by Kris Jett
She cocked her head to the right. “Not exactly heartfelt.”
“For me, that was big. I practically wrote you a sonnet.”
She smirks. “Oh yeah?” Jessie glanced over at the old man sitting near the fireplace and then back at Cade. “Argh! It’s just, I’m super pissed right now and I don’t know what to do about it. Or if there is even anything I can do about it.”
Cade nodded, waiting for Jessie to go on.
She sighed. “I told you about my one sister yesterday. Luci? We haven’t spoken in six years. Not since she slept with my then-boyfriend, you know, tall guy, in here yesterday harassing me? We had an awful blow up back then and I told her she was dead to me. Hadn’t spoken to her since. She took off a little while after that, moved to New York City, and that’s the last I heard from her. She’s never come back home.”
“Wow,” he said in a low voice. “That’s a long time to stay away.”
“Not long enough for me. Anyway, I have another sister, Wynn. She’s the oldest. It goes Wynn, Luci, and then me. Anyway, she hates me. Haven’t spoken to her in years either.”
Cade tried to hide his surprise. “Why does she hate you?”
Jessie shook her head. “It’s stupid really. She had this guy she met online. Total loser if you ask me. But she was so ‘in love.’” She rolled her eyes at Cade. “They’d talk online for hours every day. She basically stopped having a life and just sat on the computer talking to him. He finally came up here to see her and it wasn’t the instant happy connection she’d hope for. The jerk actually started coming on to me. I told her and she snapped at me, saying I was jealous of her internet boyfriend.”
“Were you?” Cade asked.
Jessie cocked one eyebrow at him. “Ha! No. You’re a funny guy though.”
“So, what happened?”
“Well, she slept with him that weekend. Then he went back home and she never heard from him again. Changed his e-mail, his phone number, everything. She blamed me. Like I could make him blow her off like that. Whatever.” Jessie shrugged.
“That doesn’t sound like it’s your fault,” Cade offered. “You were being honest.”
“Exactly! She wanted nothing to do with me though. She moved away, married the first guy she met after that, had a baby, and then divorced him. The kid is about a year and a half now. Never even met her.”
“Wow,” Cade says again. “And she never came back home either?”
“Nope. Our family dynamics suck. But lucky me, they’re both coming home now. And according to my mom, they’re going to be working here. With us.”
Cade blew out his breath. “Damn. That’s rough. I’m no stranger to sucky family dynamics. But maybe your sisters are in a bad way, you know? We don’t all have to like the family we have but we should help them if we can.”
Jessie shot him an irritated look. “I don’t care if they are in a bad way. I’ve been in a bad way for years having no sisters. We were close once upon a time, until everything fell apart. They ditched me and my mom here. Starlight is mine now. I don’t want them here.”
Cade nodded. “No, I get that. I do.”
Jessie looked back at the office and then looked at Cade. “I can’t deal with my mom right now. I need to get out of here.”
Cade stood up from his stool. “Okay. Sorry I didn’t help much with your problem.” He started to move toward his table when Jessie reached out and grabbed his arm.
“Hold on. Do you want to come with me? Up for a little escapade?”
Cade looked at his pile of work and then back at this cute girl, needing to run right now. What the hell? he thought. He smiled at Jessie. “Always.”
Chapter Seven
The icy cold air whipped Jessie’s face as she and Cade made their way to her dad’s garage. She knew this was crazy. She didn’t even know Cade Stone. He was virtually a stranger to her. He was new to town, just opened up a business with his brothers, was obnoxious to her yesterday, but kind to her today. That summed up all of her Cade Stone knowledge. Any sane person would tell her not to tear off down a snowy isolated trail with a man she didn’t know but she didn’t care.
Jessie handed Cade her dad’s old snowmobile gear, still sitting on a shelf in the corner of the garage, exactly where they’d left it after he died almost six years ago. Neither her nor her mom could ever bring themselves to move it or get rid of it. They’d cleaned out the house, donating his old clothes and things her mom didn’t want to charity. But the garage had been left as-is. Jessie was the only one who ever used it now for her occasional snowmobile ride. Her mom never rode again. It had always been her dad’s thing; he’d loved it something fierce. He taught Jessie everything she knew. Hell, that’s partly why their family lived in Snowy Ridge in the first place. Her dad had taken her mom here over thirty-five years ago for a winter adventure getaway and proposed right in Starlight. Shortly after they’d married they came back for a mini-vacation and decided they didn’t want to leave. They bought Starlight Pub and made a home in this tiny town.
Jessie was only eighteen years old when her dad died from a massive heart attack. A widow maker, they’d called it. One minute he was talking to her mom in the kitchen, laughing about something a customer had said that day. Then her mom walked out of the room to go take a load of laundry out of the wash and throw it in the dryer and when she returned he was dead. She’d called an ambulance but there was nothing they could do. Everything changed after that.
Being hit by Jason and Luci’s betrayal and then her dad’s death sent Jessie in an emotional spiral. She’d never blamed her dad’s passing for the dissolution of her family though. She and her sisters were squarely to blame for that. But with him being gone and her mom never quite being the same, it just left little reason to try to keep them all together. The once happy family was fractured and no one wanted to be the one to try to put it back together again. But Jessie was the one who stayed. And her sisters couldn’t just resurface now and make that fact go away.
“Am I doing this right?” Cade asked. He pulled at the helmet but wasn’t getting far.
Jessie walked over to him. “It has a flip front. Let me.” She pushed the top up and pulled the helmet down on his head for him. He was so close she could feel his breath on her face. She could tell he was breathing a little fast. And he was so damn good-looking. She felt her own heartbeat kick up a notch.
His eyes were big and dark, and she momentarily wondered what they’d seen, what he’d been through before moving here to Snowy Ridge. She couldn’t even begin to guess what this stranger’s story was but she had a sense about him. He carried pain with him. She shook her head slightly, feeling like she had stared into his eyes for a moment too long. “You better use the sun visor,” she told him, popping it down into place. She pulled the flip front down and looked him over. “Looks good on you.”
Cade zipped up the suit. It looked snug on his broad shoulders and an inch or two too short in the legs, but it’d due.
“I should warn you; I haven’t ridden. Ever.”
“What?” Jessie couldn’t hide the shock in her voice. “But you have a business repairing snowmobiles.”
“Yeah, I can fix them. Never said I could ride them. Snowmobiling had always been Cooper’s thing. He said he was going to teach me to ride this winter.”
Jessie walked over to the sled and mounted it. She patted the back of her extended seat. “Hop on.”
“You want me to ride behind you?” Cade asked.
“Well, I’m certainly not going to let you steer.” Jessie laughed. “Come on. Keep your feet flat on the boards and grab the hand grips. You’ll be fine.”
The noon sunlight glistened on the fluffy white snow that gloriously covered everything in sight. They’d picked up another three inches last night on top of the solid base and the temperature was hovering in the low twenties, making it a perfect day to hit the trails. The trail groomers had already been out early that morning and the conditions appeared to be excellent. It was just what Jessie
needed right now.
She started the engine and glanced back at Cade to see if he was ready to ride. He looked nervous but she knew he’d relax in a moment.
She gripped the handlebars of her Ski-Doo and took off down the snowy trail. She took it slow at first, not wanting to freak Cade out, but soon they were up to eighty miles per hour and Jessie was in her happy place. When she took turns she could feel Cade lean with her. She didn’t usually carry passengers, at least not as large as Cade. She’d taken April out on her snowmobile before and her sisters back in the day. But Cade on the back of her sled was something entirely different. She could feel the inside of his strong thighs rest on her hips and it sent a jolt of electricity through her.
They rode through the tall snow-laden pines and across the wide frozen lake. The trail was mostly deserted except for the occasional cabin tucked away here and there. Every so often they’d spot a group of snowmobilers on the path but they blew right past them. She sped up a hill and came to an open clearing and slowed down to a stop. About a hundred or so yards off the path there was a trio of deer: mother, father, and baby, she’d guessed, eating from some nearby bushes. She looked back at Cade and nodded toward the deer for him to look. He gave her a thumbs up and she took off again.
Jessie could stay out there on the trail all day but she knew that wasn’t a possibility. She had to get back to work and get Cade back to his work too. She reluctantly turned the sled and headed back for her garage.
Once she had parked the snowmobile back in its place in the garage, she yanked off her helmet and looked at Cade. “Well?” She absentmindedly pulled a hand through her brown waves, shaking them out after being crammed in the helmet for the past hour.
Cade pulled his helmet off and balanced it on his hip, a grin plastered across his face. “That. Was. Awesome.”
“Yeah?” Jessie shot him a crooked smile as she slowly slipped out of her snowsuit and hung it up on its hanger in the garage.
“I can finally see what Cooper is always going on and on about. The speed, the isolation from everyone and everything; it was intense. I loved it.” Cade shook off his suit and handed it to Jessie.
Jessie nodded. “So you’re not too upset with me for tearing you away from your work?”
“Not at all. Next time I’m driving,” Cade said.
“Uh-oh, you’re hooked. Already planning a next time,” Jessie teased, gathering his gear to put away for him.
Cade followed her to the shelf in the corner and when she turned around he was only a few inches away from her and their eyes locked. She could smell the mixture of fresh air and sweat on his skin. Her breath caught and for a moment she thought he might kiss her. And that she might let him.
“Jessie?” a voice from just outside the door said.
Jessie scrunched her eyebrows together and gave Cade a look. He backed up a foot or so and the moment was gone.
“Jason?” she asked, puzzled to hear his voice out here.
Cade and Jessie turned to see Jason walking into the garage. “Good, you’re here. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Do you have a minute?”
Jessie could see Cade’s eyes become angry, possibly even protective of her, which she couldn’t lie, gave her a tiny thrill. But she didn’t need the two guys arguing.
“Listen guy,” Cade said, walking toward Jason.
“Cade, wait,” Jessie interrupted. She needed to stop this fast before things turned ugly. Though if they did get physical she would place her money on Cade. He looked like he could rip Jason in two.
Cade turned quickly to look at her.
Jessie took his hand and tugged him toward the door. “Let me find out what he wants. Go on back to the pub and I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
Cade pressed his lips firmly together, his nostrils flared as he exhaled. Without a word he turned and stomped out of the garage leaving Jessie alone with Jason.
Jessie let out a deep breath as she watched Cade leave. “Well, you’ve got my attention. Now what do you want?” she said as she faced Jason, crossing her arms over her chest.
Jason looked out the door at Cade’s retreating back. “Are you two serious?” he asked.
“What? That’s what you hunted me down for?”
Jason shook his head and turned to face her, his face relaxing. “I was just curious.”
“What do you want, Jason?”
Jason reached out and took Jessie’s hands in his. “Jessie, I made a huge mistake six years ago. You were the love of my life and I should have fought to keep you. That thing with Luci…I was stupid.”
“Oh, come on! That’s ancient history. Are you for real? You came here to try to get me back? Not in a million years, there’s your answer.” She couldn’t keep the annoyance out of her voice. “What else is going to happen today? First my sisters are coming home and now this.”
“Luci’s coming back to Snowy Ridge?”
Jessie narrowed her eyes at him. “Yeah. Luci and Wynn are coming home. Whether I like it or not.”
Chapter Eight
Cade’s adrenaline was still pumping. He wanted to break that guy in two over his knee and he was sure he could do it. Guys like that drove him nuts. Always wearing fancy clothes and all clean cut. Acting superior to everyone else. And the way he kept hanging around Jessie like that. Back home we’d call him a stalker. She’d just need to give him the word and he’d make sure he never bothered her again. That guy needed someone to teach him a lesson.
Although, she didn’t exactly kick him out. Cade was the one she told to leave.
Cade reached Triple C Snowmobile Repair and slammed the door open a little harder than he intended.
“Take it easy, tough guy,” his oldest brother Cooper said. Cooper leaned on the doorframe between the small front office and the garage where they would work on the snowmobiles, wiping his hands on a towel. “You break the glass in the door and you’re paying for it.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Cade made his way over to the desk in the corner of the room and dumped his laptop and briefcase overflowing with paperwork.
Cooper slowly set the towel down and walked further into the room. “Something wrong, little brother?”
Cade hated when they called him that. Like they were trying to wield some sort of power over him. Always wanting to remind him that he was the youngest brother and therefore somehow less than then them. Well, he wouldn’t put up with that for too long.
“Just peachy, big brother,” Cade replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
The glass door flung open again, this time with considerably less force and his other brother, Cash walked in.
“Hey boys, beautiful day out there wouldn’t you say?” Cash flashed a winning smile at the guys. Cade often wondered if his middle brother was slightly stupid or delusional. He always carried himself in a way that suggested he just won the lottery or that he reversed a terminal disease. He was always so damn upbeat. Cade found it annoying.
“I wouldn’t know. Been cooped up here all day with a 1998 Arctic Cat ZR440,” Cooper said. “Cade just got in though.”
Cade thought about the ride he just took with Jessie. It was the perfect day. Not that he was about to get all Kumbaya with his brothers and share. “Where’ve you been?” he asked Cash, trying to deflect the attention.
“Everywhere,” Cash responded, grinning like an idiot. “I covered this whole town. Handed out fliers and the business cards with the coupon on the back. And I hung a bunch on every bulletin board in every store, restaurant, and village building I could find that lined the trails. Anywhere someone might pull over their snowmobile they’ll see one of our cards.”
“Nice, Cash,” Cooper said.
“Did you hang one up at the Starlight Pub?” Cade asked him.
“Yep. That place is hopping with snowmobilers. Excellent location to advertise.”
Cade instantly wondered if Cash saw Jessie. Or if Jessie saw him. Cash had always been the ladies’ man of the three brothers. Cade woul
dn’t have a chance with her with him around. Cash drew women to him with ease with his good looks and his damn optimism. And Cade was a bit of an asshole, which Jessie already noted.
Though, Cade still wasn’t sure if he even wanted a chance with Jessie. She did seem to be ladled with issues. And she did just throw him out of her garage. Maybe he should take the hint.
“And my coffee habit just quadrupled. You wouldn’t believe the hot chick working over at that MoonBeans down the street. Tits out to here,” he motioned in front of him with his hands. “Killer long curly hair and a sweet ass. And she was hot for me. I could tell.” Cash nodded, a pleased look on his face.
“You think everyone is hot for you, asshole,” Cade said. His brother was less than a year older than him, an Irish twin they called it, at twenty-six, but the two men couldn’t be any more different. Cash rushed into things too fast while Cade had always been more thoughtful. Cash was the life of every party and Cade often preferred being alone.
“I’ll have her doing new things with that whip cream she was spraying on those coffee drinks by the end of next week. Trust that.”
“No, you won’t,” Cooper said, looking irritated. “We’re not just hanging out in Snowy Ridge, Cash. We’re building a business. We want to be here for years. You can’t make your way through the town banging every hot girl you see. We don’t need that kind of reputation. You leave that shit in Chicago and grow the fuck up. Act like a damn business owner.”
“So now I’m a fucking monk?” Cash said, his voice rising.
Cooper’s eyes flashed anger and if we were back home in Chicago the two would be on the ground beating the shit out of each other. But this wasn’t Chicago.
Cooper took a deep breath. “Just don’t be an asshole, okay? Think about someone other than yourself. Our business reputation is tied to you.”
Cooper turned thirty this year and suddenly found this drive to make something out of his life. He’d always had the dream of owning his own business but instead of doing something about it, he’d spent the last ten years floating from one job to another. He was a courier in the city, delivered packages for Fed Ex, worked the call center for an online store, and even started classes at the local community college to become an EMT. He was never passionate about any particular field, though, until now. It’s probably why his marriage fell apart after only two years. His ex-wife wanted the whole picture: house in the suburbs, closet full of clothes and shoes, kids running around. Cooper wasn’t giving her any of that so she pulled the plug.
