Part of her longed to stay, but Tessa still hadn’t discerned whether that was nostalgia from a simpler time tricking her.
The lodge didn’t need a chef, and it seemed Cadence and Sophie had split the other duties equally. “Maybe,” she finally answered. “But what would Idohere?” Tessa didn’t want to add another salary to the payroll if she wasn’t doing a thing to bring in income, and she could only live off her savings for so long.
“Offer room service?” Sophie suggested.
“We’ll see how the rest of the scones go over tomorrow.”
Stay in Sunset Ridge?It sounded like a dream, but Tessa couldn't stay if it only meant running away from reality. She had no idea whatOrder Upwould decide to do, but right now it didn’t look as though it would work in her favor. But hiding in a small Alaska town after such public humiliation seemed a sure way to kill her career. Wouldn’t it be more heroic of her to beat the odds and prove to the show—and the viewers—that she could overcome any obstacle?
“What’s going through that head of yours, Tess?”
“What if—”
“Mommy?” Caroline’s faint voice called over the machines. She appeared in the doorway, moose nightgown down to her ankles, stuffed animal in tow, rubbing her eyes. “I had a bad dream.”
Sophie gave Tessa an apologetic shrug as she scooped her daughter into her arms. “It’s all right, sweetie. Let’s go read a story.”
“About Mister Moose?”
“Yes, we can read about Mister Moose.”
“I’ll finish the towels.” Tessa’s gaze followed them out of the room and down the hall until they turned a corner. Caroline clung to her mom like a life raft, such open trust. Though Sophie had that effect on people, Tessa wondered what it might be like for her own daughter—or son—to cling to her like that.
She quickly folded the remaining towels to drown out her thoughts. She placed them on the rack by the door, wishing the dryer would run quicker so she could keep the momentum going. Another basket of laundry sat on the floor, waiting its turn.Why don’t we have two washers and dryers?
Restless, Tessa strolled down the hall to her room where she last left her phone. BeforeOrder Up, Tessa wouldn’t have gone five feet from it. But since the show mandated they surrender all cell phones and other electronic devices with internet access or information stored on them, within days, she no longer thought about her phone at all.
Even now, with her desperate hope for a call to come back, Tessa hardly remembered to carry it with her.
“Still nothing.” She tossed her cell back on her mattress. No point in taking it with her. She didn’t have girlfriends in New York anymore—no one to ask how things were going. The friends she had, she lost when she took on her last job. They got tired of her canceling on them, never able to understand why she spent most of her life in a kitchen.
She wished she had a book or something else that might occupy her mind while she waited on the dryer. Tessa considered investigating the office but the faint hum of a TV drew her attention to Liam’s door before she could follow through. “That can’t be . . .” The music sounded familiar.Too familiar. A tune that’d been stuck in her head for weeks.
She knocked softly on Liam’s door, then waited. No footsteps. No answer.
Fingers curled around the knob as she turned it, Tessa knocked again. “Liam?” she called out quietly.
She found him lying on his back, chest rising and falling, eyes closed. In a simple T-shirt, all those muscles were much too distinct, even relaxed as they were. They’d do nothing but get her into trouble. But the biggest threat to her heart was the sight of the sleeping husky, resting her head on his chest, Liam’s arm snaked over her back. If that couldn’t melt a heart right into a puddle of goo, nothing could.
If the music hadn’t reclaimed her attention, Tessa might have remained too distracted by the Instagram-worthy moment to notice what played on the TV.
She tried to figure out a way to dismiss it. It was possible he was asleep before it ever started. Or maybe curiosity finally got the best of him. His sister had talked about it nonstop this morning.
But what if he’s been watching it all along?
The thought stirred her into motion. Closing the door, Tessa hurried back to the laundry room. She dropped into a corner chair and waited for the dryer to finish a load of linens.
If Liam had watched any of that episode on purpose—or any previous episodes—Tessa wouldn’t know whether to feel touched or mortified. The woman on the screen—Tessa the Grizzly Bear—wasn’t someone she was proud of anymore. In New York, that take-charge, take-no-prisoners mentality made her sought-after. Here, in the charming town surrounded by family and good people, it made her feel ashamed.
Maybe I don’t want to go back.
Chapter Eleven
Liam
Bob Barker was calling someone tocome on down!when Liam awoke the next morning. He suspected Raven stepped on the remote in the middle of the night, because the channel he’d been watching didn’t play old game show reruns.Isn’t Bob Barker dead?Raven had moved from her spot nestled under his arm to her dog bed beneath the window. She blinked up at him, as if to ask if theyhadto get up yet.
“It’s time, girl.”
