Читать книгу Her Wickham Falls Seal - Rochelle Alers, Rochelle Alers - Страница 12

Chapter Three

Taryn stood at the French doors in Jessica’s kitchen enjoying her second cup of coffee while watching the snow covering the backyard. Last night’s lightly falling frozen precipitation had intensified into a full-blown blizzard. Her cell phone rang and she walked over and picked it up off the countertop. Aiden’s name and number appeared on the screen. She answered the call after the second ring.

“Good morning.”

“Is it really?” Aiden asked, chuckling softly.

She smiled. “It is for polar bears. It looks as if we’re going to have to cancel our trip to Beckley.”

“That’s why I’m calling. The mayor has declared a snow emergency, which means all non-essential vehicles aren’t allowed on the road. This is my only day off until after the New Year, so we won’t be able to order the furniture until you return.”

“Don’t sweat it, Aiden. I’ll order whatever I need once I get to New York and have it shipped to you. Do you want me to ship it to your home or the Wolf Den?”

“Can you arrange for it to be delivered to the house after you come back? Because I don’t want to become a target for porch pirates.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.” There had been an escalation of porch thefts all over the country, despite homeowners installing security cameras. “Have you thought of installing cameras around your property?” Sawyer had wired the house with a system where he could view the house and greenhouses from remote locations.

“Yes and no.”

Taryn walked over to the eating nook and sat down. “Either it’s yes or no.”

“Yes because it would make the house more secure, and no because we have a neighborhood watch. Many of my neighbors are retired and they are always on the lookout for any suspicious activity.”

There came a pregnant pause before Aiden spoken again.

“What’s on your agenda for today?”

“I’m going to put up several loads of laundry, dust, and vacuum and watch mindless television.” She and Jessica had gotten along well when they shared an off-campus apartment because both were neat freaks. “What are you going to do on your day off?”

“Wait for the snow to stop and then get out the snowblower and clear the driveway and sidewalks for my elderly neighbor.”

“That’s very nice of you.”

“Who’s going to shovel for you?” Aiden asked.

“Jessica and Sawyer have an agreement with a few of the teenage boys on Porterfield Lane to rake leaves and shovel snow.”

“I remember when I used to shovel snow for money before I started working in the restaurant.”

“Can you answer one question for me?”

“What’s that?”

“Why is the restaurant called the Wolf Den?” Taryn asked, not wanting their conversation to end. She liked listening to the sound of his drawling voice that was a constant reminder that he’d grown up in the South.

Aiden’s deep chuckle caressed her ear when he said, “A family named Wolfe, spelled with the E, owned most of the mines in The Falls and several towns to the south. My family worked in the mines for more generations than I can count. My great-grandfather decided he’d had enough after he was buried for hours during a caved in and asked his brothers to go in with him making moonshine. They pooled their savings, bought a patch of land and built the restaurant under the guise they were offering hearty inexpensive meals.”

“Were they?” Taryn asked, totally intrigued by the story.

“Yes, but they were also selling hooch. They’d buy several hogs from a farmer, butcher them and cook every part of them from the rooter to the tooter, and serve them along with rice, greens and corn bread. They charged fifty cents a plate and a dollar for a half-gallon jug filled with moonshine. Of course, they had to stay one step ahead of the revenuers or end up in jail.”

“How did they do that?”

“They had paid lookouts and occasionally bribed the revenuers. When you come to the restaurant, you’ll see that it’s located off the road and down in a valley. The still was concealed up in the mountains and hidden among a copse of trees. Most times, you’d walk by it and not know it was there.”

“Shame on you, Aiden. Your folks were criminals.”

“I’d like to think of my folks as entrepreneurs. It was all about supply and demand. Once Prohibition was repealed, they exhausted their stock of hooch and went totally legit to concentrate on offering some of the best restaurant food in Johnson County.”

“When I come back, I’m definitely going to sample some of your celebrated dishes.”

“I know you’re leaving in a couple of days, so if I don’t talk to you, I’d like to wish you a healthy and happy New Year.”

“I wish you the same.”

Taryn ended the call and drained the coffee cup. Sawyer and Jessica were scheduled to return to the States on the twenty-eighth after their seven-day Caribbean honeymoon, and Sawyer’s gift to Taryn was to pay for a round-trip flight on a private jet for housesitting and for when she planned to come back to Wickham Falls. He’d left the return date open because she still hadn’t determined when she would leave New York. She had selected the thirtieth to return to New York because she wanted to ring in the New Year with her parents and grandmother. She wasn’t certain whether her brother would be stateside, but his wife and children had come up from Virginia to celebrate Christmas with the elder Robinsons.

“Hey, baby,” she crooned when Bootsy ambled into the kitchen and stood on his hind legs for her to pick him up. Taryn scooped him into her arms. “Did you have a good nap?” After she’d let him out earlier that morning to do his business, he had raced back into the house and curled up on his bed in a corner of the kitchen. While most dogs loved romping in the snow, Bootsy was the exception.

Bootsy turned around on her lap and then flopped down to rest his muzzle on her denim-covered thigh. She ran her fingertips over his black-and-white curly hair, wondering if the dog still missed his pet parents. He’d moped around for two days until Taryn picked him up and held him for several hours. She knew Jessica was going to have a hissy fit because she was spoiling her puppy, but Taryn was ready to explain that Bootsy had been experiencing separation anxiety and she had to comfort him.

Her cell rang again, and this time Jessica’s name appeared on the screen. “What’s up, Mrs. Middleton?”

“That’s what I should be asking you, Miss Robinson. I just got an alert on my phone about the winter storm dumping close to a foot of snow on the Appalachians. Are you safe?”

“Safe as a bug in a rug,” she quipped. “I’m here with Mr. Bootsy and we’re going to stay indoors until the roads are cleared.”

“Don’t you dare attempt to shovel, because we pay the kids at the end of the block to clear away the snow along the driveway and sidewalk.”

“Girl, please. The only thing I do with snow is watch it melt.”

Jessica laughed. “I hear you. Sawyer’s travel agent is making arrangements for us to fly into Huntington Tri-State Airport in Kenova, because it’s closer to The Falls, and with the weather, Yeager Airport may have delays.”

“Do you want me to pick you up in Kenova?”

“No. The agent is also arranging ground transportation.”

“You’re lucky you married a rich man, otherwise, you’d be among the huddled masses waiting to take a commercial carrier.”

“Remember, I fell in love with Sawyer even before I knew how much he’s worth, and if it hadn’t been for you knocking some sense into my hard head, I’d still be single.”

Taryn smiled. “I had to talk tough because you deserve to be happy. And don’t forget, I’m a romantic at heart.”

“Does this mean you’re going to be open to dating a man if he shows the slightest bit of interest in you?”

“We’ll see,” Taryn said noncommittedly. She wanted to remind her friend that she had relocated to teach and not to find a lover or husband.

“How’s Bootsy?”

“Spoiled rotten.”

“Have you been holding him?”

“I had to, Jessica, he was experiencing separation anxiety. He wouldn’t eat and moped around as if he’d lost his best friend. Either I spoil him or you can take him to a pet psychiatrist for therapy.”

“Why do you always have to be a drama queen, Taryn?”

“You know I always have to be a little extra because my students love it.”

“You should go back to school and get a degree in theater. You’d be perfect for the stage.”

Taryn smiled. “I’m going to enjoy putting on plays with Aiden’s girls.”

“He hired you?”

“Yes.”

“I knew he would because I couldn’t stop singing your praises.”

Taryn wanted to ask Jessica if she thought she couldn’t get the position without her input but held her tongue. “I probably won’t get to meet his children until the end of January. By the way, where’s Sawyer?”

“He’s jogging on the beach. I’m going to let you go because it’s time for my cooking lesson. I signed up for a course to learn how to cook Caribbean-style roast pork.”

“Yum!”

“Give my baby a kiss and tell him his momma will be home soon.”

Taryn ended the call, set the phone on the table and bent over to press a kiss on Bootsy’s head. “Your momma said to give you a kiss.” The dog looked up at her as if he understood what she was saying. “I’m going to hold you for a little while longer, then I have to put up several loads of laundry and begin packing, because I have to go back to New York. But I will be back, and this time to stay.” Any prior apprehension she’d had about relocating had vanished, and she now looked forward to starting over with a new position in a new state.

* * *

Aiden felt as if the first time he’d stood on the porch waiting for Taryn to arrive was on rerun. It had been almost three weeks since she sat in the kitchen sharing breakfast with him. She had updated him as to what she had purchased for the classroom: the desks, chairs, bookcases, worktables, a supply closet, beanbag chairs, cots, white boards and bulletin boards; all of the items were scheduled to be delivered to his home the next day. The black Pathfinder came into view at the same time he came down off the porch.

He signaled for her to pull into the driveway next to his SUV. She cut off the engine and Aiden opened the driver’s-side door. He held out his arms and wasn’t disappointed when she rested her hands on his shoulders as he assisted her down.

“Welcome home.”

Aiden couldn’t pull his eyes away from her face as he drank in her natural beauty. He had welcomed her back because she would now share his home. He had told his daughters about Taryn, and once they returned to Wickham Falls, they should be prepared to begin school. Spending their days playing with each other and visiting their cousins would become a thing of the past. They had to begin their formal education before they fell too far behind their contemporaries.

Taryn lowered her eyes, smiling. “Thank you.”

He peered inside the Pathfinder. Boxes filled every inch of the cargo area. “What on earth did you buy?”

She tapped a button on the remote and the hatch opened. “Not all of the boxes are filled with school supplies. Only the ones marked CLASSROOM.”

Taryn had had her clothes, sewing machine and school supplies shipped to Jessica’s house ahead of her return. Her leaving New York hadn’t been without melodrama—especially from her mother. Mildred Robinson had questioned whether Taryn knew what she was doing, while suggesting her running away had to do with her being constantly reminded of James’s duplicity whenever she encountered his current lover. Taryn had given up trying to convince her mother that she had gotten over James and let her go on and on as to how she allowed one man to turn her off of the opposite sex. And the night before her departure, her mom came into her bedroom and confessed that she hadn’t wanted her to leave because since moving back home, she had gotten used to having her daughter around.

She had reminded her they would still live in the same time zone and if she decided to fly to Wickham Falls, it would take approximately three hours. Her explanation seemed to pacify her mother, even though it hadn’t stopped the older woman from shedding tears when it came time for Taryn to leave; her mother hadn’t been that emotional when she and her dad drove Taryn to college as an incoming freshman.

Taryn waited for Aiden to stack boxes and carry them inside the house before lifting a wheeled Pullman and carryon with her clothes and personal items and following him. Aiden had welcomed her home and she felt as if she was home. Her first order of business was putting her personal style on the bedroom suite before she unpacked the school supplies.

She had five days to organize the classroom before Allison and Livia arrived, and she’d decided to give them time to reconnect with their father before beginning instruction. Taryn returned to the vehicle to remove two quilted totes at the same time Aiden cradled a trio of boxes against his chest. “Show-off,” she said, winking at him.

“If you’d eaten your spinach this morning, you’d be able lift more than five pounds.”

She scrunched up her nose and pushed out her lips. “For your information, I had a spinach-and-feta omelet this morning.” Once the jet reached cruising speed, the in-flight chef had prepared breakfast for the eight passengers. A car service awaited her when the plane touched down in Charleston at ten, and when she arrived in Wickham Falls, she found the Pathfinder loaded with everything she’d had shipped to the Middleton residence. The night before, Sawyer sent her a text indicating he’d loaded her vehicle, but wouldn’t be there to meet her because he and Jessica would’ve left for school.

Aiden shifted the boxes. “Don’t worry about coming out again. I’ll bring in the rest.”

Taryn wasn’t going to argue with him; she was anxious to settle in and begin decorating the would-be classroom before the furniture arrived. When she’d left The Falls, the snow had begun melting when temperatures rose above freezing, which had now returned to an unseasonable sixty degrees. She had dressed in layers and she couldn’t wait to shower and change into something cooler. Stripping off the sweatshirt and long-sleeve T-shirt, Taryn made quick work of emptying the luggage and hanging up jackets, coats, suits and dresses. Her summer clothes were in under-the-bed storage containers. She had also downsized her closet and donated clothes she hadn’t worn in more than a year.

“Where do you want these?”

Taryn turned to find Aiden holding the storage containers. He looked at her as if she was an intruder and when she saw the direction of his eyes, she realized he was staring at her chest. The sheer plum-colored camisole with a built-in bra revealed a lot of flesh, but the strategically placed embroidered black lace flowers over her nipples provided a modicum of modesty. “Please leave them by the door.”

* * *

Aiden swallowed to relieve the dryness in his throat. When he’d walked into Taryn’s bedroom, he had not expected to see her wearing the revealing top. His body betrayed him, while reminding him of how long it had been since he’d slept with a woman. Placing the containers on the floor, he backed out of the suite, walked stiffly back to the kitchen, slumped down onto the bench seat at the breakfast nook and waited for his erection to go down.