Chapter Six
Still carrying an armload of sheets, Calisa hurried outside and called, “Jack?”
She heard hammering from above her.
Stepping off the porch onto the weed-choked walkway, she looked up at the roof. Jack was straddling a hole in the shingles, a hammer in one hand and a chunk of wood in the other. In the morning light, his hair was a halo, and he looked like an angel perched on top of a shabby cathedral. A nicely muscular angel. She swallowed and dragged her mind back to the question of the sudden appearance of hot tea, a crackling fire, and the inn’s newest guest. “Hello, Jack?”
The hammering stopped.
A second later, Jack peered down at her over the edge of the shingles. “Everything all right?”
“Sure, fine, but I need to ask—”
Squinting at her, he asked, “Are you looking for the laundry? It’s at the end of the hallway off the kitchen.”
“I know.” It occurred to her that she probably looked ridiculous carting around an armload of random sheets. “But did you—”
“The detergent is on the shelf above it,” Jack said.
“Thanks, but—”
“It’s an old machine. Just use, like, a couple of teaspoons of detergent.” He looked concerned, as if he thought she might break it. “If you need—”
“There’s tea,” Calisa said quickly, before he could tell her about fabric softener, stain remover, or whatever.
“Can’t right now,” he said, “but thanks for the offer.”
Not what she was trying to say.He might be angelically gorgeous, but gah!It almost felt like he was being deliberately dense. Shifting the sheets to one arm, she pointed at the window. “I left the room for less than a minute, and when I came back, the teapot was full of hot tea. Was that you?”
He frowned, and then his expression lightened like he’d had a profound epiphany. “Ah, you must have accidentally hit theonswitch.”
Theonswitch? She hadn’t seen any switch…or had she just missed it? She’d been more focused on removing the grime and cobwebs—and on scrubbing Ethan from her mind—than anything else. “You mean it’s an electric teapot? But I didn’t see a plug.”
“Battery-operated,” Jack said. “Honestly surprised the battery hasn’t worn down. Guess sitting dormant didn’t hurt it.”
Oh. Right. A battery-operated electric teapot. She supposed that made a lot more sense than the idea that Jack hadshimmied down from the roof, made a pot of tea, put it on the tea tray, and then scooted back in less than a minute, in order to surprise her.
“Sorry it surprised you,” Jack said.
“How about the fire in the fireplace? Did you light that?”
“That must have been Auntie Zee,” Jack said. “She likes a nice fire, even in summer. Says it’s welcoming. Also, good for her joints or something?”
Calisa shook her head. “Auntie Zee was in the kitchen greeting the new guest.” Thinking of the guest, she scanned the driveway and the road as far as she could see before the forest swallowed it. Since coming outside, she hadn’t seen even a hint of a car. No taxi. No Uber. No limo. Not even a motorcycle. “Did you see her arrive? The new guest, I mean. Auntie Zee called her Kendra.”
He smiled sunnily. “Oh, she came! Great! I was worried we’d have another cancellation.”
So hehadn’tseen her arrive?
Before she could ask, he said, “Always kind of a jumpscare when she comes. She likes to arrive on foot.”
“On foot?”
“Kendra’s a hiker,” Jack explained. “Loves the mountains. Probably came in off a trail behind the inn. Yep, she loves to hike.”
That seemed odd, given how impeccably she’d been dressed. On the other hand, Calisa had walked the last stretch to the inn herself. Maybe Kendra had also had an Uber driver who wouldn’t stop talking about fly-fishing. But wouldn’t she haveluggage? Calisa tried to think whether she’d noticed any suitcases. She hadn’t been paying attention to that.
“You should offer her tea,” Jack said. “Or I can do it when I’m done with the roof, if you’re busy with the laundry. We can all have tea when we’re both done. If you want.”
