

  She smacked her hand on his chest playfully, then pushed away. “I figured we’d be beat, so I bought a gallon of Mal’s beef stew. She seems to think you’re a fan of it.”

  A smiled cocked his lips. “I am, actually. It’s just like my Mom makes it.”

  Haley rolled her eyes. “Just wait till you see what I do with i
t.” She hopped up and sauntered off toward the kitchen.

  Ethan hurried after her. “Hold up there, missy. Don’t you be throwing any of those fiery peppers in my bowl! If you want to burn out your taste buds that’s your—” his phone sang Bluebird from his pocket. When he checked it, he found Stephen was calling him again. “I should really take this. Be back in a moment.” He’d put his friend off long enough, and needed to push aside his stubborn pride and make amends.

  While she got out the cutting board and a bag of some green bullet-looking things, he headed for the front porch. “Hello, Steph.”

  “Finally, man. I was afraid you’d never answer and we’d blow another chance.”

  “What’re you talking about? There is no more “we” far as I’m concerned. Matter of fact—”

  “Hold up, Eth. First off, I’m sorry for how I left, but there was a family emergency. My sister… you know the one who’s been in and out of mental hospitals?”

  Ethan sat heavily on the swinging bench. The cold of the wood seeped through his clothes. He should have thought to grab his coat. “Beth? What happened now?”

  For a moment his friend was quiet. Ethan heard the Piano Guys playing in the background. Was he in his car?

  “She seems to have tired of fighting her illness. They said she wasn’t taking her meds right. Whatever. She… um… she was found in the tub with her wrists slit.”

  Ethan gasped. “No. Steph!” He was up and pacing again.

  “Luckily, she didn’t do it right. But she’s back in the hospital and will be committed again. Ethan, I had to get to Chicago. Mom met me there. She couldn’t handle it on her own again.”

  “Of course not. Don’t you think I would have understood if you’d just told me?”

  “There was no chance, man.” Stephen paused for a moment. “By the time I was able to call people, you weren’t answering my calls. I wasn’t going to leave a message like that on your phone. We were trying to keep it quiet so she wouldn’t lose her job, but now that she’ll be—”

  “Oh, man, I’m so sorry. I’ve been a complete—”

  “No, you have every right to be angry. We were so close. But, hey, something else has come up. That orchestra gig in New York. We’ve got the audition. Any way you can be there by next Wednesday?”

  Ethan’s heart faltered and his breath caught. “Next… I… uh, I’m not sure. My car, it’s—”

  “Your dad said you’d been in an accident. He’s really put out, man. Said he’s lost his patience with you. If we get hired onto this orchestra, we’ll be set. You can pay him back. And though it might take us longer to get where we want, we’ll be on the right road again. What do you say? I’ll send you money for a bus ticket if I have to.”

  The screen door banged closed as Haley came out with two bowls of steaming stew. She saw him on the phone, and mouthed an apology as she back stepped into the house. He motioned her to come on, patting the bench beside him.

  “Steph, I’m going to need to get back to you later with an answer. I’m not sure that’s what I want now.”

  “What? Eth, are you trying to get back at me for what I did in Cali?”

  “No, that’s not it at all. At least, not now. If you’d called last week, it might have been a different story.”

  “But I need an answer. What will I tell them?”

  “Tell them you’ll be there.”

  Haley’s eyes widened. She quickly set the bowls down on the wicker table and turned to face him. He couldn’t look at her. Not at the moment.

  “Come on, Eth, we’re a team. We both need to go. Don’t blow this, man. Not now.”

  “I said I’d think about it.” Before he could argue anymore, Ethan told him he needed to go, and hit the ‘end call’ button. He took the extra bowl, checked to see if she’d “fixed” his serving and, seeing it pepper free, took a taste. She had added something, but he found the extra spices kind of tantalizing.

  “Everything okay?” Haley stirred her bowl, which had circles of green mixed in. “You look a little put out.”

  He didn’t want to think about New York right now, or talk about it. What he needed was time to pray. Time to figure out if this was what he really wanted. Blowing on the piping hot stew, he gave a half-shrug. “That was my friend. The one who ditched me in California. Just trying to make amends.”

  “We’re supposed to forgive as we’ve been forgiven, right?”

  “I’ve forgiven him. He explained what happened. We’re fine.” He pointed the spoon at the chili. “So what did you put in my soup, oh mighty alchemist of the kitchen?”

  * * * *

  Haley chuckled, but she wasn’t fooled by his silly joke. Something had him unsettled like a dog with a flea problem. But she wasn’t one to pry. Not so soon, anyway. She’d give him time, to see if he offered to talk about it. If not, then it really wasn’t her business, anyway. Right?

  Maybe.

  “I added some garlic and a bit of cayenne. But not too much. Don’t want to injure your delicate Yankee taste buds. Also added a bit of my secret seasoning powder. I promise it’ll not turn you into a horned bullfrog or anything.”

  “It’s good.” He turned the subject to what they needed to get done, but never mentioned what the call was about. She’d heard him say he needed to think about something. Which meant he’d probably be praying. If that was the case, she needed to let him do that. Maybe tomorrow he’d feel more willing to confide in her.

  Once they’d cleaned up and settled what they needed to do the next day, Haley reluctantly bid Ethan goodnight. He walked her out to Lady Blue and after a long good-night kiss, helped her into her truck. Wally sat beside her, tail wagging over getting to go somewhere. Crazy dog just loved to go, didn’t matter where.

  “Sleep tight, sweet Haley.” He reached in through the open window and ran his fingers over her cheek.

  “You sure every thing’s peachy keen?”

  He chuckled. “I just have things I need to pray through tonight.”

  She couldn’t help herself. Her feelings for him had turned from fondness to what she was sure was budding love. Was he feeling the same way? “Anything you need help praying for?” She knew she was nosing around the fence-line of prying into his private business, but a girl had to try, didn’t she?

  “I cherish any prayers you have for me. I just need to seek out the Lord’s will for something.”

  She grasped his hand and closed her eyes. “Then father God, you heard him. He needs some direction. We’re asking for clear vision. You know, like them lighthouses. Something obvious like that. ‘K? Thanks. Amen.”

  “You really are something,” Ethan cupped his hands around her face. “I love you, Haley Madison. I want you to know that.”

  Her breath caught. He’d said it. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come out. They’d all gotten clogged in her constricting chest since her heart was swelling up like a big ol’ balloon. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and put all the love she felt for him in her kiss.

  Then, before her emotions overtook her rational and carried things too far, she pushed him away from her truck.

  He took a step back, his cheeks flushed, but that silly grin pulled at his mouth and lit up his whole face. His wide-eyed gaze told her that he understood her unspoken sentiment.

  She gave a quick nod as she rolled up the window and pulled out. She’d been down that road with Robert and still regretted her choices. Haley had no intention of taking any more risk and repeating Momma’s mistakes. But the lingering of Ethan’s kiss on her lips made her remember how easy it was to get carried away, all the same. She still had no guarantees he’d stay and if an opportunity did arise for him to become a violinist, she wasn’t so sure she’d feel right about being the reason he didn’t take it.

  * * * *

  The next morning, everything went by in a blur with getting last-minute tasks done. The house was completely lit up outside, and so enchanting, it took Haley’s breath away.<
br />
  Ethan never bothered to bring up what had troubled him the night before, and Haley decided she would not pester him about it. Not today, anyway.

  Along with the busyness which didn’t afford much time for talking, her heart was soaring too high and too fast to be concerned about anything more than if people would really come to the house.

  The first to stop in was Karen Black-Borgman, along with a couple of councilmen. They were making their rounds to check that everyone would be ready and in place once the festivities began.

  “I’m sure you have a lot to do here, Miss Madison, but I hope you and Mr. Winters will come to the opening ceremony when we light the tree. Mayor Grimes will give a speech about next year’s plans for the town. You’ll want to hear what he has to say.”

  She cast a questioning look to Ethan, who promised they’d be there.

  Karen took one more look around. “It’s been years since I’ve been here. I do see what you mean about the repairs needed.” She scribbled a note on her clipboard. Haley tried to read it, but she quickly turned aside. “How many rooms do you have here, anyway? I see one at the end of the hall.”

  “I’ll show you around if you have time.”

  Karen actually looked pleased at this, along with the gentlemen flanking her. Haley thought she was a pretty woman when she smiled. Too bad she didn’t do it more often.

  “Well, come on, then.” She led them around the first floor.

  Karen paused in the library, her gloved hand covering her mouth. “My, some of these must have been purchased when Chesterfield Madison first built this house at the turn of the century.” She pointed to a row of books. “Those couldn’t possibly be first editions of Twain, could they?”