Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

O ut of the corner of her eye she caught him shaking his head, his eyes narrowing.

Uh-oh. If she knew one thing about Aspen it was the expression that took over his face and scrunched up the corners of his eyes as he mulled over an idea.

No way had he accepted defeat so gallantly. She would be wise to keep her eyes and ears peeled for whatever he came up with to get what he wanted.

It would take several Christmas wishes and a few shooting stars to get her to sit opposite him and a candlelight dinner. She knew her limits. Good wine, soothing atmosphere and those dreamy eyes would have her hooked and she couldn’t afford that now, probably ever where Aspen Kennedy was involved.

She’d be in his bed and the walk of shame the next morning didn’t fit into her perfectly planned schedule.

He made her forget all good sense and that was how she got into this mess to begin with. In fact, the lady at the end of this driveway would probably agree with her if it ever came up.

A young lady should always put herself first, then the boys. Her wise anecdotes, once a pain to hear in school, came back to her now. She should have written those down instead of all her school notes.

Through tiny breaks in the trees, splashes of yellow and red broke through the naked branches, but she couldn’t quite get the full view. Ivy squinted then shot up as Aspen pulled the truck around one last bend.

“You said she lived in a yellow bus.” Ivy leaned forward and wiped at the frosty windshield with the back of her glove.

Aspen, evidently the resident expert on everything that made a man easy on the eyes, smiled, a spark of pride in his eyes. “Ah... yes. I might have left out a few details.”

She had the image of green benches, cracked old paint and clunky kerosene heaters.

Not the palace on wheels she saw now.

Ivy tsked . That was just like him. Kennedy men were as stubborn as mules. No different from the Winters, come to think of it. It was why their families got along so well.

Ivy scooted to the end of her seat.

“Well, what do you know?” Her jaw fell slack as Aspen rolled to a smooth stop. Yep. That was a yellow bus, all right, but not like anything she’d ever seen.

Aspen laughed and threw the truck in park. “See. Told you. Come on. Ms. Lucille’s going to love seeing you again. It’s all her and Mrs. Winters have talked about in town for days now.”

“Oh.”

He nodded.

Their eighth grade English and math teacher was the sole reason Ivy felt bold enough to follow her dream and become an interior decorator. The dream morphed over the years and she now applied her knowledge as a real estate redeveloper and refurbisher, but she still did what she loved and that was making old things new again.

After graduating, her dreams grew. Became brighter. Flashier. Too flashy for a small town like Dixen and the weight of marriage.

She had every aspect of her life all mapped. Only thing that didn’t fit was marriage.

College degree by twenty-two, check.

Her own successful business by twenty-five. Semi-check, given her recent setbacks.

Own her home the same year. Check. Well, sort of. Did a charred and burned to the ground house still count?

Engaged and married by the time she turned twenty-seven. Again. Sort of. Her life had taken three major steps back with no distinctive answer about how to recover.

Her sisters thought something had gone wrong in the brain compartment with how she liked everything detailed down to what she would eat three days from now, but it took the guesswork out of the mundane. She liked the control writing everything down gave her. As though the written word held a kind of magic. For her anyway.

With six months on the clock until she hit the big two-seven, the magic plan she had didn’t seem all that magical anymore.

I’ve got everything right where I want it.

Ms. Lucille. She smiled, rolling the name around in her head after such a long time. Ms. Lucille also had a way of adopting everyone’s troubles as her own and had no problem meddling if it meant a happy result. So she remembered.

“It’s not like any school bus I’ve ever seen.” Ivy didn’t budge from the edge of the seat, still in awe.

“See the front of the bus where the door is?” She followed where Aspen pointed before looking back to him. His eyes lit with clear excitement and pride as he spoke, and she remembered how he loved to build things growing up. Treehouses, birdhouses, motors... you name it and he could build it.

“It still has the original chrome bumper and the original hinge door.” He pointed. “And all the headlights, rear lights. If you pop the hood, the motor purrs like a kitten. I tinker with it from time to time but Ms. Lucille doesn’t really like it moved.”

She doubted that the beast’s motor sounded anything like a kitten, but it was wonderful to see a smile replace the sadness that was there when they were talking about his brother.

“I can see why.” It seemed Gran and Lucille conspired to buy out all the red-leafed plants they could find across town. There had to be over fifty poinsettias between the wooden stairs lined with railing pots, the window planters and the raised beads that hugged the entire perimeter of the bus.

Just like the B&B.

“It looks like this bus smacked into the posh side of a home makeover store and came out looking like a Cadillac. I had no idea anyone could get a simple school bus to look so cool. We used to hate riding on these things, remember?”

“Yeah. It took years before we made back of bus status.”

She smiled as he turned his beautiful eyes on her. “And led to our first kiss,” she offered fondly.

Aspen raised a brow at her and brushed the pad of a callused thumb across her cheek. “How could I forget?” He sat there, taking up nearly half the small cabin, exuding a raw power about him that lured her into his circle of energy.

She repositioned herself back in the seat, drawn into his deep brown gaze, but unwilling to fall into the pull. “How did it happen?” She heard the question come out, but she couldn’t focus on anything other than how perfect his lips were or how sexy his hair looked mussed from running his fingers through it.

“The kiss? As far as I remember, it was hot.” He arched a single eyebrow and smiled until a dimple appeared above his turned lip. “Like sexy hot. I had the prettiest cheerleader in the school and the sweetest girl running up to kiss me in the middle of football practice. I was the envy of every guy on the team that year and the next. So I repeat, how could I ever forget the first time our lips touched?”

He drew closer the longer he spoke and she had a hard time not focusing on the way his mouth moved or how much she’d missed the rich smell of pine. It had to be from all the firewood he carried around this morning, right? Wow, when did it get so hot? She cleared her throat. What he may not know was why it happened. She lost a bet with her sister riding to school on one of those ugly buses and the payment was stealing a kiss from the boy you wanted to go to prom with. She got more than she bargained for in the end.

Aspen.

She smiled.

Life was a lot less complicated in her teenage years. “Um. Not what I meant at all.” She laughed lightly. “I meant the bus. Did you design it and do all the work?”

A hooded look shuttered his eyes and a muscle in his jaw ticked like he was considering something. “Yeah. I know. I wanted to see your eyes light up.” His grin grew into a deep smile as he reached out and ran the back of his finger down the length of her cheek.

She needed to remember real-life problems awaited her the second she left Aspen’s company. She had no time for one-time lovers. But he was more than a lover and that fact was hard to ignore.

There went her heart again. Fluttering so hard it felt like it would leave her chest any second.

He killed the engine. “Kade, myself and a couple of the men at the firehouse all chipped in as a thank-you for putting up with our thick-headed ways back in high school. When Ms. Lucille retired, the only thing she wanted as a parting gift for over thirty years on the job was a decommissioned school bus. A few of us decided to help make her dream a reality. Full peace and quiet is all she wanted.

“Very clever. She always did think outside the box.”

“Wait until you see inside. It has everything from a fireplace and A/C to a full bathroom and living room.”

“No way.” The interior decorator in her itched to take down notes and map out every detail. “You think I could snag some pics?”

Ivy pulled the handle on the old-timey Ford and the door creaked open. She slipped from the warmth of the truck when a golden bounding ball of fur nearly took her to the ground.

A scrabbling of paws and joyous barking made her smile and her heart lighten. She scooped up the furry face in her palms and scratched around the squeaky ball he refused to drop.

“Aren’t you a happy puppy. My goodness.” She threw her hands out and laughed at the exuberant licks and a tail that whipped so fast nothing stood a chance against its might.

Damp with globs of snow, her newfound friend pressed cold paws into the material of her jeans and soaked through immediately. His weight almost as much as her own, Ivy didn’t stand a chance at pushing the energetic dog off her before he squished her into the space between the seat and door. And it was all she could do not to land flat on her butt in the mounting snow.

Sloppy wet kisses came like rapid slaps with wet noodles every place their furry greeter could reach and he was a pushy one so that meant everywhere.

Laughing, Aspen took his sweet time walking around the front of his truck. “Think you can help?” She dodged the unruly doggy tongue. “You know, by pulling Old Yeller here off me?”

“Come here, boy.” Aspen, clearly amused by the puppy love, opened the door the rest of the way and eased the golden retriever back so she could stand.

“Charlie McDuffy gets a little excited when new company comes by. Sorry about that. I completely meant to warn you,” he said with a wink.

She didn’t buy Aspen’s playful grin of innocence for an instant. “Sure you are. What a peculiar name for a dog. You threw me out there as a distraction.”

She mentally ran the dog’s name through her mind. McDuffy? Hmm. The name rang a bell. “I was almost a Bonafede sacrifice while you got away from the wet doggy love,” she said, turning her face up to Aspen’s.

Aspen’s gaze softened as he gave his signature smile that made her heart quicken. “A cute one too,” he added, offering her a hand up from the doorjamb where Charlie held her captive to his wet kisses.

She gathered the dog’s happy face in her gloved hands and scratched, loving the devoted look in its eyes. How sweet that animals loved so easily.

“They don’t get many visitors outside of myself and Rocco from time to time so she gets a little carried away in showing his appreciation.”

“Who’s Rocco?” She dusted off a few clumps of snow. Just then, the overgrown pup took off for the woods, the squeaky sound of his ball between his teeth like a radar tracker in the distance. He disappeared from sight, barking and creating a ruckus in the newly fallen snow.

“Aspen? Is that you?”

They both turned toward the front of the bus as a woman rounded it with her arms laden with a fresh pile of firewood. A ‘busted’ look flashed across her face before a big grin took over.

Ivy stepped away from the truck and tried to straighten her clothes. She probably had muddy doggy paws from toes to chin but that didn’t matter, she had to remind herself. The stuffy suits and high heels of Seattle required a polished look, but out here, everyone accepted you no matter how you came.

“Charlie never lets me sneak up on you, Ms. Lucille.”

“That’s it!” Ivy rounded on Aspen. “Charlie as in old man Charlie McDuffy?” Her hands flew to her mouth and she laughed until tears wet her face. “The dog is named after our old school principal?”

Ms. Lucille fed the fire with more wood and left a few pieces to the side for later.

“He sure is!” answered Ms. Lucille with a laugh in her tone and the same steely-eyed look to her gaze as though daring anyone to try to change her mind. “But my boy behaves better than that old coot ever will. Besides, he’s got little ones looking up to him now.” Ms. Lucille stroked a hand down the dog’s back with a loving touch. “He’s a daddy, now. Now get over here, Ivy, and let me get a better look at you.”

Ms. Lucille reached for her and like a glove, she slipped into the soft embrace of an old, familiar hug.

Her once red hair, now faded by age to a cool gray, was pinned high in her signature bun with the flare of a side wave and her blue eyes still as bright and sharp as the day she caught her and Aspen exchanging notes during English class.

“You haven’t changed a bit, Ms. Lucille.”

“If only time would agree. Now what are you doing all the way out here on a day like this? You two should be snuggled up by a fire somewhere or getting ready for something fun. Especially with the snow coming down the way it is today.”

“We came because you’ve done a mighty job of building a smokestack tall enough for the firehouse to see from town.”

“Isn’t it a beauty? The flames chase away the bite of the cold and the animals love it too. And you know an old lady gets cold out here from time to time.” Ms. Lucille reached over and patted Ivy on the hand.

Ivy had to admit the heat from the flames did feel nice on her cheeks and she liked the hiss and crackle of the wood.

The ding of a tiny bell sounded and drew her attention to Ms. Lucille’s front pocket.

“Excuse me a second, please.”

“Absolutely.”

Ms. Lucille held up a hand before whipping off her glove to type something out on her cell. She didn’t do a search and peck either. Her thumb skipped over the digital keyboard as if she’d been born to it.

Gran did good work.

“I’m glad you came. Let me show you around the joint,” she added as she responded to her text.

Aspen waved them on. “I’ll meet you ladies inside. I need to check on the fire.”

Ivy threaded her arm in Ms. Lucille’s, who typed something else out before she continued. “Aspen tells me you’ve done a thing or two to this old bus.”

“Oh, never. I’m too smart for that. I had him and two hunks from the station come out and help,” she reassured Ivy, smiling as she slipped her phone back into her jacket pocket. “This old brain still has a few tricks.”

Life goals.

Ivy hoped she was as spry and quick-witted when she got to Lucille’s age. “They had no idea what hit them, did they?” Ivy said, laughing.

In the center of the bus was a medium-sized wooden door. Wooden slabs that looked stylishly worn and stained a deep brown led to a wide porch that stretched the length of the bus. A slanted roof protected the various wicker seats with multiple seasonally-colored cushions.

As soon as she stepped through the door, an immediately cozy feeling took over. Not tight or cramped but just right.

For the next ten minutes Ivy listened to all the details and work that went into remodeling the space to expand the old yellow school bus into a small yet comfortable home.

“The bedroom is toward the rear but what I love most is my living room.”

Ivy could see why. It offered a beautiful view of the flowers through large windows that replaced the traditional smaller windows of the bus. Glass took up three-fourths of the wall and beyond the porch, a winter wonderland treated the eyes.

And a gorgeous, hot muscular fireman as the icing for the senses.

“It’s beyond beautiful, Ms. Lucille. They really outdid themselves. You have a slice of paradise here.” And she meant it. Winter and snow to her were like beach and sand to ocean lovers.

Tiny yelps pulled her gaze to an almost hidden compartment toward the rear of the bus where the bedroom was located.

“I wondered how long it would take for them to get curious.”

“Oh my God!” Ivy knelt on both knees and scooped up the first puppy that bounded out of the room, a sibling hot on its paws and another trailing right after. Their momma came in behind yet another puppy. Six in all created a full-on attack and she fell to her butt laughing.

“They all look like their daddy!” Yellow, fluffy and plump. She scooped up and snuggled the first puppy before plucking up the next.

“They’re just old enough for a few kids at Christmas.” Ms. Lucille eased onto the loveseat and smiled as she played with one of the rowdier pups.

“Lucky kiddos. Who doesn’t want a puppy for Christmas?” She placed puppy number two beside the mellower puppy number three, who preferred belly rubs to being picked up.

Four, five and six were too curious to sit by and let their siblings have all the fun.

Puppy number four waddled over and plopped down beside her and pressed her wet nose against the back of her hand. “I guess they just finished eating?”

“Hmm mm,” Lucille confirmed. “They just started on puppy food. And in answer to your earlier question, apparently Aspen. I’ve been trying to convince him to take one of these little fellows home with him since his dog died not too long ago. He keeps putting me off.”

Ivy looked out the window at the subject of their conversation where he stood by the bonfire, saddened by the news.

She turned her attention back to the puppy in her arms. “Fur-babies are family too. I can understand how he might be unable to commit to a new member of the family just yet.”

Ms. Lucille nodded. “I know, but he’s lonely and I worry about that boy.”

Ivy rose and took a seat on the loveseat, which was more comfortable than she expected with overstuffed cushions. The puppies opted to explore with their mom’s watchful eye.

Aspen lonely? With such a big, loving family. “I’ll talk to him, Ms. Lucille,” Ivy offered as she caught glimpses of Aspen downgrading the fire to a manageable flame that wouldn’t spread past the large stone enclosure positioned several paces in front of the porch.

“Maybe you’ll do a better job. Oh, I forgot to show you.” Ms. Lucille changed the subject and led them to the front of the bus. “The driver’s seat is still in place, sort of. Aspen replaced it with a plush chair I like to call the queen throne, but that’s between you and me.” She winked. “That’s where I like to do all my reading and ponder things out. You know. This summer I’d like to add a few more flowerpots across the hood and see if I can’t get Aspen to modify the windshield into a swinging window. Here, try the chair out. Aspen put it on a swivel and added in a footstool area too. And here,” Ms. Lucille pointed to the middle of the bus where an old-timey woodstove sat with a plush, thick rug hugging the small brick stage the stove sat atop. The pups seemed to love its softness too. They all dozed by the fire now, fed and tired.

Directly opposite there was the loveseat she now considered more comfortable than her own full-sized couch.

“Your Gran and I pass the summer evenings here knitting sweaters to hand out when the weather changes.”

She tried to pay attention, but Ivy’s heart gave a squeeze when she caught Aspen out the window that lined the entire side of the bus. He bent to retrieve Charlie’s toy and give it a toss. There was something magical about a man in the outdoors that made her insides quiver and her heart do a double tap.

It had no business doing any double—or single—tapping where a man was involved. But did it listen to her?

Aspen walked around in the snow with nothing heavier than a thick flannel shirt and some gloves that looked well-worn and loved. Snowflakes flitted to land on his shoulders and her mind immediately tripped back to the football field when he scored the winning touchdown for their home team. And what came after. He’d taken them on a scenic drive up the mountain to a log cabin. There he’d taken her virginity and she thought that was it. Life would be at his side.

A winter storm had hit the town early that year and snow fell all through the game and ended up snowing them in for nearly a week at the cabin. Good thing he’d come prepared with enough food and water for them to wait out the storm.

A wave of nostalgia crept up and nearly strangled her with its intensity. It was a miracle she didn’t end up pregnant. They’d been so young and inexperienced.

Ms. Lucille stepped into her line of sight and gave her what looked like an approving look.

“He’s single, you know, and your gran told me you are too. Sounds perfect if you ask me. The timing too.”

So that was what they were up to. She didn’t know how she didn’t see it before. This was Christmas and not Valentine’s Day, so Cupid could shove off. She didn’t need her planner to write down the conversation she would have with her little meddlesome gran when she got back to the B&B.

She schooled her expression into a neutral calm and tried to act casual but when another ping sounded from Ms. Lucille’s pocket, her eye twitched. She looked over as Ms. Lucille typed out her reply. She only caught a glimpse of Gran’s smiling profile picture before Ms. Lucille tucked her cell out of sight again.

They were probably sharing this whole conversation blow by blow. No wonder Gran wanted her out the door so fast. She wanted her and Aspen to spend as much time together as possible. Well, the joke was on her! While Lucille was occupied typing out her reply to Gran, Ivy pulled out her phone and typed out a quick status update:

New City York bound! Wish me luck!

That ought to set them on edge. Ivy followed up her message with a heart and smiley face emoji. Now that it was on Facebook it had to be true. That ought to get them to back off.

Ivy tucked her phone away and turned to stare helplessly at Aspen for a brief second before turning back to Ms. Lucille. She pressed a finger between her brows to ward off the headache forming there and couldn’t help but wonder what she could have done that was so horrible in a past life that earned her these two very meddlesome troublemakers.