Page 17 of Bryce

“The fame,being recognized and bombarded by strangers all the time.”

They had reached thedoors of the kitchen, and he stopped, forcing her to do the same.

“I guess I gotmy practice of it when I was a child.” His lips twistedslightly. “It has only gotten more intense. And yes, it doessometime bother me.” Pushing the door open, he stepped back andallowed her to precede him.

He did not get thechance to have that conversation, because just as they steppedinside, a phone call was waiting for her. After standing there for afew minutes, with Jessica eyeing him curiously, he decided he wouldhave to find another time to catch her but was determined to havethat talk and clear the air.

He sensed a change inher. She was no longer ignoring him but treating him with friendlycourtesy. A frown touched his brow as he wondered if that was at allbetter.

*****

She realized that theapproach she had settled on had eased the pressure around her heart.As soon as she started to treat him with friendly courtesy, it waseasier for her to deal with him.

He caught her at atime when she had just finished prepping for the evening meal. Thecouple had gone exploring and Jessica had run into town to deal witha family emergency.

That left just thetwo of them and she had no more excuses to hand out. He was seated inthe dining area, scanning a magazine when she walked out with a jugof lemonade and a plate of crispy golden biscuits she had baked justthis morning.

“Thought youcould use something to tide you over until supper.”

He caught her wristbefore she could think of disappearing.

“Sit with me.Please.”

“All right.”Pulling out a chair across from him, she busied herself by pouringlemonade into two glasses and handing him one.

“Tell me aboutthe inn.”

She gave him asurprised look and he realized that the question had thrown her offbalance.

“I inherited itfrom my maiden aunt on my dad’s side.” She looked aroundthe group of tables and outside where the storm clouds were darkeningthe sky. Very soon it would be raining, heavy sheets of it andcausing the temperature to drop. She took a sip of her lemonade asshe watched the clouds rolling in from the east.

“How long ago?”

Turning her head, shemet his interested gaze and knew he was not just making conversation.It brought back to her memories, the conversations, heartfelt onesthey had in the past.

“Two years.”She laughed suddenly and treated him to the twin dimples that hadalways fascinated him. he had forgotten about them and about thechanges on her lovely face whenever she laughed.

“It was awreck. I questioned my sanity when I got here. I received word aboutthe inheritance, and it took me three weeks to quit my job as anadministrative assistant, settle my lease and pack my bags.”She looked around and shook her head.

“I have alwayslived in a big city and coming here was quite an adjustment. Besidesthat, the place was in disrepair. My aunt had left some money aswell, but not enough to bring it to where I wanted it to be. I dippedinto my savings and hoped and prayed that I was not making thebiggest mistake of my life.”

“And you madeit work.” He was watching her as she talked about her dream andfelt a jolt at the animation he saw there.

“After weeksand months of sleepless nights. I did most of the work myself. I knewhow I wanted the place to look and what I wanted to do with eachsuite, and I took my time. I did my suite first because I had to havesomewhere to live. And then as they say, the rest is history.”

“I am surethere’s more to it.”

“Lots.”She admitted with a laugh, white teeth gleaming against the curve oflips coated with some sort of dull colored lipstick. Her eyes weresparkling, her face animated. “I existed on ramen and tuna forseveral weeks.

When I finished asuite, I just stood there in the middle of it and bawled. It was nota pretty sight.” She stared at him with dancing eyes.

“That was quitean accomplishment.” Tearing his eyes from her face, he lookedaround the room and then outside where the wind was whipping at thetrees and causing the flowers to bow their petals. “It’sa place of beauty.”

“It is.”She sipped at her juice. “Bryce…,” she stutteredto a stop when he whipped his head around to stare at her. Laser blueeye seemed to see into her soul and caused her some discomfort.

“Uhm…”

He held up a hand.“It’s my time.” A smile ghosted his lips. “Youmust hate me.”

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