Chapter Seventeen

Sage had two hours before her guests were due to arrive. In that time, she second-guessed everything from the wine she put in their room to the vase that held the flowers.

She had no idea what was expected, but she didn’t want to fall short of success, so she erred on the side of excess. Next to the wine glasses and wine she placed a tray of snacks that included chocolates and cookies and fresh fruit.

She fluffed pillows and folded towels into pretty little parcels. She wrote a welcome note that included a wish for a happy and long marriage. After she’d dusted for the second time, she left the room.

The fireplace was ready with stacked logs and crumpled papers. All it needed was the strike of a match.

She transferred the bird to her room and closed the door to the guest wing. With a glass of wine and Otis right behind her, she walked out onto the back deck and sat in one of the Adirondack chairs. Otis settled in front of the wood rail to stare through the spindles at the lake. She was happy to have the enclosed deck, but she knew her dog would never run off. He liked food and Sage’s belly rubs too much.

While she waited for her guests to arrive, she called Katie.

“I was just going to call you. I have so much to tell you.”

Her voice was buoyant and happy. “I’m all ears.”

“Apparently, Saturday’s are apple-spice-muffin day.”

Sage sat up in the chair. “Another delivery?”

“Yes, ma’am. Everything to make Saturday’s special muffins.”

Sage was amazed. This was a tiny town, but they were taking care of a stranger. Kind of like Cannon had taken care of her today. “How did the raspberry muffins go today?”

She sipped her wine and leaned back into her chair, because although she knew little about Katie, she knew she was long winded. She took five minutes to get to the meat of the story. “I opened with two dozen muffins, thinking I’d have leftovers, but by ten o’clock I was out and had to mix again.”

“That’s amazing. Who bought them?”

“Lots of people came in. Some I recognized. Some I didn’t. Sheriff Cooper bought half of them. He told me I wasn’t charging enough, but how can I charge for a muffin made with donated materials?”

“I’m giving you more Sage advice. The sheriff is right. Your muffins are made with love. How can you put a fair price on love?”

Sage told Katie about the bird and her trip to Copper Creek. The two women were giddy with their new shopping options.

“How was spending the morning with Cannon?”

How did Sage describe bliss? “He’s not who I thought he was. I still don’t like the way he treated his father, but I don’t think he’s as bad as I believed.”

“So you like him?” There was a lilt of hope to her voice.

“I wouldn’t say I like him, but he’s tolerable.” She didn’t want to give Katie false hope. If Sage liked Cannon, it would give her another reason to stay in Aspen Cove. At first, Aspen Cove had offered way less than Denver. But now, she found herself conflicted. Aspen Cove had Katie and Cannon. Denver had neither.

Sage heard a noise at the front door. “I think my guests are here. I’ve got to go.”

Katie promised to deliver the muffins by seven-thirty in the morning before she hung up.

After the knock on the door, she waited to a count of five so as not to seem too eager. It surprised her that she was excited; then again, Sage never turned down a challenge. How many people got to test their hand at a new career without risk?

She checked her face in the mirror. Her bruising had faded, and the new concealer she bought at the store did a satisfactory job of hiding the worst of the injury. Just days ago she’d hoped the couple would look at her and run, but today she hoped they stayed.

With a smile pasted on her face, she opened the door. Wrapped around each other was a young couple not older than mid twenties, and by the look of happiness on their faces, they were in love.

“Welcome.” She stepped aside and opened her home to her guests. Her home? Her guests? “I’m Sage Nichols, your host.”

The couple walked inside. “Where’s Bea?” the young woman asked.

Sage smiled and simply said, “Bea couldn’t make it.” There was no way she was telling them where Bea really was. Talk about a downer on a honeymoon.

She showed them to their room, which was at the end of the hallway, and hoped the buffer of one room in between hers and theirs would be enough. She didn’t want to disturb the newlyweds, but she wasn’t prepared to move into Bea’s room either.

“There are beverages in the refrigerator, coffee in the pot, and breakfast will be ready at nine, unless you need it earlier.”

The Morellos looked at her and laughed. “Even nine sounds too early,” the husband said. He leaned in toward his bride and nipped at her lip. “I’ve got everything I need right here.”

That was Sage’s cue to leave. She backed out of the room and shut the door. She hadn’t reached the end of the hallway when a loud thud came from the end of the room. It took on a steady rhythm. An incessant banging. She blushed for the couple, who wasted no time making the bed rock and the frame hit the wall.

She exited the hallway and closed the door behind her, trying to gain distance from the noise. When it mixed with moans and groans and expletives that could make a trucker blush, Sage poured herself a glass of wine and took Otis to the deck. They inched farther and farther away from the room, trying to escape the passion play going on in the house.

Sage had to hand it to Mr. Morello, he had staying power. She thought about his wife and wondered if she’d need an ice pack.

There was lull and quiet for about thirty minutes before it started again. This time, Sage gave up drinking wine by the glass and took the bottle and a chair down to the water’s edge. Even at that distance, she couldn’t escape the couple’s bliss.

Each time she heard the silence, she’d sneak into the house to get what she needed. A jacket. Snacks. More wine.

The sun had set and the air cooled, but the lights that flickered across the still lake mesmerized her. They were at least a distraction. Otis lay on her feet, keeping them warm. Each time an Oh God or a Yes came from the house, he lifted his head and she lifted the bottle.

A shadow fell over her. “Bad day?”

She looked over her shoulder to find Cannon. “You have no idea.” Cannon flopped on the ground next to her chair.

At the next Yes! Yes! Yes!, he laughed. “Oh, I get it.”

They both looked back at the last room, where the light seeped out from between the curtains.

She picked up the bottle of wine and emptied it. “They’ve been at it since they arrived. I don’t know if I should be jealous or annoyed. I’m leaning toward annoyed.”

Cannon leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his knees. “Why annoyed?”

She turned to face him. The moonlight caught the blue in his eyes. Maybe it was the wine or the constant soundtrack playing in the background, but he looked damn sexy.

“Seriously? I’m sitting out here in the cold while they’re doing . . . whatever they’re doing that requires a thousand Oh Gods and Yeses. I’m fairly certain the wall will have holes in it from the headboard banging.” She rocked the empty bottle between her thumb and finger and let it swing like a pendulum between them. “To make it worse, I’m out of wine. I can't even drown out the noise with alcohol."

He rose to his feet. “I’ll be right back.”

He left for a few minutes and returned with a chair, a blanket, a bottle of wine and two glasses. “Looked like you needed reinforcements.” He sat the chair next to hers, wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, and offered her a glass of wine.

While she tipped her glass back, Otis climbed under the tent the blanket created and groaned as if his life was perfect. To dogs, life was simple. Eat. Sleep. Eat some more. Sleep again.

“Do you think it’s wise to keep alcohol in the house with your father?” She didn’t want to create a divide between them again, but it wasn’t much different from offering a diabetic a candy bar.

Cannon stared at the wine in his glass. He twirled it around until the red liquid coated the inside. “There’s nothing he can access. I keep my stash in the gun safe, locked up.”

“That’s good.” Just having him near her was nice. “Thanks for the wine.”

“Here’s to being neighbors.” He raised his glass and tapped hers. “For as long as you stay, at least.”

Sage glanced over his shoulder to the cabin where he lived. It was dark and empty. “You should go inside. I’m pretty sure it’s warm and quiet in your house.”

He sipped at his wine and looked at her. “Probably, but it wouldn’t be neighborly to leave you out here by yourself. Besides, I like your company better than I like my own. I’d invite you in, but Dad is unpredictable.”

“Probably wise to stay put. At least less painful.” Too much wine gave Sage the giggles. “You could be out here until sunrise. I swear they have the stamina of Olympians.”

“I’ll stay with you until they wear themselves out.” He topped off both wine glasses and looked out to the lake.

“I’m not sure that’s possible. Have you ever . . . ?” Sage shook her head and dropped the sentence. She couldn’t believe she almost asked him if he had ever made a girl cry out like that.

“Yes.”

She snapped her head in his direction. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

“It’s easy to assume. There’s a triple-X-rated soundtrack playing in the background, and you have that wistful look about you.”

“It’s not wistful.” She held up her half-empty glass. “I’m drunk. You have no idea what I was about to say.”

He moved his chair closer and pulled the corner of the blanket around his shoulders, too. His body touching hers warmed up the part the wine hadn’t numbed.

“There are several questions I can deduce from that look. One is, have I ever stayed up having sex all night? Another would be, do I have the skills to make a woman cry out in ecstasy? Maybe you were simply thinking, have I ever wanted what they have? And the answer to all three is yes.”

She stared at his lips and wondered what they’d feel like on hers. Would the hands that held the glass so gently be as tender on her body? Caught gawking at him, she turned away in embarrassment. “You’re wrong. I was going to ask if you’ve ever sat outside because the noise inside was too much to take?”

Cannon chuckled. “Sure. That’s what you were thinking. The answer is also yes. My brother and his girlfriend were active and loud.”

“You have a brother?”

“Yep, he doesn’t live here anymore.” Cannon looked off toward his house as if he were recalling a memory. “They would lock me out of the house.” He picked up the bottle and divided the rest between the two glasses, then pointed to the dock. “I’ve spent many hours on that dock.”

Sage leaned in toward Cannon to soak up more of his body heat. “I could think of worse places to be stuck. If it wasn’t so cold, it would be perfect.”

“This feels kind of perfect.”

He adjusted the blanket and pulled her closer. The arm of her chair dug into her side, but she didn’t complain. For the first time since she arrived in Aspen Cove, she didn’t feel alone. It was an odd sensation to be so comfortable with a man who made her temper flare and her insides turn soft when he was near. The most interesting thing was he made her feel something other than empty. Sage would take rage and passion over apathy any day.

They sat there in companionable silence for minutes. Cannon turned toward her. His head tilted, and she knew the kiss was coming. She leaned in, softened her lips and inhaled. Just as the lids of her eyes fluttered closed, she felt him shift.

“I think they’re done,” he said. He rolled to his feet, taking the blanket with him. “Let’s get you inside and warm.” He offered her a hand and pulled her to her feet. “I’ll clean this up.” With his arm at her back, he led her to the door.

Sage wasn’t ready to say goodbye, but she knew it was the smart choice. There was no point in starting something that would go nowhere. She wrapped her arms around Cannon and hugged him tightly. “Thank you. This was probably the best night I’ve had in a while.”

His arms wrapped around her, and his lips touched the top of her head in a gentle kiss. “You need to get out more.”

“I do. I really do.”

“Tomorrow night, come to the bar.” He held her shoulders and pushed her away. “It’s karaoke night. Bring Otis.”

“Okay.” She nodded her head. It would be the first Saturday night where she wasn’t pulling a shift or spending it curled on the couch, watching reruns.

“It’s a date.” He stepped away and started down the stairs.

“It is?” Did he mean a real date, or was he using it as a figure of speech?

“Just come to the bar.” He disappeared into the night. She watched his outline as he picked up the glasses and bottles by the water and walked toward his cabin.

Sage giggled a little as she walked into the house. Suddenly, nothing bothered her. Not her nose. Not the newlyweds going at it like rabbits. Not the thought of being stuck here until the house sold. A voice from deep down told her she could be happy here if she’d let herself. Flopping onto her bed, she grinned up at the ceiling, thinking of the magical effect that a long hug and light kiss from the right man could have. She wasn’t sure if it was the wine talking or her hormones, but something was telling her to trust Cannon.