sure he was in love with had a future together.
The next morning Jake was up early, disentangling himself from Darcy’s arms and leaving her bedroom as quietly as he could. He dressed in layers and downed a cup of coffee before driving up the road to the motel to meet Kevin. Since the motel had a small café that served breakfast, they ate there before donning their snowmobile gear.
Kevin was pretty quiet, Jake thought as he pulled on the bibs and coat that belonged to Kevin’s brother, Joe. He’d be riding Joe’s snowmobile, too, since Jake’s was still in Connecticut. Maybe the motel mattress had sucked and he’d had a rough night. Maybe the stress was getting to him. Or maybe he was just missing his wife and daughter.
They’d put on almost fifty miles before Kevin parked on the side of the trail and took his helmet off. Jake did the same, then rummaged through the tank bag for one of the candy bars he’d stashed there.
“I asked you not to get involved with whoever I sent up here,” Kevin said without introduction. “That was the only thing I asked of you.”
There was no sense in denying it. One, he wouldn’t lie about it and, two, if Kevin picked up on it, they weren’t doing a very good job of hiding it. “Remember the pretty, fun and wicked-smart woman I spent the night with before I came up here?”
“Yeah.”
“That was Darcy.”
“No.” Kevin threw up his hands. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me that?”
“We didn’t know. Her number got wet and I couldn’t read it to call her. I tried everything I could think of to get her number and couldn’t. Drove around and couldn’t find her place. And you always call me J.P., so...I don’t know. And we’d talked about you sending somebody up to help, but you weren’t sure who and you must never have told me her name because all of a sudden, there she was.”
“How serious is it? She’s supposed to come home soon.”
“And it sounds like she’s not only going to, but she’s looking forward to it, so don’t worry about it.” Jake heard the edge in his voice, but it was too late to temper it.
“You don’t want her to leave.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Then make her want to stay.”
Jake laughed, his breath hanging in the cold air. “That easy, huh?”
“No, it’s not easy. It took me a year to convince Beth I was the guy for her. A damn year. It’s not easy at all.”
“Maybe we can do the long-distance thing until the pub’s in the black enough to hire a manager.”
Kevin shook his head. “I hate to say it, but that might be a while.”
“I know. And I want to run it myself. And I want to wake up with Darcy every day. I want it all.”
“If it’s meant to be, you’ll find a way.” When Jake looked sideways at him, Kevin winced. “Yeah, that might have been stitched on my grandmother’s pillow.”
“Or in a fortune cookie.”
“Just don’t screw things up with her before the pub opens or I’ll have to kill you.”
“You’re a good friend, Kevin. Really.”
“You know it, J.P. Let’s rack up some miles.”
* * *
T HREE DAYS LATER , Darcy was curled up on the couch, going over the final menu proofs, when the phone rang. Because they didn’t have internet, she’d had to drive forty minutes to the “local” printer they’d chosen and back in the snow to get the PDF files, and she was tempted to let the answering machine pick up. She’d just started to relax.
But odds were it was Jake, Kevin or a contractor calling, so she threw back the lap blanket and went to answer it.
“Hey, Darcy.”
It was Jake, and as always, her heart did a little happy dance at the sound of his voice. She purposely kept her voice all-business, though. “What’s up?”
“I’m at the supply house and I need the number for the guys who installed the walk-in freezer. The business card is...somewhere in the apartment. Can you find it and call me right back? It’s urgent.”
“You’re sure it’s not in your
The next morning Jake was up early, disentangling himself from Darcy’s arms and leaving her bedroom as quietly as he could. He dressed in layers and downed a cup of coffee before driving up the road to the motel to meet Kevin. Since the motel had a small café that served breakfast, they ate there before donning their snowmobile gear.
Kevin was pretty quiet, Jake thought as he pulled on the bibs and coat that belonged to Kevin’s brother, Joe. He’d be riding Joe’s snowmobile, too, since Jake’s was still in Connecticut. Maybe the motel mattress had sucked and he’d had a rough night. Maybe the stress was getting to him. Or maybe he was just missing his wife and daughter.
They’d put on almost fifty miles before Kevin parked on the side of the trail and took his helmet off. Jake did the same, then rummaged through the tank bag for one of the candy bars he’d stashed there.
“I asked you not to get involved with whoever I sent up here,” Kevin said without introduction. “That was the only thing I asked of you.”
There was no sense in denying it. One, he wouldn’t lie about it and, two, if Kevin picked up on it, they weren’t doing a very good job of hiding it. “Remember the pretty, fun and wicked-smart woman I spent the night with before I came up here?”
“Yeah.”
“That was Darcy.”
“No.” Kevin threw up his hands. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me that?”
“We didn’t know. Her number got wet and I couldn’t read it to call her. I tried everything I could think of to get her number and couldn’t. Drove around and couldn’t find her place. And you always call me J.P., so...I don’t know. And we’d talked about you sending somebody up to help, but you weren’t sure who and you must never have told me her name because all of a sudden, there she was.”
“How serious is it? She’s supposed to come home soon.”
“And it sounds like she’s not only going to, but she’s looking forward to it, so don’t worry about it.” Jake heard the edge in his voice, but it was too late to temper it.
“You don’t want her to leave.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Then make her want to stay.”
Jake laughed, his breath hanging in the cold air. “That easy, huh?”
“No, it’s not easy. It took me a year to convince Beth I was the guy for her. A damn year. It’s not easy at all.”
“Maybe we can do the long-distance thing until the pub’s in the black enough to hire a manager.”
Kevin shook his head. “I hate to say it, but that might be a while.”
“I know. And I want to run it myself. And I want to wake up with Darcy every day. I want it all.”
“If it’s meant to be, you’ll find a way.” When Jake looked sideways at him, Kevin winced. “Yeah, that might have been stitched on my grandmother’s pillow.”
“Or in a fortune cookie.”
“Just don’t screw things up with her before the pub opens or I’ll have to kill you.”
“You’re a good friend, Kevin. Really.”
“You know it, J.P. Let’s rack up some miles.”
* * *
T HREE DAYS LATER , Darcy was curled up on the couch, going over the final menu proofs, when the phone rang. Because they didn’t have internet, she’d had to drive forty minutes to the “local” printer they’d chosen and back in the snow to get the PDF files, and she was tempted to let the answering machine pick up. She’d just started to relax.
But odds were it was Jake, Kevin or a contractor calling, so she threw back the lap blanket and went to answer it.
“Hey, Darcy.”
It was Jake, and as always, her heart did a little happy dance at the sound of his voice. She purposely kept her voice all-business, though. “What’s up?”
“I’m at the supply house and I need the number for the guys who installed the walk-in freezer. The business card is...somewhere in the apartment. Can you find it and call me right back? It’s urgent.”
“You’re sure it’s not in your
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