Page 28 of The Cold Ride

The ride did me a world of good. There were some amazing scenic back country roads through Acadia National Park. And even though winter still had its hooks in the area, there were also signs of spring on the horizon. I was gone longer than I intended. I had to get my head on straight. I was all tangled up with my emotions after the conversation with Rory.

God, just knowing she never stopped thinking about me spun me for a loop.

When I walked through the front door, Rory glanced my way, and relief entered her eyes. She smiled like she was happy to see me. And then went back to work.

Woman worked like a stevedore from early morning until night. And I wanted to help her and Amelia out as much as possible, take some of the load off her shoulders. When I retired, I’d move here and do just that. Until then, I would be here whenever I was on leave. Maybe I could even have my parents come up here and stay at the inn.

Being near Rory again, knowing she still wanted me, god, I didn’t know what to think or feel.

I wanted her, though. Fuck, I never stopped wanting her.

But she’d given me a mountain of information to digest, and I still hadn’t worked my way through it all. Especially not with the bomb she’d dropped. Did she really want us to try again? Should we?

We were both single. And we had a kid together. What if we could make it work this time? I couldn’t believe I was even considering it. We had so many things standing in our way. Mostly my hangups.

With good reason.

I was glad she told me about their lives. That the people she’d worked for had treated them like family. It did my heart a world of good.

As for the rest, fuck if I knew what to do.

For now, I wasn’t going to do anything other than help tear out the rest of the basement floor.

We spent the rest of the day until Amelia arrived home from school finishing up the demo and carting everything out to the dumpster. And now the inn was ready for the next phase, the plumbing, the electrical, and the HVAC system.

Rory had professionals slated to handle those tasks, which I figured would be best. I could demolish, put up walls and flooring, and paint, but the more intricate stuff was out of my wheelhouse. The plumber would be here in the morning. From what I understood, the company had already fixed the pipes that burst. But the rest were old and needed to be replaced. However, the electrician and HVAC specialists wouldn’t be here until Friday.

I’d help as long as I could. I hadn’t told the guys I wasn’t going to finish the trip with them yet. It was another conversation I didn’t want to have but was staring me in the face.

Amelia bounded up to me after her snack. “Mom says since I have a test to study for, whatever we’re doing can only take an hour.”

“She’s right. School’s important. Why don’t you show me your soccer skills?”

“Really? You want to play soccer with me?” She was bouncing on the balls of her feet. The excitement rippled off her.

“Sure do.”

“We’ll come too.” Lucas sidled up to us with a stupid cheesy grin. “Maybe we can have a scrimmage match in the backyard.”

Amelia squealed. “Really? Okay. Let me grab my ball.” She raced off down the hall.

I shook my head. She was priceless in her exuberance. And I wanted to bask in it. I didn’t think I’d ever had anyone this excited to spend time with me. I mean, my parents and sister loved when I made it back home on leave. But this was different.

Amelia returned in a flash with a soccer ball clutched in her hands and a jacket on.

We headed into the backyard. It was huge. A good acre of real estate. There was a patio with outdoor tables and chairs that were currently covered. The manicured lawn needed care. The trees around the edges of the property needed to have the dead branches trimmed and the bases mulched.

Around the side was an area that was a great location for a pool. In fact, there was an untapped goldmine in the backyard with this much property. And on the other side was the garden that led to a gazebo. I’d bet in the spring and summer, with all the plants and flowers in bloom, that it looked picturesque.

There were plenty of improvements Rory could make that would turn it into a showstopper of a yard. Maybe before I left, I could leave her a list of things to look into doing. She had enough space back here to put in one of those fancy barbecue pits with the stone enclosure and expand the patio so she could put a bunch of tables out here for guests to eat when it was nice out.

Dammit. They were my ideas, not Rory’s. This was her place, not mine . . . unless I wanted it to be.

I shook off my musings as we broke off into teams. It was me, Amelia, and Aiden on one side, Lucas and Wyatt on the other. And for all her bubbly personality, Amelia turned into a beast on the field. She was surprisingly good. I could see her playing in high school and college. She was focused and driven.

And she ran circles around men who were used to running with a fifty-pound pack on their back. I think we were all surprised at how quick she was on her feet and the way she darted in and out, dribbling the ball down the field or through the backyard.

Jesus, my kid was astounding. I know I didn’t have a hand in raising her, but I definitely spied my genes in her attitude as she dominated the game. We were out of practice, and she ran circles around us. Our team won three to one.

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