Chapter 8
Never in a million years would Lana admit to hating the restaurant.
The last thing she wanted to do was make Rick feel bad. If sparing his feelings meant sitting in a room full of increasingly disturbing holiday-themed taxidermy, then that was what she would do. That being said, the place had made her flesh crawl from the moment she stepped inside.
Funny how all it took was looking at Rick’s horrified expression and none of it seemed so bad. Not when she got to spend an evening with him.
The meal was far more appetizing than she had expected, and now that Rick was starting to relax around her, Lana was starting to relax around him too. The longer she looked at him, the more handsome she found him. Rick cleaned up even better than good, and he was an utter dear to talk to. Except for Carl standing in the corner, gloomily staring out the window, the entire thing might have been perfect.
For a blessed ten minutes, Carl disappeared into the back, then he stumped his way to the table, dropping their check on the edge.
“The snow’s getting bad.” Carl pointed out the window. “Ma says you might want to stay the night.”
“We’re fine.” Rick reached for the check, but Lana snagged it first.
“I asked you out,” she told her date, handing both the check and her debit card to Carl. For once, their waiter headed across the room with a more jovial step, as if perked up at the idea of getting rid of them.
Hazel eyes amused, he said, “So if I ask you out for a second date, I get to pay?”
“Hmm, that’s to be decided.” She flushed, then added quickly, “The paying, not the second date. I mean, not that I expect you to ask me out again. Or a first time, since I asked you out this time. I’m babbling, aren’t I?”
“It’s cute. And if my choice in restaurants didn’t scare you off, I’d love to ask you out for a second date.”
He’d called her cute. Which was much better than if he’d called her beautiful. Lana was used to being judged for her surface, and cute was more than skin deep. Cute felt like maybe he saw her for her.
“Rick, at the risk of ruining this, I feel like we need to talk about the elephant in the room.”
“They dressed one up like an elephant?” He shuddered, twisting around to look at the decor.
Laughing softly, Lana shook her head. “No, although I wouldn’t be surprised if one is hiding somewhere. I just…I feel like I should be clear about my intentions here.”
Rick’s eyes sparkled in the low restaurant lighting. “Is this where you promise those intentions are honorable?”
“Oh goodness no. Where would be the fun in that?”
They shared a grin. When hers started to slip, Rick squeezed her fingers gently.
“You travel. A lot.” He sounded resigned.
“It’s part of the job. I want a home…I always have. I want that home to be in Moose Springs. But right now, a suitcase is the closest to that as I’ll get. And right now…”
“Could last a long time?”
“Pretty much.”
Lana chewed her lower lip, knowing it was probably messing up her lipstick but unable to stop herself.
“So my options are a short-term fling or—?”
“We could always be friends.”
He visibly flinched at her suggestion, and despite herself, Lana giggled. “I’m guessing that’s not your first choice.”
“Sweetheart, I’m not used to having a choice, first or last or in between. But if I did get to choose…” Rick drifted off, glancing out the window next to them, dark as it was outside. “I think that I’ve had more fun with you these last few days than I’ve had in years. So if I can get a little more of that, I’m willing to accept this is just for now.”
“A holiday fling?”
“Fling?” Rick grimaced at the wording. “That sounds…temporary. And kind of cliché.”
“We can’t do much about the longevity, but I love a good cliché.” They shared a smile before Lana added, “So I’m thinking you really should ask me out again. At the risk of not playing coy, you’ll probably get a yes.”
The man had no idea how sexy he was when he leaned in like that, his voice lowering a little. “Probably or definitely?”
“Definitely,” Lana heard herself murmur, a thrill of anticipation running up her spine as he took her hand.
“Good to know.”
She leaned in too because he had this look on his face as if he were about to ask her. Only the expected request never came. When she realized he was teasing her by making her wait, Lana said, “Or I could remind you that I’m perfectly capable of asking you out a second time, which is becoming less likely by the moment.”
Rick’s lips curved. “Changing your mind about me so fast?”
“Never. I know a good thing when I see one.”
He blinked as if surprised at the compliment. Then his hazel eyes grew greener, the way he was looking at her making Lana’s pulse race. Carl brought back the bill, and after Lana had waved off Rick’s offer to leave the tip, she signed the check and stood. The combination of Rick’s manners and appreciation of her capabilities was sexy beyond belief. She’d spent an evening in his company and had not felt like she had to prove herself, defend herself, or keep her defenses up once.
Taxidermy aside, it might have been the best dinner date she’d ever had.
“What are you doing tonight?” Rick asked her huskily. “Because I’d love to take you out again, someplace better. Dessert and drinks at the resort? I can call ahead, see if Hannah would score us one of those outdoor fireplaces on the balcony, the ones with the couches.”
“Are we talking ice cream and Kahlúa?”
“I was thinking red wine and chocolate cake.”
Sighing contentedly, Lana all but purred at the thought of snuggling next to this man by a warm winter fire. “You’re reading my mind.”
Rick’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “And this time, I’ll be lucid enough to enjoy a couch with you.”
“I was wondering if I was going to manage to get through tonight without that being brought up. You tranquilize a guy one time…”
Chuckling, Rick moved behind Lana as she started to put on her jacket, holding it for her so slipping her arms inside the sleeves was easier. Even though she was more than capable of putting on a jacket all by herself, Lana appreciated the gesture. It was as if every small kindness was innate to his personality, subconsciously done.
One meal together and Lana was ready to kiss Rick senseless. Unfortunately, a twitchy Carl was determined to ruin the mood.
“Hey, guys, it’s actually coming down really bad,” he said at them. “You two shouldn’t try to drive anywhere in this.”
The darkness outside the windows made it hard to see what Carl was talking about, so they went out to the parking lot. Sure enough, the light flurry they’d driven through on the way to dinner—the kind of snow so often encountered in this area—had turned into a heavy fall. The wind had picked up, making the visibility dangerously lowered.
“I didn’t think it was supposed to be this bad.” Lana frowned out at where the road should have been.
Rick scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well, back home, it’s probably not as thick. We’re in a bit of a bad area, weather wise.”
“It will let up eventually though. Right?”
Hope tinged her tone, but Rick gave her a pained look. “Maybe. I’d hate to start out and get stuck in this. I don’t think freezing to death would be a great way to spend the evening.”
“You don’t mean…?”
“I wish I didn’t. Lana, I’m so sorry.”
“Nonsense. You’re not any more in control of the weather than I am.” Lana tried for breezy, but inside, her brain was screaming.
The idea of spending the night made her shudder.
As much as she wanted to escape this place, doing so would be downright dangerous.
Rick went back inside to talk to the staff while Lana stayed where she was, growing colder by the moment. She stared at the sky as if she could turn off the snow by sheer force of will. Rick returned, standing at her side with a piece of paper in his hand.
“They have rooms.” Twisting her head to look back at him, she could see the pained expression on his face. “One for each of us. I guess the third is permanently occupied.”
“Permanently occupied?” Lana’s eyebrow rose of its own volition. “Who lives here? It has to be one of the family or the staff.”
Rick shot her a wry look. “That’s the same question I asked. Apparently, the answer is none of the above. They also said the bathroom is shared.”
The bathroom was shared. With someone who liked this place enough to stay there permanently.
Montgomerys didn’t run away screaming into snowstorms.
“We’re in rooms right next to each other. You can have whichever one is better.” Rick sounded embarrassed.
“I live out of hotels, dearest.” On a whim, Lana pressed a kiss to his jaw. “Stop worrying. This will be fine.”
Hazel eyes gazed down at her as warm, strong hands found her hips. “You’re trying really hard to make me feel better. It’s almost working.”
Lana looped her arm around his waist. She tugged him closer as she stepped back, her shoulders bumping into the exterior wall behind her.
Snowflakes dusted his shoulders and clung to his hair as Rick dipped his head. Then he stopped.
He stopped.
“We should get inside,” he said, his lips almost brushing her own.
“You’re kidding.” Lana puffed out a breath of disappointment when Rick pulled back.
“You’re shivering,” Rick said in explanation, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Okay, so maybe the manners thing wasn’t quite as good as it was cracked up to be.
As they went back into the bed-and-breakfast, Lana wondered what he would do if she ignored Carl and his mom and everything else, dragged Rick back outside, and forced a do-over. That wouldn’t be bad, right?
“Are you okay?” Rick asked as he handed her the keys to the rooms.
“Right as rain,” Lana said, because I’m thinking about jumping you might scare him off.
The old wooden stairs creaked as they climbed up to the second floor, where a hallway of rooms sat over the restaurant. And maybe in the daytime, it could have been cute. The hall had lots of pictures of Alaskan scenery, of wild animals, and old black-and-white photos of what might have been the owner’s family. But the lights flickered, and the floors were suspiciously stained beneath their coat of varnish.
“If we see twin girls at the end of this hallway, I’m using you as a human shield,” Rick said, bringing a quick laugh to Lana’s lips.
“I’ll beat you down the stairs.” Her feet sounded way too loud, as if every step echoed in the restaurant below.
They passed the shared bathroom. While Lana was as appreciative of an antique claw-foot tub as the next person, the floor-to-ceiling dark wood paneling and the spotted glass mirror above the pedestal sink only added to the dubious ambience. The next door over was their first assigned room.
“The door’s stuck.” Rick tried to twist the doorknob and pull at the same time, but it wouldn’t go anywhere. “It’s an old place,” he said as he jerked harder. “Or it opens to the inside.” A cute little look of concentration stole across his features as he pushed the door in. It continued to stay locked in the doorframe, unwilling to give way. “Huh.”
“It’s a door to nowhere. It’s a sign we shouldn’t go in.”
Rick grunted as he put his weight behind the door. “Would you rather stay in this hall?”
“It’s a nice hall. Cozy and less pit of doom-y.”
“It’s almost as if something’s pushing against the other side,” Rick said, then he blinked, realizing what he’d said. “Let’s try the next room.”
“You’re a wise man.” Lana patted his shoulder. “Did I ever tell you I spent a week at the Stanley in Estes Park? The elk were rutting, which was very interesting to behold. Also, it wasn’t nearly as haunted as people think. Only a little haunted. Medium haunted at most.”
“You’re not making me feel better.”
“All I’m saying is just because someplace seems creepy doesn’t mean that it is. Sometimes it’s…” Lana opened the room, then paused midsentence.
“Filled with dead squirrels with doll’s clothes?”
“Who are these people?” Lana asked, horrified.
“Who stays here permanently?” Rick countered.
“Let’s go back to room number one.” Lana shut the door and hurried back to the first room, putting distance between herself and the dolls. “Or we could be airlifted out of here. I can have a helicopter come get us.”
Even as she said it, Rick shook his head. Before he could respond, Lana sighed. “And probably get the pilot killed in this zero visibility. Fine. Push harder.”
“I am pushing.”
“With your muscles?”
“The ones I’ve got anyway.”
“Here, let me push.”
“I’m pretty sure I can—omph.”
The door abruptly gave way, banging open so hard, they stumbled into the room. Instinctively reaching out to steady him, Lana realized that Rick had done the same for her. His muscled arm had wrapped around her waist, holding her tight.
Lana had a very powerful family, but she couldn’t remember ever having someone reach out to help every time she stumbled. In her family, you either caught yourself, or you went down and learned from the fall. Reading too much into it wasn’t going to help her with this utterly relentless crush she’d developed for Rick. Still, his arm felt warm and solid around her, and Lana had to take a moment and a breath, letting herself remember that yes, she was human, and yes, she liked having a man’s touch.
She definitely should have kissed him outside, temperature be darned.
“You don’t have to hold me up,” Lana said.
“I was returning the favor.”
Only then did she realize that yes, his arm was around her, but both of hers were locked around him.
Rick didn’t seem uncomfortable with her death grip on him, but his lips had quirked up at the corners.
“You know those books and movies where the girl is clumsy and keeps falling and the guy has to rescue her from her lack of coordination?”
“We tend to watch things about time-traveling killer robots or driving cars into skyscrapers in our house,” Rick said. “But there was a point in my life when Diego wasn’t in complete control of the television. I’m vaguely familiar.”
“I’m not that girl. I might slip, but I always catch myself.”
“It’s highly probable that I’m that guy.” Rick winked at her roguishly before turning to investigate their surroundings.
The theme of wood-paneled walls continued throughout the room, making it darker than she would have preferred, especially with a single lamp on the dresser to provide light. The fireplace looked like it hadn’t been used in years, and the space heater on the floor was the kind that tipped over by accident, then promptly burned one’s house down.
There was no television, no radio, no phone. Just Rick, Lana, a bed, and a squirrel.
A single squirrel that was perched on the windowsill wearing a white cotton nightgown, dark hair flowing down its squirrel back in perfect curls as it stared
longingly out the window. For some reason, that one bothered Lana most of all. Breaking the time-honored convention of not rearranging hotel decorations, Rick put the squirrel in the top drawer of an antique dresser, the only furniture in the room besides the bed.
Lana gave Rick a breezy laugh to cover the fact that she was sure she could hear something moving in that dresser drawer. She patted the mattress beneath her.
“So…which side do you prefer to sleep?” she asked, although to be honest, it wasn’t going to matter.
Lana was taking whichever side was farthest away from the squirrel.
* * *
She sat on the edge of the bed.
“Are you going to be okay in here?” Rick wasn’t the most observant of men, but despite her cheerfulness, Lana looked a little peaked around the edges. “I can leave you alone or stay—”
A door slammed downstairs, followed by a heavy thump. The kind of thump that involved a large object being dropped on a table. Then the kind of rhythmic, horrific chopping that came with butchering something with large kitchen weaponry. With every chop, she flinched, until the sound was replaced by a loud, high-pitched squealing noise. Midsqueal, it turned into a grinding noise that would haunt Rick to the end of his days.
“What is that?” Lana asked, eyes wide.
“I think they’re making sausage.”
“The house sausage?”
Rick nodded, sitting on the bed next to her.
“That’s it. I’m out.” Grabbing her jacket, Lana shrugged into it and hopped up. “There are plenty of ways to go, and I’m not letting this hotel of horrors be the thing that takes me down.”
She eyed the fireplace, then grabbed a nearby fire poker. Lana hefted it a couple times, took one iffy practice swing, then turned to the door.
“Get behind me, Rick. Let’s do this thing.”
She looked so cute, all ready to fight her way out of the hotel, even though it was clear Lana was completely freaked out. Which was why Rick decided then and there, if he was ever going to get married again (which he wasn’t) or found himself falling in love again (which he shouldn’t), he was going to pick a woman like her.
“While I appreciate the sentiment,” he told her, “I don’t think freezing to death is better than being made into sausage.”
Mistletoe and Mr. Right Page 18
