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“Are you okay? I had to throw out all my dairy as the refrigerator shorted out, but other than replacing that I’m good to reopen.”
“The generator’s failed.” Lucy hugged her cousin. “I’m waiting on the repair guy, but as you might imagine he’s quite busy right now. I’m going with Caleb to his dad’s place for the night. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Caleb Erickson?” Bernie asked.
“Yup.”
“Your all-time favorite crush?”
Lucy looked around to see how close Caleb was to them. “Ssh. He doesn’t need to know that.”
“Lucy, everyone in town knows how hard you crushed on him.”
“Except Caleb.”
Bernie paused. “True. He wasn’t one of those guys who thought they were God’s gift to womankind. He was pretty clueless.”
“And let’s make sure he remains that way,” Lucy said firmly. “Which he will—if you don’t blurt it out right in front of him, okay?”
Bernie grinned at her. “You still like him, don’t you?”
Lucy didn’t say anything and pretended to be checking the time.
“You do.” Bernie nudged her arm. “Then why don’t you do something about it?”
Lucy wasn’t going to mention she already had, because Bernie’s head would probably explode.
“I’m only going with him because there’s no heating at the B&B.”
“Like you couldn’t come home with me.” Bernie gave her a gentle push. “Lover boy’s looking for you. Have a good time and don’t forget to ask for what you really want for Christmas.”
Caleb was holding the door of the truck open for her. “You look flushed.”
“I’m fine, thanks.” She gestured at the box of food. “I’ll keep an eye on this lot on the way, but tell Chip not to drive too fast.”
“He drives like a tortoise,” Caleb said gloomily. “We’ll probably get there around midnight.”
“Now, now.” Chip got in. “No need to rush. Better to get there in one piece, I say.”
“And I agree,” Lucy chimed in. “Caleb thinks he’s still in Seattle.”
“I wish,” Caleb muttered as he shut the passenger door and put on his seat belt.
Lucy’s smile disappeared as Chip backed carefully out of the driveway. Caleb was back into doom-and-gloom mode. She had a horrible suspicion that things would get worse the closer they got to the ranch and his father. Her optimism of helping to bring them together died in the clear light of day. She’d never succeeded in getting her own parents to understand her choice to return to Quincy, so how she’d thought she could help the Ericksons was a mystery.
“Hey.” She looked up to see Caleb had turned in his seat to study her. “It’ll be okay. The B&B will still be standing when you get back.”
“Thanks, that wasn’t what I was worrying about but now I’ll add it to my list.”
His smile was unexpected and warmed her soul. “You’ve got this, Lucy Smith.”
She smiled back at him. “I absolutely do not, but I appreciate the vote of confidence.”
He nodded and turned back to stare out of the window as Chip settled into a steady pace Lucy estimated at five miles an hour. She didn’t care how long the trip took as long as they arrived safely. She got to stare at the back of Caleb’s head and indulge in her foolish fantasies. She was fairly certain that when they got to the ranch, reality was going to come crashing back, and she’d better be prepared to deal with whatever awaited her, for Caleb’s sake.
Chapter Four
After Chip opened the main gate up to the ranch, which he proudly announced was now solar powered, Caleb leaned closer to the window to take in every inch of the property his family had owned for generations. He couldn’t see much thanks to the snow, but everything looked to be in good shape. It didn’t surprise him. His father was a hard taskmaster and expected nothing less than perfection from his family and his employees.
