“Amanda! What are you doing here?” Carly’s standing behind the counter, hands on hips.

 

I look around, pleased to see a few tables filled with customers. Afternoons are always a slow time, so the business is welcome. “Surprise! This was all part of a plan to lull you into slacking off so I can catch you in the act,” I tease.

 

She laughs. “Darn it, I knew I should have brought the strippers in earlier today. Now what will I tell the ladies who expect a show tonight?”

 

I’m a little disturbed by how quickly she came up with that comeback, but I know she’s kidding. I take off my coat, then start an espresso for myself at one of the machines. Losing sleep for the sake of sex never seems like a bad idea at the time. It’s a different story when a person has to function later on.

 

Carly is watching me closely, sees me trying to stifle a yawn. To her credit, she holds back from peppering me with questions, though I’m sure it’s all she wants to do. I'm deliberately withholding, wanting to have a little fun with her.

 

“How’s it been here?”

 

“Thank God for kind neighbors, that’s all I have to say. The guys from the hardware store dug us out yesterday. I wasn’t able to get in here until today, though.”

 

“Understandable. No worries.” I sip my latte, leaving it at that.

 

“Okay, you are way too calm right now. No more questions? Nothing?”

 

I shrug. “When did I give you the idea I’m some ogre? I always thought I was a pretty fair boss.”

 

“It’s just…I know you. You would have found a way to make it in.”

 

“Carly, I wasn’t far away from here during the storm. I know how bad it was. Believe me. There’s no reason to risk your life on untreated roads when, let’s face it, there’s little chance anybody in town would have made it out here. You’d have broken your neck to open the shop for nobody.”

 

“Wait, you weren’t far away? You didn’t go to your parents’ house?”

 

I shake my head, glancing in the direction of the few customers still left in the shop. She takes the hint and lets it drop for now. While I’m here, I review inventory and place orders for deliveries to be made later in the week, all in the hopes of getting a head start on the week ahead.

 

Finally, the shop empties out. It’s nearly closing time for a Sunday. Carly runs to the door, flipping the sign to Closed before pulling down the shade and locking up. “Jeez, I thought they’d never leave! Now you’d better spill, or I’ll burst!”

 

“What makes you think there’s anything to be spilled?” I’m playing it cool, coy.

 

“Um, maybe because you wouldn’t say anything while the Morgans were drinking their tea. If it were innocent, you would have explained already.”

 

“Okay, okay, fine.” I take a seat at one of the tables, Carly diving into the chair across from mine. She’s like a kid waiting to open presents on Christmas morning. I guess this speaks to the fact I never have anything interesting to talk about besides work.

 

“I was on my way to my parents’ house when the storm hit. I’m such an idiot. I had no idea it was supposed to snow the way it did. I was completely unprepared.”

 

“Oh, no! I was hoping you beat it, too. What happened?”

 

“I’m telling you! So I didn’t get very far away from town before I had to pull over. I couldn’t see a thing, the road was a mess, and I was running low on gas.”

 

“Oh, my God. That is, like, one of my worst fears. Being stranded like that.”

 

“I didn’t even have a blanket. No water, no signal on my phone. I was fucked.”

 

“Holy shit! How did you get out of it? Don’t tell me you spent two whole days in your car with no water!”

 

I shake my head, pressing my lips together to keep from smiling like a lunatic.

 

“Well? What did you do? Drink melted snow?”

 

“No! I was…rescued.”

 

“Rescued? By the police?” I shake my head. “Firemen?” Still shaking. “Then who?”

 

I hesitate, wanting to draw the suspense out a little further. “By a man.”

 

“A man…a man? Like…a man?” Her eyes are wide and round, her mouth hanging open.

 

“Yup. A man. A really amazing man.”

 

“Wait, what? Amazing? How? Where did you go?”

 

“He took me back to his house. He lived not far from the road. Thank God he saw me. I’m not exaggerating; I could have frozen to death out there. As it was, I fell asleep not long after I pulled over. Without him, I’d be dead right now.”

 

“Oh, Amanda.” Carly’s eyes fill with tears as she takes my hand. “That’s horrible. I don’t even wanna think about it.”

 

“It didn’t happen, though. He found me. And he took me home.”

 

“Wow,” she breathes. “What a miracle. So you were at this guy’s house the past two days?”

 

“Yeah, I just left a little while ago and came straight here to find out how things were going.”

 

“Okay.” She looks at me, hard. “What did you do with this guy for the last two days? Don’t tell me you played board games this whole time.”

 

I shrug.

 

She slaps my arm. “Oh, come on! Tell me! I tell you things like that!”

 

Yeah, and I don’t need to hear about it. “Let’s just say, I’m a lot more relaxed than I’ve been in a long time.”

 

“What? You slept with him?”

 

“So what?”

 

“Oh, I’m not trying to make you feel bad!” She laughs merrily. “It just doesn’t seem like something you would do! Little Goody Two-Shoes. Believe me, I’m happy for you!” Then her voice drops to a whisper. “How was he?”

 

I feel my skin burning, and I know I’m as red as a tomato. “He was ridiculously good. I mean, like, whoa…” I trail off, lost in my memories. “It was more than that. He’s hard, brusque, blunt. He drove me insane. We kept bickering for the first day or so.”

 

“Ooh, that’s always the best. All that passion builds up and finally explodes.”

 

“I guess you could say that’s what happened. We definitely exploded.”

 

Carly claps her hands wildly. “I’m so excited for you!”

 

I can’t help giggling, all pretense of playing it cool over. “It wasn’t just the sex either. I really like him. He’s got a good heart. He just tries to hide it. Like he’s some hard ass, you know?”

 

“Ooh, like a bad boy?” She giggles, and I nod. That’s the closest description I can think of.

 

“Do you see this going anywhere? Will you see him again?”

 

“I hope so. I want to. I was wondering earlier, before I left him, whether…whether I was starting to have feelings for him.”

 

“Ohhh…” Carly sighs, hands over her heart. “This is probably the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard! Like something out of a movie. A dashing bad boy saves your life, then steals your heart!” She closes her eyes, sighing again.

 

“Wow, now that you put it that way…” I laugh, and she joins me. She’s right. It sounds too good to be true. But I remember Christopher’s smile, his touch, the way it feels when he’s inside me. He’s the real deal.

 

“Do you think he feels the same way?”

 

This is the sticking point for me. I bite my lip, thinking it over. “I’m not sure. Like I said, he tries to hold back. Hide his heart, know what I mean? I know it’s in there, I know he’s a sweet person. He was so thoughtful, in so many little ways. Something happened to him, something bad. He mentioned his late wife. I wonder if there’s not still a lot of pain there, you know? Maybe he’s wary of getting involved.”

 

“Sounds like a touchy situation.”

 

“A little bit.” I sigh, shrugging. “All I can do is try. He sure seemed happy enough to spend the morning in bed today. We even played board games in the afternoon, just like you said. It felt nice. Natural. I just hope he recognized it, too.”

 

“I hope so. Ack, I’m so excited you found a good guy! And, um, I’m assuming he’s seriously hot?”

 

I can’t help laughing again, my face burning. “Super seriously. Gorgeous. Built like a brick house. The whole package.”

 

We high-five over the table, giggling together.

 

“What’s his name?”

 

“Christopher.”

 

I see a look pass over her face. A millisecond of uncertainty that she tries too late to hide. “Christopher? Do you mean…Christopher Barton?”

 

I feel the smile slipping from my face. She doesn’t sound happy about this.

 

“Yeah. His last name is Barton. How did you know? Do you know him?”

 

She sits back, hard, against her chair. As though the wind got knocked out of her. Her mouth is open again, but not in surprise.

 

In shock.

 

“Oh, Amanda. You don’t know who he is, do you?”

 

“Carly, don’t. Don’t screw with me right now.” I laugh nervously.

 

She doesn’t. “I’m not. Amanda…he’s one of those guys from The Wicked Angels. Remember when they rode through a while back, and everybody was talking about them? He’s one of the members.”

 

It feels like a hand is squeezing my heart. My chest literally hurts like I’ve been hit. “What does that mean, though? Okay, he’s in a motorcycle club. He’s also a landscaper. He reads a lot. There are plenty of things to him.” I’m desperate, searching for excuses.

 

“Amanda, I’m sorry, but there’s more to it than that.” Carly leans over the table, taking my hands in her own. “Christopher did have a wife, and she did die. Just like you mentioned. Only, she died suspiciously. And…” her head slumps forward on her neck, her eyes focused on the table, “…and most people think he was the one who killed her.”