I’ve often wondered how weathermen are consistently so wrong yet somehow able to maintain their jobs. In any other career field, if you failed so spectacularly at your job over and over again, you’d be out on your ass without so much as a, Don’t let the door hit you where the good Lord split you. But, if you’re a weatherman…well, you can predict the blizzard of a lifetime, telling everyone to batten down the hatches and prepare for the next ice age, and when only a few flurries fly, you can shrug and say, Whoops. Guess Mother Nature had other plans.

I mean, by now, the technology must surely be there. I think these assholes like seeing the mass hysteria of a big storm. Or the mad scramble to get things done when a small snowstorm expected at the end of the week suddenly turns into Snowpocalypse and will be here before the day is through.

That is exactly what Lexi and I are doing out here, in the blistering cold. My hands and face are so numb, I’m not entirely sure they’re even still attached to my body.

When we went into town yesterday to grab the rest of the supplies, there was chatter about the fast-approaching storm. Where we’d thought we had at least two or three more days before the snow hit, it turned out we had less than twenty-four hours. We worked well into the dark last night and have been back at it since the crack of dawn this morning.

Lexi’s roof ended up needing almost a total re-shingling. Luckily, the deck of the roof was in pretty decent shape; otherwise, this two-day job would’ve turned out to be a lot longer, and Lexi would’ve been out of a place to stay.

I had a feeling, now that her sister knew I lived next door, she wouldn’t be so quick to offer Lexi her couch.

I smile as I pound in another nail—Lexi has the nail gun on the other end of the roof, so I’m back to doing it the old-fashioned way—and recall the conversation I had with Ella the day before yesterday.

She certainly didn’t suffer from the same reservations her sister did.

“Have you lived in Maple Lake long, Ian?” she asked before I even had a chance to shovel my first forkful of food into my mouth.

“’Bout the same amount of time as Lexi actually. I got here a few weeks ago.”

“Interesting,” she said, pursing her lips together as she eyed me. “And you own the house next door?”

I shook my head. “No, ma’am. That monstrosity belongs to my buddy Brandon. He’s letting me borrow it for a bit.”

“So, what brings you all the way out to this small town?”

I cleared my throat. “Well, I guess I needed a break. And B has been trying to get me to come up here for years. I figured now was as good a time as any.”

“And what do you do back in…where did you say you were from?”

I didn’t, I thought sarcastically.

The woman was starting to get a bit too pushy for my liking.

“Washington.”

“State? Which part?”

“Ella!” Lexi interrupted. “Knock it off. The man was kind enough to offer to help me with my roof today. That doesn’t mean he’s required to subject himself to your third degree.”

Ella looked at her sister, her eyes narrowed slightly, as if thinking. “You’re right. I apologize, Ian.”

I waved off her apology, telling her not to worry about it.

And, after that, we all fell into a comfortable companionship. Ella stopped asking me personal questions, instead changing the topic to the approaching storm.

Once she dropped the fierce-protector act, I decided I actually really liked Ella. She had a wonderful sense of humor, much like Lexi. Very dry and sarcastic but sweet underneath the surface. She laughed easily, and it was evident how much she and Drew cared for each other in the way they interacted. Drew seemed to know what she needed before even she did, handing her a glass of water just as she went to reach for it, shifting in his seat so that she’d have more room to move her arms as she animatedly mocked something her boss had done to her during the week.

It was also clear how much he hated that she was stuck in a job she so clearly despised, their two girls spending their days with a sitter because she needed the job in order for them to make ends meet.

My eyes flashed to Lexi. I was glad to know that, no matter what happened with my career, I’d always be able to support her if the need ever arose. She’d never have to feel stuck.

And then I all but needed the Heimlich maneuver as I tried not to choke to death on the food in my mouth.

Where in the hell did that thought come from?

I filed it away for later, not wanting to have a nervous breakdown in front of Lexi and her family. But, before Ella and Drew left, Ella only further solidified that there was something between Lexi and me despite how hard she might be trying to fight it.

Ella pulled me aside in the kitchen, Lexi and Drew preoccupied with the twins in the living room.

“I know she’s difficult. She’s going to try her damnedest to push you away. But I also know she’s worth it,” Ella said, her voice barely above a whisper.

I leaned down, my eyes briefly darting over to where Lexi sat on the floor of the living room with one of the babies in her arms.

“I think you know that, too,” Ella added, as if reading something in my eyes.

I gave her a stiff nod. “But why? Why does she want to keep me out?”

Ella’s eyes softened. “That’s her story to tell. Just…don’t give up on her. Not yet. She’s different with you.”

I’d taken Margie’s words the other day at face value. She’d said the only time she saw Lexi smile were the times she was with me. But Margie didn’t know Lexi, so it was hard to put much stock in her observations.

But Ella…Ella knew Lexi better than anyone. And, if she was able to detect a change in Lexi in only a half hour of her being in my company…well, it made me pretty damn happy, to say the least.

I wasn’t sure where my sudden feelings had come from. But there was no longer any doubt in my mind. I was falling for this woman.

This stubborn, frustrating, soul-consuming woman.

She laughed at something her niece had done then, drawing my attention back to her. And I had my answer.

I’d said I wasn’t sure where my feelings had come from. But that wasn’t true.

They were sitting cross-legged on a wood floor desperately in need of refinishing, smiling at a tiny baby.

I hadn’t suddenly developed some weird need to settle down and find the one, mistakenly falling for the first woman I’d found after Angela in search of trying to fix something she’d broken.

No, the changes I felt were all Lexi.

She makes me want things I haven’t wanted before. She makes me feel things I haven’t felt before. And she makes me be someone I’ve been scared to be before.

Me.

I’m no longer all about baseball. I’m not Tag Taggart, shortstop for the Washington Rampage. I’m Ian, part-time handyman and full-time average Joe. There’s no pressure to always be at my very best, constantly improving and finding new ways to impress fans and sponsors. It’s not about making next year’s all-star team or winning a World Series. Though let’s be real; I’ll always want that last one. But it suddenly isn’t my entire reason for existing.

Breaking through to Lexi, getting her to open up to me, has become my primary goal in life.

That’s hard though with her currently on the opposite end of the roof, doing her best to ignore me.

Since the day with her sister, she’s been different. Not exactly back to her usual standoffish self, but not the Lexi I’ve caught glimpses of here and there over the past few weeks. The Lexi I know I’m falling for. No, she’s been…contemplative. I’ve caught her staring off into space several times in the past few days, her thoughts clearly taking her somewhere far away from here. And, instead of giving me her typical spitfire response when I’ve asked her about it, she smiles and shrugs, telling me she’s thinking.

Yeah, I got that, Lex. Care to fill me in on what you’re thinking about? I’m dying over here.

But I’ve been so happy she hasn’t immediately shut me out whenever I’ve called her on her zone-outs that I’ve dropped it, letting her have her time to get lost in her thoughts and hoping, if I stick around long enough, maybe she’ll eventually give me a break.

My phone rings, startling me out of my own thoughts. I laugh under my breath, realizing I was doing the exact thing I’d just been thinking about Lexi doing. I stand up from my crouched position, pulling my phone out of my pocket.

Ray’s name appears on the screen.

I look over at Lexi. She doesn’t seem to be paying attention, but I still don’t want to take the chance on her overhearing.

I call over to her, “Hey, I’ve gotta take this. Be right back.”

She waves, not looking up from the row of shingles she’s currently nailing in place.

I marvel once again at the independence and resilience of this woman—how many women would even climb up onto the roof, let alone actually nail shingles?—but quickly shake it off and climb down the ladder.

Ray’s call goes to voice mail by the time I reach the bottom, but instead of waiting to listen to the message, I immediately dial him back.

“Tag, when you didn’t answer, I got worried. Thought maybe you’d drowned in that lake. It’s not like you not to answer my calls.”

I take a cue from Lexi and roll my eyes. “I was busy. Believe it or not, I’m not waiting around by the phone for you to call.”

“Well, you should be. The fate of your career is in my hands. What could be more important than that?”

You don’t want to hear the answer to that, I think to myself. I keep quiet though and wait.

“Well, while you’ve been up in Bumfuck, Egypt, I’ve been working my ass off, trying to make sure you’ve still got a future in this business.”

He lets those words sink in, and I know he’s not going to continue until I respond.

“And you know I appreciate everything you do for me, Ray. So, tell me, what’s the word?”

I can hear the whoosh of air he intakes and can already tell it’s good news. He’s excited.

“You’d better be prepared to kiss my ass for the rest of your fucking life, kid. Because I not only got three of your sponsors back, but I also managed to book you a commercial with Nike.”

A rush of adrenaline floods through my veins, and I can’t stop the little whoop of excitement that escapes my lips. “Are you fucking kidding me right now, Ray? I swear to God, if you’re joking, I’m catching the first plane out of here and coming to kick your ass.”

“Dead serious. Angela has dropped off the face of the earth, and we’ve had a long parade of character witnesses doing interviews on your behalf. Mostly women who have attested to the fact that you were a perfect gentleman with them and how you’d never do the things Angela accused you of. Haven’t you been following the news?”

I reach up and run my hand over my head. “Uh, not in a few days. Internet connection up here is pretty shitty.” Not entirely true, but he doesn’t need to know that.

“Fucking boonies. Anyway, so it’s been nothing but good press for you during the last week or so. And, even before that, there was speculation that Angela was full of it. I guess this isn’t the first sexual assault charge she’s tried. She’s filed a few others against previous employers. All men with a lot of money and a lot to lose. All of them settled outside of court. Once word got out about that, people really started doubting her credibility.”

I fucking hate that Angela has done this. Not just to me, but to women everywhere. You always read these reports of women who don’t come forward after they’ve been actually assaulted—especially by a recognizable name—because they’re afraid nobody will believe them. Seeing women like Angela—women who try to use something as awful as sexual assault to their advantage—adds a little doubt to everyone’s mind. Now, instead of believing a woman when she says she was raped, they think, Well, that one girl accused so and so, and she was just trying to get money. I bet this is the same thing.

It’s a fucking disgrace.

I listen to Ray spout off the rest of the details, my excitement about the commercial growing with every word. Until he gets to the last part.

“And the best news is, your sabbatical is officially over. They want to start shooting next week. So, that means, you need to get your ass on a plane, so we can get you ready.”

My heart drops. As excited as I am about the prospect of a commercial, it doesn’t change anything about the way I feel about Lexi. And, if I leave her now, there’s no way in hell I’ll ever break through her walls.

“Uh, Ray, we need to see if we can push that out.”

He sputters, “W-what? It’s fucking Nike, Tag. You don’t try to push out Nike.”

“Well, we’re going to have to. There’s no way I can be in Seattle by next week.”

“You care to run that by me one more time?”

I sigh. “You heard what I said, Ray. I can’t be in Seattle next week. See if we can push it out until after Thanksgiving.”

Ray doesn’t say anything for several moments, instead breathing heavily into the phone. I can practically see him standing there, mouth hanging open at what I just said.

“Thanksgiving?” he finally shouts over the phone. “You’re lucky I even got you this gig, and now, you want me to reschedule until after Thanksgiving? That’s a month away. They’ll drop you faster than you can say finished.”

“Then, they’ll drop me,” I say, hating the sound of the words even as they leave my tongue. But that doesn’t mean I regret them. “And I know you. You won’t let one little deal gone south ruin me. Not after everything we’ve been through. There will be other opportunities.”

“I still can’t believe what I’m hearing. Care to tell me why you think you need to stay there in the bushlands of Fuck If I Know?”

I laugh. “Maple Lake. And it’s really not so bad, Ray. You’d like it here. The scenery is beautiful.”

“Oh, God. You’ve met a girl, haven’t you?”

My eyes flick up to the rooftop. I need to get back up there and help Lexi. The wind has already started to pick up, and I know we’re only a matter of hours away from the storm hitting.

Ray has been my agent since the day I signed my first contract. He knows me inside and out, so it doesn’t really surprise me that he’s able to see through my non-answers and surmise what is really keeping me in Maple Lake. But I’m not in the mood to listen to him tell me how stupid I’m being.

“Bye, Ray. Let me know what Nike says.”

I hang up and stuff my phone back in my pocket, climbing back up the ladder.

Lexi looks over at me when I reach the top. “I thought you were never coming back.”

I smile, not giving voice to my thoughts.

If I have it my way, I’ll never leave.