The Inn at Misty Lake: Book Two in the Misty Lake Series (10 page)

“I’ll be right here while you call.”

The fact that he understood, that he knew her thoughts as well as she did, calmed her some. She wanted to hold on to him, to melt into him, and to pretend everything was fine. She’d tell herself it wasn’t snowing and that her family was safe and sound back in Chicago. But she knew she needed to make the call. Incredibly grateful she wouldn’t have to do it alone, she met Riley’s eyes and nodded slowly. She stretched to reach the phone in her pocket, not wanting to move from the safety of his lap. With a shaky hand she pressed buttons and then, at her mother’s carefree ‘Hello’, let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

She talked for a minute, even laughed a little, before hanging up and reporting to Riley. “Everything is fine, they’re almost home and haven’t seen so much as a snowflake. Mom just talked to Brad and their drive has been uneventful with the exception of frequent restroom stops for Mia.” She sighed and closed her eyes, allowing her head to fall onto Riley’s shoulder.

“I’m glad…that you called and that everything is okay.”

“Thank you for listening and for helping me through that.”

He gave her a squeeze in response. “Are you okay now? We should think about getting back to the house before we get snowed in here.”

“I’m okay. And just so you know, I don’t usually react quite like that and I almost never cry in front of guys. I find it makes most of them uncomfortable.” She grinned at him. “You handled it quite well, actually.”

He almost told her that he had been close to panic mode when she’d started to cry, that he’d briefly considered telling her to call Sam, or Karen, or his mom, or anyone that wasn’t him. But he decided he’d let her think he’d had things under control the entire time. “Hey, Red, I’m not most guys.” With that, he leaned over and kissed her, thankful to see the spark back in her eyes.

The kiss caught her by surprise. Just a moment ago she’d felt as if her world was spinning out of control due to fear. Now, her world was spinning for an entirely different reason. Her heart started to race and she reached a hand around his neck to steady herself. In an instant, the kiss went from friendly to passionate and she held on for dear life.

Riley had planned to plant a quick kiss on her lips to make sure she had moved past the worry and fear, but when she responded so quickly and wrapped her arm around his neck, he was lost. He grabbed her, fisted his hand in her hair, and let go with the feelings he had done his best to bottle up for the past few weeks. Part of his mind was telling him to back off, that getting involved with the woman he was working for was a bad idea. The other part was telling him she was like no other woman he had ever known, that he’d be crazy to let her get away. It didn’t take long until he stopped listening to what his head was telling him and, instead, gave in to his desire.

Susan wasn’t sure if she’d ever been kissed quite like Riley was kissing her. She knew she’d never wanted anyone else to kiss her like he was kissing her. When he gently grabbed hold of her hair she thought she heard a soft moan, but didn’t know if it came from her or from Riley.

Riley’s phone buzzed with a text. Susan half listened as he muttered an oath and said something about forgetting his promise to Jake. She was still dazed as he eased back from her and pulled out his phone. He showed her the screen. The text was from Frank telling him, in rather colorful language, that he was at their parents’ house and would take care of the driveway once the snow let up.

Taking a moment to catch her breath as Riley returned the text, Susan stood up and looked at him. That was twice now that he’d kissed her and she’d been helpless to stop the desire that flooded through her. Her response to him left her rattled. She wasn’t used to feeling out of control.

Riley stood too and, kissing the top of her head, took her hand and started to cross the room. “We need to get moving. I’ll shut off these heaters and—”

Just as he reached for the switch, it shut off on its own and the room was pitched into darkness. Reflexively, Susan tightened her grip on his hand. Somewhere in the darkness the dog, who had been alternately sniffing and investigating every corner of the barn and napping, gave a little yip.

“Damn,” Riley muttered. “Stay put for a minute.”

Feeling his way along the wall with the help of the light from his phone, he moved back to the door where he had left a toolbox with a small flashlight inside. After some fumbling and a couple of scraped knuckles, he found it and clicked it on. He followed the small beam of light around the room and unplugged the heaters before again taking Susan’s hand and leading her to the door.

Together, they shoved at the door to open it wide enough to get out. Gusto, thrilled to find a sea of white, bounded into the yard and jumped into a snowdrift only to find he couldn’t get himself back out. Whining, he struggled and scratched, succeeding only in burying himself deeper.

Susan and Riley held onto one another and took exaggerated steps, raising their legs as high as possible over the drifts, and fought their way through the wicked wind and pelting snow to the dog. Riley scooped him up and they stumbled and staggered their way back to the house through the blinding, swirling snow.

Once inside, Susan began brushing snow from her jacket, pants, and hair and stomping her feet in an attempt to warm up. “I can’t believe this. It’s like a whole different world out there. I’ve heard stories of people freezing to death a few feet from their front door. I never understood until now. Look, you can’t even see the barn from here.”

Riley mumbled a reply but was already using the small flashlight to work his way around the house. When he returned, he had two more flashlights and a lantern. “It’s almost dark,” he said with a trace of worry in his voice. “We have decisions to make.”

Before Susan could ask what he meant, his phone buzzed again with a text. His expression grew more worried as he read it aloud. “Jake says, ‘Sam is okay, power out around most of lake, had report that tree branch came down on a power line so road between Sam’s and Susan’s is impassable. If you leave, have to go long way around. I say stay put if you can. Let me know.’” He looked at Susan. “Well, that sucks.”

“What now? It’s awfully cold in here.”

“The heat is all running off electricity right now so without any power, we’re without any heat. It’s going to get colder. We can try to drive back to Sam’s, but my truck is really blocked in by a drift and it sounds like it’s going to be rough driving.” He raked his hand through his hair and said, “We also have the pipes to worry about. Without any heat in here and with the insulation not finished around the pipes, I’m worried they’re going to freeze. If we leave, we can shut off the water and drain the pipes. If we stay, I’ll hook up the generator to keep at least some heat pumping and I’ll keep the water trickling to try to keep the pipes from freezing. We can use the fireplace, that will help warm it up in here, too.”

“Sounds like camping. I hate camping.”

Riley chuckled. “That I believe. I’ll leave it up to you. If you want to try to get out of here I’ll do what I can to make that happen, but I have to hurry. I’m running out of any trace of daylight and doing everything by flashlight is going to be harder.”

“And if we stay? Is there anything to eat or drink? Any firewood? Anything?”

“I keep some things in the mini fridge, it’s easier than packing a lunch every day. There should be enough to make a couple of sandwiches. I know there’s stuff to drink. We might even find some chips or pretzels. I’ll find wood to burn.”

Susan looked out the window. It was almost completely dark. “I guess the smart thing to do is to stay. I’ll call Sam,” she said on a sigh.

While Susan called Sam, Riley sent texts to Jake and Frank to let them know their plans. Riley connected the generator, turned the faucet in the temporary bathroom on low, and started a fire. Susan scrounged through the fridge and made a few sandwiches. Gusto was delighted with his meal of salami and ham.

“You know, I have a couple of blankets in the trunk of my car. They might come in handy. I suppose I could go get them…”

Riley rolled his eyes. “I’ll go get them. Do you really think I’m going to sit here while you trudge through all that snow?”

“Thanks, I was hoping you’d volunteer,” Susan answered brightly. “Here are the keys. Oh! I almost forgot. Brad and Mia gave Sam and me a bottle of wine as they were leaving today. I guess they had it in their bag all weekend but forgot about it. Anyway, I was busy hugging everyone goodbye so just tossed it in the car meaning to take it inside later. Sooo… it’s still there.  You may want to grab that too, it might help take the chill off.”

“Anything else you keep in that car of yours? Maybe a hot pizza or a TV and some DVDs?”

“No, smarty-pants, I think that’s it,” she said, sticking out her tongue at him. “Just wait, you’ll be thanking me for keeping blankets in there.”

“Be right back,” Riley laughed as he started to open the door.

“Wait, there is one more thing. I have a puzzle in the back seat. You should grab that, too, it will give us something to do.”

“A puzzle? Why do you have a puzzle in your car?”

“They just came in at the store. It’s a picture of Misty Lake. I thought it was cute so I bought one. You’ll be thanking me for that, too.”

“Somehow I doubt it,” he said as he forced the door open against the wind.

12

“
What
are you doing?” Susan asked, appalled. They were sitting in front of the fire, each with a blanket thrown around their shoulders, at a makeshift table Riley had put together using sawhorses and a piece of plywood. Gusto was curled up as close to the fireplace as he could get, contentedly dozing and oblivious to the storm that continued to rage outside.

“What do you mean, what am I doing? I’m doing this stupid puzzle you told me to do.”

“You can’t put inside pieces together until the border is done.”

“These two fit together. Look, they make a flag,” Riley said, holding it up for her to see. Why wouldn’t I put them together?”

“Don’t you know anything about puzzle rules? You have to do the border first. That’s how it goes. I thought everybody knew that.”

“You mean you have rules about puzzles, too? Is there anything you don’t have rules about?”

“Well, it just seems to me if you’re going to do something you may as well do it right,” she grumbled.

“I can barely tell one color from the next in this light. It seems to me if I find pieces that fit together I should put them together regardless of whether the border is done.”

“Well, if you want to do it wrong…”

“Oh, Red.”

They worked in silence for a while, struggling with the colors in the weak light. Finally, Susan pushed back the stepladder she was using for a chair and stood. “This is hopeless. It’s too dark. Where’s that bottle of wine?”

“I left it by the front door.”

“Oh, darn. I just realized we don’t have a corkscrew.”

“Now, wait a minute. Can you honestly tell me that you think I’m capable of building this place for you, working all the small miracles you are expecting, yet you think I can’t manage to get a bottle of wine open without a corkscrew?”

Susan turned around quickly to look at Riley, afraid he was genuinely offended, and hurried to try to make amends. “I just meant
I
wouldn’t know how to open it and since I was on my way to get it, I wouldn’t be able to bring it back opened. I’m sure
you
can do it.”

“Nice recovery, Red,” he laughed. “Now, watch this.”

Susan watched as Riley got a screw, a screwdriver, and a hammer. He used the screwdriver to twist the screw into the cork, leaving a little bit sticking out the top. Then, using the claw end of the hammer, easily removed the cork.

“Impressive, McCabe. I guess there really isn’t anything you can’t do.”

They sat in front of the fire sipping wine from Styrofoam coffee cups and sharing stories about their childhoods. “I remember when I was a kid, I couldn’t wait for winter. Once the pond by our house froze, we spent every minute we could out there skating and playing hockey. Well, Frank and I did, anyway. Jake and Joe could play and usually came along, but they weren’t as crazy about it as Frank and I were.”

“So they never played on the high school team?”

“No, they both quit before then, deciding to stick with football. And we all played baseball in the summer, of course.”

“Of course,” Susan grinned. “You must have kept your parents busy.”

“At the time I didn’t realize just how much they did, but looking back, yeah, they were busy, especially my mom. Dad’s schedule could be kind of crazy, he worked nights and weekends sometimes, so most of the driving fell on her. And she became this sort of scheduling mastermind. She always had carpool arrangements worked out with the other parents. I’m pretty sure that’s what got her to learn how to use a computer. She would put together schedules and make sure everyone was where they needed to be.”

“I think that’s part of being a kid. You’re focused on yourself, you don’t realize what everyone around you is doing. I hope you’ve thanked them now that you do realize it.”

“I have, you don’t need to scold.”

Susan chuckled. “So did you and Frank always play together on a line?”

“Huh?” Riley asked, slightly confused.

“Did you always play together on a line?” Susan repeated. “When I watched you play, you two were always out there together with Frank centering the line. Obviously you’re both good and you play well together, I just wondered if a coach ever tried to split you up…to spread out the talent, so to speak. Sometimes the theory is two good lines are better than one great line.”

Riley was looking more intently at Susan. “I didn’t realize you knew so much about hockey.”

“Sure, it’s a great game. I’ve been a fan my whole life. But you haven’t answered my question.”

“Oh. Well, we did have a coach once who decided we shouldn’t play together. I don’t know if his thinking was he could make two strong lines or if he just didn’t like the fact that we were scoring most of the goals. His kid wasn’t very good but Coach was convinced he was. He wanted him to skate with Frank so Frank could feed him passes the way he did me. It didn’t work, his kid couldn’t handle the passes, and no one was scoring. In the end, it was his own kid who told him he needed to put the lines back they way they were. That was the last time we were separated.”

“I watched you two skate. If I hadn’t known you before, I would have guessed you were twins. You both seemed to know where the other was, and would be, without looking. Kind of like watching the Sedin twins.”

Now he flat-out stared at her. “You know who the Sedin twins are?”

“Oh, McCabe.” She shook her head and looked up at him in the dim light. “Because I’m a girl it follows that I don’t know anything about sports? Especially hockey?”

“No. Dammit, no, you’re putting words in my mouth.” He was clearly flustered and Susan had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at him.

“You do remember I’m from Chicago, right? Do you think I can be a Blackhawks fan and not know of the Sedin twins? We’re not particularly fond of any of the Vancouver Canucks in Chicago, you know.”

“Now wait just a minute.” Riley got to his feet and started pacing. “You never said anything about being a Blackhawks fan. You’re not serious, are you?” His eyes were wide and he was looking at her as if she were from another planet.

“Of course, I’m serious.”

“Well…well, you never told me.”

Now Susan was laughing out loud. “I didn’t realize it was something I needed to disclose. Are you going to quit on me? I really don’t want to have to find another contractor.”

“What?” Seeing her laughing at him had him focusing. “No, I’m not going to quit. We may just have to discuss this further. If you’re going to live in Minnesota it seems only right that you give the Wild a chance. I know, we’ll go to a game,” Riley said, his spirits lifting. “It’s a lot more fun than a Blackhawks game, you’ll see.”

“Deal. Now sit back down, it’s cold when you’re not here.” Susan patted the tarps they’d piled in front of the fireplace and Riley obliged, sitting close and throwing an arm around her shoulders.

“So, back to the McCabe twins. I’m guessing you didn’t play in college since I didn’t see any articles or pictures about it at your house. Why not?”

Riley looked into the fire. “It’s incredibly competitive. There are so many hockey players, good hockey players, in Minnesota that it’s tough to get noticed. I did have a few scouts show a little interest but…well, I guess I just didn’t know if I’d be any good without Frank. He decided early on he wanted to study photography. That meant he wouldn’t be going to a school that was looking for hockey players. He was okay with that. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. For a while, I thought maybe hockey would get me into school and I’d figure things out from there, but in the end, I decided not to pursue it.”

He sounded sad and Susan leaned in closer. “Do you regret it?”

“No, not really. Sure, there are times when I’m watching a college game and I start to think, but…no.  I don’t even know if I would have liked it as much without Frank. A big part of the fun was playing with him. And, like I said, I don’t know what kind of player I would have been on my own.” He shrugged and tore his gaze away from the fire to look at Susan. “I’m pretty happy with the way things have turned out. I’m doing something I enjoy and I’m still playing hockey for fun. Some of the injuries that come with the faster and more physical game in college could have made a job like mine impossible.” Softening his voice he added, “And I may have never met you.”

Riley gently ran his hand down Susan’s arm, watching her intently. When the heat flashed in her eyes, he took her in his arms and kissed her.

Warm, Susan thought, as she snuggled against Riley. She was finally warm. Any chill she had felt in the drafty house disappeared when she was in his arms. He kissed her slowly, tenderly, and she knew her heart was his.

Riley tried desperately to make sense of his feelings. In the months he had known her, Susan had managed to both frustrate and amaze; she had left him puzzled one day and fascinated the next; she took him from teeth-grinding impatience to breathless desire in the blink of an eye. In the blink of her eye, he corrected himself. He looked into her emerald eyes, reflecting the flames from the fire but at the same time, darkening with desire. He pulled her closer, shifting so her head rested on his chest, and together they watched the flames dance until the logs burned low.

Eventually, Riley stirred. “I’d better get some more wood and check the pipes.”

As he stood and the blanket fell, Susan shivered. “Hurry back.”

Riley gave her a long look then knelt back down next to her. Taking her face in his hands he said, “I can’t let you freeze, Red, even if you are a Blackhawks fan.” He kissed the tip of her nose, whistled for the dog, and left her feeling warmer than ever.

Susan woke to hazy sunshine filtering in through the window. It took her a moment to remember where she was and why she was so stiff, but then the memories came flooding back and she inched closer to Riley.

He had been awake for a few minutes, watching her as she slept with her head nestled on his shoulder and her mittened hand flung across his chest. Her hair was a riot of tangles and curls and when the sun peeked through and touched it, it turned to flame.

“Hey, sleepyhead, we should get moving.”

Slowly, Susan stretched and angled her head to face him. “Good morning to you, too,” she yawned. “Did it stop snowing?”

“Looks like it. The power isn’t back on yet, though. Are you cold?”

“Not really. What time is it?”

“It must be close to eight, the sun just came up. We got a few hours sleep, I guess.”

“Mmmm,” Susan murmured, fighting the light-headed, dazed feeling that comes with a nearly sleepless night. “I suppose we should go see what it looks like out there.”

“I’m going to try to get in touch with Jake and see what he knows about the road. If it’s not cleared of the power line we might have to stay put for a while.”

“Okay.” Struggling to her feet and stretching her arms over her head, Susan looked out the window. “Oh, look. It’s beautiful.”

Snow covered every surface, hung from tree branches, and glittered in the air as the wind swirled and the flakes caught the sunlight. For as far as Susan could see, there was white. Drifts easily six feet or more had formed by the barn and in front of her car.

“Beautiful, yes, but also a lot of work. We’ve got to try to clear a path to the driveway and then figure out how to get out of here.”

Riley’s phone rang and while he talked, Susan gazed out the window and found herself wishing it would start to snow again. The night had been magical. She and Riley had talked until they dozed off then, waking when it got cold, added logs to the fire and talked some more. She was sure she had learned more about him in one night than she would have in weeks under normal circumstances. As she rubbed at the kink in her neck, she knew she’d take it any day for another night like she and Riley had shared.

“Jake says the road is clear and the power should be back on soon. I guess he made it to Sam’s some time after midnight so he’s there now trying to get her plowed out. He just talked to Joe who’s got a truck with a plow and said he’d be over to Sam’s as soon as he could. Jake’s going to send him this way when he’s done there. So, it sounds like we’ll be rescued.”

“Wow, the McCabes really know how to rally.”

“We’re good at some things,” he grinned. “Now, why don’t we see if we can start clearing a path to the driveway?”

“I’m going to grab a bottle of water and pretend it’s coffee. I’ll meet you out there in a minute.”

Susan watched as Riley trudged through snow that, at times, was thigh high. Bundling her jacket tighter around her and pulling her hat down over her ears, she headed out to join him. Then she smirked and rubbed her hands together. Following his footsteps, she moved as quickly and as quietly as she could, keeping her eyes on Riley’s back as he worked to clear the area around her car. When she was close, she ran the last few steps, came up beside him, and throwing her hip out, sent him sprawling face-first into the drift.

Riley came up wiping snow off his face and squinting up at her. “That’s how you thank me for shoveling out your car?”