by Natalie Ann
“I think I’d like to go out. Would it offend you if I picked a place I’d heard about? One I wanted to try anyway?”
“Not at all. I know you’re here to do some pieces on other businesses. Might as well spread the love around.”
“Thanks,” she said, reaching for his hand, the urge to touch him again just too great to hold back. She wasn’t sure if it was the place or him alone, but the word fate was sticking in her head again. “I’ll give you the list of a few places I’d planned on stopping at while I was here. You can choose from them.”
“So you’re letting me have a bit of the surprise element then?”
“I’m not too much of a control freak, even though many people in my kitchen would say otherwise.”
He stood up and grabbed her drink, took another sip and set it down. “I’ll let you get back to your relaxing then. Now it looks like you’re actually enjoying your beverage rather than it being a prop.”
***
Zeke walked back into the kitchen to grab a late lunch. Just a sandwich would do. One he could even make himself.
“What are you doing in my kitchen?” Robert asked in his normal surly voice.
Kendall said some would call her a control freak, but he guessed she was nowhere near the level Robert had achieved. He’d always been a dick, but Zeke was the boss now and he didn’t care that Robert was older than his parents and had been around longer than Zeke had been riding a sled on his own.
“Making a sandwich. Unless of course you want to make it for me.”
“I don’t have time to cater to you.”
“I didn’t think so,” Zeke said grinning. Like Erika often told him, he was a pretty happy guy and just brushed off Robert’s attitude like a pesky fly trying to land its nasty body on his sweet ice cream cone in the summer. “You got some rave reviews on the chili bowl yesterday.”
Robert snorted. “I heard all about that little blog post. She needs to come see me for one of my specialty dishes. Anyone can make a chili bowl.”
“She’s here for a few more weeks. I’m sure she plans on it. For now, it’s still publicity and everything helps.”
“My restaurant is full nonstop,” Robert said.
Zeke picked up the ham and cheese sandwich he’d just finished assembling. “Your restaurant?”
“You’d be nothing without me and you know it.”
Zeke grinned, then bowed to Robert. “Almighty God, thank you for gracing me with your presence. I’ve got work to do now. See ya.”
Conceited prick.
Zeke shook his head and left. He’d never cared for Robert, but the man could cook and people did come from all over to eat his food. They were booked year round for weddings and events here. As long as Robert continued to pump out great food, then Zeke would continue to ignore his condescending attitude.
***
“Kendall?”
She turned and noticed Erika standing behind her now. It seemed the siblings were determined to come out and see her sitting in front of the fireplace pretending to sip on a brandy.
“Hey, Erika.”
“Do you mind if I join you?”
“Please do.” What a difference between the two siblings. Zeke took a seat and grabbed her drink to help himself, Erika asked to sit in her own establishment.
“I just wanted to thank you again for the post you did yesterday.”
“You’re welcome. Zeke told me it’s gotten a favorable response so far.”
“It has. I appreciate it. But I wanted to talk to you. Are you enjoying your stay?”
She thought that was an odd question so early. Especially after yesterday’s post.
“I am. I have to say it’s more like a bedroom than a hotel feel. I’ve stayed in a lot of places in the past several months, but the bed here is by far the most comfortable.”
“We do take a lot of pride in that. I think it’s worth the extra money to provide comfort.”
“I agree,” Kendall said. “When I was researching places to stay, there were a lot of less expensive places if someone just wanted to come to Lake Placid to crash at night while they spent their days exploring. But in my travels, I’ve discovered a large number of people who want both. They want comfort and the experiences.”
“My parents always felt the same way. Lake Placid is filled with all price points, but we’re one of the few that offers all the amenities on the grounds, making us unique. Plus, we fill up a lot with out of town weddings.”
“I just talked to a few guests that were warming by the fire and they said the same thing. That they liked to be able to not go far to ski or rent snowmobiles. Almost a one stop shop.”
“We aim to please. It’s important to us to not only carry on the traditions of my parents but to add new ones. It’s our life here. Not just our livelihood.”
She read the underlying meaning and wondered if Zeke had told his sister about the meal they’d shared the night before. “I understand that. I understand it more than you may realize how a place can make a difference in your life.”
Old Fashioned Way
Saturday morning, Kendall knocked on Zeke’s front door a little before seven. The sun was starting to come up, barely, but he’d said to meet at his place and he’d let her ride one of his sleds, not a rental one. She didn’t know what the difference was.
“Morning,” he said, opening the front door. “I forgot to open the garage door for you. Come on in.”
She bent to take her boots off, but he stopped her. “It’s fine. We’re just going to put them back on anyway.”
“There might be snow on them still.” She knocked off as much as she could.
“Not a problem.” She followed him through the house. He stopped in the kitchen and grabbed two thermoses and handed one to her. “Coffee. Just prepare it the way you want.”
“How long are we going to be out there?” she asked, wondering what she was getting herself into.
“A few hours. Trust me, it’s nice to have if you want it.”
She’d take his word for it. She filled hers up and added some cream. Funny how they took their coffee the same way. “I’ve got a bunch of protein bars in a bag already unless you ate.”
“I ate so I should be good.”
“The restaurant is just opening now,” he said, looking slightly confused.
“I’ve got some fruit and snacks in the room. I try not to eat out every meal; otherwise, none of my clothes would fit.”
He ran his finger down her nose. “I highly doubt that would happen. I’ve seen a lot of chefs with a few extra pounds on them, but you’re not one of them. Don’t you try what you make?”
“I always sample what I make, but I don’t eat large portions. When I’m working, I work a lot of hours and sweat a lot of pounds off. When I’m not working, I exercise.”
“I never sit still, which is why I eat like crazy when it’s mealtime.”
“I always like when someone has a healthy appreciation for food.”
He wrapped his hand around her neck and yanked her forward. “I’ve got a healthy appreciation for a lot of things.”
“Could have fooled me,” she said before she could stop herself.
“You’re trying to test me.”
“Is it working?” she asked.
“Maybe. But for now, I promised you a ride. A snowmobile ride. Let’s go to the garage and I’ll give you the basics around the property here, then we’ll pick up a trail from the house to the lodge trails.”
They spent about twenty minutes on his property with him showing her how to start the sled, steer it, the brakes, and throttle. She was pretty sure she would be able to handle it now.
“Why did you want me to ride one of yours instead of a rental?” she asked.
He smirked. “Because I want to say you learned on mine.”
She rolled her eyes, then grabbed the helmet he gave her. “So whose helmet is this?” she asked, hoping it wasn’t an ex’s or someone else’s left at his house.
It wasn’t hard to miss all the comments around the lodge about how hot the owner was and she was wondering just how often he sampled what was offered.
“Erika’s. I asked her if I could use it for you. She hardly ever rides if she can avoid it now.”
“That was nice of her.” So he did tell his sister about the two of them. “Why doesn’t she ride anymore?”
“She’s gotten soft in her old age.”
She laughed. “Really? She has to be my age.”
“I’m not sure. How old are you?”
“Twenty-seven. And since we’re sharing...”
“Thirty-three. I shouldn’t tell you Erika is thirty-two. We are only thirteen months apart.”
“Your parents were busy,” she said laughing.
“I was planned. Erika was an oops. I remind her of that often.”
“That’s kind of mean.” She put the helmet on because she was eager to get going.
“So she’s told me enough when I’ve said it to her. Come on and we’ll get started. The sun is starting to rise now.”
He walked over to her sled and hit a switch. “What did you do?” she asked checking to make sure the visor would stay up.
“Turned the handlebar warmers on.”
“Seriously? That’s a thing?”
“It is. The rentals don’t have them,” he said, winking at her, then flipping his visor down. She did the same, started the sled up and slowly took off after him.
***
Kendall was getting the hang of it. They were going pretty slow at the moment. He went faster when he was cleaning up the trails, but he wasn’t going to push it too much.
After an hour, he pulled to the side and stepped off of the sled. She shut her sled off. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to see if you were okay.”
“I’m great. This is awesome! But since we stopped, maybe I’ll grab some coffee.”
“That works too.” He walked back to his sled and grabbed his thermos from the back, took the top off and poured it into the cap.”
“You know they have these things called travel mugs where you don’t have to pour it into another vessel.”
He laughed at her. “And I haven’t found one that doesn’t leak during a ride.”
“I didn’t think of that.”
“Sometimes the old fashioned way is the best way to go.”
“Can we go a little faster?” she asked after she put her coffee away.
“On the sled?” he asked, wanting some kind of clarification.
“For now, yes, the sled.”
He figured as much. “We sure can. You can lead and I’ll follow along.”
“I don’t want to get lost,” she argued.
“Just follow the paths.”
He pulled to the side and let her go in front of him and followed behind. She went faster, about as fast as he went working, but it was still something.
After two hours, they were back at his place. “I wish I had more courage to go faster, but I think that’s my limit right now.”
“How about if you held on and I drove? I won’t go any faster than what you feel comfortable with and we’ll stay right on my property so we don’t have to worry about any traffic.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yep. Just leave the sled there—it’ll be fine—and climb on the back of mine.”
She did. Getting really close this time. He swore he felt the heat of her crotch against his back, even between both of their snow pants, but he pushed it from his mind and took off for their ride.
He tested it a bit and was glad that he did. He’d heard the laughter through his helmet and when she gripped him tighter he had no choice but to hit the throttle even more.
“That was great,” she said almost an hour later. “I definitely need to do that again before I leave.”
He was nudging the “leave” comment from his mind. Too soon to even think about it. “I’ll gladly take you out again.”
“I’ll take you up on it. Would it be too much to ask if you could video me driving the sled, and then let me take one with the two of us on yours if you’re going slow?”
“Not at all. What do you want to do first?”
“I’ll go for a ride alone first.”
Once he was done recording her solo trip around his yard, she hopped off and grabbed the camera out of his hand and flipped up her visor. “As you all can see,” she said into the camera now. “I just experienced another winter sport. This one was pretty darn awesome, but I’m sure it had more to do with my helpful instructor.” She turned the camera to him, catching him unaware. “Say hi to Zeke Collins. That’s right. Collins, as in one of the owners of the Collins Lodge. I’m getting some pretty special treatment here. He even promised me some more time on the sled another day.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, wanting to grab her and yank her in for a kiss with the way she was sending a mischievous smirk his way. Instead, he decided two could play at that game. “I’m always up for a ride with a pretty woman.”
She turned the camera back to her. “Did you hear that, ladies? Guess what? You’ll have to get in line because right now he’s taken by me. For snowmobile lessons,” she added, then turn her camera off. “Can we do a retake? That came out completely wrong.”
“Nope. I think it came out exactly as I want it to. No retakes.” Then he took his helmet off and hers, yanked her in, and planted one on her to prove he was thinking along the same lines as what she’d said.
All the Reasons
“A day for a lot of firsts for me,” she said a short time later. She was sitting in one of Zeke’s oversized T-shirts and nothing else while in his sauna. He had shorts on and she was trying not to stare at his chest. He sure had a sweet body on him. This was no gym body here, but one of hard work and exertion. This was much better for sure.
“So what do you think about it so far? We can’t stay in here too long.”
“It’s nice. At first, it felt a little suffocating. Like the hot air in my lungs made it hard to breathe, but once I told myself to relax, it was nice.”
“I come in here at least once a day if I can—normally right after work—then I jump in the shower after.”
“Is that what you’re going to do next?” she asked, looking partially unsure and excited at once. Innocence and appeal. What a combination.
“I planned on it. You can too. I’ve got a few extra showers. It feels great once your pores are all nice and open.”
“Extra showers, huh?”
“The first time I see you naked I don’t want it to be in the shower,” he said.
“You can’t get any blunter than that.”
“Disappointed?”
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t, but I understand the thought process.”
“Remember what I said before,” he said.
“I am. I do. The right reasons. Trust me, I get it.”
And in the past few days she knew when their time came, it was going to be for all the reasons—right, wrong, perfect, or risky. That time was going to be very soon.
***
Zeke knew today would be an experience in patience like never before. Kendall and he had gone to separate bathrooms and showered, then met up back downstairs where she made him lunch. A “simple lunch of chicken stir fry” were her words.
He’d been in awe that she’d gone through his freezer and fridge, found things he didn’t even know were there, and made a delicious meal for them.
They killed a few more hours in his family room shooting pool and she left to go get ready for their dinner out.
She’d said she wanted to get her post entered and scheduled on their ride this morning. He was curious if she’d keep the interview or not where she’d stumbled and said, “he’s taken by me.”
He’d been checking her site to see if it was posted and by the time he left to go pick her up, there was nothing there. He wondered if she’d changed her mind about it after all.
“Don’t you look nice,” Carolyn said to him while she manned the front reception area. “Hot date?”
“As a matter of fact, I’m going out tonight.”
He didn’t normally dress up, nor was he dressed up like this when he was at the lodge. He could put on cotton pants and a button-down shirt without a problem, but never nice black pants with a shirt that felt like it was starched even though it bragged about being worn-in.
He walked over to the staircase to make his way to the second floor, knowing that Carolyn’s eyes were following his moves, but he pushed it out of his mind. It was no one’s business who he was having dinner with.
Knocking on Kendall’s door, he looked around and saw people coming and going. Some dressed up like him but most were more casual. The restaurant would cater to either attire.
She opened the door within seconds and he swore the air was knocked out of his lungs as if he crashed on the slopes falling face first into the snow.
His hand went to his chest. “Damn, you take my breath away.”
“Why, thank you,” she said. “I’ve got one nice dress with me and this is it.”
“It’s more than nice.” His eyes were roaming over the fitted little black dress that hugged and molded to her body better than anything he’d ever seen before.
“Come on in and I’ll get my boots on.”
“Boots?” he asked.
“Dressy boots,” she said, pulling out a pair of knee-high black leather boots that had an ice pick heel on it that would rival a tool used to climb the Alps.
They made their way to his truck and the short drive to the restaurant that he’d chosen. The fanciest one on the list. He wanted to impress her tonight for some reason when he never strove to really impress another woman before like this. Why bother when it’d always been a short-term thing…any relationship mostly in the women’s minds.
“This is nice,” she said when they made their way to the back of the restaurant into a private booth. The lighting was dim, pleasant, and romantic. He just realized he’d never been here before either, but was often referring the place. He and Erika were all about spreading the word to their guests.
