by Anthology
They were polar opposites and clearly didn’t fit in each other’s world.
It made sense for her to return to her hometown, but it didn’t make sense that Jake had come back. He could have been anything, done anything. He could be in New York City with a supermodel, living the dream, playing for the New York Giants.
Yet he’d returned to Cloverton.
The snow fell faster and the ground was getting slicker by the second. The back door of Granny’s was propped open by a large green trashcan.
“Come on in.” Jake motioned with his hand, letting her step inside first.
He might be the town’s most eligible bachelor, but Jake Denton was always a gentleman.
A blast of warmth from the kitchen sucked her in and she sighed. She shook her head, and snowflakes and sleet fell to the ground. She ran her fingers through her cold, wet hair and looked around the kitchen.
Industrial-size ovens and stoves, along with two large stainless-steel refrigerators, occupied the space. Thick rubber mats lined the concrete floor at each prepping station in the kitchen. Though everything was clean and had been scrubbed down for the day, a faint hint of cooking oil and cheese hung in the air.
Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she’d forgotten to eat lunch. When the snow had started falling, she’d gotten busy with customers buying books to prepare for the impending blizzard. She didn’t mind, though; she liked the uptake in business.
“Missed lunch?” Jake grinned.
She felt her face heat a thousand degrees, and she glanced away. She was almost twenty-six years old, and every time she was around him she felt like she was sixteen years old and back in high school.
“Yeah, I got too busy,” she admitted as glanced around the kitchen for Miss Kitty. Nothing moved among the shadows, and her anxiety mounted within her chest.
“Me too. I had to work straight through noon. It seems like with this winter weather, I actually have a boost in sales.” He rolled his massive shoulders. His muscles bulged against his plaid shirt, reminding her that he was still in shape. He might not play football anymore, but he was still built like an athlete.
Her stomach twisted with guilt at letting her mind wander. She should be focusing on finding her cat and not checking out Jake. She shrugged out of his coat and held it out to him.
He shook his head. “No, you keep it. You’re still shaking from being outside.”
She was shaking, all right, but it had nothing to do with the cold.
“Jake, I appreciate your help, but I’m all right by myself.” She nodded toward the door. “You can go. I’ll be perfectly fine.”
“Women who say ‘I’m fine’ are never fine.” He arched his eyebrow. “I know how to interpret women code.”
No doubt about that. Jake Denton looked like he knew everything about a woman, including how to please one.
“What’s that?” He stilled and held a finger to his lips.
Chapter 3
Meow.
“Miss Kitty.” She broke into a grin as she hurried through the swinging kitchen doors into the restaurant.
Eliza halted her steps. Through the dim light seeping in from the windows she could make out shapes of chairs upended atop tables.
“I don’t see anyone.” She glanced up at him over her shoulder and then scanned the room again. “I thought you said Mrs. Wentworth was still here?”
“I think she said something about having to run to the drug store before it closed.” Jake whispered close to her ear.
Her eyes lashes fluttered of their own volition and her body trembled at his nearness the urge to lean back into his chest overwhelmed her.
“Yes well,’ she cleared her throat and tried to focus her fuzzy head on the task at hand. What were they here for? Miss Kitty, that’s it! “I guess we need to hurry up.”
Meow.
“Miss Kitty, where are you?” Eliza called into the dimness. She took a cautious step forward near one of the corners.
Her foot caught the edge of one of the uneven tiles and she pitched forward. She gasped as she stumbled in the dark. Jake’s strong arms grabbed her from behind and wrapped around her waist pulling her toward him.
“Easy. You okay?” His husky voice sent electric shocks of pleasure through her stomach and her heart speed away like a train. It was all she could do to keep from resting her head against his warm embrace.
“Yeah, thanks.” She sucked in a calming breath and stepped away from his warmth, grateful for the darkness. At least he couldn’t see how red her face was.
Meow.
She eased forward to one of the many booths lined against the wall, following the sound of her cat. The sound grew louder with each step.
She reached the last booth and knelt, craning her neck under the table. Something darker than the shadows moved under the booth as two yellow eyes stared back at her through the darkness.
She sighed as relief poured over her.
“Come here, Miss Kitty.” She held out her hand. Her fingertips brushed against the familiar silky black fur. The cat purred against her touch as she rubbed her face against her fingers.
A loud slam came from the direction of the kitchen.
“What’s that?” She looked up at Jake in the darkness. She gathered the cat in her arms and stood.
“Sounds like the door. The garbage can probably got blown out of the way and the door shut.”
Her heart jumped in her throat.
He laughed at the panicked look on her face. “Don’t worry. It’s not locked. I made sure to check when we came in.”
“Good.” She laughed and shook her head. “I can’t imagine getting locked in here with you.”
He frowned.
“I didn’t mean it like that sounded.” She shifted her weight as her throat went dry. “I mean it would terrible if we had to spend the night together.”
His frown deepened and he cocked his head.
Ugh. She was making everything worse. Maybe she should just stop talking.
She slammed her mouth shut and made her way to the kitchen. She didn’t dare look at Jake as he followed silently behind her. When she reached the back door, she gave him a hesitant smile.
“Thank you, Jake. I appreciate you helping me find Miss Kitty. I know you have better things to do than to rescue runaway cats.”
A slow grin crossed his mouth. His dark eyes twinkled under the lights of the kitchen.
“My pleasure. It’s not very often that I can be the hero to a beautiful woman.”
Her heart caught for the briefest of seconds. Was he flirting with her? She blinked and looked away. Nah. Jake was just teasing. He’d always been kind to her, but he’d never really showed her that much attention. She wasn’t his type.
“Right.” She turned and reached for the doorknob. A sliver of panic slid up into the base of her throat when the knob didn’t turn.
“Let me try. Sometimes it sticks.” Jake smiled as she took a step back to allow him access to the door.
He reached for the doorknob and turned. When the door didn’t open, he turned and frowned at her.
“Don’t give me that look.” Her chest squeezed with uncertainty.
“It won’t open,” he said carefully.
“Well, put your weight behind it.” Her heart jackhammered in her chest and she squeezed Miss Kitty. The cat meowed and squirmed in her arms.
“I am.” He rammed his shoulder into the steel door. It creaked but didn’t budge.
“I thought you said it wouldn’t lock.” Every movie with this exact situation popped into her head. None of them had good outcomes.
“It doesn’t. But when the owners lock up for the night they put a padlock on the outside. There have been some burglaries in the next town over and they are taking precautions.” He raked his fingers through his dark hair. The disheveled look would have caused her to swoon any other time, but right now she was too consumed with panic to care how hot he looked.
“Then call her to come
back to unlock it.” She shrieked and squeezed Miss Kitty a little too tight. The cat hissed and sprang out of her arms and ran back into the restaurant.
He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his lips into a firm white line.
“What?” The rising panic in her stomach was now cresting over into her heart. “I don’t like the look on your face. Why do you have that look on your face?”
“I left my phone in my truck.” He leaned against the door and let out a sigh. “What about you?”
“I left my phone in the bookstore.” She’d run out into the snow looking for Miss Kitty and hadn’t thought to grab her phone. Her knees buckled and she grabbed the stainless-steel counter to steady herself. “Oh, God. The bookstore. It’s not locked.”
“Easy.” He gripped her by the elbows and forced her to meet his gaze as he held her up. “It’s fine. There’s a phone here. Let’s find it and call the police. I know Sloan Jackson is on call this weekend.”
She nodded her head. “Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?” She laughed. “Up front. The phone is up front by the cash register.” Not wasting a second she bolted through the swinging doors into the restaurant.
She ran her fingers along the wall, looking for the light switch. Her palm brushed against the plastic toggle and she flipped it up.
The room was awash in a bright flood of light.
She hurried to the phone, picked up the receiver and pressed it to her ear. Her eyes widened, and she looked at him.
“What’s wrong?” He frowned as he made his way over to her.
“The line is dead.” She held the receiver out to him. He held it up to his ear.
No dial tone. Nothing.
“What are we going to do, Jake?” Her eyes began to glaze over with unshed tears.
“Just call down. It’s fine. We just have to wait it out until someone comes.”
“We’ll turn on the lights. Someone will notice and alert the owner.” He gave her a reassuring smile that was all dimples and confidence.
“Right.” She nodded as she sucked in a calming breath. “If the lights are all on someone will have to come turn them off. That’s good thinking.”
“I’m pretty useful when I need to be.” He nodded toward the front of the restaurant. “Let’s get the rest of them turned on.”
The panic in her chest began to dip and go down. She shook her head as she went around the left side of the room while he took the right flipping switches and lighting up the darkened restaurant. Someone would come and there would be nothing to worry about.
Chapter 4
They met at the front of the restaurant and gazed out the large picture window together. The snow was coming down faster and harder as the wind picked up and carried the snow at an angle.
What had been a snowstorm was quickly turning into a blizzard.
“This weather is crazy. Two big snowfalls in Tennessee.” Jake chortled. “I think Mother Nature needs some medication.”
“I don’t know. I’ve always wanted a white Christmas.” Eliza wrapped her arms around her chest and sighed. Watching the snow fall was as hypnotizing as watching a fire. “Although I would prefer to be watching the snow from the comfort of my living room by the fireplace versus a restaurant.”
“Yeah, with a cup of hot chocolate.” He looked at her and grinned. His dimples made her heart do a tumble and she knew from the heat in her face that she was turning all shades of red.
She laughed and looked back at Main Street. “And some Christmas music.”
“Yes. The oldies like Dean Martin.”
“And Bing Crosby,” she said excitedly.
“Nat King Cole,” he added.
She turned and stared at the man in front of her.
“None of this new stuff, either.” He arched his eyebrow.
She pushed her hair away from her face and studied him. “I never pegged you as a sentimental guy. I thought you would equate Christmas with hunting and football.”
He barked out a laugh. Turning to face, her he leaned in a little too close. “Maybe it’s time you opened yourself up to new relationships and getting to know someone.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” She frowned.
“You need to get reacquainted with old friends.” His gaze dropped to her lips. “You might be surprised what you find.”
* * *
Jake never had to work so hard to get a woman’s attention in his life as he did with Eliza Ross. The woman hadn’t given him two glances in all the years he’d known her and now she was looking at him like he had grown two heads.
She’d been the quiet girl in school, preferring books to boys and studying to partying.
He’d always admired Eliza’s quiet reserve of strength and independence. She was a woman who didn’t need a man. She’d made that perfectly clear when he’d come into the bookstore after he’d returned from college. He’d tried to flirt with her, but either he was rusty or she wasn’t interested. She both confused and confounded him.
And he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
He wondered what her silky brown hair would feel like in his hand. And those damn caramel eyes, well he could just stare into those for days.
So when he’d seen her frantically looking for her cat, he’d jumped at the chance to help. Maybe for once she could see him as someone worthy of her heart.
“Come here.” He reached for her hand. The warmth of her small palm in his made his heart tingle. It was a feeling he was not used to.
“What?” She gave him an unsure look as she nibbled on her full bottom lip. A lip he would love to be nibbling on.
He groaned and tried to get his overheated body under control. He didn’t want to scare her off by acting like a damn caveman. He took a deep breath and led her over to a booth by the window.
He motioned for her to sit. She slid into the booth, keeping her gaze locked on him. She looked unsure.
“Stay here. I’ll be right back.” He headed for the kitchen, praying for the ingredients he would need.
“Where would I go,” she mumbled.
He grinned. He liked that about her. She didn’t play games like a lot of the women he’d dated in the past.
Once in the kitchen, he searched the stainless-steel cabinets and grinned when he finally pulled out the container of hot cocoa mix.
Grabbing some milk from the industrial-size refrigerator, he pulled out a pot and began to slowly heat the milk until it was hot.
Pulling out two mugs from a cabinet, he mixed the chocolate and the milk together in the cups.
Grinning to himself, he walked out of the kitchen.
Surprise flashed in her eyes as he handed her the hot mug of chocolate.
“Thank you.” The corners of her lips quirked upward before she took a sip of the hot drink.
“Mmmmm. This is perfect.” She closed her eyes and smiled as she savored the warm treat.
He almost dropped his cup as he watched Eliza lost in pleasure. His mind went to a whole other kind of pleasure he’d like to give her.
Her eyes popped open and she looked at him. “Thank you. This was very thoughtful.”
“You’re welcome,” he managed to croak out. He shook his head and slid into the booth. He needed to get a grip.
They sat in silence as the snow blew across Main Street and the skies turned dark gray. A flash of lightning lit up the dark clouds as thunder pealed in the sky.
“Wow. Thunder snow. That’s something you don’t see often.”
“I think this snowstorm is going to be worse than the last, I saw the snow plows salting the roads earlier today,” he added.
She set her mug on the table and pressed her forehead to the window, looking right and then left.
“There’s no sign of anyone.” She glanced at him. “How is someone going to see the lights on if everyone is at home?”
“The cops will see it. You know they will patrol the streets. I saw Sloan and Mitch getting snow chains for their tires at the gara
ge today.” Sloan and Mitch were two of Cloverton’s finest. They’d played high school football together and they were two of the few friends he still hung out with. They didn’t seem to mind he hadn’t gone on to play professional football. To them, he was just Jake.
“You’re right. There’s no need to worry.” She laughed before taking another sip of her hot chocolate.
Meow.
Miss Kitty jumped up on the table and rubbed her face against Eliza’s fingers, seeking attention. She laughed and scratched the cat under the chin as it let out a contented purr.
He held out his hand, and the cat wound its tail around his arm as it rubbed its head against his knuckles.
“Wow, she likes you.”
“You sound surprised.” He arched his brow.
She laughed. “She doesn’t usually take to new people.”
“Well, I’m not exactly new. You’ve known me all your life,” he reminded gently.
“Yeah, well, just because you grow up with someone doesn’t mean you’re a part of their lives. You and I had a totally different circle of friends. You were the popular high school football player with a ton of friends.” She turned back to the window and gazed out. “I was the nerd who liked to hang out at the library and had only a handful of friends.”
He set his coffee mug down and reached out. Lifting her chin with his fingertips, he forced her to meet his gaze.
“You had more friends than I did. It took me a long time to realize that not everyone was my friend. I lost a lot of friends when I went off to college. You went to college and came back and your friends were the same. I know you, Allison and Tabitha still hang out. Me, not so much. In a lot of ways you came out better than I did.”
Chapter 5
She frowned as she considered his words. “I never thought about it like that. I just figured that your life looked so perfect. I guess I shouldn’t be so quick to judge.”
He nodded as his fingertips gently trailed to her jawbone. Once he started touching her, he couldn’t seem to stop.
“It made me take a long hard look at everything in my life.” The words flowed out as his heart pounded in his ears.
