Clearwater Romance (5 page)

“I noticed you have a lot of the supplies already that I would need in one guest room. I could get started on it.” He loaded the last of the dishes into the dishwasher.

“Oh no, I couldn’t.”

“I offered. It’s not like there’s anything else for me to do. You want the place in order so when the official papers come through you can reopen. Let me do this.” He dried his hands on the dishtowel. “I’m not one for sitting around doing nothing. I’m going stir crazy. Let me do this for you.”

“I don’t know. You’re my guest, and I don’t want to impose.”

“You’re not. I’d actually consider it a favor…doing something useful. Come on. Let’s go upstairs and see what you have, and go over the designs.”

Her grandmother always talked about redoing the house to give it more character, but it wasn’t until right before she died that they finally started her dream. Carrying it out, and making Winterbloom special, meant the world to her.

Jordan led her into the first room on the left. It wasn’t a homey room, but she wanted to make it a retreat for her guest. “This room appeals more to business professionals, and authors who need to get away to finish their book…”

“How did you know?” she asked, surprised.

He pointed to the desk. “I saw a few books over there by Melissa Edwards. The dedication mentions Winterbloom.”

She loved that book and the author. During her many visits, she and Melissa had become close friends. “Yes. Melissa comes here often. She finds this place very inspirational.”

“She stays in this room, correct?” Not giving her time to answer, he continued. “She’s the idea behind this design. I think if you tore down this wall, putting in a half wall would give it a more open concept. I also would like to open up the exterior wall and put in a window facing the pond. New furniture and paint, and this room will be a whole new place.” He paused stepping around her to open the bathroom door. “Now for the bathroom, I think gutting it, is the best choice. There’s enough room in here to do a stand-alone glass shower, and a whirlpool tub for the guest to relax in. I think your female guests would especially enjoy that.”

“I like that. But adding a window to the office area, I’m not sure about.”

“Trust me. In the end, you’re going to love it. Natural light enhances a mood. I’m sure Melissa would find it motivating to look out onto the lake while she’s writing.”

“But it’s the middle of winter. I don’t want a hole in the side of my house.”

A smile curved his mouth, a real honest grin. It was the first one he shared with her and her heart skipped. “Now that’s a very reasonable complaint. However, I would only take a day, two at most, if we ran into problems to do it. Or you can wait until the other work is done.”

“You sound so sure that I’m going to let you blow a hole in my house.” She lifted an eyebrow at him, and chuckled.
Knock out a wall in the middle of winter. That’s crazy.

He touched the side of her face, rubbing a finger across her cheek. “That’s because you can’t see the final project. Doing this would make this one of your most sought after rooms. You could charge more for it.”

Gazing into his eyes, she wanted him to kiss her. The touch between them was intimate and she longed for more. “Kiss me,” she whispered, throwing aside her caution.

He didn’t hesitate. He leaned in close, placing his warm lips on hers. They tasted sweet, like maple syrup. She couldn’t get enough. She laid a hand on his chest; and wanted to throw him on the bed.

He pulled back. “I’m sorry.”

She stared at him.
He has got to be kidding
. “What?”

“I shouldn’t have done that.” He stepped back running a hand over his face.

“I asked for it, and I wasn’t finished.” Finding her confidence, she hooked her fingers in the front of his jeans, pulling him closer.

“I…we…can’t. You’re beautiful, and I want you. But I can’t.” He broke her hold and walked away. The door to his room closed moments later.

Leaning against the wall, she tried to figure out what she did wrong. She had never been the aggressor before but something about him called out to her. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.

The ringing of her cell phone brought her back from her thoughts. She wanted to ignore it, but pulled it out of her pocket. The caller ID said Ryan, and if she didn’t answer, he would be at her door in no time flat.

She hit talk. “Hello Ryan.”

“Is everything okay? I called Winterbloom’s number but you didn’t answer.” She could hear Ryan’s police radio in the background.

 “Everything is fine. I was upstairs looking over the work I wanted to do in the guest rooms. I didn’t hear it.”

“I was heading your way. I thought something happened. I don’t like you out there alone with your mystery guest. Is your guest giving you any problems?”

“Ryan, everything’s fine. The guest is in his room watching television, and I needed something to do with my time. Goldie is right here with me. Stop worrying about me and get back to work.”

“Chloe, I ran a check on the license plate. His name is Jordan Sheppard. Since being discharged from the Marines he’s dropped off the grid. Something’s not right about it. What would he be doing in Clearwater?”

“Stop worrying. He’s just passing through.  Once the storm passes, he’ll be on his way.  Now get back to work.” She hung up. She wanted to tell him that Jordan was no threat to her, but he was a threat to her heart.

“Goldie, Ryan is going to send himself into an early grave if he doesn’t stop worrying about everyone.” Goldie just looked up at her with big dog eyes.

Walking over to the bed, she decided to strip the sheets. No one stayed in this room. If she moved the furnishings out, they could get started.

“Don’t just lay there girl. Come help strip the bed. Then you can put them in the washer.” The dog just looked at her like she was from another planet. “Fine. I’ll do all the work and you just rest.” She laughed at herself.
I can’t wait for Winterbloom to be back open. I’m talking to a dog.

Jordan laid on the bed listening to Chloe work in the other room. He felt awful about what happened. The last thing he should have done was kiss her—no matter what she asked. Chloe deserved someone better, someone not damaged like he was.

He would give anything to have met her
before
. “Oh, what am I talking about, I would have broken her heart,” he said to the empty room.

He didn’t want to watch television, but he turned it on for company. He wanted to be with Chloe. She deserved someone that could give her the world, not some out of work, broken Marine, with PTSD.

His cell phone rang on the dresser. The caller ID display read MOM.

“Hi, Mom. How’s Florida?”

“Florida’s great. When are you going to join us? I miss you.”

Her voice made him homesick. She always had the right words to put things into perspective. If she said it would be ‘okay,’ then it would be. Unwilling to worry her, he kept his tone upbeat and cheerful as he could manage. “I miss you too Mom, but I’m glad you are enjoying Florida. Yes, I’ll come visit once I do a few things.”

“When? You’ve been saying that for weeks. Now that you’re out of the Marines I think you need to come home. Being around family is what you need. You don’t need to be out there on the road. Come home.” He could hear her nails clicking on the kitchen counter, waiting an answer.

 “I don’t know, Mom. I’m stuck here in a blizzard. Once the weather lets up, I will get back on the road again. I suspect a few weeks before I can come down. I’ll be there soon.”

“Not soon enough.” She was silent for a long moment. “I love you, Son. Come home soon.”

All the years in the Marines and never once had he been homesick. He used to laugh at his unit mates when they complained. How odd to finally understand what they went through, odd and humbling. It had to be worse for those with a wife and children waiting for them.

* * *

Opening his bedroom door, he hoped to find Chloe across the hall but the room was empty. She’d stripped the bed and removed most of the small furniture and decorations. Even the bookshelf was bare.

Downstairs, music hummed softly and the dog played with a squeaky toy. He followed the tunes, but couldn’t find Chloe. He poured himself a cup of coffee, and froze. Barely visible from the window, she stood by the wood stack in a heavy coat.

Jerking the door open, he winced at the cold assaulting him. “Chloe, are you crazy? Get inside.”

She shot him an angry look and continued to gather wood.

“Come in, I’ll get the wood.” He glanced around for his coat.

She waded through the snow, and stamped her feet by the door. She brushed past him with her arms full of wood, still not speaking to him.

I screwed up
.

Her eyes were full of anger; her shoulders were squared tightly ready for a fight. He darted out into the snow, grabbed an arm full of wood and followed after her.

Her wood sat stacked nicely by the fireplace, along with her coat to dry. Chloe curled up on the couch with her book.

“I’m sorry.”

She didn’t look up from her book, seemingly refusing to acknowledge him, and he didn’t blame her. He'd acted like a first class jerk earlier.

“I don’t know what to say to make this better. But honestly, I am very sorry. I was a jerk.”

“Dang right you were. You kissed me and then act like it is the biggest mistake of your life. That’s fine. Once the storm has passed, you’ll be on your way. We’ll never have to see each other again.” She shot up from the couch and headed out of the room.

“Chloe, please.” But she didn’t stop. He learned from his mother sometimes it made things worse to follow a woman. Sometimes the best thing was to let her cool off.

“Looks like I really messed up this time.” He leaned down to pet the dog. But even Goldie didn’t want to be around him and followed her owner out of the room.

Unable to fume for long, she stopped hiding in her room. She found Jordan asleep on the couch. He waited for her. She knew he suffered and her heart hurt for him. She wanted to help him, but didn’t know how.

Tiptoeing away, so as not to wake him, she led Goldie into the kitchen and heated the roast from the previous night's dinner, and made sandwiches. She was just finishing the preparations when she turned to find him standing by the counter.

“The aroma woke my stomach. I’m starving.”

“I thought you would be. There’s more where that came from. Go ahead, get started. I’ll grab drinks.”

He grabbed the plates and headed for the dining room table. “Anything but beer, please.”

She grabbed two cans of cola. In the dining room, she found candles lit and the lights turned down low.

“I wanted to make it up to you. I planned on cooking dinner for you when you decided to come out. Sorry I fell asleep.”

 “You know how to cook?” She couldn’t keep the surprise from filling her voice.

“My mother thought a man should know how to cook, and clean. She even taught me how to sew, well mostly how to sew a button on. I was always playing with my shirt buttons as a kid until they would fall off. She got tired of me doing that and as punishment, I had to sew the button back on. Threading a needle is hard work.”

“It sounds like your mother is a great woman. She tried to turn you into the perfect husband.” Granny would approve. She believed in self-sufficiency. “So why didn’t you ever settle down?”

“Mom’s been on my case for years now. She wants grandbabies. But the military is hard enough, and harder with a family. I was always deployed. I guess in the end, I never wanted someone stuck at home worrying about me, wondering if I would make it home, or if a man in uniform would show up at her door telling her the bad news.”

“Instead, that would happen to your mother.”

“I know.” Regret colored his voice. “My dad was a Marine, she’s a Marine wife. She’s damn tough.”

“She might be used to it, but that doesn’t mean she wants her son doing it. But I understand why you did it. You’re a hero…”

“I’m no hero!” He shook his head. “I let my best friend die in my place.”

“Jordan, it wasn’t your fault. There was no way for you to know what would happen.”

“I heard the dryer buzz, why don’t you handle that? I’ll clean up.” He grabbed the dishes and escaped to the kitchen, shutting her down. Again.

On her way to the laundry room, the cell phone on the coffee table vibrated. She didn’t remember leaving her phone out and grabbed it to answer. If Ryan called and she didn’t answer, he’d show up.

“Hello.”

“Umm…I’m calling Jordan. Do I have the wrong number?” A woman on the other end asked.

“Umm.” She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it. It wasn’t until she really looked at it. That she realized it wasn’t hers. It was the same phone, but hers had a jeweled cased that clipped onto the back.
Shit!
“If you hold a moment I can get him.”

“Wait, who am I speaking with?”

“Chloe, I own the bed and breakfast he stumbled upon.”

“Stumbled upon?”

“It’s a long story, but a snowstorm has him stuck here. He was heading to Idaho. To…umm…sorry I’m not sure the name of the person he’s visiting there.”

“Megan O’Malley.” Sadness darkened her voice. “He feels it’s his duty.”

Everything was clicking for her. “You’re…”

“James’ wife. But I’m surprised he told you.”

She would have never answered the phone if she realized it was his, but now that she had and someone was on the line that might be able to help him. She couldn’t let the opportunity pass.  She sat on the couch and let out a short laugh. “I wouldn’t say told me is the correct words. But yes I know.”

“Then you know he blames himself?”

“Yes. He thinks you blame him too.” It wasn’t her place, the woman was a widow…but her husband was dead and Jordan was here.

“But I don’t. I tried to tell him that. No matter how many times I tried, he just doesn’t listen. It was war, things like this happen. There was nothing he could do.” Megan sounded desperate on the other end. Her tone said she wanted to help Jordan but didn’t know how. “He needs to forgive himself, or he’ll never be able to move on.”

“I know.” It was all Chloe could say, but it wasn’t enough.

“Have you known him long? You seem to care about him.”

Before Chloe could answer, Jordan walked into the room. “Ahh.”

“Is that my phone…?” He moved closer to her. “Who’s on the phone?” Jordan snatched the phone from her.

She mumbled an apology and slipped away to deal with the laundry.

* * *

“Who’s this?” Jordan asked, as he watched Chloe slip out of the room. He should be angry with her instead he found his gaze lingering on her swaying hips as she rushed away. He fought the urge to call her back, to wrap his arms around her.

“Jordan, it’s Megan. I was worried when you didn’t arrive, and this storm. I thought you might still be out in it.”

“Megan.” The weight of the world landed on his shoulders with a hard thump. “I’m sorry. The car broke down and I’m stuck in Clearwater, Wyoming. I found a little bed and breakfast to wait out the storm.”

“I’m glad you’re safe. I was worried about you. Jordan…”

When she failed to continue and the silence dragged across his nerves, he asked, “What?”

“Don’t mess this up. I can tell from her voice she cares for you.”

Before he could tell her that she misunderstood the situation, and Chloe was the owner, she ended the call. Instead of calling her back, he stood by the fire wondering if Megan was right.
Does Chloe really care or is she just being friendly?