“Reece, wait!” she called after him, but he kept walking. He’d made it down the stairs and to the kitchen before Alesha caught up with him. “Hey! What’s going on?”
He kept his back to her as he rummaged through the freezer to see if there was anything in there he could defrost and make for dinner so they wouldn’t have to go out. “I think I have a couple of steaks in here. Will that work?”
“No.”
He stopped and turned around. “You don’t want steak?” he asked, doing his best to keep his voice neutral.
“No,” she repeated. “I don’t want steak. I don’t care about the steak. I want to know why you hightailed it out of the bedroom like that.”
“I didn’t hightail it…”
Alesha crossed her arms and the look on her face clearly conveyed her disbelief.
“I put you on the spot,” he said. “And that wasn’t fair of me. You don’t have to run things by me before you make any decisions. Like you said, it’s your life and you’re entitled to start living it as you want to.”
“Reece, that’s not what I said…”
“Your life has been in limbo for two months now and there have been a lot of demands made on you and I don’t want to add to that. So if you want to search for a house of your own, then I think it’s great.”
Her eyes widened slightly as her posture seemed to relax. “You do?”
He nodded. “Absolutely. I know how much it meant to me when I found this place. It was nice to have a home of my own that I could do whatever I wanted with. I understand, Alesha, really.”
“Oh,” she said. “Okay.”
Did her voice sound sad? He wondered. Or was that wishful thinking?
“So if you’re going to be busy next weekend house hunting, I’ll probably come back here to take care of some paperwork I’ve neglected and schedule stuff for upcoming jobs.” His own voice was a bit stilted and as they looked at each other, Reece knew neither of them was particularly happy.
“Oh,” she said again. “Well, I was kind of hoping you’d come with me so you could give me your opinion.” She shrugged. “You’d be able to spot things—problems—that I probably would miss.”
“Of course,” he replied, relief starting to settle back in. If she was looking for his help and his input, maybe he was just reading things wrong. But then again, she was technically asking for his help on a professional level, not a personal one. He wanted to bang his head against a wall. Why didn’t relationships come with a damn manual?
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Reece cleared his throat. “So…um…dinner. All I have here are steaks. Why don’t we call in for some Chinese food or something and I’ll go pick it up?”
Alesha nodded. “That sounds fine.”
It may have sounded fine but Reece knew that it wasn’t. Nothing was. And as much as he hated to admit it, there was no way they could spend the weekend with this hanging over their heads. He just didn’t know how to bring it all up and he didn’t want to ruin the time they had together.
Part of him knew Alesha was right. It was time for her to move out of her father’s house and into something of her own but he had foolishly thought that when she was ready to do that, it was something they’d decide together.
He wasn’t stupid. The work on Two Scoops and the bookstore was just about done and he wouldn’t have that excuse for staying in Hope Falls full-time any more. His home and his business were here in Tahoe. He had hoped it was something he and Alesha would talk about together. He wasn’t opposed to moving the business to Hope Falls or splitting the time between the two, but from her earlier comments, it sounded like once he was done working on his parents’ place, Alesha was simply assuming that he’d come back here and be done with it all.
With her.
With them.
Glancing her way, he saw the way she was nervously fidgeting with the hem of her sweater. Maybe she was just as nervous as he was about the whole damn situation. After all, it was still only a month. It was crazy how it felt like a lifetime—and in a good way! Part of Reece couldn’t seem to remember a time when Alesha wasn’t there with him and he couldn’t fathom a future without her. Unfortunately, he was afraid of coming on too strong and scaring her off if he started talking too much about where he saw them in ten years.
Married.
With kids.
In Hope Falls.
Okay, maybe it was time for a new tactic. Maybe it wasn’t something that he could simply talk to her about. Maybe this was something he had to show her. Knowing her history, he was pretty certain that Alesha had issues with relationships and abandonment. Her parents’ divorce had done that to her. And from the things she’d shared with him, he got the impression that she had a motto of leaving before someone left her.
Damn! He thought. Why hadn’t I seen this coming?
Suddenly, he felt lighter than he had all day. He could make this work.
Clapping his hands together and rubbing them, he grinned. “So, how do you feel about Szechuan?”
****
It was hard to believe how quickly things could change, Alesha thought as she watched Reece move into action. One minute he seemed fairly upset and now he was smiling and actually seemed like his normal self. She wanted to question it, but certainly didn’t want to take them back to the awkwardness of a few minutes ago.
He handed her a takeout menu as he walked across the room. “That is one of the best places in the area,” he began. “And they’re only a few minutes away. If it wasn’t snowing they’d probably deliver, but I’m going to go pick it up.” With a quick flip of a switch, he had the fire roaring in the stone fireplace, then he stood back and sighed. “This is my biggest regret with this place.”
Alesha walked over and stood beside him. “The fireplace?”
He nodded. “It’s gas. I prefer a wood-burning one. That’s what I grew up with. But they weren’t allowing that in this community so I did my best to choose stone to make it look like one of the more traditional wood ones. Every time I hit that switch, I kind of feel let down.”
She chuckled. “I know the feeling. Growing up we always had a wood-burning one. I lived in several apartments without a fireplace and I missed it so much. The last place I was renting had a gas one and it’s just not the same. Still, it’s pretty.” She paused. “Doesn’t do much to warm you up though.”
Reece slipped an arm around her shoulders and tucked her in close beside him. “That’s okay. That’s what I’m here for.”
Snuggling closer to him, she wrapped her arms around his waist as they both stared into the fire. “This is very nice.”
He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. “Mmm…I think so too. Maybe we’ll camp out in here and eat dinner. What do you think?”
Alesha looked up at him and smiled. “I like the sound of that. Why don’t you go and call in our order and I’ll set up everything here?”
Within minutes, Reece was walking out the door with the promise to be back soon. Alesha was a little worried about him driving in the snow and then realized how ridiculous she was being. His truck was great for any road conditions and he’d probably done it hundreds of times before.
She made quick work of setting up plates and silverware and drinks at the coffee table in the living room and then went around dimming lights and even found some candles to light to give the room a more romantic look. While she was waiting, she ran up the stairs and changed out of her jeans and sweater and into the new sexy nightie she bought to surprise Reece. Checking her reflection in the bedroom mirror, she was pleased with the results. With a wicked grin she went and grabbed his robe from the closet, put it on and tied it closed—effectively hiding what she had on underneath.
Before leaving the bedroom, she made quick work of turning down the comforter on the bed to save time later. Then, feeling completely satisfied, she went back down the stairs to wait for his return.
Chapter Nine
Reece kicked the snow off his
boots as he walked in the front door and then froze. Alesha was lying down on the sofa reading and wearing his robe. The lights were dim, candles were lit on the coffee table while the fire blazed in the hearth. His breath caught in his lungs as he looked at her, at the scene, because this was what he had always wanted but had never been able to find.
He had come home to a…well…a home.
Alesha looked up at him and smiled. “Hey,” she said softly. “How were the roads?”
He had to remind himself to move, to walk into the room. He cleared his throat as she stood and came over to take the bag of food from him. “They were good,” he said. “Plows are already out and doing their thing and the snow’s tapering off. I don’t think it’s going to be an issue at all. But it does look nice.”
She began setting up their dinner as he kicked off his boots and took off his coat. “There’s a lot of food here. I didn’t think we ordered this much.”
“I ordered a little extra so we could have it for lunch tomorrow.” He shrugged sheepishly when she looked over at him. “I was hoping we wouldn’t have to leave the house again until it was time to go back to Hope Falls.”
The knowing smile she gave him pleased him—they were on the same page.
Within minutes they were sitting on the floor next to each other enjoying their meal. “So tell me,” he began, “have you looked at any houses yourself that you want Lauren to show you or are you leaving it up to her?”
“I’ll probably just leave it up to her. I’ve been so busy with the bookstore that I haven’t had time to do an online search of what’s available. When I call and give her my budget and my list of things that I’d like in a house, I’m sure she’ll know exactly where to start.” She shrugged. “This is all new for me. I’ve never owned my own home before.”
“What about building one? Something brand new,” he suggested.
“Oh, I’m pretty sure that’s way out of my price range. I have a decent amount saved for a down payment and I know what I’m approved for but I don’t think I could do something that big. No matter how appealing it is.”
He chuckled. “Well, I happen to know a great builder who would probably work with you on that.” He waggled his eyebrows at her playfully. “And I believe you’re pretty familiar with his handy work.”
Alesha burst out laughing. “I believe I am,” she said coyly. “Seriously, it sounds wonderful but I think it would be overwhelming right now. Plus, it would keep me in my dad’s house even longer.”
“Well, keep it in mind just in case you don’t find anything.” He paused, pushing his food around on his plate. “What about…um…not living in Hope Falls?” Reece didn’t look at her as he asked the question, his gaze focused on his food. “What about living in Tahoe? The commute isn’t so bad and…”
Reaching out, Alesha covered one of his hands with hers but stayed silent until he looked at her. She gave him a sad smile. “Tahoe is wonderful and I know the drive wouldn’t be horrible but…”
“But you really want to be in Hope Falls,” he finished for her.
She nodded.
“I understand,” he said quietly, nodding. “I just thought I’d throw it out there.”
“After my parents split up and my mom and I moved to Oregon, I was pretty devastated. And even after that initial move, we moved around a couple more times. Every time we moved, I kept hoping to feel the way I did when we lived in Hope Falls. For the longest time I convinced myself that I had simply built it up in my mind because it was the last place my family had all lived together. But now that I’ve been back, I see that it’s simply the way things are. I love the town. I love the people and…” She paused and gave him a hopeless smile, “and I’m really enjoying being part of that community.”
Part of him wanted to be annoyed, but he understood exactly what she was saying. Hell, he had loved growing up in Hope Falls and had great memories there. The times that he would go home to visit his parents were always good. It was only when he had hit those late high school years that he had been less than thrilled with everyone knowing his business. It certainly made it difficult to get away with anything when everyone knew your parents! But now as an adult? He could see the appeal.
Looking over at Alesha—who was now the one pushing her food around—he could see that she was struggling with something.
“Alesha?”
Sighing, she began, “It’s been a long time since I’ve had all the people I love in one place. At my age, maybe it’s silly to still want that, but I do. I guess I’ve always harbored the wish that my parents would get back together, but I don’t see that happening. I know when Dad is done with his treatments, he’s going to come back to his home. But then it’s still just having one parent near and the other far.” She looked over at him. “And now there’s you.”
Shit. He wasn’t sure he was ready for them to have this talk.
“I know,” he said quietly.
“Once all the work is done on the two stores, you’ll need to get back to your own life—which is here.”
“You never know. Mom’s talking about doing work on the house too.”
That seemed to perk Alesha up for a moment. “Really?”
“It’s something she’s mentioned,” he replied. “We haven’t really had time to sit and talk about it.”
Alesha studied him for a minute. “But it’s all still borrowed time. Eventually you are going to have to leave Hope Falls and return to your life here. This is where your business is based and where you live.” She paused. “It’s not the worst thing, right?”
Reece shook his head. “No. It’s not ideal but we can make it work.”
Slowly, she nodded and then took a steadying breath. “Okay, no more sad talk tonight. This was so not the way I envisioned our night going.”
Relief washed over him and he was instantly on board with a change of subject. For the next few minutes, they talked about the food, the snow and the fire. When Alesha pushed her plate away and stood, Reece thought she was simply getting up to get something.
His robe slid from her shoulders and he almost forgot how to breathe.
The red silk barely covered her and the spaghetti straps looked thin enough that he could possibly tear them away just by looking at them. Slowly, he stood and faced her. “Wow.”
She grinned. “I was hoping for that response.”
“Anything else you were hoping for?” His hands rested on her hips and he pulled her in close so she could feel just how the sight of her affected him.
“Funny you should ask,” she teased softly. “I was thinking that making love in front of the fire would be a great way to kick off our snowy weekend.”
A wicked grin covered his face as he slowly dropped to his knees in front of her. Leaning forward, he placed tiny kisses on her satin-covered belly, his hands skimming the back of her thighs before resting on her bottom and squeezing.
The tiny red panties were the first to go. Then his hands traveled under the sexy garment and began exploring her—all while his mouth was busy teasing her in other ways.
Alesha hissed out his name at his touch.
Within minutes, he had her crying out and as he gently lowered her to the floor in front of the fireplace he readily admitted to himself that this was definitely the best way to kick off their weekend.
****
The drive back to Hope Falls late Sunday afternoon was fairly uneventful. The roads were clear and the sun was shining. Alesha was mildly disappointed at first, but the closer they got to town, the more snow had accumulated and her face lit up at the sight of everything covered in white.
“It’s so beautiful,” she said in awe. “Seriously, I’ve seen snow more times than I can count but this is just so picturesque. I don’t think I’d mind seeing it year-round.”
Beside her, Reece chuckled. “You say that now, but after about a month of it, it starts to get old.”
She shrugged. “Maybe. But I’m trying to be optimistic.”
&
nbsp; “Good. That’s a good thing. But just so you know, we don’t get snow year-round. It actually does get warm up here.”
“A girl can dream,” she sighed, but it was more for dramatic effect. “Are you going to check on Two Scoops tonight to make sure it’s ready for the final inspections tomorrow?”
Reece nodded. “I think tonight is mostly about doing touchups and making sure everything is in its place. I’m not expecting any problems. Mom is planning on putting out cookies and punch upstairs tomorrow to sort of christen the new space.”
“We talked about that,” Alesha replied. “I thought it was a great idea and we’re going to keep the doors open upstairs so everyone can get the full tour. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. I know word has spread around town like wildfire about this so we’re expecting a good turnout.”
“That’s one of the best things I’ve found about Hope Falls; they really support their own. I don’t doubt you’ll see everyone who lives there come through the store tomorrow.”
“And with any luck they’ll all buy something,” she said with a grin. Then she gasped. “Wouldn’t that be something? I mean, even if they only bought something small, it would be amazing!”
“I’m sure if you mentioned that to the right person, it would happen.”
Brows furrowed, she looked over at him. “What do you mean?”
“Just like I said, the people of Hope Falls really support their own. If word got out that you were hoping to see every resident make a small purchase—to show their support of you and Martin—it would happen.”
Alesha wasn’t quite sure if she could believe that. “I think it would be kind of tacky for me to say that to anyone. I don’t mind saying it to you, but…” She shook her head. “That would make me sound desperate. Or worse, it would sound like I’m using my dad’s illness to garner pity sales. I don’t want that. I want people to shop and buy things because they want to, not out of some sense of obligation.”
“Okay,” he said lightly. “My lips are sealed.”
“Good.”
“So tell me about the new inventory. You talked a lot about adding things that your dad didn’t stock and updating things. Are you pleased with what you have?”
Hope Falls: Wildest Dreams (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 6
