Chapter 2 #2
“Right…” she said slowly. “That still doesn’t explain why the town is hosting a festival for a ski resort when you can’t ski.”
With a nod, Devin went on. “Most people don’t realize that ski resorts can be open year-round.
In the warmer months, there are tons of things the property can be used for.
With Summit Ridge, they’re going to host a five-day festival with a massive carnival with rides and games, and give everyone a chance to tour the newly renovated lodge.
Last I heard, the entire place was sold out.
There are over a hundred rooms and they’re fully booked! ”
“Great.”
“As for what they’re offering, they’ve got an alpine slide, a mountain coaster, there’s a rock-climbing wall, zip-lining, and ATV and hiking trails.
And I heard they’ll be offering some scenic lift rides for those who want to scope out the sights.
The whole town’s really excited about it.
” He paused and took another sip of his coffee.
“Plus, there’s going to be live music and shows every night too.
There’s been so much work going on that word’s gotten out to the surrounding areas and I’m guessing the hotels are probably filling up kind of fast too. ”
Slouching in her seat, she looked over at him with a hint of despair. “So what am I supposed to do? Sleep in my car?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll get your car hitched up and we’ll call The Cozy Corner and check availability.”
“The Cozy Corner?” she said with a hint of disdain.
He chuckled and shrugged. “Hey, I didn’t name the place, so don’t blame me. It’s one of the two bed and breakfasts in town. The other is The Sweet Briar Inn. Either way, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” He looked up and saw Will coming through the door and waved him over.
“Hey, boss! Sweet Mustang out there!”
Devin smiled and made the quick introductions. “Let me go and pay the check and we’ll get going.”
MacKenzie was hot on his heels all the way to the register. “I got mine,” she said.
“Uh-uh,” he replied. “I ate more than my share of the food, so it’s on me.”
“Oh, please. I ate just as much as you did and there’s no reason for you to pay for my meal. I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”
And Devin had no doubt she could, but he just felt an overwhelming sense of wanting to take care of her, probably because he could tell it had been a long time since anyone else had.
His mom had raised him to help those who were maybe a little less fortunate.
But as much as he wanted to claim it was because of a proper upbringing, he had a feeling it had a little something to do with the fact that there was something about MacKenzie Holland he liked.
Really liked.
He looked over at her–and she was glaring at him again–and noticed how her long hair was finally starting to dry. It was wavy and the color of rich honey. But it was those green eyes that kept drawing him in.
“Have a good night!” the cashier said with a big smile and it snapped Devin out of his reverie.
“You ready?” he asked MacKenzie and once she nodded, they walked outside and found Will waiting for them.
It didn’t take long between the two of them to get the car onto the flatbed and secured now that the rain had finally stopped.
While they had worked on moving the car, Devin had given MacKenzie his phone to secure herself a room for a couple of days.
“I’ll meet you back at the shop,” Will called out as he got in the truck.
Devin watched him drive off before climbing into his own. MacKenzie was sitting in the passenger seat. “That was easy, right?”
She nodded. “So it’s probably too late to look at it tonight, right?”
It was his turn to nod. “Don’t worry. It’s going to be my top priority and I’ll start on it first thing in the morning.”
“Thanks.”
He motioned toward the phone. “Did you have any luck getting a room?”
“Yup. Two nights. I’m hoping that’s all I’ll need.”
“Which place?”
“Hmm?”
“Which place did you get a room at? The Cozy Corner or The Sweet Briar?”
“Oh, um…the first one.” Turning her head, she looked out the window. “It looks like the rain has finally moved on. The rest of the drive should be uneventful.”
He agreed with her and slowly pulled out of the parking lot and onto the highway.
Within minutes, they were back on the I-81 and heading toward home.
When it became obvious that MacKenzie wasn’t in the mood to talk, Devin turned on the radio and figured he’d just let her be.
It all had to be overwhelming for her. And besides, they’d just talked for three hours straight. That was a personal record for him.
An hour later, they pulled into the lot of Sweetbriar Auto Care and just the sight of it filled Devin with pride. This was his. He’d created this and he never seemed to get over the rush it gave him every time he pulled up to it.
Will was already lowering the Mustang into a parking spot along the side of the building. Devin parked and got out to help him. “Why not put it inside?” he asked as he walked over.
“Normally we’d have one bay clear for you, but Margie Ferguson couldn’t get in to pick up her car today, and she was having a fit about it being left in the parking lot overnight.
I promised her we’d keep it inside until tomorrow morning.
” He shrugged and gave Devin an apologetic grin.
“I told her we’d have to move it first thing and she was fine with that, but she was pretty adamant about it not being out all night. She babies that car.”
Devin wanted to argue that the Mustang needed to be babied, but figured it was a pointless argument right now. Maybe after it was fixed, he’d have a talk with MacKenzie about the importance of taking care of a classic like this car, but not tonight.
He and Will got the car secured before Will pulled the tow truck around the back of the garage. While he did that, MacKenzie walked over and looked more than a little exhausted.
“I just need to grab a bag from the trunk,” she said quietly. “Um…how far is the B&B from here?”
“Just two blocks over,” Will said as he walked back over and joined them. “I’d be more than happy to give you a lift.”
MacKenzie smiled at him even as she shook her head. “Thanks, but…I think I’ll just walk over. After spending so much time sitting today, it’ll feel good to stretch my legs a bit.”
“MacKenzie…” Devin began.
“It’s okay. Really,” she said, effectively cutting him off. “Just point me in the right direction and I’ll be on my way.”
“Go right up the block here,” Will began, pointing to his left and make your first left. It’s one block up. You can’t miss it.”
Pulling a duffel bag from the trunk, MacKenzie carefully closed it, made sure the doors were locked, and thanked them. She looked at Devin and handed him her spare key. “I guess I’ll check in with you in the morning and see what you’ve found.”
He nodded but didn’t say anything. His mouth was set in a grim line as he watched her walk away.
An hour later, MacKenzie was crouching behind a bush, cursing. “For the love of it, why won’t he just leave?”
There had been no rooms available at The Cozy Corner and no rooms available anywhere within a twenty-mile radius, not that she was going to share that information with Devin.
Her plan had been to simply sleep in her car–how was that for irony?
–and be up and out of it before he came in to work in the morning.
Only…he wouldn’t leave.
She’d made a big scene out of walking away and making her way down the block and had even made it as far as the B&B just so she could say she had, but then had doubled back and hoped to slip into her car and sleep. She was exhausted–mentally and physically–and just wanted this day to end.
Resigning herself to the idea that she was going to have to camp in the bushes, a flash of headlights shone off in the distance and she realized it was Devin finally leaving the shop.
“Thank God,” she murmured, ready to weep with relief.
Once the taillights were out of sight, she made her way toward her car.
His lights were the only ones she’d seen since they arrived in town.
Seriously, did people really live here? All she could see were some small businesses and lots of trees.
True, it was dark out, but this was the quietest town she’d ever seen.
Maybe it was a little more lively in the daytime.
“Hey, baby,” she cooed as she unlocked the door and tossed her bag onto the front seat.
It wasn’t graceful, but she shimmied into the back seat and pulled the door closed and locked it.
It certainly wasn’t ideal and it wasn’t all that comfortable, but there wasn’t any other choice.
Lord knew it wasn’t the first time she’d slept in her car, but hopefully–after it was fixed–she wouldn’t have to do it again.
Pulling the duffel bag into the back seat, she fashioned it into a pillow and curled up on her side and tried to relax.
Her entire body ached with exhaustion. Falling asleep shouldn’t be a problem at all.
Closing her eyes, MacKenzie said a silent prayer of thanks that she wasn’t still sitting on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.
And she even added a prayer of thanks for the man who came to her rescue.
A small smile played at her lips. Devin really seemed like a good man.
Besides being incredibly handsome, he was just genuinely nice.
After spending so much time with him today, there was a part of her that believed he was too good to be true.
Besides rescuing stranded motorists, he owned his own business, came from a good family–his father was a pediatrician and his mother a nurse and they both traveled to underprivileged parts of the world to give medical care–and from the reviews she read about his garage, everyone loved him.
It wasn’t hard to picture him as a knight in shining armor, that’s for sure.
Shoving the duffel bag a bit to make it more comfortable, she yawned broadly. “Tomorrow. Tomorrow I can look for a place to stay, and…” She opened her eyes as a light came on. “What the…?”
Sitting up, she let out a small scream.
Devin Maxwell was standing outside her car door, shining a flashlight right in her face. “Open the door, MacKenzie!”
Well, damn . She was this close to being able to go to sleep and now this.
Shuffling around, she pushed the driver’s seat forward and unlocked the door. Devin yanked it open and she braced herself for what was sure to be some kind of rant.
“What the hell are you doing?” he demanded.
“I was trying to go to sleep,” she said sweetly, batting her eyelashes at him.
He inhaled deeply and let it out slowly before responding. “Why are you sleeping in your car? I thought you had a room at The Cozy Corner?”
What could she say? With a shrug, she replied, “They were booked.”
“What about the other hotels? They’re not as close but…”
“Booked,” she said dejectedly. “All booked. I tried them all. And I didn’t know the area well enough to keep calling around. The woman at The Cozy Corner gave me the numbers of all the places close by. When I couldn’t get a room at any of them, I didn’t know what else to do.”
He crouched down next to the open door and studied her. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have helped you find something.”
She wanted to scream and cry and stomp her foot in frustration. “You’ve already done enough! You’ve towed the car, bought me dinner, and that was after being kind enough to stop and help me in the pouring rain in the middle of nowhere! I’m kind of done leaning on you for help today!”
He chuckled.
“What? What’s so funny now?”
“Sweetheart, you have got to be the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.”
“Yeah, well…it’s all with good reason, I swear.” Her shoulders sagged as she looked at him. “Why are you doing this? Why are you being so nice? Why do you even care what happens to me?”
Devin studied her hard for a moment before his features relaxed. “Believe it or not, this is what decent people do,” he said softly. “We help one another–especially when someone’s a little down on their luck.”
“I’m not…” But she immediately cut herself off.
As much as she hated to admit it, that’s exactly what she was.
“I guess you can tell this is all new to me–the whole…people being nice to me thing. My dad was the only decent person I’ve ever known.
” Tears stung her eyes, but she willed them away because she was done crying today.
He stood and held out his hand to her. “Come on. Grab your bag and let’s go.”
She eyed him warily. “Go where?”
“For tonight? Home with me. I’ve got a guest room you can stay in.”
“Uh-uh,” she said defiantly, shaking her head. “No way. Not gonna happen. I don’t even know you! You could be…”
“Are we back to the serial killer theory again?” he asked, sounding bored. “Because really, if I haven’t killed you already, I think you’re in the clear. No killer would go to this much trouble.”
It was ridiculous to laugh, and yet that’s exactly what she did.
Exhaustion was making her loopy–that was the only reason she could possibly come up with for why she was putting her hand in his–and boy did that feel good!
- and why she was letting him pull her from the car.
Once she was standing beside him, Devin reached in and grabbed her bag, locked the car, and led her over to his truck–his hand firmly wrapped around hers.
It wasn’t until they turned out of the parking lot that MacKenzie looked at him. “How did you know I was there?”
“I called The Cozy Corner because I wanted to make sure you made it there all right. When they told me you didn’t have a room there or any reservation, I got suspicious. So I waited you out.”
“Damn. Do you have any idea how long I waited for you to leave?”
He nodded and chuckled. “Yup. Because I was sitting here waiting for you to show up. I finally realized you weren’t going to waltz up if you knew I was there, so I drove off and went around the block.”
She shook her head and laughed with him. “What a pair we make, huh?”
Devin looked over at her and smiled, and MacKenzie’s heart kicked hard in her chest. Dear Lord, the man had dimples.
And she knew right then and there that there was a very real chance of Devin Maxwell being her next big mistake.