Chapter Six
Autumn was running the scoring tool up and down the floral wallpaper in the dining room. She couldn’t stand waiting any longer. She needed to feel like she was making headway, and any task she could complete to save money was an important one. Ronald was on the concrete patio out back. She got him situated under a patio umbrella with his laptop and hoped he didn’t feel like being adventurous.
She also hoped to bore the heck out of him so he’d get on a plane soon. As she continued to score the old wallpaper, she let herself daydream to last night. Seeing all those North brothers in Joel’s back yard was quite the pleasant surprise. To say there was a family resemblance would be putting it mildly.
After handing off the bottle of wine, she’d been invited to stay for dinner, but she didn’t feel like it would be the right thing to do. Who knew how often the brothers got to see one another, and she didn’t want to impose. She also didn’t want to leave Ronald alone to stew too much either.
Autumn pulled a chair over and began scoring the wallpaper near the crown molding. A few more pushes and pulls and she’d get to start spraying the solution all over the wall. She glanced out the window to see the moving truck sitting right where Ronald had left it. She definitely needed to get her things inside. When she had pushed it off so she didn’t disturb Ronald, she never expected him to stay for so long.
It was time she got her summer project started, and she’d really like to get some of her things inside. For starters, she wanted to sleep on her own mattress. She was finishing up the last corner when she heard the ominous thump of the crutches coming through the kitchen. It felt like something straight out of a horror movie.
Thud. Thud.
Thud. Thud.
Thud. Thud.
Autumn hopped off the chair and turned around to see Ronald hobbling in, one crutch at a time. Her stomach tightened at the sight. She still hated the fact that her porch was what did that to him. But the truth of it was that she hated that he was here more, and she was going to have to do something about it. There was a limit to her niceness, and he was fully taking advantage of it. She rested her free hand on her hip and stared at Ronald. She really didn’t even want to put him in the friend category. He was more of an oops category.
“You feeling okay?” she asked, trying to sound pleasant, but unfortunately, she sounded irritable instead.
“I booked a flight out tonight.”
“You what?” Her gaze was no longer challenging as the words settled around her. He was leaving.
He was really, really leaving. She might be thirty-something, but hearing those words felt like Christmas morning when she saw her very first Strawberry Shortcake bicycle propped under the tree.
“So soon?” she asked, trying to hide her happy surprise.
“My team has hit a snag on one of their protocols, and no matter what I send in emails to help get them back on track . . .” He shook his head while simultaneously rolling his eyes. “They just can’t get their stuff together.”
It must be hard always being the hero in life, Autumn thought, stifling a laugh.
“I can only imagine what you have to deal with in a day.” Autumn couldn’t believe she was even capable of laying it on so thickly. Granted, she never wanted to hurt people’s feelings, but she generally just slammed her mouth shut to make that happen rather than placating the person.
He nodded and puffed his chest out slightly. “I think I should get to a specialist too. Make sure my fracture is mending well.”
“Totally understand.” She put the scoring tool on the chair and took a couple of steps forward. “How can I help you pack? Do you need me to call a cab?”
“I took care of it already. The cab should be here in thirty minutes or so. Who knows what traffic will be like getting out of the mountains and down to Seattle?”
“Oh, okay.” She wasn’t sure what she should do. If she acted too sad, he’d keep texting her. If she acted too happy, she might get a lawsuit. “Well, it was really kind of you to do everything you did for me. It’s not every day a person can count on a friend to do that much driving.”
She was using the term friend loosely.
His brows crinkled, but honestly, could he think of things any differently? After that sloppy kiss, there had been nothing more. She’d made sure to keep her hands to herself and not give him any ideas that there were any romantic possibilities. She nearly shuddered at the thought.
A knock on the side door in the kitchen broke the uncomfortable silence, and Ronald’s gaze immediately changed.
“Expecting someone?” His brows rose as she scooted past him.
“Not a soul.” She made her way into the kitchen and to the door, feeling Ronald’s gaze on her the entire time.
She moved the ruffled curtain aside from the glass and saw Joel standing on the stoop. Her heart literally fluttered into another orbit. She glanced behind her and saw Ronald looking her way to bring her right back again.
“It’s only my neighbor.” She opened the door, and Joel’s grin widened.
“Don’t you make the day a little brighter.” Joel’s words sent a shot of electricity to her toes.
She ran her hands down her grungy tee and paint-splattered shorts. She hadn’t expected to see anyone but Ronald, so she put on some old painting clothes and didn’t have a stitch of makeup on.
“Do you need a cup of sugar?” Autumn asked, taking everything in about Joel North.
This man could play any part. Cowboy, medic, chef . . . he looked sensational in anything and probably even more sensational without anything.
With that last thought, she dropped her gaze to the stoop and hid a smile, amazed that her mind went there so quickly with Joel. But today, he was dressed preppy, and she actually loved it. When he wore a polo and a pair of khaki shorts, it was somehow different from what’s-his-face behind her. It didn’t hurt that dark stubble peppered Joel’s jawline, accentuating his bronzed skin and blue eyes. It didn’t matter what he wore. He exuded a ruggedness that she was drawn to.
“I actually came over to see if you’d be up for a round of golf this afternoon. My brother bailed on me, and the tee time is already reserved.” His grin about did her in, but she’d never swung a club in her life and didn’t plan on highlighting that in front of Joel North.
“Sounds fun, but actually, Ronald is headed out of here in the next while. His cab should be here any moment, and I’ve started my wallpaper job in the dining room.” She pointed behind her.
“Need any help?” he asked, glancing behind her shoulder.
She was sure he caught Ronald lurking in the background.
“What about your tee time?”
“I own the club. I’ll be forgiven if the slot’s a no-show.” His eyes stayed on Autumn’s, and every part of her reacted to him. The idea of spending the afternoon with him was part exhilarating and part terrifying. She wasn’t sure she could trust herself to behave.
Ronald guffawed in the background, and Autumn smiled, knowing the joke was on him. She was sure Ronald didn’t believe for a second that Joel owned the golf course, and finding out Joel and his brothers owned the entire ski resort would really make his nostrils flare. She wasn’t used to the kind of territorial war that Ronald enjoyed playing, but soon, it would all be a distant memory.
“Please. Lying to a woman isn’t a way to get her into bed.” Ronald thumped away, and Autumn realized he really couldn’t get out of here soon enough.
“I see he’s still as charming as ever,” Joel said, his voice lowering. “How about I go change, and I’ll be back over here to help? I’d say out of everything you have to do at this place, removing wallpaper will be your least favorite task. The more hands, the better.” He wiggled his fingers at eye level.
His hands were large, strong, and capable. There was no doubt he’d make the job go faster, and with as many things as she had on her to-do list so she could get the B&B in shape for her first ski season, she’d be a fool to turn away helping hands.
“Can I have a rain check on the golf trip?” she asked, surprised by her sudden willingness to make a fool out of herself.
His eyes lit up and she felt warm all over. “Absolutely.”
“Even if I’ve never swung a club in my life?”
“Even better.” His eyes fell to her mouth, and she bit down on her bottom lip, suddenly fighting the urge to lean over and kiss him.
She wasn’t completely sure what had come over her. Was it merely his good looks or his heart of gold? How about his sense of humor?
She drew a breath and smiled. “I’ll make some iced tea, and I’ll see you in a few.”
Joel smiled and touched her cheek gently. It wasn’t overly sexual, but it was sensual, and she felt every second of the connection.
This was what she’d been looking for in all the wrong places.
“Sounds like a perfect afternoon.” His smile about did her in as he turned and made his way off the stoop.
A perfect afternoon scraping wallpaper?
Joel really was incredible. It felt like she was walking on air as she made her way over to the kitchen cabinets. Oddly, the one update in the kitchen had been a stainless steel double fridge with an ice and cold-water dispenser. She grabbed a pitcher and filled it with ice and let her thoughts drift to Joel as she prepared the electric teapot.
There was no doubt about. He was adorable yet strong. Gentle yet tough. He was funny, caring, smart, and apparently, full of secrets. She still couldn’t believe his family owned most of Silver Ridge because let’s be honest—without that ski and golf resort, the town wouldn’t survive.
As she walked into the dining room, she noticed a cab pulling in front of her Fiat, and her mood instantly soared to new heights of happiness. Soon, she’d be able to putt around in her nightgown, work until three o’clock in the morning on whatever project she chose, crank up the music, and oh, my gosh. The list was endless when it came to how her life would improve by getting Mr. Not-So-Nice Guy out of the house.
“Ronald, the cab is here,” she called, extending her neck down the hall.
When she didn’t get a response, she hoped he hadn’t changed his mind or, worse yet, fallen down the stairs or drowned in the toilet somehow.
Yeah, she thought he was capable of doing either of those fairly easily.
She scurried through the old mansion, poking her head in the library, the sitting room, the great room, and out the back patio until she finally found him staring into an old closet.
“What in the world are you doing?” Autumn asked, making her way toward him.
She craned her neck and looked inside the closet. She hadn’t really had much of a chance to scope out the old home since she’d arrived and was surprised to see what looked like an old door in the back of the closet.
“A secret passageway. Cool. The cab’s here,” she told him, but he stayed paralyzed. “Are you okay?”
He shook his head but remained silent.
“Do you need help getting to the cab? I can get Joel.” That elicited a quick response from him at last.
“No. I can get myself out of here, but you should put this place up for sale immediately.” His eyes widened and his skin looked ashen instead of the tan she’d become used to seeing.
“Why do you say that?” She folded her arms, and he turned on his crutches to face her.
“Because the place is haunted. I heard someone knocking on that door.” He pointed into the closet. “Right in there. I heard it with my own ears.”
“Maybe the house was settling or the pipes were creaking. I was making a pot of tea.”
He let out a hollow laugh. “You may think I’m crazy, but I’m telling you the house is possessed.”
She scratched her cheek and glanced behind her. Now seemed like the perfect time to get Ronald and his things out of the house.
“I’ll definitely take that into consideration, and I’ll check it out, but I don’t want you to miss your flight.”
“You don’t believe me.”
“I believe you.” She believed that his pain medicine might be getting to him and it was time to get him in the cab. “Where’s your bag?”
He pointed behind him, and Autumn walked around the corner to the hall leading to the atrium. As with many rooms in the house, it had the potential to be spectacular, but as of now, it looked more like a moldy greenhouse, and she was surprised that Ronald had been in this area of the house. She grabbed his one bag and began rolling the other.
“We’ll go out the kitchen door.”
“Obviously.” He laughed, and some of the tension left the hallway.
She gave one last look at the secret door and closed the door to the closet.
Things between them weren’t at their lowest, but they weren’t great either. She was relieved to have gotten him to the cab without Joel showing up or without him breaking his other ankle. As he pulled the crutches into the backseat with him, her entire being felt breezy, and the pure adrenaline of getting to start this new chapter in her life began pumping through her veins again.
Autumn leaned in and gave him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek.
“Thanks again for everything, Ronald, and please keep me posted on how well things are healing up.”
Ronald nodded as Autumn shut the door, and for the first time since he’d arrived, she didn’t feel a drop of guilt. As she watched the cab drive away, pure relief circulated through her system and she couldn’t wait to return all her attention to the B&B.
“Your visitor left?” Joel and Oscar crossed the street in a near jog, and the sight of them instantly filled her to the brim with happiness.
“He sure did.” She hopped up on her tippy toes and smiled wider than she’d ever smiled before. “It feels so freeing. I feel like I could travel around the world again and still not feel as good as I feel with him gone.”
“You’ve traveled the world?” Joel’s brow arched and he looked genuinely surprised.
“Sure did.” She reached down to give Oscar attention, and Joel shook his head in complete adoration. It was like every day, he learned something new about Autumn that stole his breath away, but he couldn’t let his cover get blown.
“I think what sealed the deal for him is that he’s now certain the place is haunted, possibly possessed.”
Joel’s expression dropped. “You didn’t know? I thought you knew that about the old Blackberry Patch.”
Autumn remained expressionless until she saw a little curl to Joel’s upper lip. She playfully punched him in the arm, and he pretended to be wounded with Oscar yipping in the background.
“What’d you tell him when he thought the place was possessed?”
“I told him it was probably a pipe or the house settling.” She shrugged. “Beats me. Do you realize I haven’t really even explored the place since I got here? I mean, I briefly looked in the rooms, but I haven’t really gone deep.”
Joel grimaced. “So that’s why you’re still here.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “Probably so.”
A few seconds of silence passed between them.
“It was really nice of you to offer to help me with the wallpaper.” She smiled in his direction.
“Totally glad I can help.” He didn’t want to let on that it didn’t matter whether it was ripping up walls or pouring concrete, he was happy to be in her presence. She made him feel good, happier. In fact, it hadn’t been since Oscar that he felt better merely by being near someone.
“As long as you have your proton pack, things should go fine.” She grinned and nodded toward the towering, totally unhaunted home.
“Absolutely.” Joel laughed. “I ain’t afraid of no ghosts.”
“God, I loved Ghostbusters.” She giggled, and his world filled with light.
Her mischievous gaze caught his, and he knew it was going to be extremely difficult to remain exclusively neighbors without benefits, but he’d surely do his best.