Chapter 3

Chapter Three

C hloe drove up to the Archers’ house and tried not to gape. She’d been raised in an upper-middle-class family and had spent plenty of time in beautiful, museum-perfect houses, but none of them came close to this. It was clearly a mansion, with a tall stone archway over the front door and a dozen paned windows sparkling across the wide expanse of the front of the house, but there was a homeyness to the design that made it very welcoming instead of imposing.

The driveway led to a turnaround with a water feature in the center. It was built like a natural waterfall and was surrounded by trees and evergreen shrubs. Derek’s directions indicated that she should drive past the waterfall and turn right through a porte cochere into a courtyard. Ahead of her was a huge garage with six bays and a tall, arched door at the far right end. She saw a black SUV parked in front of one of the bays and wondered if it was Derek’s.

As she pulled her car to a stop in front of the arched door, Derek jumped out of the SUV and came toward her. He rushed to open the door for her, but Chloe just stared at her new, albeit temporary, home. It wasn’t just a boring garage. No, the building that stored cars looked like its own separate house with stonework, windows across the front, and a high, arched roof.

She finally looked up at Derek—and he had a good six inches on her five-feet-eight. “You didn’t tell me this was a palatial estate. This is amazing.”

“The Archers don’t do anything by halves,” he said, grinning. “Come on, let me show you upstairs.”

Chloe grabbed her purse and the small bag filled with toiletries she’d bought yesterday and climbed out of the car. He closed the door behind her and led her to the arched doorway.

“Rob said you can park in this garage bay closest to your door. The remote is upstairs.” He opened the door for her to enter, and she preceded him into a narrow entryway. A small, square window on the right at about head level let natural light in.

Light from recessed cans in the ceiling flooded the staircase in front of them. “After you,” he said.

Chloe climbed the stairs, studying her new place. It was just a staircase, but they’d painted the walls a warm, comforting caramel color, and she already felt at home. At the top of the stairs was a small landing and another door. This one was open a sliver, so she pushed it wide. A rush of happiness washed over her as she beheld the space. A small kitchen done in granite and dark wood stretched across the left-hand wall, with a slender pantry at the end. A peninsula bar with two stools separated the kitchen from the living area. She moved into the room and immediately wanted to curl up on the overstuffed chocolate-colored couch or one of the cozy, butter-colored chairs. She realized she was thinking of every color as a food and decided she must be hungry. That was her own fault for leaving the Blackbird before partaking in breakfast. But she’d been too excited to hang around.

A small wood table with two chairs sat in front of the wide window that overlooked the courtyard below. To the left, next to the kitchen, was a bathroom. It was small but elegant, with a tiled shower and a tiled counter. Fluffy pecan—or khaki, not everything had to be food!—towels hung ready on the shower door. With a contented sigh, Chloe turned and walked back into the living room. On the opposite wall was a door to presumably the bedroom. Chloe went to check it out and almost squealed with delight at the wrought-iron king-sized bed covered in a scrumptious green and beige quilt and decorated with a good half-dozen pillows. A closet was carved into just half of the opposite wall, leaving an alcove in the corner, which housed a comfy chair. Chloe caught her breath. Cast artfully over the back was a sage green blanket, the same color as her favorite, which she’d lost in the fire. She smiled, amazed at how right everything seemed.

“Will it do?” Derek asked.

Chloe turned to see him lounging in the doorway of the bedroom, his arms crossed over his chest. She suddenly felt very hot just looking at him with a bed only a few steps away. “It’s perfect. What do they usually use it for?”

Derek shrugged. “Family who come to visit or whoever else needs it. Rob Archer has a lot of business interests, so he sometimes invites people to stay. As you can probably tell, they have plenty of rooms in the house.”

“Yes, I can see that.”

Derek turned from the doorway and strolled back into the living room. “Notice anything?”

Chloe looked around and then her gaze was arrested by the painting over the gas fireplace. “That’s my canvas!” She rushed over to it and smoothed her fingertips along the unframed edge of the landscape she’d painted a few months ago. “Where did you get this?”

“Your garage. And three more over there.” He gestured to a box in the corner with three smaller canvases. “They were a bit water-logged, but they seem to have dried out pretty well. Unfortunately one of them is a bit bowed, but maybe we can restretch it over a new frame.”

We? Chloe’s eyes burned with tears at his thoughtfulness. “Thank you,” she said softly, unable to give her words more volume.

She heard Derek moving behind her, but kept looking at her painting until she’d gotten her emotions back under control. When she turned around, Derek was in the kitchen opening a large box of pastries. Chloe joined him at the bar.

He handed her an insulated cup with the Beaker’s logo on the side. “Here’s your chai.”

She smiled gratefully. “Perfect, thanks.” She turned and took in the wall of windows opposite the fireplace. They offered a ton of natural light. She could see herself painting here—as soon as she replaced her art supplies. But she wouldn’t be here that long, probably. She had to find a new place in less than ten days.

She shoved the thought away, wanting to focus on how awesome this morning was and how wonderful it felt to be taken care of after the fire. With everyone’s kindness and generosity, she actually felt as though she was finally home. Then her stomach growled and she realized she needed to get some groceries to truly make it one.

Derek chuckled. “Hungry? Me too.” He moved behind the bar into the kitchen. “Lucky for you, Emily stocked the place.”

“She did?”

“I told you she was a great mother.” He glanced at the door. “I imagine she’ll be over in a bit. She’s anxious to deliver your cat, whose vision is already improving, by the way.”

“Really?” Chloe grinned. “That’s great!” Her stomach growled again.

Derek chuckled. “Let’s get you something to eat.” He inclined his head toward the large open box in front of him on the counter. A half dozen baked goods—Danish, croissants, and doughnuts—taunted her. “Pick a pastry, any pastry.”

After an agonizingly indecisive moment, she pointed at the cheese Danish drizzled with dark chocolate. “That one.”

“Good choice. Have a seat and I’ll bring it over.”

She picked up his chai in her other hand. “I’ve got your tea.”

As she set the cups on the table, she heard him moving about the kitchen, getting plates out of the cupboard.

“So tell me about your art. Why aren’t you doing that for a living?” he asked.

Chloe sat in one of the ladder-backed chairs. “I sort-of am. I’ll be teaching art at the Cascade Children’s Academy starting after the winter break.”

“Really?” He came around the bar carrying two plates, which he set on the table. “Waiting tables is just something extra you do?”

“Yes, a part-time teaching job makes things pretty tight.” She noted that he’d chosen the raspberry-filled croissant. “I almost picked that.”

He froze with the croissant halfway to his mouth. “You want me to save it for you?”

“No, please, you have it.” She took a gleeful bite of her Danish and was delighted to find it tasted even better than it looked. They ate in silence a moment before she said, “Where did you get these? They’re heavenly.”

“Eloise’s Bakery. It’s actually over in Dundee.” That was a ten-minute drive east of Ribbon Ridge. He’d gone out of his way to be impressive and amazing.

“I’m glad it’s not in Ribbon Ridge or I might gain ten pounds in my first month here.”

He rolled his fabulous blue eyes. “Tell me about it. Our town might be small, but it’s surrounded by great restaurants, fine wineries, and of course it has the best brewer in the state. If not for my trainer, I’d be three hundred pounds.”

She doubted that; he was clearly very athletically fit. He had to be in order to control one of those high-pressure fire hoses. Though over six feet, he was a lean 175 pounds, she’d guess. She wasn’t in terrible shape, but she was sure his abs were far more discernible than hers.

He set his croissant down and took a sip of tea. “So I have to ask, did you move all the way out here for a part-time job at a private school?”

“Yes,” she said slowly, putting her Danish on her plate. He’d brought napkins, and she used one to dab at her mouth. “And to answer your next question, sure, I could’ve gotten a similar job back in Pittsburgh, or at least closer to it, but I wanted a change of scenery. I wanted to live somewhere more . . . laid-back.”

He laughed. “Oregon’s definitely that. Did you spend any time in Portland? It’s a lot of fun. I’ll take you up sometime. I know some great bars.”

A pub guy would know that, of course. “You like working at the pub?” she asked, wanting to know more about him.

“I do. I did it all through college.”

It was silly, but Chloe had assumed that he hadn’t gone to college. Neither one of his professions required a degree, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t gotten one. Ugh, she hated that she’d jumped to that conclusion, as it was something her mother would do. And really, Derek could make a similar assumption about her. Maybe she was just some hippy-dippy artsy girl who painted and waited tables. She smiled internally and loved that whole scenario: artsy barmaid dating a hot pub server/firefighter. Yes, this was the life she’d been looking for.

Spontaneously, she leaned across the table and kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” she said, before moving away. “For breakfast, for finding me a place to live, for . . . everything.”

He turned his head and caught her lips in a kiss. Chloe nearly jerked back in surprise, but she’d started it. Heat spread from where their mouths were joined and she had to grab the edge of the table for support.

He tipped his head slightly, his lips moving over hers with soft precision. The man had skills. Then the abrupt sound of the White Stripes’s “Seven Nation Army” broke the moment and they both pulled away. He pulled his iPhone from his back pocket while she resituated herself in her chair and took a bite of Danish to occupy her mouth now that he’d abandoned it.

“This is Derek,” he said into the phone. “Oh, hi. Yeah, I’m aware of that. K. Oh. Well, crap. I didn’t realize. I’ll be there in a few.”

He tucked the phone back into his pocket and gave her a sheepish smile. “I have to go. I forgot I’d promised someone else I’d help them today.”

She wiped her mouth again and smiled at him. “See what happens when you try to do too much good?”

“Heh, right. I’ll endeavor to embrace my inner bad boy more often.”

Heat swirled in Chloe’s belly. She could think of exactly how she’d like to meet that bad boy. And the sultry way he was looking at her certainly didn’t help.

She stood. “Well, I appreciate the breakfast and everything else. You’re my knight.”

He stood up too, though she sensed reluctance in his posture and in the fact that he didn’t immediately go toward the door.

“Your knight?” he said, finally turning.

She joined him to walk him to the door. “In shining armor. Though I wouldn’t mind it if you brought the bad boy out to play some time.”

He pivoted at the doorway and faced her, his blue eyes vivid and alluring. “You got it.” He looked at her mouth. “Do you mind, that is?—”

“No.” She curled her arms up around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss. But this one wasn’t soft and sweet like the first. No, this time he unleashed his inner bad boy and slid his tongue along her lips until she let him inside. Then his arms were around her, crushing her into his chest and his mouth slanted over hers. This was a movie kiss, the kind that made you sigh and weep and feel hot all over.

After several wondrous moments, he pulled back and gave her a regret-filled smile. “I really have to go. Oh, I almost forgot. Any chance you want to be my date at the Archers’ Christmas party tomorrow night?”

A ginormous chance. But she had nothing to wear. Literally. Luckily, Mike had insisted on giving her the weekend off so that she could restock her wardrobe and look for a new place. Step one: find a killer party outfit. “I’d love to.”

His answering smile was broad and sent every part of her into a quivery mass. “Great. I’ll stop by to get you at six, okay?”

“Can’t wait.”

“Me neither.” He gave her a last, lingering stare before leaving and closing the door behind him.

Chloe touched the door as if she could still feel his imprint on the handle, then turned around and pressed her back to it. Then she heard voices in the stairwell and pivoted to reopen the door.

A petite woman with pale blond hair was just ascending the last few steps, a gray bundle of fur in her arms.

“Ashley!” Chloe held out her arms, absurdly happy to see the kitten she’d only barely met but felt incredibly possessive of.

The woman—she had to be Emily Archer—transferred Ashley into Chloe’s waiting embrace. “She’s doing very well. Takes her eye drops like a champ.”

Chloe stared at her little kitten who was now looking up at her, which she hadn’t done the other night. “Oh, thank you so much. It does look as though she can see better, doesn’t it?”

Emily nodded. “Definitely. She found the food dish quite easily this morning.” She paused. “I’m Emily, by the way.”

“Oh, yes, sorry.” Chloe nestled Ashley into the crook of her left arm and then held out her right to shake Emily’s hand. “I’m Chloe.”

“Oh, nonsense, young lady. We’re huggers.” She reached over and gave Chloe a quick squeeze. Then she pushed by her into the apartment. “I’ve put Ashley’s eyedrops in the cupboard next to the sink there. And there are cat food dishes and cat food in the cabinets.”

“I don’t know how to thank you—for the groceries, too. How much do I owe you? And for the vet.”

Emily waved her hand. “Nothing. I insist. If you can’t rely on the kindness of strangers to help you amidst a terrible tragedy, what good is this life?” She continued bustling around the apartment. “There’s a litter box in the bathroom. I wouldn’t let Ashley outside, especially until she’s better, though I wouldn’t let her be an outside kitty at all. There are too many coyotes around Ribbon Ridge.”

Coyotes? Yeah, she lived in the boondocks, all right. “I think Ashley has had a hard enough time outside. Something tells me she’ll be perfectly happy inside as a TV-watching, bon-bon eating kitty.”

Emily smiled. “Exactly! Now, did you see the closet in the bedroom?”

“Not yet.” Chloe followed Emily to the bedroom, where she opened the accordion doors to reveal a couple pairs of jeans, some shirts, a jacket, and a sweatshirt. She gaped at the lovely woman. “Did you do that too?”

“Guilty.” Though her warm smile said she felt anything but. “I interrogated Derek about your size.”

Chloe went and looked at one of the tags. He’d nailed it. Damn, he was good. She turned back to Emily. “I don’t suppose I can reimburse you for these either?”

Emily’s grin was infectious. “Absolutely not! You’re going to have to suffer our generosity, I’m afraid.”

“You’ve done so much. This apartment is incredible.”

Emily’s face darkened with regret. “I’m only sorry you can’t stay here longer, but it’s a good thing Derek’s house is available.”

An inexplicable bead of unease settled into Chloe’s spine. “Derek’s house?”

“He didn’t tell you?” Color flagged Emily’s cheeks, but Chloe couldn’t decipher what emotion had sparked the reaction. “Well, I’ll let him do that. Sorry.”

Chloe wanted to ask for more details, but didn’t think they would be forthcoming. Emily had clearly said something that she maybe wasn’t supposed to, and didn’t want to get Derek into trouble.

Problem was—and Chloe suspected Emily knew this and it was the reason for her blush—she probably already had.