“Well hey there.” I crouch down to scratch behind the dog’s ears. It happily sits down and closes its eyes as I continue to stroke behind his ears.
“Thor!” A voice I can really only describe as melodic comes from behind me. The dog perks his ears up and begins to walk toward the voice. I stand up and turn around just in time to see Kennedy wrap her arms around another woman.
“Elodie!” Kennedy’s voice has become that high pitch squeal that happens when a woman sees another woman. They quickly embrace, and then Kennedy lets go and then it happens. I feel as if I’ve been tackled from behind in a dirty hit.
She stands quite a few inches shorter than my six foot three frame. Her hair is up in a high ponytail and the color can really only be described as matching the leaves on the trees. It’s a rioted mess of orange, red and blonde that dances like a flame. She’s just the right amount of curve to be considered all woman. Her worn jeans hug her like a second skin and her oversized sweater still highlights all of her shapely assets. She is nothing like the stick-thin models I’m used to seeing. Her face is completely makeup-free and I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.
“This idiot here who has clearly lost a few brain cells is Ryan.” Kennedy’s voice breaks through my haze. A slim, pale hand has reached out to me.
“Hi, I’m Elodie. Welcome to Maine. Don’t mind Thor. He’s a big softie.” Her voice has rendered me dumbstruck and I’m seriously uncomfortable with this feeling. “I’m dog sitting for my brother, and he clearly hasn’t taught him his manners.”
“Yah, thanks,” is all I can muster to say. Kennedy is looking at me like I’m the rudest bloke ever, and I could give two shits.
“Well, I’ll show you up to your room. It’s the tail end of leaf-peeping season, so luckily the inn is empty right now. We don’t have guests booked for a few more weeks, so you’ll have complete privacy while you are here.”
I’m only able to nod as I follow her and Kennedy into the house. We step through the front door and into a small entryway. In front of us is a huge wooden staircase that curves to the right. Hanging from the vaulted ceiling is a huge iron chandelier. Next to me, Kennedy and Elodie are chatting away. Elodie begins her ascent up the stairs as we trail behind.
“Ryan, I’ve put you in the blue room. It has a gorgeous view of the ocean and the most space. I figured you might as well be comfortable while you are here. Kenn, I’ve put you in the green room for however long you’ll be here.”
“Thanks, Elodie.” Kennedy squeezes Elodie’s shoulder as we continue up the stairs. “I have to head back to England tomorrow to get some work done.” She pointedly turns around and glares at me. “But I’ll be back as soon as I can. You know I never turn down a chance to be here.” That’s a thinly veiled warning. Basically, Kennedy could come back at any time and I need to keep my shit tight.
We stop at the end of a long hallway and Elodie hands me a key. Our hands brush lightly, and the amount of sparks that go off has me off-kilter. Her eyes get large and I know she has felt the same undercurrent.
“Uh, this is your key. We are kind of old school here and don’t use keycards. So you’ll have to keep track of this.” Elodie is rambling, and I puff up slightly that she’s as thrown as I am.
“Sure, thanks.” I up the ante and wink at her. Kennedy lets out a low growl next to me as I slide the key into the lock.
“Well, settle in and I’m going to show Kennedy to her room. Dinner is at six. Downstairs.” Elodie’s words come out a bit staccato. My wink threw her off a bit. Maybe I’ll enjoy staying in Maine.
Kennedy shoots me a glare that says she’s on to me and that I’m still in hot water.
I whistle to myself and don’t give a fuck.
If I’m stuck in Eastbumblefuck Maine, might as well enjoy myself.
Chapter Three
Elodie
“It’s a red blend. My favorite.” I place the full to the brim glass of wine on the table next to Kennedy. She’s curled up in a big Adirondack chair on my back porch. The large flannel blanket she has wrapped around her is lined with fleece, and only her head is peeking out. Her hand quickly shoots out to grab the glass and she brings it to her lips.
“This is amazing.” Her sigh speaks volumes.
“Long week?” I ask, even though I know the answer. Kennedy and I went to college together back before I had to come home to take care of the B&B. We spent three years together drinking and dancing before the responsibility crept in and stole me back to Maine.
“Long months. He’s such a damn man child.” We don’t have to classify who she is talking about. Ryan—while not her only client—is her most needy client by a lot.
“Well, you got him here. How much trouble can he get into?”
“You have no idea, Elodie. He can find trouble in a fish tank.” I can see the exhaustion in Kennedy’s face. The bags under her eyes match the dark circles. Her usually well-done hair is up in a messy bun and not an ounce of makeup adorns her face. “But I’m tired of talking about him. Please, catch me up. I’ve missed you.”
Even though Kennedy and I talked almost every day through all of the various channels, it’s been almost a year since we’ve been face to face. A year that I’d rather not relive or talk about.
“Well, I’m here. Mom and Dad are still traveling and enjoying their retirement. The B&B has been steady. Callen is still overseas and you’ll see Deacon if you are around in the morning. Still can’t cook for himself and needs me to make his coffee.”
My parents had their three kids in quick succession. Only fifteen months separate Callen and Deacon and then another eighteen separate me and Deacon. Callen joined the Navy when he was eighteen and we’ve only seen him sporadically since. He’s not excellent with communication and that causes so much worry for my parents. Deacon lives in town and I wish he was worse at communicating. Maybe then I wouldn’t see him every day.
“We’ve talked about all of this. What I really want to know is how are YOU?”
I know exactly what she wants to know. All about the big huge pink elephant in the room.
“Divorced. It was finalized about six months ago.” I’m thirty-five and a divorcee. It’s something I’ve been struggling to wrap my head around.
“Fuck him,” Kennedy practically growls. She was never Kevin’s biggest fan. Whenever the two of them were in a room together, it was like oil and water. He found her to be too much and she thought he was an uptight dickwad. Clearly, she wasn’t wrong.
“He’s engaged,” I whisper. I only know that tidbit because his mother had informed me when I saw her at the cafe the other day. It took everything I had in me not to turn around and slap her upside the head.
“To himself? Because he always did think he was the best thing on Earth.” I spit out a bit of my wine in laughter.
“No. The daughter of one of his partners in the law firm.” Kevin and I had been high school sweethearts. We broke up for college but then when my mom was diagnosed with cancer, I came home to help her. We rekindled our relationship and got married. He was never happy here at the B&B and we spent the last three years of our marriage long distance while he was a lawyer in Boston. Clearly, he was also doing many other things, and people.