Room For You (Cranberry Inn)

by Beth Ehemann

  He was a professional athlete.

  He lived an hour and a half away, even when he wasn’t traveling.

  He admitted last night that he’s never been in a serious relationship.

  All of those things are the exact opposite of the qualities I needed. Brody and I had chemistry, no doubt about that, but I needed to keep him at arms’ length. He was my kryptonite.

  I dragged myself out of bed, reluctant to leave the safety of my own room. I turned into a melted pile of goo when Brody zeroed in on me, and he was going to be here for two more days. I had to try my hardest to stay solidified.

  My cell phone chirped. I looked over at the pile of textbooks sitting on my desk with my phone perched on the top, calling my name. I was worried that if it was another charming text from Brody, nothing would stop me from running up to his room, ripping my clothes off as I went. I walked over and peeked at my phone with one eye. It was from Lauren. Thank God!

  L: HEY, WHAT ARE YOU AND THE GIRLS UP TO TODAY?

  NO PLANS, JUST HANGING.

  L: SWEET! THERE’S A FAIR OVER IN LAKE COUNTY, I’M TAKING MY NIECE. WANNA GO WITH?

  YESSSSSSSSS!

  L: SWEET! WE’LL BE BY IN AN HOUR.

  An all-day fair is exactly what I needed to keep myself occupied and out of the house for the day. I ran off to tell the girls about our exciting new plans.

  Lucy and Piper were in their room filling their backpacks with stuffed animals and arguing over which flavor slushy they were going to have first, while I ransacked the kitchen, packing my bag full of pretzels, Band-Aids and hand sanitizer.

  The back door creaked open, but I didn’t turn to see who came in. I already knew. I could feel it.

  “Morning!” Brody said cheerfully.

  “Hey,” I responded without turning around.

  “How are you today? I’m exhausted.” He yawned.

  “I’m okay.”

  “What’s wrong? You’re being short with me.”

  I turned and looked at him. He was wearing a Minnesota Wild t-shirt that showed off his vast, strong shoulders and clung to his biceps perfectly. He had his Wild ball cap on again, facing backward this time. The hunter green hat made his already dazzling green eyes pop and I was hypnotized. I had to look away to regain my composure.

  “Am I? I don’t mean to be.” I went to the fridge and grabbed a few juice boxes, tossing them in my bag. “I’m just in a rush. The girls and I are going to the fair over in Lake County today.”

  “Nice, that oughta be fun. Want company?”

  My heart plummeted through my body, through the sub floor, through the foundation and landed in a patch of dirt and weeds under the house. I didn’t want to tell him no, but I couldn’t hang out with him much longer and continue dodging his advances.

  “Um, well I was thinking the girls and I need some time alone today. Please don’t be upset.”

  He grinned at me and tilted his head to the side. “Kacie, I would never, ever be upset with you for wanting to spend time alone with your kids. Ever. Go, have fun. Meet you on the pier later?”

  “Maybe.” I smiled at him, wishing he weren’t such a sweet guy. He would be much easier to avoid if he were an asshole.

  There was a loud knock at the front door.

  “Be right back.”

  I could feel his eyes on me like a tattoo when I walked out of the kitchen.

  I opened the front door and Lauren burst through it, swaddling me in a hug, almost knocking me on my ass. She let go and Tommy stepped up. “My turn.”

  He wrapped his arms around me with a big bear hug and lifted me off the ground.

  “Long time, no see, Tommy. Congratulations!” I planted a peck on his cheek.

  “Thanks, Kacie. I’m a lucky man.” He reached over and squeezed Lauren’s hand as they smiled at each other.

  “Okay, if you two are going to do that all day, you’re gonna make me puke,” I teased as I squatted down in front of Lauren’s niece, Molly. “Hey Molly. Piper and Lucy are so excited to play with you today.”

  She grinned shyly and hid behind Lauren’s leg.

  “So, who all is going? Did you call Alexa and Derek?” Lauren asked.

  “Yeah, she’s a sloth. She had a long week and apparently her delivery boy called in sick today, so she had to get up super early and make all the deliveries. She went home and crashed again.”

  “Bummer. All right, well let’s get moving!” Lauren clapped her hands in excitement.

  “Let me grab the girls and my bag from the kitchen.” I turned and started down the hall with them trailing behind me.

  Brody was standing in front of the fridge, scratching his chin.

  I looked at him, feeling incredibly guilty. “We’re gonna head out. I’ll see you later?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be here.” He turned and smiled at me sweetly, nodding respectfully at my friends.

  “Holy shit! You’re Brody Murphy!” Tommy exclaimed.

  Brody looked over as Lauren smacked Tommy’s arm and covered Molly’s ears. “Tommy, watch your mouth!”

  “Sorry, babe, but he’s Brody Murphy.” Tommy just stared at Brody, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

  “Hey man, nice to meet you.” Brody walked over and shook Tommy’s hand.

  Tommy returned the handshake like an eager kid. “Wait … what are you doing here?”

  “Uh, I’m staying for the weekend. Kacie and I are … friends.” Brody looked at me out of the corner of his eye.

  “Kacie! How could you not tell me you’re friends with Brody Fucking Murphy?”

  “Tommy!” Lauren and I both reprimanded at the same time.

  “Is he going with us? Are you going with us?” Tommy blurted out, his eyes jumping back and forth between Brody and me.

  “Jesus, calm down, Tommy. I hope you’re this excited to meet our firstborn one day.” Lauren sounded annoyed.

  “Uh, well if our kid comes out as the NHL MVP, then yes.”

  “Okay, can we just stop all this and go, please? Girls! Come on!” I hollered down the hall. Lucy and Piper came running and huddled around Molly, hammering the poor girl with questions.

  “Yes … but … is Brody going?”

  “Yes, Brody is going. Come on already.” I threw my hands up in the air and grabbed my bag off the counter, slinging it over my shoulder.

  “I am?” Brody looked at me, utterly confused.

  “Yes, you are. Let’s go.” I started pushing everyone toward the front door.

  “I smell like fish.” He argued, spinning around to face me.

  “You smell great, hush.” I grabbed his shoulders and turned him back around, thoroughly enjoying the view from behind.

  Once outside, Lauren turned to me. “Uh, my car isn’t going to fit everyone, we’ll have to take two.”

  “No biggie, I can drive too.” I shrugged my shoulders.

  “Mommy, can we ride in Molly’s car?” Lucy asked, sticking her bottom lip out.

  Piper stepped up behind her, clasping her hands together. “Pleeeeeeeeease?”

  “It’s fine with me.” Lauren opened the car door, waving them in.

  “Can I ride with Brody?” Tommy copied the girls, sticking his bottom lip out and clasping his hands together.

  Lauren narrowed her eyes and glared at him. “Only if you want him moving to Italy with you instead of me.”

  Tommy’s eyes drifted up toward the sky, pretending to contemplate her offer. Lauren sighed and got in her car with Tommy right behind her.

  “Wanna drive my truck?” Brody grinned at me.

  Before I could answer, he tossed his keys to me and walked to the passenger’s side of his truck. I looked down at his keys in my hand, panic-stricken.

  “Your truck? No way! I can’t drive a truck.” I fiercely shook my head.

  He peeked his head around the back of the truck and grinned at me. “Get your ass in the truck and turn the key.”

  I climbed into his truck, my heart thumping so loudly agains
t my sternum, I was sure he could hear it.

  “What do I do?” I tried to act composed, but my insides were rattling.

  Brody’s hand reached over and squeezed my knee. “Hey, look at me.”

  His face was relaxed, with a lopsided smile showing off one of his sexy dimples. His eyes were serene.

  “Relax, it’s just a truck. It’s an automatic. You know what to do. Come on, start her up, they’re about to leave without us.”

  I don’t know if it was his warm hand on my knee or his soothing voice but I felt much better, calm even. My confidence grew with each second as I put the key in the ignition and started the engine. It took me a few minutes to get used to the bigger truck and the engine, which was much more powerful than my little SUV.

  “So, what made you change your mind?” Brody asked, propping his foot up on the dashboard.

  I turned my head toward him without taking my eyes off the road. “Change my mind?”

  “About me coming along.”

  “Oh, I don’t really know.” I shrugged. “I thought it would be fun … and friends go to fairs together.”

  “Touché.” Brody smirked and looked out the window.

  We rode the last ten minutes in silence, not awkward silence where you feel uncomfortable just being together; it was content silence. I knew he was thinking about me, and he knew I was thinking about him. That silence was louder than any words we could have spoken.

  His hand never did leave my knee, and I liked it.

  We walked through the fair gates, and the scent of cotton candy and funnel cakes filled the air.

  “Wow! Crowded today, everyone stay together,” Lauren said, aiming her attention at the girls.

  “I’m gonna go grab tickets, be right back.” Brody’s hand grazed the small of my back as he walked by, sending shivers up my spine like another hit in my bloodstream.

  “Hey Tommy, can you take the girls over and get them some water before we start with the rides?” Lauren asked.

  Tommy grabbed Molly’s hand, which was already linked up with Lucy and Piper and off they went.

  “What. The. Hell?” Lauren blurted out, spinning to face me. “I’ve been dying to get you alone. When did this start? Why didn’t you tell me yesterday?”

  I laughed. “There’s nothing to tell, Lauren. We’re friends.”

  “Yeah, okay, whatever. Seriously, what’s going on with you two? Hurry, before he comes back.”

  I looked over toward the ticket booth at Brody who had been stopped by a small group of teenage boys. He was signing autographs and taking pictures, giving each kid a turn with his undivided attention.

  “Really, there’s nothing going on. He showed up last weekend when he couldn’t get through town because of the flooding at the bridge, and we became friends. That’s all.”

  “I’m not an idiot, Kacie. In that kitchen I watched him, watching you. Tommy would never look at me like that, except maybe if I were walking toward him butt naked carrying a heaping plate of bacon.”

  “We’ve talked about this, Lauren. You know what I’m looking for. He doesn’t exactly fit the mold, ya know? I’m playing it safe.”

  “Screw your mold, Kacie. Make a new one. He’s completely smitten with you, and you are with him.”

  I sighed, growing frustrated. “Can we just not talk about feelings and futures and any of that crap today? I just want to have fun with everyone and give my brain a rest for a few hours. Fighting with yourself is exhausting.”

  She didn’t have time to argue again because Brody jogged back over.

  “What did you buy?” I exclaimed, gaping at the sheets of tickets in his hand.

  “Uh … like thirty sheets of tickets? Think that’s enough?”

  Lauren’s mouth hung open. “That’s like six hundred tickets!”

  “We better get moving then.” Brody reached down and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward Tommy and the girls.

  We spent the next six hours filling up on hot dogs and nachos and riding every single ride there … twice. I wasn’t a big fan of fair rides, not the high ones anyway. I had a crippling fear of heights that kept me grounded the entire day. I was perfectly content sitting on a bench while those crazies spun and flipped their day away.

  “Okay guys, one more ride and then I think it’s time to call it a day. Auntie Lauren isn’t used to all this. I need a bubble bath and a bottle of Tylenol.” Lauren plopped on the bench next to me.

  “Whose idea was it to wear the cute wedges to a fair, knucklehead?” I shoulder bumped her.

  “Can we do that one again?” Lucy pointed to a bizarre contraption that took them up in the air in a car-looking thing and spun them for four minutes. I would rather have a root canal.

  “You guys do whatever you want, I’ll be here.” I pulled Lucy onto my lap, kissing her cheek.

  “Come on, guys!” She hopped off my lap and sprinted toward the ride with Piper and Molly right behind.

  Lauren took off after them. Tommy turned to Brody. “You coming?”

  “No thanks, I’m gonna sit this one out.”

  “See you guys in a minute.” Tommy jogged to catch up with the others.

  Brody sat down next to me on the bench. “You having fun?”

  I looked over and smiled. “Yeah, I am. It’s been a great day. I’m glad you came.”

  Brody stared off into space, his eyebrows pulled together, deep in thought.

  My curiosity got the better of me. “What?”

  “Do you trust me?”

  I stared at him nervously out of the corner of my eye, the hair on the back of my neck standing up. I hesitated answering.

  “Do you?” He repeated, leaning forward, his eyes concentrating on mine.

  “Yes.”

  He took a hold of my hand tightly and stood up, nodding to his right. “Follow me.”

  We walked behind the snow cone trailer and I realized we were walking straight toward the Ferris Wheel of Death. Okay, that wasn’t really the name, but it should have been.

  I pulled my hand from his, stopping dead in my tracks.

  “No way, Brody.” All of the cells in my body went hypersensitive and my arms and legs started tingling. My chest felt tight and I couldn’t take a full breath.

  He turned to face me, grasping my shoulders gently. “Kacie, look at me. You can do this, trust me.”

  “I can’t.” I meant that literally. I couldn’t will my feet to move even if I wanted them to.

  “Look in my eyes. Yes, you can. You said you trusted me, now come on. Jump in puddles with me.”

  I looked into his eyes, trying to understand the words he was saying, but my brain had sputtered to a halt. Puddles? What the hell was he talking about?

  Suddenly, it hit me. Last week in the storm, the puddles. I let go of control a little that day, and it actually felt really good. This, though, was different. I had no control up there.

  “I don’t think I can.” My voice was shaky, terror constricting my every movement.

  “Yes, you can. One foot in front of the other. Come on, I got ya. Just keep looking at me.” Brody started walking backwards, still holding onto my shoulders. He never took his eyes off mine, except to peek backwards and make sure he wasn’t going to bump into anyone.

  When we got to the entrance of the ride, everything inside me was screaming to run. Brody still had a gentle but firm grip on my shoulders and wasn’t about to let me go anywhere.

  He trailed a path from my shoulders to my hands, never losing contact with me as he squeezed my hands tight in his. He turned and nodded at the young, tattooed ride attendant who opened the silver gate and let us through. Brody didn’t let go of my trembling hand as he led me onto the ride. I sat down, already terrified to look to my side and we weren’t even off the ground yet. He let go of my hand and stepped out of the ride and I panicked.

  “I’m not going anywhere, I promise. Just one sec.” He reassured me, probably sensing that I was about to climb over the back of the seat and sp
rint straight for the parking lot.

  He stepped away and whispered something into the kid’s ear and then handed him something. I was too preoccupied thinking about death to care what it was.

  He walked over and slid in the seat next to me. I immediately reached for him and he put his right arm around me. I snuggled up as close as I could, laying my head on his chest. He took his phone out of his pocket with his left hand.

  “What are you doing?” I blurted out, not wanting him to make any movements at all.

  “Tommy gave me his number earlier, I’m just letting them know where we are.” He snickered.

  His laugh vibrated through my body, calming my nerves a bit. My peace was shattered when the fair kid slammed the metal bar down in front of us. I flinched and Brody squeezed my shoulders tight.

  “We’re okay,” he whispered into my hair, his thumb rubbing back and forth on my shoulder.

  The ride squeaked as it started turning and I buried my face deeper in his chest. We went very slowly, stopping about ten seconds later. I assumed to let people off and more people on, though I didn’t dare crack my eyes open to look.

  We did that about twenty more times before the ride started picking up speed. The faster it went, the tighter I pinched my eyes, my face still buried in Brody’s stinky fish shirt. Every revolution, my stomach flip-flopped from my feet to my head, and I was praying for it to be over soon. Up, down. Up, down. Brody had moved his hands from my shoulder to the nape of my neck and he was stroking my hair, trying to keep me calm. He didn’t talk the whole ride and I was thankful for that.

  The ride ground to a halt, but I refused to move. I felt us go up, but we never came back down. I knew we were stuck at the top.

  What were the fucking odds?

  “Okay, Kacie. Open your eyes,” Brody said softly.

  I didn’t respond. I just shook my head no.

  “Come on, please?”

  I shook my head again.

  “I promise we’re safe. It’s breathtaking. Just a quick peek?”