She was quite the looker, Xavier noted. Up close she was even more beautiful than at first glance. A short hairstyle highlighted flawless bone structure and a heart-shaped face. Her tawny skin was complemented by big hazel-brown eyes. Her soulful eyes were hard to look away from. She was no more than five foot four with a curvy figure.
Maybe he wouldn’t be bored to death in this little town after all.
Tiny freckles dotted the bridge of her nose, and a small scar rested above her right eye. The slight imperfection did nothing to dim her beauty. How, he wondered, had she gotten that keepsake? Had she broken up a bar fight? Fallen out of a tree as a kid? Been cut by a piece of glass?
Suddenly she was leaning toward him and perusing his face. “I can tell you with absolute certainty that your lips are still attached to your face.” The sides of her mouth twitched with mirth.
If she hadn’t been standing next to him, he might have let out a howl of pain. But he didn’t want True to view him as a wuss, even if he felt like one. Xavier imagined that this was what it felt like to drink gasoline.
Suck it up, buttercup.As a professional athlete, he had endured way worse pain than this. That’s why he was back here in Moose Falls after a twenty-year absence. A tough hit in a championship game had given him a severe concussion and loss of peripheral vision in his left eye. As a result, his stellar NFL career had crashed and burned in a singleinstant. He’d lost everything, including his fiancée, Heather Denton, who’d replaced him in her affections with one of Xavier’s teammates. A friend, no less. He couldn’t be certain when the cheating had begun, but finding out about the affair after his injury had been gut wrenching.
“You’re a good sport,” True said, patting him on the shoulder.
“W-what was in the sauce? Molten lava?” he asked, panting. He took another swig of milk, then filled his glass up again.
True shifted from one foot to the other, then chewed her lip. “Hot peppers.”
“I’ve had hot peppers before. Do they grow them differently here in Alaska?”
She mumbled something he couldn’t quite hear.
“What was that?” he asked.
“Ghost peppers. They’re ghost pepper wings.”
Xavier’s jaw dropped. “And you’re just telling me that now?”
“Hey, you were pretty insistent about taking on the challenge.” She smiled at him brightly. “Congratulations. You won a Northern Exposure T-shirt.”
He scowled at her. “And bragging rights,” he said dryly.
“Exactly,” True said. “Let me know if you need any more milk. The rest of your food will be out shortly.”
Once she’d stepped away, Xavier let out a grunt. As if he could eat anything else after consuming those death-defying wings. He could barely remember what he’d originally ordered. Maybe the wings had fried his brain in addition to every other part of his body.
What a wild day this had been. Due to her terminal illness, his long-lost grandmother, Hattie Stone, had invited Xavier and his younger brothers, Caleb and Landon, to comeback to Moose Falls to take over Yukon Cider. Because he had nothing to lose and everything to gain, Xavier had jumped at the opportunity. Basically, he and his brothers had a year to decide whether to run the company or sell it. The decision had to be unanimous, or they would forfeit the company. Although he couldn’t imagine relocating permanently to this remote Alaskan town, he’d agreed to keep an open mind.
He felt guilty admitting it even to himself, but despite his curiosity about the lucrative hard cider company, Xavier was simply biding his time in Moose Falls. If the Stone brothers stuck it out in Alaska for three hundred and sixty-five days per their grandmother’s request, they could sell Yukon Cider and hit the proverbial jackpot. He didn’t want to be mercenary, but Xavier desperately needed the cash. If his career hadn’t imploded after his injuries, he wouldn’t be in this precarious position. For the last year, bill collectors had been blowing up his phone and sending him threatening demand letters. He had received so much correspondence withFINAL ATTEMPTstamped in red ink, he was beginning to sweat every time the postman made a delivery.
After all he’d been through in the last few years, he deserved something good to come his way. He was tired of playing by the rules. All it had ever given him was heartache. No more Mr. Nice Guy.
CHAPTER TWO
True dragged her gaze away from Hattie’s grandson and focused her attention on another customer. “Hey, Roy. What can I get you?” she asked, trying to appear calm, cool, and collected as she interacted with her clientele.
Her cheeks were practically on fire.Hotshot!The word had sounded foolish coming out of her mouth, like she was starring in a rom-com from the eighties. She didn’t know why she’d called him that, but his jaw had dropped in response to the nickname.Ugh!This man had her out here looking foolish. Maybe she’d called him that because her nerves were on edge, and seeing Xavier in the flesh had caused her stomach to churn with anxiety.
Xavier Stone happened to be drop-dead gorgeous, which served no purpose other than to make her more annoyed at the situation. Why couldn’t he be homely and awkward? He’d glided into Northern Exposure with the grace of aGQmodel strutting on a runway. He radiated confidence and a certain type of swagger that boggled the mind. Or was it arrogance? she wondered.
True let out a snort. The Stone brothers. Frankly she was sick and tired of hearing about them. The grandsons were all Hattie talked about anymore. She was surprised Xavier hadn’t floated in on a cloud with a halo over his head. She wished that she could be happy for Hattie being reunited with her family, but the whole situation annoyed her to no end. A feeling of resentment rose inside of her. Where had they been all this time when Hattie had needed them? Xavier had been chasing NFL glory and supermodels, while Caleb had been making a fool of himself on reality television. And Landon had been spending his days in a laboratory trying to be the next Albert Einstein. As if!
She’d done her research! All three of Hattie’s grandsons were selfish to the bone, only thinking of themselves. Now that their lives and careers had hit rock bottom, they were running home to Moose Falls with their tails between their legs.
Hattie was like her very own fairy godmother, as well as her boss, so it hurt a little to know that these virtual strangers meant the world to Hattie. They would be her heirs, while True would be nothing more than the tavern’s manager. She wasn’t jealous or anything. Yukon Cider had never been on her radar very much, but Northern Exposure was her baby, an establishment she’d nurtured for the last seven years. She’d begun working here as soon as she was of legal drinking age, right after the death of her parents. In record time True had worked her way up to the role of manager. She had been hungry to support herself and Jaylen.
True loved this place. Northern Exposure was her pride and joy.Hers!Even though she didn’t own the tavern, she had shed blood, sweat, and tears to whip it into shape over the years. All her hard work had paid off, and now it was a top-notch venue in this part of Alaska. She had brought on an amazing chef, Laurie Ito, who had brought her culinaryskills and creativity to the tavern. Anyone who thought it was just a bar was dead wrong!
Maybe she shouldn’t feel a certain type of way toward Xavier and his brothers. She didn’t even know them, but it sucked big time that they would be in control of her destiny.
