Chapter Four
Autumn stared at the stained glass panel in the dining room window of her bed & breakfast. The whimsical reds, blues, and greens cast a dazzling array of light into the large room. The artist glass above the main window was about the only redeeming feature in the space. Floral wallpaper peeled away from the corners, most of the molding was missing, and the chandelier didn’t turn on.
Even with all that on her to-do list, she had decided to start on this room for two reasons. Reason number one was that it actually had the easiest fixes that would make the room useable, and the second reason was that Ronald was resting on the other side of the house in the library. Well, maybe that was actually the main reason she decided to start on the dining room.
She felt awful for quasi picking on Ronald last night while he was being seen at the urgent care. She wasn’t usually that snarky, but he was getting on her nerves. Who did he think he was picking on her neighbor, who was only trying to help him? She’d never seen a grown man behave like that, especially toward someone who was coming to the rescue.
But she also realized that Ronald had fallen through her porch and fractured his ankle. She was pretty sure he could have still boarded the plane, but she decided not to press it once he announced he’d be staying in town for a few days at her place. She’d been holding her breath, hoping he wasn’t going to try to sue her.
She let out a grunt and glanced out the window at the moving truck that hadn’t moved an inch since Ronald pulled it in front of the B&B two days ago. With everything that had gone on, she had cancelled the movers and extended the rental of the moving truck.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and her stomach knotted, hoping it wasn’t Ronald for the tenth time this morning.
Autumn slid out her phone, and sure enough, it was Ronald for the tenth time this morning. She wanted to be a good person. She really did, but he was gnawing on her last nerve. She’d already run to the coffee shop twice for him before ten o’clock this morning.
He didn’t want cereal so she’d fixed him an omelet in an electric skillet because she didn’t trust the gas stove—no one would who saw it—and she even managed to beg the cable company to come out and hook up cable for him because he detested reading.
“Everything okay?” she asked into the phone.
“I think I’m ready for lunch.”
She wanted to ask why he couldn’t hobble his way into the kitchen and fix himself a sandwich, but she bit her tongue and asked what he wanted, praying it was something she’d already picked up at the grocery store.
“What do you have?” he asked.
“Same things as the last time you asked. I can make a sandwich for you, soup, maybe a salad . . .” Her voice trailed off.
“I actually feel like a burger.”
Her heart sank. Who didn’t feel like a burger?
She shut her eyes and said a silent prayer to behave herself. Everything was going to be fine. She needed to treat him like a difficult B&B guest and be grateful when he checked out.
“I don’t really know where to get a burger, but I’ll figure it out.” She looked back out the window and wondered if Joel was home.
He seemed like a burger recommendation kind of guy. Her stomach fluttered at the thought of getting to see him again. She hadn’t bumped into him since the accident, but she had wanted to apologize on behalf of clueless Ronald and simply hadn’t had the chance.
She’d managed to let herself daydream a little after hearing him call her beautiful, but nothing came of it, and how could it, really, with Ronald bumbling down the hall after her with a black removable boot and crutches?
Autumn let out a gust of air she’d been holding in. “I’ll be back in a little bit with a burger in hand.”
“And fries,” he added.
“And fries,” she grumbled, hanging up the phone.
Wherever she was headed, she hoped they had a strawberry milkshake to soothe her soul.
Grabbing her purse and keys, she headed out the side door in the kitchen. She wouldn’t trust the front porch until it got rebuilt. Caution tape had been strung from railing to railing so no more visitors wound up in the hospital. She still wondered what was underneath the porch but decided that bit of knowledge could wait until she was fully suited up in coveralls with a sledgehammer in hand.
The moment she stepped outside, the warm air immediately lifted her spirits. The air smelled like freshly cut grass, and the sight of the overgrown herb garden offered nothing but promise. She imagined herself cutting basil for her guests as she made homemade pesto and bruschetta.
She wound around the tiny pathway to the front of the house. As she was unlatching the gate, she heard a dog panting a few feet away.
“Hey, Oscar,” Autumn said, closing the gate behind her.
Oscar was sitting with his tail sweeping the sidewalk with no sign of his owner. She glanced up the street and down the street and brought her gaze back down to the dog.
“Your dad knows you’re out and about?” she asked.
“There you are,” Joel hollered from down the street.
Autumn quickly turned to see Joel jogging down the road with no shirt and a loose pair of shorts. Her jaw just about smacked on the sidewalk when she saw how ripped he was. She gathered the guy was in good shape the other day, but this view took it to a whole new level. Corded muscles and a chiseled abdomen glistened in the sunlight, and she had to force herself to look Joel in the eyes and not ogle his body.
“Sorry about that.” Joel came up to Oscar and Autumn and patted his dog on the head. Joel was holding a leash in his hand, and he shook his head. “The clasp broke, and I don’t think he even realized he was running without me. I’m just glad he came here.”
Autumn laughed. So was she.
He tugged a white shirt that she hadn’t even noticed from the waistband of his shorts, and her gaze immediately fell once more to his washboard abs before quickly bringing her gaze to meet his.
“You run often?” she asked.
“I try to get it in a couple of times a week.” He slipped the shirt over his head. “You run?”
“Only if someone is chasing me.” She smiled and he chuckled.
“So how’s the patient?” Joel glanced toward the house, and she let out a deep sigh.
“Well, actually, I’m glad I bumped into you and Oscar. I was hoping you might know the best place in town to get a burger and fries.”
“The best place to go for a quick burger is the Silver Fry, about two blocks north of the urgent care.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “If you want a sit-down experience, I’d say the Silver Canyon Bar and Grill at the base of the mountain. It’s at the resort, but it’s incredible. Hands down, you can’t get a burger any better on the whole West Coast.”
“Really.” Autumn’s eyes lit up. “What makes it so special?”
“To start, it’s Kobe beef.” Joel looked as if he wanted to add something but thought better of it.
“Well, I think I’ll wait for a special occasion for that meal. This is merely a burger for the patient, and he goes through food like I’ve never seen and he’s so—” She twisted her lips into a scowl. “Sorry. I don’t know what it is about him. I don’t usually talk about other people like that.” She shifted her weight from one sandal to the other. “On that note, I wanted to apologize on his behalf for what he said to you about being a ski bum as if that’s a bad thing.”
Joel laughed and shook his head. “I’ve been called worse, and believe me, you aren’t being unkind to him in the slightest.” He wanted to continue to give her his two cents’ worth about that guy but decided against it. The relationship really was no business of his.
“I can’t imagine.” She shook her head and ran her fingers along the old wooden fence. It didn’t look much like a picket fence since most of the pickets had worn off or fallen down over the years, and it certainly wasn’t white any longer.
Boy, she had a lot of work ahead of her.
“It’s true.” He wriggled his brows. “I’m sorry his plans for that night obviously got foiled.”
Autumn narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you though?”
“Maybe not.”
Hearing those words made her buzz with possibility, and she wasn’t sure exactly why.
“So what do you think his plans were?” Her question surprised him.
“I’d imagine he wanted to spend time with you.” He cocked his head slightly.
She shuddered and he held in a laugh.
“So how long is he planning on sticking around?”
“I have no idea, but every day feels like a week.”
“Maybe he should be your first paying client.”
“I don’t think I could charge enough to make it worth it.” She folded her arms. “And I just want to send him on his way as peacefully as possible.”
“Well, hey.” Joel glanced at Oscar. “How about I give you a lift to the burger joint? I need to grab some lunch anyway, and a strawberry milkshake sounds like a good thing for a day like this.”
“You don’t mind?”
“As long as you’re okay with this guy riding up front.” He pointed at the dog.
“Totally.” She glanced back at the house and swore she saw a little movement behind the curtains.
Nah. If he wasn’t able to make himself a sandwich, he wouldn’t be hobbling all the way to the front of the house just to spy, would he?
“You know, I think I’d really enjoy the company,” she told Joel, who caught a glimpse of the same wavering fabric in the window behind her.
“Great. I’ll go rinse off, and I’ll meet you in about ten minutes?”
She thought about Joel showering and realized there were very few men in life whom she’d ever care about seeing shower. Joel shirtless, however, had changed her mind about that imaginary scenario.
“You okay?” he asked, his brow arching. “We can take off now if you’d rather.”
She shook herself out of her self-imposed torture and nodded appreciatively. “No. Ten minutes is totally fine. I tend to get distracted easily.”
“Ah.” He nodded and tapped Oscar on the shoulder. “Okay. See you in a few.”
Autumn watched Joel and Oscar jog across the road to his home. Joel’s home was a beautifully restored craftsman, and it gave her hope about her own home. They weren’t similar architectural styles. Hers was more Victorian than anything, but it gave her hope that she could turn the place around.
She bent down, pulled a few weeds, and tossed them in a pile. The yard was so overgrown it probably seemed silly to concentrate on such a small patch, but it made her feel productive, and right now, she needed that.
Since Ronald moved in, it had made her feel stuck, like she couldn’t really move forward in life until he left. Any project she wanted to start would undoubtedly be interrupted by His Highness, and it was almost like she didn’t want Ronald’s negative energy to put a damper on her goals.
She walked back behind the gate and made her way over to the water faucet and rinsed her hands off.
Before she had a chance to walk across the street to meet Joel, he pulled up behind the moving truck and waved.
She couldn’t get over how attractive and how nice he was. It was like he had nothing to hide and there were no pretenses. She didn’t know if she’d become jaded after living in California for so long or if everyone in Silver Ridge was like Joel since it was such a small town. What she did know was that she really appreciated his taking her to get the burger.
She’d felt really cooped up the last couple of days, and nothing was really going according to plan.
Autumn climbed into the dark blue Honcho. Somehow, she and Oscar managed to share the same seat. Well, he was half on her and half on the seat.
Once she closed the door, she immediately became aware of Joel. Being confined with him in such a small space made every cell in her body react to him in a way she’d never experienced. It was like sex just rolled off the man. Images of the shirtless Joel steamed full speed ahead in her mind, and she scrunched her eyes shut, hiding next to Oscar.
“You know, the offer still stands on getting your stuff inside.” He flashed her a grin when she reemerged, and he pulled onto the street.
“Oh, gosh. You’ve already done so much, what with rescuing my visitor and taking me out to get a burger.”
“All in a day’s work.” He turned down the street toward town, and she noticed the sweetness of the new place she could call home. It still felt surreal.
She could only imagine how amazing it would be in the winter with snow on the ground and lights twinkling in every direction.
“So were you close with your uncle?”
His question took her off guard. It was a perfectly legitimate question. Most people didn’t inherit things out of the blue, but in this rare instance, the answer was no. She wasn’t close with her uncle. She didn’t really even know he existed until she got the call from his attorney.
Autumn hadn’t ever met him. Actually, that wasn’t true. She’d met him when she was three or four, but she had no memory of it.
She looked over at Joel as he drove them into town. “Believe it or not, I didn’t know I had an uncle until I heard from his attorney after his death.”
“Really? Wow.” Joel shook his head and kept staring straight ahead. “So was he on your mother’s side or your father’s side?”
“My dad’s.” She slid a look in his direction.
The truth was that her dad’s side of the family had been estranged. Her Dad had built his new life and created a wonderful family of his own, not really ever mentioning what and whom he’d left behind.
“You didn’t know your dad had a brother?” he asked, sounding surprised.
“Nope. A cousin on my mom’s side reminded me that I’d met him at some birthday party when I was three or four, but it’s nothing I remember. Probably sounds really strange to you.” She bit her lip and shifted uncomfortably on the seat.
“No. I completely understand. Families can be complicated.” He gave her a kind smile. “My family isn’t one to talk when it comes to following norms.”
That bit of news surprised her considering what she’d seen of him so far. He seemed like a perfectly entrenched, longtime citizen of Silver Ridge with an impeccably maintained home and overly helpful brothers who wouldn’t mind being signed up to help some stranger move. That didn’t hint at any kind of drama to her, but she supposed every family had their issues.
“Well, I’m beyond grateful to Uncle Fredrick. It was very generous of him.”
Joel nodded in agreement as he drove up to the restaurant. The Silver Fry was a small burger shack painted a vivid red with bright yellow trim and sporting three windows with welcoming cashiers. There were small lines at each window, which Autumn took as a good sign. Oscar immediately perked up.
“Is this one of his favorite places?” she asked Joel, and he laughed, patting Oscar’s head as he pulled into a parking spot.
“His favorite is the fries with cheese sauce. There are a couple of tables around the side, but we’ll save those for another day.” Joel turned off the ignition, and she suddenly wished she didn’t have to be Ronald’s delivery service.
The idea of spending part of the afternoon with Joel was extremely tempting. He’d changed from his shorts and a shirt to a pair of jeans and a black button-down. There wasn’t a hint of cowboy about him, but she still thought of him that way.
Autumn climbed out of the car as Joel called Oscar out of the cab and had him sit in the bed of the truck. Seeing him with Oscar made her heart melt. It was interesting to see such a big, tough guy being so gentle and caring toward his dog.
“All the burgers are good, but I’d recommend the basic cheeseburger. It gives you a sense of what all the others are about, but it’s more pure.”
“A burger connoisseur?” She laughed and scanned the menu.
“Absolutely.” He took a step closer and her body warmed.
Oh, how she wanted Ronald out of the house.
Forever.
They went up to the window and placed their orders. He insisted on paying for hers and Ronald’s, but she made him promise she could get the tab next time. It made her happy that he accepted since she was truly hoping there’d be a next time.
When they got back to the car, Oscar obediently hopped out of the truck bed and back into the cab without even a lunge at the sack filled with burgers and fries.
“Your uncle was a good man.” Joel turned on the ignition and they headed home again. “He did a lot for the town over the decades. He never thought twice about putting himself out for others. I was really sorry to hear when he passed away. In fact, the community center was standing-room only for his memorial service.”
A twinge of sadness unexpectedly erupted as Autumn looked out the window. She would have liked to have attended her uncle’s memorial, at the very least, and get a sense of the man he was. She let out a sigh that Joel picked up on immediately.
“If you ever have any questions about him, let me know, and I’ll do my best to answer them.” But he hoped with all his heart that certain questions would never come up.
“Thanks. That’s really sweet of you. I’m sure I will.” She patted Oscar’s head, which was somehow resting on her lap. The dog had to be a contortionist.
“How did your dad take the news?” Joel asked, his voice somewhat tentative.
It had been several years since her parents’ deaths, and the question still stopped her short. She pushed down the lump in her throat and cleared it instead.
“Both of my parents passed away a few years ago.”
“Autumn, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
“It still seems like it’s a bad dream, but I’m finally able to say it aloud without breaking down, so that’s got to count for something.”
“Do you have any siblings?” he asked, and she shook her head.
“Nope. Just me.” She sucked on her lip to make the tears go away. This wasn’t the side of her she wanted Joel to see. She’d worked so hard on being a happy-go-lucky person that she never expected it when this side of her wanted to rear its annoying self. She was stronger than that.
“Well, I’m here if you ever want to vent. Whether it’s about Ronald, the house, or anything else, I really don’t mind. In fact, Oscar is really good at listening too.”
That made her giggle, and Joel immediately felt better about the situation. How he’d managed to strike not one, but two sore spots, he had no idea.
“Well, I might take you up on that offer.” She turned to get a better look at him. It was hard to imagine that someone as good-looking as Joel could also have a heart of gold. Could it be an act? That was one thing she’d appreciated about Ronald. What you saw was what you got. She just didn’t realize how true that would be in his case. “You know, you’re a really nice guy.”
Joel laughed. “I’m on my best behavior.”
“Is that what it is?”
“Totally.” He pulled onto their street, and Autumn was shocked to see Ronald leaning on his crutches on the sidewalk, looking extremely displeased. “Well, this is going to be fun.”
She grabbed her strawberry shake and bag of food as Joel inched up to the curb where Ronald stood glaring at them both.
“If you need any help . . . any at all,” Joel began.
“I know, and I thank you for that.” She flashed a dubious smile in his direction and laughed. “Someday, I’ll get to laugh about it all, but right now, I’ll chalk it up to another misadventure of Autumn Tucker.”
But she kind of wondered if she were forever doomed when it came to love and life as she stared at the man on crutches in front of her newly inherited, but barely standing, home.