by A. M. Kusi
“Nah, bro. I’m good.”
River heard background noise, and a woman’s voice he thought he recognized. “Is that Harper?”
“Look, I’m at a cafe and gotta put my order in. I’ll talk to you soon.” Jaxton said distractedly before he abruptly ended the call.
River frowned and stared at the phone for a few seconds, wondering what his friend wasn’t telling him.
The clock told him his hour was almost up. He put his phone in his pocket before grabbing his laptop and hustling to the kitchen.
River cracked the door open and peeked inside. “Knock, knock. Smells good in here.”
“You came prepared,” Ella said, looking to the laptop in River’s hand.
“Can I help with anything?” River offered, setting down the laptop on the island, facing Ella.
“You can cut the onion; that’s my least-favorite thing,” she said, motioning to the vegetable on the beat-up wooden cutting board next to her.
River smiled and played along. “Whatever you say, boss.” He chuckled, heading over to wash his hands before getting started.
Ella seemed relaxed around him; she was able to joke playfully like he’d seen her do with her friends. She placed two well-seasoned filets of salmon on cedar planks onto the grill section of her industrial stove. Next, she got to work preparing the broccoli and peppers by River’s side.
“So, I know how Maggie fits into this, but how did you meet Lucas? Have you been friends since you first moved here?” River asked, making a second cut into the onion. His eyes stung, and he instinctively swiped them with his arm. Ella lit a candle and set it on the cutting board.
“What’s that for?” he asked. “Setting the mood?”
Ella laughed. “It helps reduce the effects of the onions so they don’t sting as much.”
River looked at her with his eyebrow raised.
“Trust me.” She laughed.
“Mac said I had a home here as long as I wanted, with the only condition being that I didn’t go back to Declan. He told me I needed to press charges, but I didn’t want to deal with it anymore. I just wanted it to be over. I was scared that he would find me and try to hurt Mac. I refused to go to the police. I can see how that might have helped my case now. Mac called a friend, a local veterinarian believe it or not, to come and look at my umm…my injured arm. He said it was dislocated, and the muscle might be torn, but not broken. I wore a sling and it healed over time with some physical-therapy exercises.”
River ground his teeth and the knife hit the wooden slab harder as he took his aggression out on the onion. His stomach turned at the visual image of Ella limping into the inn with a broken arm. He wanted to find Declan and teach him a lesson. River felt his body grow tense at the thought of Ella being helpless to the towering man who had shown up earlier that day. If he had known how violent Declan was, he might have not been able to restrain himself.
River took a deep, cleansing breath, surprised by the intensity of his response. He never reacted this physically to anything or was the type to fight someone; he usually avoided confrontation.
Ella continued while cooking, “Lucas used to work for Mac before he bought the pub. Lucas’s brother works for the state police.” River nodded, making the connection between Lucas and Officer Gregory. Ella explained, “Mac asked him for insight into the situation. Lucas brought his brother to me and he offered to help me disappear on paper as Ella Hayes, making it harder to be traced. It worked for a while. I still call my mother once a year around the holidays, just to let her know I am alive. There really isn’t any reason to, but I start feeling guilty sometimes, and still wish we at least had some sort of relationship. This past year, I called her shortly after New Year’s, right after Mac’s death. I don’t know why, except that I am still sad for missing out on the relationship I wish my mother and I had. Sometimes I forget that it isn’t reality. It’s always harder that time of year.”
“Desiring love isn’t a weakness. I think it’s a part of our human need. It is just more difficult for some people to find than others. Harder to know where to look when you were never taught what real love looks like,” River said.
Ella gave him a weak smile.
She went to the fridge, and pulled out two hard ciders and opened the tabs before handing one to River, which he gladly accepted. She took a sip of her own and set the glass bottle on the counter. One thing she loved about Vermont was the array of delicious alcoholic beverages. Hard cider was quickly becoming a rival to the state’s craft beer, depending on who you asked.
She served the food onto two plates, setting them on the large island in the middle of the kitchen.
“This looks yummy,” River said, his mouth watering. He sat in front of one of the plates, fork in hand, as he waited for her to join him. Once she was seated, they began eating their dinner, continuing their conversation. “Mac seems like he was a special man. He didn’t have any other family in the States?” River asked before taking a bite of the perfectly cooked flaky salmon.
“No. Just me. He pushed me to get my General Education Development paper, and then I used that to enroll in the community college. He told me it was my way to pay him back for giving me a job and a place to live. He said he needed someone with business sense to help run the inn. I see now that he pushed me for me.”
“I’m glad you had him,” River added with sincerity. He wouldn’t ever know the man who stepped up and took care of Ella when she’d needed help and his one regret was that he would never be able to properly thank him. The thought tugged at his heart, and he was surprised how quickly he’d come to feel such a deep connection to Ella and her world.
“Me too. Enough about me. What about you? Tell me about the skeletons in your closet,” Ella said jokingly, diverting the topic of conversation to River. She got up to get them each another bottle of hard cider before rejoining him.
“Not much to tell. I lived in California until I was a sophomore in high school. My dad moved his company, and us, to Boston. I graduated college at the University of Massachusetts and went right to work for Parker Consulting Inc. I started in their technology department and worked my way up the ladder. He wasn’t going to give me any special treatment just because I was his son though. I literally began making copies and doing coffee runs for the employees when I was in high school.
“I met my ex four years ago. We were together for three years, engaged for six months of that, before I realized it just wasn’t what I wanted in my life. I need honesty and transparency. She kept things from me. She was all about putting on a show and pretending everything was fine, even when it wasn’t. She cared about what people thought. Half our relationship was in secret.”
Ella looked up from taking the last sip of her second hard cider, stunned. “What do you mean in secret?”
“She comes from a very affluent family who were not exactly open to the idea of a biracial man dating their daughter. I had no idea that she didn’t even tell them for the first eighteen months of our relationship. She kept putting off my meeting them, and I fell for her excuses. Once I was promoted to one of the senior executives at my father’s company, her family magically warmed up to the idea. I saw the red flags,” River said, taking another drink. “Not to say I was perfect, because I wasn’t. I didn’t ask. I didn’t push. I kind of shut down when the tough conversations came, and we never really got to hash things out. We just went our separate ways. I’m not good with confrontation. That’s something I’m trying to work on.”
“I don’t know what to say to that. That really sucks. I think you handled the confrontation today exceptionally well,” Ella admitted, while River opened his laptop.
“Yeah, I guess I did. Although if I had known what a monster Declan really was, things might have gone differently.”
After they’d had their dinner and two drinks each, he was feeling more relaxed and content.
<
br /> River asked, “If you could have anything, what would that look like for you?”
River looked up from his computer and saw her body grow tense before he clarified, “I mean, for the website. What would you ideally want it to look like, and how do you want it to function?”
Ella seemed to immediately relax. “I…umm…I want it to reflect the inn. Modern, cozy, and unique.”
“Ready to start?” River asked, rubbing his hands together.
***
I don’t know if I am, but I sure as hell want to find out, Ella thought to herself fully knowing he was talking about the website. She noticed that whenever their conversation made her feel uncomfortable, he would easily switch over to the business, making her feel less threatened. She wondered if he knew she needed it.
They went back and forth discussing the plan for the site. They laughed and spoke about the inn and his job. Amber had come into the kitchen at one point to tell Ella that she was headed home for the night.
At ten o’clock the phone rang, and Ella ran into the lobby to answer it.
“Hello, The Orchard Inn. Can I help you?” After hearing nothing but breathing on the other end, Ella gritted her teeth and snapped, “Stop calling, asshole!”
She hung up the phone and wrote down the exact time of the call, noting that the caller ID said unavailable. She would be contacting the police station in the morning.
When Ella went back into the kitchen, she saw River at the sink doing the dishes. Any apprehension or annoyance she’d felt from the phone call disappeared, immediately replaced with appreciation for him. River was proving to her at every turn that he was different.
“River, you don’t need to do that. You’re a guest!” Ella walked to the sink to take over, but River stopped her with a soapy hand in the air.
“The cook doesn’t clean where I come from. I helped you make the mess. Please?” He was firm, but still asking her permission. Ella felt a heat flood her body at his tone of voice.
“You helped cook,” she tried to argue.
“You can help me by keeping me company,” River said, turning back to inspect his handiwork.
“If you insist,” Ella gave in, happily.
“I do. So, sit down and have another drink.”
“I think I have had enough to drink,” Ella joked.
“Lightweight,” River teased, rinsing the last few dishes.
“I never get drunk. And if I have one more of those, I will cross the tipsy line,” Ella responded honestly.
“Right, I forgot. You prefer the harder stuff,” he said, giving her a wink.
Ella blushed, embarrassed remembering the chocolate fiasco.
“You never get drunk? Not even once in a while to let loose?” River asked, meeting her eyes.
“Never. I don’t like being out of control.” She surprised herself with her answer. River seemed to have that effect on her, making her admit things she wouldn’t usually. He just had a way about him; his directness and the honesty in which he answered her questions seemed to cut straight through her walls of protection. Layer by layer, she seemed to be opening herself up to him. Either that, or it was the second hard cider that had loosened her lips.
River saw the raw honesty in her answer. He had an overwhelming desire to know all of her. He wanted to know what was in that beautiful mind of hers, and help solve her problems. “Not many people do, most of the time. Sometimes control can be…good.” River dried his hands on a towel before walking up to her so that they were only a few inches apart. “And sometimes, too much control can be suffocating.”
Suffocating was the best word to describe how Ella felt in such close proximity to River. Only this kind of suffocation was tinged with pleasure and anticipation. She felt a pull towards him, unlike anything she had ever felt. She had been attracted to Declan, but it was more of a superficial lust compared to how she was feeling now, so close to River.
River looked down into Ella’s face. She bit her bottom lip, unsure. She felt a sudden need to taste his mouth. She felt the energy between them buzz as they held each other’s gaze and began to close the distance.
River swallowed hard, and said, “Good night,” against her lips.
It took Ella a moment to realize he had spoken before she answered, “Night,” in almost a whisper.
River turned and left the kitchen while Ella stood leaning against the bar for support as she tried to calm her racing heartbeat.
I’m never going to sleep now.
Chapter 14
Ella woke Sunday morning and went through her usual routine, complete with yoga and affirmations, before heading down to the kitchen.
Ella had her breakfast before River came. She needed space after the events of the last few days. River was cutting through her lines of defenses much faster than she felt comfortable with. She gave him directions to another local hike. When he asked for her company, she told him she needed a day to spend catching up on the work that had piled up from the time she’d spent missing in action. It was true, but she could tell he still left for his solo adventure feeling a little defeated.
When he returned in the afternoon, Ella was caught up in a meeting with an event planner and a happy couple who would be renting the entire inn for their wedding in September. After they left, smiles beaming on their faces, it was nearly five o’clock. She left a message for Officer Gregory with the details of Declan’s prank call.
Ella hung up the phone and heard a bell ringing. It was different to the one at the front door. The sound was coming from the stairs and getting closer. She watched as River poked his head around the corner with a large smile plastered across his face.
Ella laughed in disbelief. “You actually got a bell?”
“Well, I didn’t want to scare you again.” He shrugged.
“So, you bought a bell.” Ella drew out the sentence.
“Yup. What’s wrong? You don’t like it?” River pretended to be hurt.
“Quite the opposite. In fact, I think you should wear it as a necklace from here on out.” Ella played along.
River laughed and set the bell on the front desk, shoving his hands to his pockets. “I was just going to get dinner. Do you want to join me? We could talk more about online marketing for the inn.”
Ella hesitated, knowing he had valuable knowledge that could help her. She had just resigned herself to keeping her distance. She had to refuse him. But her voice betrayed her. “Okay,” she agreed, not wanting to admit to herself how often her thoughts had drifted to him that day.
They had dinner together again at the pub. River explained how she could use social media and SEO to help get more traffic to her website, thus expanding her reach and potentially increasing bookings. The way River was able to turn all the technical speak into language she could easily understand was something she found obscenely attractive about him. After dinner at the pub, they walked back to the inn.
“Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.”
“It was my pleasure.” River paused, dragging out their farewell for the evening.
Making the decision for him, Ella spoke, “Good night.” She turned and headed into the kitchen, needing some time to process everything.
“Night,” River called after her.
Monday morning was similar to the previous day; Ella ate her breakfast in the kitchen, avoiding River again. She knew she had feelings for him that were only growing the more time they spent together. He didn’t push, and she was grateful for that. It would be his last full day at the inn, and Ella knew the more they connected, the harder it would be when he left.
Despite what he had said and done for her, he lived hours away, and they were both too busy with their own lives for this to continue as anything more than a friendship. Ella explained her thought process to Maggie while she prepared breakfast that morning. Maggie was
n’t thrilled with her decision, but Ella didn’t care because she was scared.
Ella arranged for Maggie to oversee the inn after lunch until Emily could take the late-afternoon-to-evening shift. Julia had invited Ella to a pottery class; she needed an extra set of hands to help with a new student so she could focus on the advanced clients. Julia had asked Ella to arrive at the specific time of twelve forty-five.
It took Ella twenty minutes to get to the studio in her Jeep. She entered the old brick building, looking up at the sign that read, Avery’s Art on her way in. With giant windows on all sides, letting in as much natural light as possible, and walls covered with different forms of art, it was one of Ella’s favorite spaces. Several tables and chairs were set up around the room. The back wall was converted into a large shelf and filled with pottery projects in various stages. Ella saw a few other people sitting at stations set up with pottery wheels, obviously in the middle of projects.
Julia looked up when Ella walked in and greeted her. “Oh, Ella! Thank you for getting here with such short notice to help me out today. Come on over here.”
Julia led Ella through a door to a small room with a clay- and paint-covered black sink. The only other things in the room were a small countertop with a coffee machine and a microwave, and a mini fridge. Julia told Ella to put on a smock and grabbed another for her next student who she was expecting shortly.
Ella waited, glancing around at the shelf of half-finished projects. She had taken a pottery class in college and knew the basics. She enjoyed using different mediums of art, but drawing had always been her favorite.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a deep voice behind her.
“Fancy meeting you here.”
Ella turned to see none other than River Parker standing in front of her.
Ella’s eyes darted towards Julia as she spoke. “You must be the newbie student that Julia so desperately needed help with.” She didn’t know why she hadn’t been suspicious earlier.
