Snow Furries (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 4)

by Susan C. Daffron

  “I suppose that is good to know, given my wife’s extra-curricular activities.”

  “You mean your not-exactly wife.”

  “Right.”

  “I’m in room 12, by the way. At the end.”

  They stood in front of the door and Jack put his hands in his coat pockets, hunching his shoulders against the wind. “Thanks for dinner. That was a lot of fun. Well, except for Annie showing up. Sorry about that. But I still had a great time.”

  Becca tried to think of something to say. She didn’t want him to leave yet. “Where did you park?”

  “I walked.”

  “All the way from your place?”

  “It’s not that far. And there’s no decent parking next to the restaurant.”

  Becca tugged at the arm of his coat. “It’s freezing out here. Why don’t you come in for a minute? I want to ask you about something. There’s a weird code on the tax stuff I got and I’m not sure what it means. The printouts from their ancient database are really cryptic and not the same as the ones I’m used to in LA.”

  “Can’t you just ask the people at the assessor’s office?”

  “They might be a little sick of me at this point.” Becca tugged at the fabric again. “It’s about the land, not the house, so you might know.”

  Jack shrugged. “Okay. Just for a minute. I should probably get back and make sure Frank is okay.”

  Becca unlocked the door and they walked inside. She took off her coat, threw it on a bed, and went over to the desk. Picking up a stack of papers, she sat down on the edge of one of the beds and started riffling through them. Jack was standing stiffly with his hands in his pockets, looking decidedly uncomfortable. She looked up at him. “Why don’t you sit down? This could take a minute. I made about 300 copies today. Relax, Jack. Take off your coat.”

  Jack did as instructed and perched on the edge of the desk chair, looking around the room. “You’re right. This is not exactly a high-end motel, is it?”

  “Not so much.” Becca pulled out a paper from the stack. “Aha! Found it.”

  She walked over to the chair and held the paper in front of him. “See that? What the heck is AG? Alpine Grove? Silver?”

  Jack looked up into her eyes. “Agricultural land. Tax exemption.” He reached up and gently took both sides of her face in his hands, pulling her head down to his. A delicious thrill went through her as her lips touched his. The kiss was just as electrifying as the first time, not to mention a lot warmer, without all the snow.

  As the kiss grew more intense, Becca tried not to fall in an indelicate heap on top of Jack, but it was difficult. As heat coursed through her body, she straddled the chair, wrapping her arms around his neck. She threw the paper on the desk and yanked at his shirt collar. A button flew off and she inclined her head to look into his eyes, which had turned a deep sapphire. “Maybe that lady at the front desk was on to something.”

  Pushing the fabric of her dress down her shoulder to expose more skin, Jack kissed her neck and mumbled “Maybe so,” before moving downward.

  Chapter 10

  Boots

  Later, Becca was stretched out alongside Jack, enjoying the warm feel of his skin against hers. She ran her hand down his arm and laced her fingers in his. He pulled her arm around and pressed her hand to his chest, so she was hugging him.

  She kissed his shoulder blade. “Are you okay?”

  Rolling over onto his back, he pulled her hand up to his lips, kissed her knuckles, and smiled. “I think the answer to that question is fairly obvious, don’t you?”

  Becca rubbed his calf with her toes. “No, I mean you didn’t make it to December seventh. The day that shall live in infamy and all that?”

  “I decided you were right.”

  She flashed a grin. “What? That I should jump you? I’d like to point out that you jumped me.”

  He chuckled. “Well, okay, that too. But no, you said that I was punishing myself. I decided you were right and it wasn’t doing me any good. I figured out what I need to know. Now December seventh is just an arbitrary date. With a summary divorce, you don’t go to court or anything. One day you’re married and the next day you’re just not anymore. It’s sort of strange in a way.”

  “I suppose it is.” Becca propped her head up on her elbow, looking down into his face. “But I’m not sure what you’re saying.”

  “I needed to decide what I want from the rest of my life, so I spent a lot of time alone thinking.”

  “All that Zen time in the trees?”

  “Yes. It was helpful that I got this huge project. One of the owners of the former commune showed me this place near a creek. I spent a lot of time there.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be boring trees and making grids?”

  “Yes.” He trailed a fingertip across her shoulder. “But I also am supposed to observe habitat. Forest ecosystems are complex, but I might have done more observation than absolutely necessary.”

  Becca stroked his chest. “You’re such a nature guy.”

  “True. But going off into the forest turned into an escape. What I do for a living requires it, but I blamed myself for not paying more attention to my marriage. I didn’t face things that needed to be faced.”

  “I think most people tend to avoid things they don’t want to deal with.”

  Jack looked at her thoughtfully as he traced the outline of her jaw with his index finger. “You didn’t. This terrible thing happened to you, and you just moved ahead. All the counseling, yoga classes, self-defense classes. Then the new job. I bet you didn’t even know how to knit before, did you?”

  “No. The fact that I only knit squares and rectangles is a giveaway.”

  “You were brave. And what you said to Annie about being at the cabin.” His lip twitched with suppressed humor. “The look on her face—well—let’s just say I don’t think she likes you.”

  “That’s fine. I don’t think I’m her biggest fan either. I don’t feel very brave.”

  “Maybe that’s not the right word. But you don’t run away from difficult situations. That’s what I did. There were rumors about Annie for a long time before I said anything. It’s a small town, after all. But I didn’t want to have that conversation.”

  “You didn’t seem too excited when Cliff got in your face either.”

  “I know. I hate conflict.”

  Becca took his hand and interlaced her fingers with his. “All the creatures of the forest should live in harmony, right?”

  “Yes.”

  She searched his troubled blue eyes. “What changed? Obviously, you did have that conversation, since you filed for divorce.”

  “It was just as bad as I thought it would be. Maybe worse. Annie apologized and said it would never happen again. But it’s not like I’m going to turn into a different person. I’m still the same boring ole me, and I have no reason to believe she wouldn’t start looking for excitement again. I thought about what would happen if we had kids. Right now, we have no children, no house, and haven’t really been married that long. Divorce is bad enough without involving kids and a lot of complicated money stuff.”

  A heaviness settled in Becca’s stomach. But she had to ask. “Doesn’t she love you? I mean you did get married, after all.”

  “She said she did. That’s what I had to think about for so long. I wanted to forgive her and just go back to the way things were when we met.” Jack glanced away. “It took a long time to accept, but I think Annie loved who she wanted me to be, not who I really am. And that hurt.”

  “I’m sorry.” Becca laid her head on his chest. The beating of his heart was soothing. “I understand what you mean. When my ex called me a head case after I was attacked, it made me realize he didn’t understand who I was either. Not really. It does hurt.”

  “Yeah.” Jack stroked her hair, tucking a strand behind her ear. “But I’m glad I met you. And even glad we were snowed in.”

  Becca moved her head to look at him. “I know. It was sort o
f awful and wonderful at the same time. Maybe sometimes it’s good to get away from your own life and thoughts for a little while.”

  He trailed a finger along the contours of her neck. “How Zen. I do notice that you’re speaking a lot more slowly.”

  “I’m relaxed. Apparently the chatterbox in my head runs out of things to say when I’m lying here all warm and snuggly with you. ‘Wow’ was about as far as I got.”

  “That sounds good.”

  “It definitely was. Plus, the fact that you don’t think I’m completely nuts is kind of a turn-on.”

  “Oh really?” He moved his hand across her thigh. “I like that you don’t think I’m boring. That dress you were wearing didn’t hurt either.”

  “I figure if you’re going to check out my boobs, I should give the girls the opportunity to look their best.”

  He lifted up the sheet, and looked down. “Very nice. Even better without the dress.”

  Becca put her palm on his chest. “I hate to kill the mood, but I just thought of something. You said you had to check on Frank.”

  “I did. But I’m sure he’s fine. Probably lying flat on his side on the mattress, shedding, and snoring like a freight train.”

  “So you don’t have to leave right now?”

  “No. I should probably go before the sun comes up, since then Frank will start getting agitated about his breakfast. But right now—right this second—there are other things I’d like to do.”

  As Jack’s hands moved under the sheet, Becca leaned to kiss him. “I think I might like these things.”

  “I think you might.”

  At some dark early morning hour, Jack kissed Becca and slipped out of bed. She rolled over and watched as he dressed and got ready to leave.

  He pulled on his long coat and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Can I see you later?”

  “My appointment with the owners to see the house isn’t until tomorrow. So I have planned a big morning of continuing harassment at a wide range of Alpine Grove offices. Then I have to come back here and enter data into my ever-so-exciting appraisal software. Many calculations will be involved.”

  He bent to kiss her. “Maybe I could stop by in the afternoon and take you away from all that for a while.”

  “Away from my laptop?” She grinned. “Gee, twist my arm.”

  He cupped her cheek with his hand and kissed her again. “See you later, then.”

  “Say hi to Frank for me.”

  Later, Becca was hunched over the little laptop pecking at numbers. She double-checked an entry against the number on her calculator display and pounded at the laptop’s Backspace key. Software could be so unbelievably annoying.

  At the knock at the door, she dropped the calculator on the desk with a little squeak of happiness. Spending way too much time thinking about last night with Jack had completely shot her concentration. She couldn’t wait to see him again.

  Opening the door quickly, Becca launched at Jack, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Oops, forgot to warn you.”

  “That’s okay. I’m kind of getting used to it.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Are you ready to go?”

  “It depends. You’re dressed like an Eskimo again. Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see. Wear gloves and bring those Italian hiking boots you told me about.”

  She picked up her gloves off the dresser and flopped them back and forth. “Ta-da!”

  He pointed at the boots on the floor. “Is this them?”

  “Yes. Aren’t they cute?”

  Picking them up, he turned to her. “Are hiking boots ever cute?”

  “Just because they have tread, doesn’t mean they have to be completely hideous.”

  They walked out to the truck, where Frank was sitting in the driver’s seat. Becca glanced at Jack. “He looks very official.”

  “Yeah, well, he’s not the greatest driver.” Jack opened the door and relocated Frank to the extended cab.

  “You’re so picky about driving skills. So where are we going?”

  “Up Misty Meadow Lane.”

  Becca glanced at him. “Um, I believe I’ve been there before.”

  “You’ve only seen part of it. Plus, it was snowing and you were lost.”

  She leaned on his shoulder as he put the truck in gear. “If we fall off the road again, I’m not going to forgive you. Neither will my uncle Pat if something happens and I don’t get this appraisal done.”

  “That’s why I’m not letting Frank drive.”

  Jack drove out north of town, and as they wound their way out past fields and long dirt roads toward the forests near Joel’s cabin, Becca regaled Jack with stories about the people she’d met that day. It was another gloriously sunny, blue-sky day and everything was snow-crusted and sparkly. Becca wished she’d thought to bring her sunglasses from LA.

  They passed the driveway to the cabin and Becca waved toward it. “Hey, it looks so different!”

  “I told you Joel plowed when we came out here. I’d love to have a blade like that for this truck.”

  “Don’t they plow your apartment complex?”

  “Yes. I suppose it’s just a guy thing.”

  “Hmm. Snow-plow envy. Is this kind of like big chain saws?”

  He laughed and reached over to take her hand. “Something like that.”

  The road dead-ended into a huge snow berm and a cleared area where the plows evidently turned around and went back down the road.

  Becca looked at Jack. “You brought me all the way out here to see a pile of snow?”

  “We’re not there yet. Put on your hiking boots.”

  “I’m not slogging through snow again. We’ve done that before and it wasn’t a lot of fun.”

  “I know. This time, you’re snow-shoeing. It’s a lot easier. I promise.”

  Becca changed her shoes and got out of the truck. Frank was leaping around, running in circles, and having an all-around fantastic time snuffling his nose down in the snow.

  She smiled at the dog’s antics. “Well, Frank is certainly enthusiastic about this idea.”

  “He loves it out here.” Jack handed her a pair of snowshoes. “Put these on. Just slip your foot in and tighten the bindings.”

  Becca did as instructed and clomped around in a circle. “I feel like Bigfoot.”

  “Follow me. And don’t let Frank step on your snowshoes. He gets pretty excited, but having one-hundred pounds of dog on your snowshoe tends to slow you down or pull off the shoe entirely.”

  “That sounds like the voice of experience talking.”

  Frank ran up ahead on a trail that led into the trees. Jack whistled and Frank came galloping back gleefully. Becca followed and looked up at the giant trees around them. The afternoon light shifted through the branches and a light breeze caused some of the boughs to creak. She inhaled the pungent scent of pine and let it fill her lungs.

  Jack was right. Walking on top of the snow was far easier than walking through it. As she got used to the wide-legged clunky walking rhythm, she forgot she was wearing snowshoes and started to enjoy the experience. The number of snowshoe tracks on the trail and others veering off to points unknown indicated that Jack had been out here recently.

  They walked down an incline and the sound of water rushing over rocks burbled below them. Jack leaned against a rock and Frank began a snow excavation project, digging furiously, then lying down in the indentation. The small clearing with the creek running through it had a sense of peace that Becca was at a loss to explain. She turned to Jack. “This is the place, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. You’re the only person I’ve ever told about it.” He gestured toward the creek. “At the risk of getting all woo-woo on you, there’s something special about this spot. How it feels. The woman who showed it to me—Bea—owns the gift store in town. She’s one of the people who lived at the commune, and she said I’d understand about how they felt about the conservation of the land if I came here.”

  She clumped over and lean
ed on the rock next to him. “Thanks for bringing me here.”

  “You once asked if I’m religious. And I’m not, in the traditional go-to-church kind of way. But in Walden, Thoreau said that ‘A field of water betrays the spirit that is in the air. It is continually receiving new life and motion from above. It is intermediate between land and sky.’ If there truly is some type of life force, I believe I’m closer to it in a place like this one.” He looked down and thumped his foot to remove the extra snow that had collected on the snowshoe. “That’s how it feels to me anyway.”

  Becca moved closer to him, trying not to step on top of his snowshoes with hers. “Can we just stay here for a while?”

  “I usually do. There’s a place over there where we can sit.”

  They took off their snowshoes and sat on a section of rock Jack had obviously cleared off earlier. He put his arm around her and she leaned her head on his jacket. Closing her eyes, she listened to the sound of his breathing and the rushing water below. Right here, right now, she was falling in love with Jack. And she wasn’t sure what to think about that.

  The next day, Becca went out to the correct house on Edgewater Road to take pictures. She’d made an appointment and arrived early. Everyone at work always used to tease her about being such a stickler for punctuality, but as a busy person herself, she hated to keep people waiting.

  The house was an enormous estate that was set back from the road. Fencing criss-crossed the land, and next to a huge barn several horses were standing in paddocks eating hay that had been thrown into large metal feeders. The horses probably missed grazing in their pastures, which were now a vast expanse of white.

  Becca went up to the door and was greeted by an employee who showed her around the house. Becca knew from her research that the place was sixty-five-hundred square feet. As she went through the rooms, she understood why Pat had immediately known the other house she’d visited was not the right place.