Chapter 5
He was a freaking lumberjack.
While I ate my breakfast, Melody chatted a bit about Love, her family’s lumber business, and the role they played in kick-starting this town.
She also told me that her brother now covered the bulk of the labour while their mother ran the finances and business side of things.
I didn’t put the pieces together and realize her brother was Calvin, who was also the Calvin who’d brought my bags in last night, who was also in the group of men I so gracefully ran away from this morning.
It took everything in me not to bury my face in my hands when Melody introduced us, but I think being able to scope him out first with a window between us helped calm my nerves.
He was tall and muscular in a way that proved he used those muscles; they weren’t just for show.
His wavy hair, that was a darker match to the golden warmth of his mom’s but lacked the burning flame of Melody’s, was thrown up in a bun that somehow simultaneously looked haphazard and perfect.
The beard framing his handsome face was thick but kept neat and on the shorter side, bringing all the focus to his piercing green eyes.
The cherry on top being the red plaid button down shirt rolled up at the sleeves.
Was that shirt a rite of passage for all lumberjacks?
I obviously wasn’t the only one to notice his arrival at the coffee shop as that gorgeous blonde with the legs for days danced across the street toward him. She approached him with the ease of a long-time lover, but he didn’t greet her in the same manner, which I found interesting.
People watching became second nature when you had to watch body language for your own safety, in your own home.
The wholesome way Calvin seemed to stumble over his words this morning made me smile, like our roles had been reversed from how the day had started.
I waved to Melody as I left the coffee shop.
It was great to chat with her, but as the morning rush picked up, I found myself itching to move again.
We promised to get together soon, she said she wanted to show me the town’s bookstore, but I figured I would probably find it as I wandered the town today.
If I was going to stay in Love, I would need to find something for myself to do.
I wasn’t sure my interior design degree would translate to anything meaningful on the Saskatchewan prairies, but the money I had pulled from my savings account wouldn’t last forever.
I was eternally grateful I had kept my bank accounts separate from Nick’s, so I knew I had something to fall back on but was still leery of there being any sort of trail to him finding me, so I’d use the cash I had as sparingly as possible.
It was nearing six in the evening by the time I found myself making my way back to the bed and breakfast, and that was all it took. One day, and I had already fallen in love with this charming town.
After I left Cupid’s Cup, every single person passed me with a smile and the “good morning” greetings blurred together.
I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen so many people so happy.
In the rush of city life, people barely looked up from their phones, and if they did it was with a scowl on their face for disrupting them.
Here in Love, no one had a cell phone in their hand.
Melody explained that they could get service at the main highway, and a couple bars sporadically throughout town, but for the most part they used landlines or satellite phones. It was a refreshing change of pace.
After Cupid’s Cup and Blissful Bites, I passed by the most divine flower shop, which was really like a giant greenhouse, Love in Bloom.
The owner was walking around watering all the flowers outside all the storefront windows, and I had to quickly turn away from her warm smile as my breath caught.
Showing up for others in such simple but meaningful ways had become such a foreign concept in my life, tears almost sprung in my eyes to see it in action.
Next to the floral shop was Heartstrings Bar and Grill, and across the street was a wedding dress shop, Vintage Vows Boutique, and what looked to be a hardware store, The Tool Box.
Maybe another day I would visit those places, but my eyes had been set on the library at the end of the road, where I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon.
Now, clutching my books on my walk out of town toward Whispers of Love, I realized I never did find the bookstore.
“Oh well, an adventure for another day.” I smiled as I balanced on the railroad tracks that lined the road. One of the books I’d picked up at the library had some history on this town and I couldn’t wait to dive into it.
Having fun, feeling free, I could already feel my spirit lifting.
This was what I needed. I knew I felt checked out from my life in Utah, but I don’t think I even realized how much I’d been living on autopilot until I spent a day completely removed from it.
Maybe this was the fresh start I had been craving.
As the road curved and brought me closer to the bed and breakfast, the long driveway starting just a handful of yards away, a weathered and rundown rail house first came into view.
“Wow,” I gasped at the beautiful architecture.
The white brick was worn but looked solid as it held up the gorgeous two-story building with an extra lookout tower on top.
There were rows of windows boarded up, but my eyes were drawn to the stunning ornate pillars that framed the front door with the beautifully elegant stone steps leading up…
and then I spotted a shadow moving inside.
A scream escaped me, which was my first mistake as it caught the attention of whatever was in the rail house.
Instantly, a little brown snout and round fluffy ears peeked out at me, and I ran.
Second mistake. The cute little cub, who was definitely not that little—but still kind of cute—obviously thought this was a game and I was his prized honey pot.
It’s okay, though, the bed and breakfast was right there. I was so close, if I could just get there and get inside everything would be—
Bang!
I screamed as a shot was fired, then another in rapid succession, and the bear behind me went running off in the opposite direction.
I reached the deck of the bed and breakfast, which was a gorgeous old farmhouse, panting and struggling for breath.
I flinched as strong hands gripped my shoulders, but they just as quickly released me. I almost missed the warmth the moment they let go.
“Are you okay?” He may as well have been singing me a lullaby, his voice was so soothing while I struggled to catch my breath.
And it was at that exact moment I realized it was Calvin asking me if I was okay, and what looked to be his entire family standing out on the deck, concern covering all their features.
Melody pushed past him, pulling me into a hug, and my shaking subsided slightly. “What happened?” she asked.
“I was walking back here, past that old rail house and a bear was inside. I screamed and startled him. It was my fault—I shouldn’t have made noise or tried to run like I did.
” Shame clouded my vision, I wanted to hide in my room for the rest of the evening, so I wasn’t a bother to this beautiful family.
“Calvin, they must have busted the door open again,” Vicky said.
“On it,” Calvin replied. I hadn’t noticed but he had already grabbed a hammer and nails from the porch and was throwing some planks of two by fours into his truck.
“Need a hand, Cal?” another man called.
“Nope, I’ve got it.”
“What? No, you don’t have to leave.” I glanced inside the open door to see the counter full of food. “Truly, it’s my fault. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”
Confusion laced Calvin’s features for a moment before he looked at me, his expression genuine and warm but serious.
“Nothing about this is your fault. That door should have been blocked, and it’ll only take me a few minutes to fix it.
Go inside.” He turned away and got in his truck without saying another word.
“Don’t worry about him,” Trixie said as she linked her arm with mine. “He gets a little bristly sometimes when he thinks he can’t take care of everyone. Come in, we just got supper set out. Let’s get you a plate.”
Everyone introduced themselves to me, and the chatter carried on as we all filtered inside, as if I didn’t basically barrel down the door.
I was shocked to find my feelings of shame fading as my hunger pains did as well, as not only was my stomach filled with the delicious meal, but my soul was filled with the love this family had for one another.