Chapter 3

 

“How goes it up north?” Todd asked over the phone as Danny cooked dinner at the inn.

“The town of Westbend is certainly interesting.” Danny pondered the afternoon when he first met Mel.

“And the inn? Do you have it yet?”

Danny searched through the cabinets until he found two wine glasses and set them on the counter. “No, hit a bit of a snag in that regard, but think I’m close to remedying the situation.”

“Are you having problems smooth-talking an old widow?” Todd’s laughter drifted from the other end of the line.

“She’s not the woman we assumed, I can tell you that much,” Danny said though he wasn’t sure why he hesitated to tell him more about Mel. She was not an easy woman to understand, and even as he told himself he’d be able to convince her tonight to sell the inn, the sinking feeling in his gut said this wasn’t going to be so simple. “I think we’re making progress, though.”

“Good, giving her more money?”

“If that’s what it takes, I’ll up the price for this land. You should see it.”

“Remind you of home? Maybe you need to call on some of that Iowa small-town charm to get this over with.”

“No, I won’t have to resort to that. That man is gone, remember?” Danny pulled the fine bottle of wine from the counter to pry the cork out, forcing his hands to relax before he broke the bottle. “I’ll call you tomorrow morning when it’s done and I’m on my way back.”

“Of course,” Todd said. “Janet misses you terribly.”

Danny pursed his lips at the thought of Janet and him again in his office. No sudden hunger stirred in his gut… nothing. Instead, he saw Mel’s naked body again, and his stomach tightened. “I’m sure she does,” he said stiffly and hung up.

He tapped his fingers on the counter, trying to decide the best way to go about bringing up the truth of why he came to Westbend when he heard the dogs’ claws clicking across a hard floor and Mel’s voice talking to them as they neared the kitchen.

“Well, that smells great,” she said as she entered the kitchen and breathed deeply.

Danny grinned as he turned, wine in hand. “Steaks, potatoes, and asparagus. Hope you didn’t mind me going for the good stuff first.”

She shrugged. “Someone has to eat it.” She moved to the small dinette table in the kitchen.

The hairs on his neck prickled as her gaze remained on him. He picked up the two plates filled with their dinner and carried them over. “Sorry, again, for earlier,” he said roughly, trying not to picture her nakedness and failing miserably. “I hope this makes up for it.”

“It’s a start,” she muttered, but he heard amusement in her words.

After pouring two glasses of the red wine Danny had brought with him from the city, he carried the glasses over and sat down across from her. She swirled the wine in her glass and sniffed it, a crooked grin spreading across her face before she sipped it and set it down.

“You don’t like it?”

“Always been more of a whiskey girl,” she replied. “I never really enjoyed the finer things of life. It tastes expensive, though. What did you say you did again?”

“I didn’t.” He sipped at his wine studying her. “Just work in sales in the city.”

“Sales. Sounds dull,” she said with that same crooked smirk.

He returned her smile. The warmth that filled her eyes had chased away the pain he’d seen before. “It can be, but sometimes, it can be pretty rewarding, too.”

“Your boss must like you to give you so many days off around the holidays.”

Danny laughed quietly. “Yeah, my boss isn’t so bad. He can be an ass sometimes, though. I guess that’s something you don’t have to worry about, owning your own place. You can run your days however you want, run the place how you want,” he said, eyes taking in the kitchen and the surrounding inn. “Quite the setup you have here.”

She nodded and picked at her food without eating it. “Yes. Yes, it is.”

He rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “You don’t seem too happy about having such a great place,” he said slowly, sensing his way to grow closer. “The neglect of the place says a lot about the owner.”

Mel’s fork clattered loudly to her plate, and she pushed from the table. “You’ve barely been here a day and you’ve already figured out everything about me, is that it?”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” he said, stumbling over his words, trying to recover.

She dug around in a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and a glass. “Sounded like it. You show up on my front porch and offer to help do some work for a few nights at my inn. You see broken railings and dinged doors and you think to yourself, this poor woman must hate her life. She must hate owning an inn.” She put the whiskey back and sat down hard at the table, sipping on her glass of amber liquid as she eyed him sharply over the rim.

Danny met her stare evenly and drank his wine. “I never said you hate owning the inn, but your heart is certainly not in it,” he challenged and waited for the sharp retort.

“No? Maybe not.” She tapped her nails on the glass, the clinking echoing around the tiled kitchen. “It’s not like you’re the only one who thinks I need to get rid of this place.”

Danny shifted in his chair and bit the inside of his cheek. “What do you mean?” Shit, she does have another buyer. I’m going to kill Todd when I get back to the city.

“Some jackass developer from New York has been trying to buy the land out from under me for months. The idiot thinks I don’t know he’s short-changing me, either,” Mel muttered.

Danny choked on his swallow of wine. He coughed and sputtered as he set his glass down and avoided her gaze. “Really? Why does he want it?” he asked, hoping he sounded normal as his mind raced. If she figures out I’m the jackass, she’ll never sell. He wondered why she thought the buyer was a jackass. He personally never spoke with Mel or even drafted the proposals sent to her, but if he had, she would certainly not think he was being rude. Todd. He needed to talk to his esteemed business partner and figure out how he’d really handled this procurement.

“I’m not sure, but there are days I consider taking his offer,” she confided quietly. “Then there are days this place casts its spell and sucks me right back in. I’m stuck somewhere in between.”

Danny swirled his wine as his stomach twisted with guilt. “Why not move somewhere else?” he suggested, forcing the words out. “I’m sure you’d get a good amount of money for it. You could travel, start somewhere new.”

Mel sipped her whiskey, licking the drops from her dark red lips. Danny’s gut clenched. “Why do you think I need to start somewhere new?” she asked lightly, but he heard the warning in her tone.

“No reason.” He busied himself with eating.

Xena trotted over to his side and plopped down, resting her head on the table by his plate. “Xena, stop being a mooch,” Mel scolded, though she grinned while she said it.

“I don’t mind,” he said and scratched the dog’s ears. He cut three small pieces of steak and gave one to each waiting dog. “I grew up with dogs—not as big, but they followed me around like this. Loved the lot of them.”

“You don’t have a dog now?”

“Can’t, I work too much,” he said, surprised by the hint of sadness in his words. He was happy with his life and loved where he was in the city and the amount of wealth he had accumulated, but even after he’d told Todd and anyone else who asked that he didn’t need a woman in his life, a pang of loneliness filled his chest. He rubbed at the annoying ache and downed the rest of his glass.

Mel raised a brow and slid her glass towards him. “You look like you need it.”

He didn’t argue and poured the rest of the wine from her glass into his. “And I thought you were the one who might need some cheering up.”

She stiffened across from him. “Is this about the holidays again? I don’t know why it’s a big deal for me not to want to celebrate something people have forgotten the true meaning of anyway.” She pushed back from the table, taking her glass with her.

“Mel, wait,” he called out, standing to stop her. “I’m sorry, but it’s not like you’re giving off a positive, happy air here.”

“You know where the door is,” she muttered over her shoulder. “Feel free to leave whenever you want and let me wallow in my negativity.” She whistled, and the three dogs followed her out of the kitchen. Xena stopped at the door and wagged her tail when she glanced at Danny, then ran after the others.

He rubbed a hand down his face with an annoyed grunt as he stared at the table. She hadn’t even touched her food. Worry made his palms itch, but he clenched his hands into fists. What the hell was getting into him? He was here to get Mel to sell the inn to him, but he couldn’t even force the words out of his mouth. Why had he agreed to stay here?

“You’ll just leave in the morning,” he told himself as he cleaned up dinner and drank the rest of the wine himself. “You’ll tell her the truth, and once she realizes you’re not such a jackass and you give her the right amount of money, you’ll leave and never look back.”

As he drank the last drops of wine, he imagined how this night could’ve gone if Mel was like the women he was used to meeting. They were charmed by him, taken in by his attractive smile, but Mel… He couldn’t figure her out. One minute, he’d see a smile in her eyes, and the next, they’d overflowed with pain and her walls shot up. He shouldn’t care—didn’t want to care—but the idea of him leaving her alone in an inn falling apart around her made him scowl at his reflection in the kitchen window. Whomever she lost ate at her, and he doubted he’d be able to break down the hardened shell around her.

As he climbed to his room, he tried to figure out why he suddenly wanted to try so hard to do it.

***

Mel sat in her rooms for the rest of the evening as Lucy and Bobby played by the fire, growling and yipping as they always did. Mel grinned at them and looked at Xena sitting in front of the closed door. She stared at it expectantly as if waiting for someone who no longer lived there to come inside.

“Xena,” she called softly, her smile gone, and the large dog turned her head to look at her. “He’s not coming back, you know that. Go lay down.”

She turned her head stubbornly back to the door and didn’t move.

“Fine,” Mel muttered, staring into the whiskey in her glass.

It had been a long time since she’d had a one-on-one dinner with a man like Danny, and she’d been hesitant to say yes. She should’ve said no. She was not a social person anymore, and even though she didn’t want to admit he was right, she knew he was—about everything. She wanted to be happy, but there were too many damn memories around this place, and her sadness turned to bitterness and anger for being left alone, for having everything taken from her. Moving on and starting somewhere new was a good idea, but she nibbled at her lip with worry. She’d simply move to a new town and be the same shut-in the town saw her as now. The same miserable woman who had forgotten how to live.

Before she tucked in for the night, she glanced outside at the snow falling from the sky and wondered if the weather reports about this storm were right. By morning, when the dogs jumped into bed with her, licking her face and begging for breakfast, she stretched and slipped into a black, bulky sweater she wished still smelled of another man and peered out the window.

“Damn,” she whispered. “Danny’s not leaving today.”

The snow was at least two feet deep and still falling. The roads in and out of Westbend would be impassable. She was stuck with him for at least another night—maybe two—unless he’d decided to take it upon himself to leave last night.

The dogs beat her to the kitchen, ready for breakfast, and she was greeted by the strong smell of brewing coffee and bacon frying. Danny’s voice reached out and caressed her skin as he talked to the dogs, his laughter a deep timbre that warmed her frigid heart, if only a little. She tugged the sweater tighter around her, remembering how she’d snapped at him, and rubbed the back of her left leg with the toes of her right foot, debating if she should apologize. But she remembered him calling her out on not being happy with her life or the inn, and she steeled herself for whatever would meet her as she stepped into the kitchen.

“Morning.” She paused when Danny, wearing a tight t-shirt and snug jeans, flashed her a smile. He was barefoot and looked right at home in her kitchen. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, and she shoved her hair behind her ears as she forced her gaze away quickly and went to the pantry to get the dogs’ food.

“Morning,” he replied. “Coffee?”

“Sure.” She poured food into three bowls as the dogs sat and waited patiently.

“I was thinking last night,” he said, “that I might take off a day early. Think I might have overstayed my welcome.”

Mel nodded in agreement, but after she’d set the bowls down, she pointed to the window. “I appreciate you wanting to save me from hurling something at you later, but you’re not going anywhere, not for at least a day or two, and maybe longer if this snow keeps up.”

“Won’t they clear the roads?” he asked, and she caught a flicker of worry in his eyes.

“Not for a few days. We’re a small town,” she shrugged and shoved her hands deep into the pockets of the sweater. “I’m afraid you’re stuck.”

Danny held out a cup of coffee to her, and the warmth in his eyes grew from the night before. “It’ll give me more time to do repairs for you, I guess,” he reflected. “I’ll just have to… uh, check in with my boss and let him know I’ll be taking a few more days of vacation.”

“Look, I know I’m not the easiest person to get along with,” she admitted without meeting his gaze. “I appreciate the work you’re doing around the inn, but considering the circumstances, if you have to stay, you don’t have to work while you’re supposed to be on vacation.”

“I don’t mind,” he told her, leaning against the counter.

“From handyman to sales,” she mused. “How did that happen?”

“That’s a long story,” he said with a far-away look on his face. “I wasn’t born in New York.”

“I knew it,” she announced, and as the dogs finished eating, she opened the back door in the kitchen to let them out into the snow. They barked and growled as they tore through the thick, white powder, wrestling each other and sending flakes flying. Mel laughed, watching the sight through the open doorway, and sensed Danny move up beside her. “You don’t have the air of a city man about you.”

“You’re the only one to say that.” The casualness she was used to was gone, and a bit of the aggravation she’d heard last night laced his voice.

“You want to be known as a city man?” she asked, confused. “What’s wrong with where you came from?”

He walked back into the kitchen and to the stove. “Like I said, long story.”

Mel smirked, watching the dogs play, and sipped her coffee. “Seems I’m not the only one with secrets.”

“What was that?” he called out.

“Nothing.” She closed the door, letting the dogs have their fun. At least with no one at the inn, she didn’t have to bother drying them off when they eventually came back inside, covered in snow. “I have to go into town this morning if you want to come with me.”

His brow drew together. “Thought you said the roads were impassable?”

“Do your legs still work?”

His lips thinned. “I didn’t exactly pack for snow.”

“How do you travel in northern New York, in the winter, and not pack for winter?” she questioned, and he glowered at her. She set her mug down and walked away with an exaggerated sigh. “Come on, then.” She put her hands in her pockets as she waited for him to follow.

“Where are we going?”

“Will you just shut up and follow me?” she replied with a laugh she didn’t expect.

“As long as you’re not going to throw anything at me,” he muttered.

She sighed as they climbed the steps. “I didn’t know you were there, and for the record, it didn’t even hit you.” He muttered under his breath, but she didn’t catch it and didn’t ask. They reached her rooms, and she went to the closet, digging around for the last box of Robert’s things. When she dragged it out into the small living room, she opened the flaps and pointed inside. “Take what you need from there. The boots should fit you, and I think there are gloves at the bottom.”

Danny reached for the box, curiosity in his eyes as he lifted out a heavy, leather jacket and a pair of black boots. The curiosity turned to hesitation before he grinned and laughed. “Should I be worried you have a random box of men’s clothes in your closet and you’re a little too good at wielding a sledgehammer?”

Anger flared in her at his coarse tone until she told herself he didn’t know about her late husband. “No, you shouldn’t. Just something left behind. You can have the whole box, whatever will fit.”

“Right,” he said, but his brow furrowed and he set the clothes back in the box, staring at it as if it might reach up and bite him. “You sure you want me to have these?”

Mel’s hands burrowed into her pockets so he wouldn’t see their twitching. “Yeah, sure, why not?”

Slowly, he nodded and picked up the box. “Guess I’ll get changed. Don’t forget to eat breakfast before it gets cold since you neglected your dinner.”

“I wasn’t hungry,” she shot back.

His lips thinned as his eyes narrowed. “Do you do this often? Forget to eat?”

She shrugged. “I have whiskey. It’s good enough,” she replied and waited for whatever comeback he would throw at her. He grunted another quiet thanks and left the room with a stiff set to his shoulders.

Her feet moved her forward as if to follow him, but she stopped at the door, unable to take another step. What was she thinking? Her hands shook, and she ran them over her hair and battled her insane array of emotions. She couldn’t deal with a relationship, not with her heart hardened and her anger barely held in check most days. She moved slowly about the room, hearing Robert’s deep booming laughter as he tackled her to the couch before making intense love that left her breathless. She felt his hands on her hips before his arms wrapped around her and drew her close against his hard, muscled chest.

His hands on her belly before he’d been taken away from her again to never return.

Furious tears filled her eyes, and she let them slide down her cheeks, unable to stop them. Her shoulders heaved as pain enveloped her. She’d lost too much all at once, and no matter how many attractive and charming men might walk into her life, none of them would be able to save her from the pit of despair she’d dug for herself.

The floorboards outside her door creaked, and she whipped around, wiping quickly at her eyes. Just as she stepped forward, Bobby barked and raced into the room, leaping up onto her and licking her face. Lucy was right behind him, and they tackled her to the floor. Laughter erupted from her as she scratched their thick fur, snuggling with the only beasts who still loved her.

“You want to go to town with Mama?” Bobby licked her face again as Lucy barked. “Good, let’s get ready, then, and find your other sister.”

***

Danny waited by the front door of the inn for Mel to finish in the kitchen so they could head into town. The snow was still falling, the flakes growing larger by the hour and piling up outside the door. He’d shovel the walk when he got back—anything to keep him away from Mel for a few hours until he figured out what was going on inside his head.

He’d gone back to return the leather jacket after finding a handwritten letter inside it addressed to her. He hadn’t read it, and from the stiff feel of the paper, she might not have yet either. He knew it had to belong to her late husband, and the idea of wearing his jacket with that letter in the pocket unnerved him, made him feel like he was trampling on his grave. He’d been ready to go back into her room when he heard crying and peered around the doorway. Her shoulders were hunched, and she was holding her face in her hands. When he quickly stepped back, the floor creaked, but the dogs had let themselves back in and charged into her room, giving him a chance to slip away.

But not before Xena stopped to nuzzle his hand.

“Get it together,” he muttered under his breath, pacing back and forth across the foyer. “You’re here for one thing only, so get it taken care of and find a way home.”

Before this woman makes you forget who you’re supposed to be, he added and his feet stilled.

“Ready?” Mel called out.

He shook his head to clear the muddled thoughts. “Yeah, ready to brave the blizzard,” he grumbled as she opened the front door. “You sure we can make our way to town?”

She checked all three dogs had collars but didn’t bother with leashes. “They know where they’re going,” she answered before he could ask. “Don’t worry, we won’t lose you. Not for long, anyway,” she added with a wink but no smile.

Danny and Xena followed them outside, and he waited for her to lock the front door. She strode down the drive, Bobby and Lucy walking easily by her side without locking it. Xena did the same, staying in step with him. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she trudged through the snow.

“You’re enjoying this way too much,” he muttered to the dog and pulled the leather coat tighter around him. It fit almost perfectly but didn’t keep out the chill, and by the time they reached the bottom of the hill and walked onto Main Street, his teeth chattered and his face was numb. When Mel turned to enter the diner, he breathed a sigh of relief and followed her in, dogs and all.

“Ah, there she is,” a woman called out happily. “I was hoping you wouldn’t take this as an excuse to stay cooped up in that damn hideaway of yours.”

“It’s not a hideaway,” Mel argued. “It’s an inn that I happen to run.”

“Yes, all alone and closed during the most special time of the year,” the woman chided as she stepped out from behind the counter and wrapped her arms around Mel. “I really wish you’d have someone stay with you these few weeks. It'd make me less of a worry wart.”

“She has someone,” Danny chimed in, and Mel shot him a glare over her shoulder. He grinned and removed his glove to hold out his hand to the woman. “Danny.”

“Donna,” the older woman replied as she took his hand. “My, my, please tell me you haven’t been hiding this hunk of handsome up in that place for weeks?”

Danny smiled wider as he chuckled, but Mel shoved her hands deep into the pockets of her coat—a habit, he noticed, to hide her twitching hands or to keep herself from strangling him. He hadn’t decided which yet.

“No, I only came to town yesterday.”

“He made an accidental reservation at the inn, and I was being nice by letting him stay. He volunteered to do some repairs. That’s all,” Mel said firmly. “Donna, I have to get a few things before lunch. Mind if the dogs stay here, keep you company? All the dogs.” She nudged Danny with her elbow.

They stared each other down as Donna laughed beside them. “Your dogs are always welcome, and it’ll give me a chance to get to know your Danny.”

“He’s not mine,” she mumbled. “I’ll be back soon enough.”

“Take your time, dear,” Donna said and sat Danny down at the counter. “Take your time.”

Mel drew her hood up over her head, and with one last warning glare to Danny, set back off into the blizzard outside the diner.