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“I knew there was a reason I kept you around.”
Bells lifted her piece of pizza over her head and slurped the excess cheese off. “Damn right.”
An evening with Bells, pizza, and beer was pretty close to perfect. She still didn’t have any better answers, but her head didn’t feel like it was going to explode anymore. By the time she returned to the Heron, she was a little more even.
She got out of her car and turned to look at the glowing light from the barn. Shane stood in the doorway, his shirt gone, his forearm over his head against the jamb. When she took a step forward, he backed away and closed the door.
She swallowed against the hurt and climbed the stairs.
* * *
“I don’t think we have nearly enough lights.”
“No comments from the peanut gallery.”
Kendall grinned at her mother as she wrapped another string of lights around the newel post and through the spindles. They’d finally finished with the cleaning that afternoon, and now it was all about decorating. Starting with the porch.
The phone rang, and her mother pulled the cordless from her apron. “The Heron, this is Lily. How may I help you?”
Her mother’s chatter faded into the background as she told whoever was on the phone about rates and the highlights of the bed-and-breakfast. Kendall wrestled with another string of lights, plugging it into the end she’d tucked under the railing, and moved her way down the porch.
She looked out over the front of the property. Snow had been a constant in the forecast for the last few nights, and the fresh powder sprinkled a bit of fairy dust on the terrain. The new fences that Shane had put up were stained a deep walnut and popped against the picturesque blues and cool whites that blanketed the lake. The huge oak was sturdy and majestic.
When had he trimmed the branches?
“You need how many nights?”
Kendall snapped back into the moment.
“Absolutely. We’ve got a few rooms available. Mmm-hmm.” Her mother made happy little noises as she laughed with the caller.
Relief unknotted the ball that had been sitting in her gut for so long she hadn’t even realized they were there. At this point, she’d welcome the fish smell in her kitchen. They needed income to keep the B and B running. They might own the house outright, but they still had to pay taxes and utilities.
Her mother chatted for a few more minutes and disappeared inside to bang out the details of the visit. Kendall made her way around the back of the house.
She could hear Shane using a saw. Soft plumes of steam billowed into the crisp air from the exhaust vent he’d set up. She squatted to line the lower rail and shake out her tired wrists. A twinge of soreness between her thighs reminded her of the furious lovemaking—no, not lovemaking. It had been sex. Pure, tension-breaking sex. No emotion, just the endgame of an orgasm for the both of them.
An empty orgasm for her, and yet she’d initiated things between them, not him. Of course he’d take her up on it. A willing woman and they knew each other’s bodies well. Had she really thought that was going to be the answer to getting him to talk?
“Kendall, you won’t believe it.”
She stood with only the slightest wince. “What, Mom?”
“That was an entire family. Their plans fell through with another B and B, and they saw our new Web site. I logged on to check to see what they were talking about. Why didn’t you tell me we had a new Web site?”
Kendall snapped her brows together. “Shane mentioned he’d added some new pictures, but I haven’t gotten around to checking.” Evidently Shane had been very busy. The quick flare of hope made her smile. If he’d updated the Web site, maybe he wasn’t truly hell-bent on selling. “Wait, go back to the entire-family part.”
“Oh, right.” Lily laughed and tucked her pencil behind her ear. “They need four rooms for the week of Christmas.”
“Four?”
Her mother nodded. “I know. I can’t believe it. Three couples and two teenage girls.”
Relief and determination straightened her shoulders. Then she’d make sure it was the best damn Christmas. Her gaze drifted to the barn; then she focused back to the task at hand.
At least this she could fix. “Well, then let’s make sure we wow them. Why don’t you go get the extra lights from the barn?”
Her mother took the pencil from behind her ear and made a note on the small notebook she kept in her pocket. “I think you should go get them. I need to make up a menu.”
