Chapter 6
6
KREBS
I felt like a teenager looking for a good place to make out. I’d done plenty of that in the two years of high school that I’d owned my own car. It was an old, beat-up piece of shit that I’d made payments on with the money I earned working construction, but it was my home at the time. The only place I felt like I could be myself.
“Do you think they’ll ever put streetlights on this main road?” Teagan asked once we were about a couple of miles past the ski lodge.
She was right. It was dark up here. They had streetlights going all the way up to the lodge, but at that point, things got pretty dark.
“I bet they will,” I said. “Especially as they get more houses up here. There are no side roads right now. That’ll change.”
“How are they going to do that?”
She was frowning as she looked around. It did look almost impossible with every inch of land around us seeming to have trees or rock that they’d cut through to build this road.
“Progress,” I said, rolling my eyes.
She didn’t see that. She was too busy looking at the world outside the vehicle.
“If I hadn’t met you, I probably would have spent the whole weekend at the lodge and never seen any of this,” she said.
“There are beautiful views of the ski slopes from the lodge,” I said.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her nod. “I noticed that when I dropped my stuff off at my room. It’s not the same as being out here in it, though. Plus, you can’t really see a town when you’re visiting. Hanging out with a local makes a big difference.”
“Except I’m not that good a local. I’m still learning a lot about the place myself. I do know there’s no grocery store in town, but Adairsville’s only fifteen minutes from here. It won’t be that big a deal to make that drive to grocery shop once I’m moved in.”
I should be selling her on this place. That was what I was trying to do. She might be scared off by the lack of shops, though.
That reminded me of something. “A shopping center is going in near downtown. I don’t know if you noticed it. The Shoppes at Brighton Village.”
“No, I didn’t see that.”
“It’ll probably be touristy stuff, but hopefully we’ll get a coffee shop.”
“And a bakery,” she said.
“Maybe even a candy store. Tourists love candy. Seduction Summit could become known for it. Like some mountain towns are known for their taffy.”
She was quiet for a long moment. I wondered if I’d gone too far. Maybe she knew what I was up to. I had to be more subtle in my attempts to lure her here.
“Is it expensive?” she asked.
The question pulled me out of my thoughts. I glanced in her direction, taking in her thoughtful expression as much as I could before I had to face forward again.
Her thoughtful expression gave me hope. Maybe she was considering it.
“What?” I asked.
“Living here. Buying land and building a cabin and all that.”
“That’s the big attraction,” I said. “A bunch of us have bought land on the cheap and are paying bargain prices to have cabins built. The demand isn’t what it will be once this place gets up and going. It’s an investment.”
An investment. That reminded me that she’d mentioned her dad had said something about that. I’d forgotten all about it until now.
But I didn’t want to convince her to move to Seduction Summit for financial security. I wanted her to move here because she wanted to. And if I was honest, I’d admit I wanted her to move here to be with me. That might take more than a drive up the mountain in the dark.
“Home sweet home.”
I pulled off the road into a driveway that was all dirt right now, covered in snow. Eventually, they’d pave it.
In front of us stood the frame of what would be my house soon enough. It looked ready to move in from the outside, aside from the fact that the windows and doors were just big holes.
“You can’t see the water from here,” I said. “The cabin blocks it.”
“Can we get out and go look?”
It was chilly outside, and she didn’t have a coat. I cut the ignition, then shrugged off my bomber jacket and handed it to her.
“As long as we can stand it,” I said.
Snow was in the forecast for tomorrow, and it still covered the ground tonight. It hadn’t done much to the roads, but it made the walk up the driveway a little treacherous.
“Take my hand,” I said as we used the glow from my headlights to walk toward the house.
She slid her hand into mine, and I’d never been more grateful to not be wearing gloves. Her hand was cold, colder than mine, and as I wrapped my much bigger hand around it, I hoped it warmed her up enough to create a sense of security.
That was how I wanted her to feel when I was around her. Like I’d wrap my arms around her and protect her for life. She was safe with me. Always.
“Not bad for a former juvenile delinquent,” I said as we stepped through the doorway.
She led the way. We had to break contact to enter, and I immediately missed her touch. I wanted to have her hand in mine around the clock for the rest of my life.
Crap. I’d turned into a cheeseball all of a sudden. When had that happened? When I met Teagan, that was when.
“This is great,” she said. “I love the high ceilings. At least I assume they’re not going to fill this in.”
I shook my head. “Nope. I wanted an open feel. There’ll be three bedrooms over there to the left, and the kitchen will be straight back.”
She turned to look at me. “Three bedrooms.”
I immediately averted my gaze. Yeah, that part was embarrassing. I’d chosen three bedrooms when one- and two- bedroom cabins were standard with this builder. But I wanted room to grow, and I was being optimistic that I’d eventually meet my soulmate and have one or two kids with her.
“You can never have too many bedrooms,” I said. “Plus, it’s a good investment, remember?”
That was my excuse, anyway. It probably would make more sense to Teagan than telling her I was planning for my future before I’d even imagined someone like her existed. Someone whose smile lit up my soul and made me realize what life was all about.
She started toward the rear of the cabin, glancing back over her shoulder at me as she went. “I assume there’s a back deck.”
I followed. “Yeah, that’s the best part. But you won’t be able to tell right now. They’re adding that at the end.”
She stood in front of the large cutout section where the French doors would open out onto the deck. She seemed lost in thought. What I wouldn’t give to find out what was running through that head of hers.
“It’s just wide enough for some rocking chairs and a little table,” I said. “Perfect for having coffee in the morning.”
“Or wine in the evening after a hard day’s work,” she said, looking over at me.
“In my case, that would be a beer.” I laughed. “I guess sipping wine on the back deck sounds classier, though.”
She shook her head. “Not the kind of wine I drink. Let’s just say it comes with a screw cap, not a cork.”
I didn’t even know what that meant, but I wouldn’t want to admit that. The truth was, this woman was a city girl, and I was country as fuck. I’d been raised in a blue-collar world with a mom who worked for minimum wage during the day at a dry cleaner and cleaned businesses at night. I didn’t even know some wines came with screw tops.
“So, I just have one question,” she said.
Even though she was looking out the window instead of at me, the way she said those words got my attention. I braced myself for what she’d say next.
“When you picture yourself sitting out there on that deck, are you alone, or is there a woman by your side?” she asked.
I didn’t hesitate before answering, “A woman. That’s what life’s all about, right? Nobody wants to be alone.”
She looked back at me then, her eyes slightly narrowed. “I’ll be honest, most of my life, I didn’t see myself as someone who’d settle down. I never really pictured myself sitting on a rocking chair looking out over a beautiful view while sipping coffee…or wine.”
Her words felt like a punch to my gut. Most of her life. That meant it was likely she wanted different things than I did.
“How did you picture it?” I finally managed to choke out.
“I wanted to be different from everyone else. Travel the world, run my own business. Have good times with my girlfriends, then go home at night to the luxury condo I’d buy from all the money I’d earn from my candy shop.” She laughed. “Ambitious, I know.”
I shook my head, hoping my disappointment didn’t show. “Sounds like a dream life.”
“Since being here, that life seems a little empty, though. I can’t explain why. This view definitely has me rethinking things.”
I looked out ahead of me. I was trying to make light of a conversation that had me thinking really heavy thoughts. I couldn’t change her mind if she wanted that kind of life, though. And it was probably better that I knew now. But I was surprised how much it hurt already, just thinking this might be a dead end.
“Thing is, it’s not the view,” she suddenly said. “It’s you.”
Those words had me sucking in a breath, but I didn’t dare look over at her. I continued staring at the view, hoping it made her feel safe opening up.
“It’s crazy, I know,” she said. “And you can take me back to the lodge if I’m freaking you out. I just feel this pull toward you, and it’s something I don’t want to walk away from.”
Now I looked over at her, mostly because I couldn’t believe the words I was hearing. It felt like I was daydreaming and at any second, reality would slap me in the face.
“I feel it too,” I said. “I don’t want to scare you off or anything, and I know your home is in Charleston. You’re only going to be here for two days, and it sounds like you’ll be busy both of those days.”
“So we have to make the most of tonight.” She took a step toward me. “We have to see if what we have here is worth exploring.”
I knew it was, but the look in her eyes had a different part of my body reacting. It was tough to even think clearly. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move. I could barely even breathe.
She was looking at me like she wanted to kiss me. Maybe more. And I was scrambling to figure out how to make this romantic. Standing in the freezing cold bones of what would soon be my house was not exactly an ideal location for our first kiss.
But when she took another step toward me, there was no fighting it. I was going to kiss her. I needed to kiss her. I needed it more than I needed my next breath.
I took a step toward Teagan, and in that exact moment, I knew my life would never be the same.