For now, however, I hurried. I toweled off quickly, squeezing the water from my hair. Then I paired soft black yoga pants with a comfy tank top and a cropped zip-up hoodie. The muted ivory color detracted slightly from my sunburn, which was more pronounced without the added dirt. I drove a wand with sheer gloss around my lips and coated my lashes in fresh mascara, then beetled down the rear steps to the kitchen, a pair of fuzzy socks in hand.
Davis turned from the window when I hit a squeaky stair. He’d put on a kettle for tea.
“Are you finished already?” I asked, unsure if the house was getting warmer or if it was just his effect on me.
“Pilot light was out,” he said. “Easy fix.”
I gave myself a mental pat on the back for looking into pilot lights earlier. Next time the water didn’t warm, I could fix it myself. I took a seat on the nearest chair to pull on my socks. “Did you clean my kitchen?”
All evidence of my failed black cake was gone. The counter was wiped, and the ingredients were put away.
He glanced around at his efforts. “It was the least I could do, since you’ve had so much trouble here.”
“Well, you also saved me from a nasty fall,” I said. “I think we’re even.”
A muscle in Davis’s jaw clenched, and I wondered if he was thinking of the moment when he’d held me. I certainly was. “Fair enough.” He turned to the stove, hiding his face, and poured two cups from the kettle. “Tea?”
“Please.”
“Milk or sugar?”
“Both. Thanks for doing all this,” I said. “Fixing the furnace and water heater was plenty. Cleaning the kitchen and making tea is officially above and beyond.”
He ferried two cups my way. “I’m just sorry you were cold last night. And that you had to haul water for a bath.”
I accepted a steaming mug, and Davis took the seat across from mine.
“My offer to help you find another place stands,” he said. “No hard feelings. I suspect things like this will continue to go wrong, so getting out now, while you can still enjoy your time in town, might be best.”
I sipped the tea and gave my head a small shake. “I’m not interested in leaving. Not unless you know someone else with a historic place like this. Off the beaten path so I’d be alone. And somewhere the owner would let me make a little garden.”
He stared, the wheels of his mind almost visibly turning. “That’s very specific.”
I shrugged. “This place is exactly what I was looking for. As long as I don’t freeze to death or have to carry any more water for baths, I’ll be okay.” I smiled when he made eye contact, hoping he’d know I was teasing.
He didn’t smile back. “Is it that you can’t go without gardening? Or because you don’t like people?”
“I love people,” I said. “It’s nothing like that. I’m just—doing something.”
“What?”
I set the cup aside. “It’s—personal. So, I’d rather not say, but I can deal with the temporary inconveniences.”
Davis didn’t respond, but his presence put me at ease.
I thought again of him catching me when I fell, and how the air seemed to thicken around us. I liked the way our energies flowed together. How comfortable he made me feel, even when he was scowling for no good reason.
“I came here looking for new perspective,” I said, breaking the awkward silence. “I wasn’t happy with how my life was going, and I thought getting away from my usual routine was exactly what I needed. So, here I am, and I’d like to stick it out, if at all possible.”
Davis rested his forearms on the table, looking unreasonably interested. “You’re here to find happiness?” His gaze roamed to the open letter between us.
I folded the note and set it aside. “My little sister thinks I just want attention, and my parents would prefer I give up and come home, but this is something I need to do.”
He scanned my face, curious eyes probing mine. “Why weren’t you happy before?”
I released a long breath. Where to start? “I run the family bookstore while my parents and sister enjoy their lives. They used to work as much as I did, but over time, things changed. Annie got married. Now she’s pregnant. My folks got older and more interested in retiring than working. They spend a lot of time with Annie and her husband, doing couples things or talking about their first grandbaby. It’s all very sweet, and I’m glad for them, but one day I looked up and I was alone. I’m not sure they’ve even noticed.”
“Ah.” He kicked back in his seat, stretching his long legs beneath the table until they bumped mine.
