The Cottage on Juniper Ridge (14 page)

Chapter Thirteen

It’s only our unrealistic expectations for
romance on special days like Valentine’s Day that make it so
disappointing.

—Muriel Sterling, author of
Simplicity

I
t wasn’t until the week before the
chocolate festival that Jen learned who Garrett Armstrong was seeing. She had
recently joined Bruisers Fitness Center (New Year’s resolution, of course) and
was on her way in when she encountered him leaving with a tall, fit brunette
dressed in workout clothes. The woman’s hair was short and lay flat and damp
against her head. She had the kind of supermodel cheekbones Jen had always
dreamed of having but other than that there was nothing remarkable about her
face. It was okay, but she wasn’t a knockout. What was the attraction, then? The
legs, obviously. He liked tall girls. Tall, athletic girls. Jen wasn’t tall and
she was about as athletic as a marshmallow.

She sighed inwardly but forced herself to say a friendly
hello.

That, in turn, forced him to stop and introduce the other
woman. “Jen, this is Tilda Morrison. Jen’s my new renter,” he explained to
Tilda. No need to explain Tilda to Jen. She wasn’t stupid.

Still, Garrett and this woman seemed more like pals than a
couple. He never so much as put an arm around her while they stood talking.

“How do you like Icicle Falls?” Tilda asked.

“So far, so good,” Jen said. “It helps to have a great
landlord,” she added, smiling at Garrett.

Now he seemed suddenly uncomfortable. She’d only meant to be
nice but the other woman might read more into that remark than she’d meant.
Nothing like failing to think before opening your
mouth,
she thought, annoyed with herself. Much as she wanted to start
something with Garrett, she didn’t want to start trouble for him.

“Well, I should get busy getting in shape,” she said, motioning
in the direction of the fitness equipment.

Tilda didn’t seem the least bit threatened. “Nice to meetcha,”
she said, then strode out of the building.

“Take care,” Garrett said, and followed her out.

Jen watched as Tilda walked over to the patrol car parked near
the door. A cop? Garrett was seeing a cop?

They stood next to the car for a moment, chatting. As they did,
Tilda’s earlier casual expression softened into something Jen easily recognized.
That was the look of a woman in love. But they didn’t kiss. And there was
nothing sexy about their exchange. He stayed another minute, then walked off and
she slid behind the wheel and drove away. Why was Garrett hanging out with Tilda
if he didn’t feel any chemistry? Jen was still trying to puzzle it out when she
ran into Cecily Sterling at Bavarian Brews.

“Are you going to the chocolate festival?” Cecily asked,
nodding toward the poster on the wall. It showed a chocolate truffle
superimposed over a shot of the town with Sleeping Lady Mountain looming in the
background. “It’s not to be missed,” Cecily said, and told Jen about some of the
events.

“Hey, did I move to the right town or what?”

“You did,” Cecily said with a smile.

“Maybe I’ll see if my sister wants to come up.” Toni the
chocoholic would love this.

“A whole weekend dedicated to chocolate? Oh, twist my arm,”
Toni said when Jen called her.

“They’ve got all kinds of things going on—a chocolate tea, a
tour of the Sweet Dreams chocolate factory, free samples, candy-making demos and
a Mr. Dreamy pageant. Even a masked ball. You could bring the whole family.”

“Or I could come by myself and leave Mr. NonDreamy at home,”
Toni said crisply.

This didn’t sound good. “Is everything okay with you guys?” Jen
asked.

“Oh, yeah, we’re fine. Just dull and boring. Knowing Wayne,
he’ll have some emergency to deal with. He won’t even miss me.”

Were Toni and Wayne in more trouble than Toni wanted to admit?
They’d seemed fine when they came up to help her move in. But who could tell?
Trouble could build under the surface of a marriage and then suddenly erupt. She
knew; she’d been there. She sure didn’t want to see that happen to her sister,
but Toni’s discontent was evident, which was too bad because Wayne was a nice
guy. It wasn’t easy to find a nice guy.

And once you found one...well, it still wasn’t easy. Jen
wondered if Garrett Armstrong would be hanging around at the chocolate festival.
She envisioned him feeding her a truffle and smiled. This was quickly followed
by a vision of Tilda Morrison shoving her into a vat of boiling chocolate. She
frowned. Why did she have to be attracted to a man who clearly wasn’t interested
in
her?

Never mind,
she told herself on
Saturday as she and her sister immersed themselves in the fun of the chocolate
festival.
Your love life will work itself out. That was
what Muriel said. Cecily, too. Meanwhile, enjoy the moment.

There was plenty to enjoy as the sisters strolled among the
various booths on Alpine Street in the downtown area. The festival was in full
swing and the very air was heavy with the aroma of chocolate.

“This is fantastic!” Toni said, taking in all the booths. “I’m
going to spend a fortune. I can feel it.”

That wouldn’t be difficult. Local artisans were selling
everything from paintings and scarves to chocolate tea and soap. It seemed that
every eatery and service club in town was represented, and all were offering
chocolate of some sort. One of the local church youth groups had a booth selling
chocolate doughnuts. Another sold hot chocolate. Of course, the Sweet Dreams
Chocolates booth was drawing the biggest crowd, with tourists flocking to have
their picture taken with this year’s Mr. Dreamy. The Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams”
added a musical backdrop.

Billy Williams, whom everybody called Bill Will, had won the
title the night before at the estrogen-driven Mr. Dreamy pageant, where the
women came for Sweet Dreams chocolates and a chance to root for their favorite
man. The men had paraded around the stage, strutting their stuff while women on
a chocolate high cheered and whistled and generally egged them on. Contestants
had showed off their talents, some singing (often badly), some dancing and some
doing simplistic magic tricks. Bill Will was a shoo-in when he displayed his
roping skills, roping a gigantic pink wooden heart bearing the Sweet Dreams logo
and then presenting it to Samantha Sterling, who was the president of the
company and the moving force behind the town’s chocolate festival. A few sore
losers had muttered that it was the equivalent of bribing the judges, but most
agreed that it was Bill Will’s turn to win.

“That was incredibly tacky,” Toni had said when it was over.
“And fun. We have to find him tomorrow and get our picture taken with him.”

“Looks like we found Mr. Dreamy,” Jen said now, pointing to the
Sweet Dreams booth.

“Let’s get over there before his back gives out,” Toni
said.

They made their way through the crowd to where Bill Will was in
the process of sweeping an older woman off her feet. Literally. The woman
giggled as her friends gathered around and snapped pictures with their cell
phones.

At the sight of Jen and Toni, he unloaded the woman and steered
her over to where the Sterling sisters were selling their famous chocolates.
“Hey, there,” he greeted them. He pointed a finger at Jen. “I’ve seen you
around. You’re the new lady in town.”

“I am,” Jen agreed, and introduced herself.

“Welcome, darlin’,” he said, giving her an appreciative
once-over. “I’m Billy Williams. Everybody calls me Bill Will.”

“I’ve heard about you,” Jen said. Juliet had filled her and
Toni in the night before at the Mr. Dreamy pageant. “You’re doing a great job
representing Sweet Dreams Chocolates.”

“I aim to please,” he said, grinning. “And who’s this you got
with you?”

“This is my sister, Toni Carlyon.”

“Well, don’t pretty run in your family,” he said. “You come to
get your picture taken with Mr. Dreamy?”

“And to get chocolate,” Jen said.

“But first, I need a picture,” Toni insisted.

“Of course.” Bill Will held out an arm. “Step right up,
darlin’.”

She handed Jen her phone. “Let’s make this a good one,” she
said to Bill Will.

“All right,” he said, and scooped her up in his arms.

Toni grabbed his cowboy hat and put it on her head. “Yee
haw.”

With her long highlighted hair, pretty face and perfect figure,
Toni made a convincing cowgirl. “Oh, that’s cute.” Jen snapped the picture.

Bill Will set Toni down and she returned his hat. Jen handed
back her phone, she looked at the picture and said, “I think I’ll send this to
my husband. I’ll caption it, ‘Having a great time. Wish you were here.’”

“That should make him jealous,” Jen said.

“I doubt it,” Toni said with a frown.

“Okay, Jen, you’re next,” Bill Will said. Now the music had
changed to Big and Rich’s “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy.” “Hey, good idea.” Bill
Will presented his back to Jen. “Climb on, cowgirl.”

Why not? She obliged, hopping onto his back and taking his hat.
Bill Will let out a whoop and the crowd around them increased in size. He jumped
and Jen yelped, making everyone laugh, including her.

She looked to see if her sister had captured the moment on her
phone and caught sight of Juliet from the book club, along with her friend
Chelsea. Juliet grinned and gave Jen a thumbs-up.

Then, behind Juliet, she spotted another face, this one
frowning in disgust. Garrett Armstrong. Obviously Garrett didn’t approve of
saving horses and riding cowboys.

Feeling chastised, she slid off Bill Will and returned his hat,
thanking him.

“What’s the matter?” her sister asked.

“Nothing,” Jen lied.

“Right. You’re acting like a little kid who lost her
balloon.”

She felt like that, too. But it was silly to let a disapproving
look from her landlord ruin the moment. She’d just been having fun. She was
allowed. She glanced over to where he’d been standing and saw he was now moving
off in another direction. And he wasn’t alone. He had a little boy—probably
his—by the hand and his pal Tilda in tow. Shouldn’t she be on patrol
somewhere?

“Come on,” Toni said, “let’s get some chocolate.”

Jen nodded, determined to forget about her stick-in-the-mud
landlord and his stick-in-the-mud opinions. And she wasn’t going to indulge in
any more fantasies about him, either. So there.

* * *

He’d known it the day she moved in. Jen Heath was
another Ashley, just out for a good time. She’d moved to Icicle Falls on a whim;
no doubt she’d move away on a whim. Or move in with some guy, like Bill Will.
Never mind that she looked like the girl next door with that freckled face and
full-lipped smile. It was a facade.

“What’s bugging you?” Tilda asked.

“Me? Nothing.” He smiled down at Timmy. “Let’s go get a hot
dog. What do you say to that, buddy?”

Timmy nodded eagerly. “I like hot dogs!” He gazed up at Tilda.
“Do you like hot dogs?”

“Sure,” she said. “And curly fries. Can’t forget curly
fries.”

Good old Tilda. Another woman would have continued to pester
him, insisting something was wrong and wanting to know what. Not Tilda. Being
with her was as comfortable as being with another guy.

And that was exactly what Garrett wanted. Yes, sir.

He cast a quick glance over his shoulder. Now Jen was at the
booth, sampling chocolate and laughing with Cecily Sterling and a couple of
other women. Garrett’s eyes strayed to her well-rounded bottom.
Seen one butt, seen ’em all,
he told himself.

Yeah, right. And that was why he had to force his head to turn
and his eyes to look straight ahead.

Don’t get chummy with her,
he
reminded himself.
Stay in the truck when you go over to
plow snow from the driveway. Collect the rent and scram. Don’t stick around
to get tempted.

Why did temptation have to be so...tempting? Damn it all, he
wished he’d never met the woman.

* * *

You don’t have to go out for a fancy dinner to celebrate
Valentine’s Day. In fact, you don’t even need to have a sweetheart. What’s
important is to make sure you’re with people you care about, having fun
together. Anyway, sex is overrated.

Jen looked at what she’d written for her blog so far and
frowned. Nobody was going to buy that. She deleted the last sentence and
continued.

I had fun this past weekend checking out the chocolate festival in
Icicle Falls.

No lie. She’d had a great time until she’d seen Garrett. She
wrote some more about the festival and posted a couple of pictures, then added
her recipe.

CHOCOLATE MADNESS SNACK
(makes 4
cups)

1 cup M&M’s
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup
white chocolate chips
1 cup Hershey’s Kisses, whatever kind you like
(my fave is the one with caramel)

Mix everything together and enjoy while watching a great chick
movie.

She typed in her last paragraph.

I’ll be taking this to my book club tonight. We’re celebrating
Valentine’s Day early and we’ll probably overdose on chocolate. What will you be
doing for Valentine’s Day?

She hit Publish and sighed. What she’d written was fine in theory,
but in reality she was bummed that she didn’t have any romantic plans for
Cupid’s big day.

Well, she’d do...something. Maybe she’d treat herself to some
Sweet Dreams chocolates and watch a vintage chick flick. That would have to do
for this year.

She got to Stacy’s house to find the book club was ready to
celebrate. Stacy had made chocolate-dipped strawberries in honor of Valentine’s
Day, which was just a couple of days away, and Cecily had brought treats from
Sweet Dreams. Cass had contributed iced gingerbread hearts, and Charley and
Chita had provided champagne.