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Once he’d got things going, the transfer went smoothly, apart from the fact that he was standing in the middle of a snowstorm freezing his nuts off. By the time he staggered back to the B&B he was shaking so hard his teeth were chattering.
Lucy looked up as he came into the outhouse.
“Oh, my goodness! You’re freezing! Go into the house and warm up!”
He crouched down by the generator. “Got . . . to . . . get this working first.”
“I can do that.” She gave him an ungentle shove. “Go inside!”
“Not happening. Do you have a funnel?”
“Yes, it’s here.”
“Hold it steady, then.” He carefully poured the gasoline into the tank and screwed on the cap. “Let’s see if it fires up.”
The sudden noise was loud in the confined space, but still gratifying. Caleb checked the power cables were properly attached. He helped Lucy roll them out into the house where a central set of power sockets had already been configured to cover the important outlets. At least his teeth had stopped chattering, but he was still grateful when she offered him a mug of coffee from the old tin pot on the gas stove.
“Thanks.”
The sound of the refrigeration units powering up broke the unaccustomed silence. Caleb took a good long slug of coffee and studied his companion properly for the first time since he’d got out of bed. She was rushing around the kitchen, feeding the cat, and chatting about toasting bread or something. If he hadn’t have known better, he would’ve thought she’d never been in his bed the previous night or that they’d had sex.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yes! I’m great!” Her attempt at a smile wobbled. “I mean I can’t run my business, the main generator that was supposed to be fixed isn’t, and I can’t even remember to fill up a five-gallon gas tank, but at least I’m alive!”
He set his mug down, walked over, and drew her into his arms. For a second, she went stiff and then she gulped in a huge breath and leaned her forehead against his chest.
“I’m sorry. I guess I’m just a bit overwhelmed . . . with everything.”
He kissed the top of her head and just held her. As someone who came up with complex solutions for a living, not giving her a plan of action and telling her how to execute it was hard. He’d never been good at emotional things. The only person he’d ever confided in had been his mother, and even that had stopped because she always told his dad everything he’d said.
For a moment, he desperately wished she was still alive so that he could say sorry for cutting her off—for not telling her how he felt because he didn’t want another lecture from his father. In her mind she’d been trying to bridge the gap between them in the only way she knew how. He hadn’t appreciated how hard that must have been until she was gone, and now, he and his dad had nothing to say to each other at all.
“You should go to your dad.” Lucy said.
“Maybe,” Caleb said. “I’ll give Chip a call and see whether it’s possible.”
She eased out of his arms and immediately rushed toward the hall. “I need to check the light on the landing is working. It’s the only one connected to the small generator upstairs.”
His fingers curled into his palms as he immediately missed her presence. He wasn’t sure if she was just too busy reacting to the current crisis to have a conversation about what had happened between them, or if she was determined to pretend that nothing had happened at all. He wasn’t okay with either of those scenarios, but as long as she was trying to save her beloved B&B, he wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it.
His gaze went to the open door.
And what was he going to say to her anyway? He wasn’t coming back to Quincy, she wasn’t moving to Seattle anytime soon, so how could they make a relationship work? She deserved better than that—better than him. She was a good and decent person. He checked his cell, which had retained some charge, and found Chip’s number. There was something he could do to help, but whether she’d go along with it or not, he couldn’t yet say.
* * *
Lucy went into Caleb’s bedroom and stopped dead as images of the night she’d spent in his arms rushed through her. The bed looked like they’d been in a fight, which made her blush. He’d been an amazing lover, even better than her imaginings, and she’d never forget him.
She drew the drapes and pulled up the blinds to let in what little sunlight there was, changed the linens on the bed, and refreshed the bathroom. If Caleb took her advice and called Chip, she’d almost be glad to see him go because she’d had her one perfect night and that should be enough.
“Hey.”
She turned to find him observing her from the doorway. He’d been like that as a child, always quietly watching, letting others take the lead even if the initial suggestion had been his. But Stanford had changed him into a more forthright version of himself, who took control and didn’t suffer fools gladly. “I called Chip.”
“Oh, good!” Her stomach plummeted even as she offered him a bright smile. “Can he get here and pick you up?”
“Yeah.”
