Page 13 of Spar
Dax had gone on and on about the truck since he bought it last month. Chris had needled him a bit over the big, heavy-duty vehicle, but tonight he was thankful. It had come in handy with the roads like they were.
Chris grabbed the last of the items as Dax jumped back in his rig. “Be careful heading back down, and thanks again.”
Chris carried the last of the items in through the garage and deposited the box on the kitchen floor. He hummed loudly as he took the stairs two at a time before entering the master bedroom, bags in hand.
The master was his favorite room in the house. A large sleigh-bed was in the center of the room with a sitting area on the far side, looking out onto a beautiful view of the lake. A fireplace on the wall in front of the bed was double-sided and connected to the master bathroom that was complete with a claw-foot tub and an extra-large shower with multiple showerheads.
He had worked with a designer to create the perfect vacation getaway home until he was ready to settle down in it himself. He hadn’t had any complaints. He looked forward to waking up in the king-sized bed with the sun rising on the lake below, but he’d have to wait a little bit longer.
Chris carefully re-made the bed with white satin sheets. He couldn’t resist running his hands back and forth on the smooth fabric, imagining the way they would feel while lying in bed, rolling around with a certain stubborn woman.
CHAPTER SIX
Tori stretched, squeezingher eyes shut and arching her back, and then pulled the covers around her more tightly, trying to keep the cool morning air out. Her dry mouth and the faint smell of bacon in the air pulled her reluctantly out of bed in search of her toothbrush and food.
After rifling through her bag, she came out with a pair of black leggings, a workout tank, and a zip-up jacket. Hopefully, a quick run would help ease some of the anxiety she’d been carrying around since she had silently agreed to live at Chris’ house while her apartment building was fixed.
Teeth clean and face bare, she headed downstairs.
“Morning, little sister. How are you feeling?” Ryan asked as she stepped off the last stair. He sat on a stool in front of the kitchen island with a cup of coffee in front of him. Elle was on the other side of the island, flipping pancakes and adding to the already-large pile stacked on a plate.
“Not bad for the amount of wine I consumed.” She eyed the heaping mound of pancakes and after surveying the downstairs, had not found anyone else around. “Did other people stay the night?” She nodded to the heaping pile of pancakes.
“No.” Ryan shook his head as he took a sip from his mug. “Jake drove everyone home last night. Chris is coming by in a bit to take you to his house.”
“My car is here. I think I’m capable of driving to his house,” she said snarkier than she’d intended.
Ryan shot her a look that made her feel like a child.
Super start to the morning.
“What’s your problem with him? It’s incredibly nice that he’s letting you stay there. Besides, I thought you’d be thrilled. You’ve been going on and on about how much you love it up here.” He motioned wildly with both arms.
“Iamgrateful. It just feels like charity. I could just stay at Mom and Dad’s house,” she whined, hating the sound of her voice and the idea.
Ryan laughed, holding his stomach and nearly falling off the stool. “Yeah, right. You’d last five minutes there.”
He was probably right. She had moved out when she was eighteen-years-old and never gone back, determined to make her own way.
“It’s not charity. Chris is like family. He’s just being nice.”
Tori crossed to the window for a better look outside. The sun was shining bright, and the melted snow dripped from the house, removing the beautiful white cover that had settled there last night.
“You think it’s cleared up enough for a run?”
Ryan nodded as he retreated to the living room and plopped to the couch, remote in hand. “Stick to the road, and you should be fine.”
Tori took a moment to appreciate the difference in her brother over the last month. She’d never seen him so casual and laid back. He’d always been a go-getter, constantly moving to the next thing, but his pace had slowed since he’d met Elle, and it looked good on him. He seemed so… happy. And Elle, well, she had basically moved in from the looks of it. Feminine touches were all throughout the house -- spare shoes laying at the door and girly books and magazine on the coffee table. The pang of the jealousy she’d felt last night returned.
You have to quit breaking up with boyfriends if you want to live happily ever after with one of them!But her self-lecture was only half-hearted. She saw the life Ryan and Elle shared and wasn’t even sure it was something she wanted for herself. Could she play house and give up her independence like Elle had?
Outside, Tori exhaled, watching her breath float in front of her face in the morning air. The road had been plowed, leaving only a trace of yesterday’s snow. The tension in her muscles relaxed as she stared down at the lake and what remained of the snowy countryside, and she headed down the hill at a light jog.
Adjusting her bearings on the wet road, she picked up the pace, lengthening her stride and lifting her chest to breathe in the cool air. Running had always been an outlet for her, a place where her worries drifted away and her life felt centered. She kept her focus straight ahead as she passed the driveway leading to Chris’ house. Her thoughts slipped to the man inside, but she shook them from her head and continued down the hill, twisting and turning with the road.
As she came around the bend, a large figure appeared on the opposite side of the road, heading in her direction. Momentarily distracted as her foggy brain placed a face with the man, she veered off the road and onto the snowy shoulder, losing her footing and hitting the embankment with a thud.
Chris closed the distance between them, sprinting to her before she could stand up. Without a word, he offered a hand, which she ignored as she pushed herself to her feet. A sharp pain in her ankle forced her to inhale sharply, and she nearly collapsed back to the ground.
