“Whoa,” Lauren shouted. “Where does your backpack go?”

  Tabitha turned on her heel and let out an exaggerated groan. She picked up her backpack and hung it on the hook by the door and then set her boots in the tray. “How was your sleepover?” Lauren asked.

  “Good,” Tabitha said from her bedroom.

  “Come here and say hi to your mom,” Lauren said. They heard another groan and then the surprisingly heavy footfall of the ten-year-old as she headed into the living room and jumped onto the sofa between them. Lauren squeezed her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek.

  “Did you stay up all night talking?” Charlotte leaned in and whispered conspiratorially.

  “Yes,” Tabitha giggled then stopped as Lauren pretended to give her a harsh look.

  Lauren’s eyes glanced at the stack of papers on the kitchen table, and her mind wandered to the paragraph she had just about completed. Tabitha was showing Charlotte the haphazard manicure the girls had given each other when they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

  “You expecting someone?” Charlotte asked.

  “No.” Lauren headed to the door, expecting to find Julia’s parents holding something Tabitha had forgotten at their house. Instead of peering through the window, she pulled the door open wide.

  Baxter Caldwell was standing on her doorstep with a bouquet of flowers.

  Twenty-Two

  Baxter put the car in park in front of the little bungalow with the green trim. Lauren’s hot and cold attitude was frustrating but understandable. She was stronger than he was. Although she had more to lose – he couldn’t be kicked off his own project by banging the opposition’s lawyer – she was smarter than he was and he loved her for it.

  “Oh, hi…,” He was surprised when she pulled the door wide open. She was dressed from head to toe in sweatsuit material, her hair was messy, and her fuzzy socks were mismatched. He had never seen anyone look so beautiful.

  “Hi.” Her voice sounded strained. The expression on her face told him that she had been expecting someone else.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked. She pulled the door in front of her so that it was almost closed, peering through the gap.

  “I thought that we had a field trip booked for today.”

  “What?” she hissed.

  “I thought you were going to take me out, show me what makes this place so special that it should never change.” He was doubtful that she could change his mind but told himself that he was willing to give her show and tell tour of Chance Rapids a chance when in reality he just wanted a few more hours alone with her.

  “Oh, right. That.”

  “Here.” He thrust the bouquet at the opening in the door. “These are for you.”

  “I really shouldn’t accept those. From you.” He looked up and down the street. “Just take them. You don’t have to tell anyone where you got them.”

  She bit her lower lip; he could see that she was torn.

  “I drove all the way to the greenhouse in Windswan for these. I thought that these were your favorite.”

  They are,“ she said, puzzled about when she told him about the tulips but didn’t move from her jailor stance in the doorway. He thrust the bouquet at her. “If you don’t want them, just give them to someone else. Or throw them in the snowbank.”

  Lauren seemed to soften but didn’t move to take the flowers from him.

  “Who is it?” A woman’s voice yelled out from behind Lauren.

  “I didn’t realize that you had company,” Baxter said stepping back.

  “It’s not company,” Lauren chuckled. “It’s my sister.” Lauren turned away from him and said, “It’s Mr. Caldwell.”

  “Hi, Baxter.” Lauren jumped as Charlotte popped up behind her. “I’ll put those in some water,” she reached around Lauren and took the tulips from his hand. Baxter’s eyes followed Charlotte over Lauren’s shoulder and spotted Tabitha on the sofa.

  “Thank you for the flowers,” Lauren said. “I have a lot of work to do today, so we will have to reschedule our tour for another day.”

  “Sure, um, okay.” Baxter ran his hand through his hair. He hadn’t expected the red carpet, but the cold reception surprised him. “Another time then.”

  “Another ti—Ouch” Lauren winced.

  “Are you okay?” Baxter turned and rushed to the door.

  “I’m fine.” Baxter could see her rubbing her back, no it was lower, she was rubbing her ass. “Could you give me a minute?” she said through gritted teeth.

  Baxter inhaled sharply but agreed. “Sure. I’ll wait…” She shut the door before he could finish. “…here.” He shook his head. He hadn’t gotten the crazy vibe from Lauren, but this morning she was acting really strange. His feet were starting to turn into ice blocks, and he stomped them in place while he waited for her to return. The snow along her walkway was about six inches deep. He grabbed the red-handled shovel that was propped up against the side of her house and proceeded to clear her walkway while he waited. His footprints, along with the little girl’s and he was guessing Charlotte’s were almost filled in with fresh snow.

  He heard the door open and Lauren emerged from the house. She was wearing her puffy coat and tall lace-up winter boots, her hair was no longer in a pile on her head but tumbled out from underneath her wool hat. She looked so gorgeous it took his breath away.

  * * *

  While Baxter shoveled her walkway she and Charlotte had been holed up in Lauren’s bedroom, whisper-arguing about what she should do.

  “You’re being incredibly rude,” Charlotte had said.

  “Rude? He just showed up here,” Lauren said.

  “Sounds like you two had plans.” Charlotte’s voice was calm and rational compared to Lauren’s, which was quivering. “And you’re bailing on them.”

  “I didn’t expect him to show up.”

  “Well, he did.” Charlotte had rummaged through Lauren’s closet and tossed her a pair of leggings and the green sweater – the one that Baxter had bought for her. “Here, put this on.”

  “I’m not going.” Lauren clutched the silky fabric in her hands.

  “Lauren. Don’t be a fucking idiot,” Charlotte said.

  “Shhhh. Language, Charlotte. She can probably hear everything we’re saying.” Lauren jerked her head toward the living room where Tabitha had commandeered the TV.

  “Fine, don’t be a flipping idiot. Now change.”

  “No.”

  Charlotte rushed over to Lauren and whispered in her ear. “He said he would wait for you and you’re terrified that he actually will. You’re trying to ruin any chance of being with him, aren’t you?”

  “No,” Lauren said. She sat down on the bed and stared at the green sweater in her hands. “Maybe.”

  “Go talk to him,” Charlotte sat down beside her. “If there’s a chance, even a remote one, that you two could be together in the future, don’t ruin it by being a bitch today.”

  Lauren stood up and pulled her university sweatshirt off over her head, exposing her bare breasts and she reached for the bra on her bed. “Wait, try it without,” Charlotte said.

  “You’re crazy.” Lauren shook her head and clipped on her most comfortable bra.

  “That thing is hideous.” Charlotte’s lingerie collection easily cost her more than all of Lauren’s clothes put together, and probably her car too.

  “It doesn’t matter because no one is going to see it.” Lauren put on the outfit and smoothed the green sweater with her hands. It felt as good as the first day she had worn it.

  “Lauren, tell him today or tell him next week, but that is a good man and he deserves to know. Promise me that you won’t keep this secret from him.”

  “I already decided that I was going to wait until after the hearing. I’m just not ready yet.” Lauren had laced up her boots and gotten into her warmest outdoor jacket and hat.

  “I’ll stay here with Tabitha. You go and just talk to him. Get to know him with your clothes on.”

  “Ha. Ha.” Lauren opened the door and slipped out onto the porch. Baxter looked up mid-scoop.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “It doesn’t look like it’s going to stop, I’d hate to see you get snowed in.” He tossed the snow onto the shoulder height snowbank.

  Lauren strode down the stairs and took the shovel from his hand. “That’s not necessary.” She stuck the blade of the shovel in the snowbank. “But thank you.”

  Her ass was still stinging from the box of tissues Charlotte had whipped at her. The power of the box with its pointy corners was shocking. “I can’t do a full tour as we talked about.”

  “That’s fine,” Baxter said. “I just wanted to come and talk to you about what happened last night.”

  “How about we go for a quick walk?” Lauren offered. She had felt bad keeping Baxter out in the cold but wasn’t ready to tell him about Tabitha, let alone do it while the two of them were in the same room together. The faster she could get him away from the house, and their daughter, the better.

  “Sure,” he said. “Just a quick walk.”

  * * *

  Three hours later, the two of them had walked down Main Street and Lauren had introduced him to all of the local small business owners.

  “See, it’s these people who are going to suffer when you take business away from the downtown area. They survive on the business from the ski hill. If you take that opportunity away from them, all of those people, good people, will lose their livelihood.”

  Baxter knew that his development was going to impact the town, but until then the Rapidians had been faceless and nameless. Merely, statistics on a piece of paper. Now, the idea of that sweet old lady Muriel losing her business because of him made his guts churn.

  “I thought that this was supposed to be a quick walk.” He checked his watch.

  “I hadn’t expected everyone to actually want to talk to you.”

  “Really?” He clutched his chest like he had been hurt, then pumped his eyebrows twice. “You forgot to take into account that I’m charming as hell.”

  Lauren laughed, her first real laugh of the day, and his chest swelled. “I’ll give you that, Mr. Caldwell. You certainly have a way with the… everyone.” It sounded like she was going to say ladies, but then corrected herself. They had managed to walk together for almost three hours without talking about what was going on between them.

  “I could say the same thing about you.”

  “What?” Lauren raised her eyebrows at him. “Charming?”

  “Well, maybe charming isn’t the right word, but it’s clear that everyone in this town respects and likes you.”

  “I guess they do,” she said. “But Baxter, don’t you see? It’s because I actually care about them.”

  “Why?” he stopped and held her arm. It was the first time they had touched on the entire walk and he felt her stiffen in his grip.

  “Why do I care?” She seemed confused. Over her shoulder, Baxter saw a man running towards them waving his arms wildly, trying to get their attention. He caught a flash of grey out of the corner of his eye and pulled Lauren in tightly to his body. He spun her away as a creature launched itself at them. Baxter heard the panting behind him and felt the claws as they landed on his back. Lauren’s breath was hot on his neck, but she was protected from the attacker. “Baxter,” she said. “What are you doing?”

  “Timber, down!” he heard a deep voice from behind them.

  Lauren looked around Baxter and proceeded to burst into laughter. “Were you…” Tears were starting to fall from her eyes, “were you protecting me from Timber?”

  Baxter turned and saw that the man had a leash in his hand and that the attacking creature was actually a husky with two different colored eyes.

  “Sorry about that.” The man clipped the husky onto the leash. “He needs to learn some manners.”

  “Hi, Josh,” Lauren said.

  “Oh, hi, Lauren.” The man’s eyes registered surprise. “I didn’t see you there.” Baxter realized that Lauren was still trapped in his arms. He cleared his throat and released her from his bear hug.

  “Hi, Timber.” Lauren scratched the husky behind his ears. “Where are you two going?”

  “We’re going to The Last Chance to help Charlie pick out his next small batch.” Lauren nodded at the man. “How’s Meg and the baby?”

  “They’re good. Napping mostly.” As the two friends caught up, Baxter realized just how badly he’d overreacted. It wasn’t a wolf or a coyote, just a friendly pet dog.

  As Josh and Timber walked away Lauren turned to him. “What was that all about?”

  He laughed and took off his hat, running his hands through his hair. “You’re not going to believe it, but I thought that was a wolf or a coyote or something, and that man, Josh, was trying to get our attention.”

  “You’re crazy,” Lauren laughed.

  She was right. Something happened to him, he knew that he would throw himself in danger’s way to protect Lauren. He couldn’t just walk away from a woman as special as her. He knew at that moment that he would do anything he could to be with her.

  Twenty-Three

  A handshake and a kiss on the cheek. That’s how they left things a week ago. She wanted more and she knew that he did too. The decision to wait until after the hearing was a smart move for both of them. Even if the anticipation was killing her. Not a day had gone by that she hadn’t dreamt about Baxter, and this morning, the dream had felt so real, his touch so visceral, that when she woke up in her bed alone, she wanted to cry.

  Her argument against the development was solid; she knew that, but she had prepared herself for the worst – a loss. A loss that meant Baxter would stay in Chance Rapids, and the guilt from the joy that thought brought her haunted her.

  Her life had gone on. She dropped Tabitha at school, went to work, made dinner, and went to bed. She had been happy with that, but now she felt like something was missing.

  “Mom, where’s my toothbrush?”

  “I already packed it,” she said.

  Lauren sighed as she dropped Tabitha off at school, her overnight backpack bouncing on her back as she ran up the stairs.

  Baxter had found excuses to message her every day, but they had all been business-related. Still, her heart jumped into her throat whenever she saw his name show up in her inbox. He could easily have had his assistant Nicole send the messages, so she knew that he was still thinking about her too.

  She spent her day at the office reviewing her documents and recommendations. Her professional opinion hadn’t changed since she met Baxter. His project, as it stood, was a horrible option for the community and the environment.

  Lauren walked home from work, kicked off her boots, and rummaged through the fridge. Without Tabitha, she could eat whatever she wanted, and tonight she opted for something easy – tuna. She turned on the broiler in her oven and plunked down on the sofa with a bag of tortilla chips. She usually spent her evenings reading, but after her week of intense preparation, she felt the need to fully vegetate. She balanced her plate on her knees and turned on Game of Thrones; between work and child-appropriate television shows, she was a little behind the times, and season one flickered on the screen.

  Even if she wanted to go out partying, Charlotte and Logan were at his team’s hockey game, Serena and Freddie were in Las Vegas for the weekend, and Megan and Josh were exhausted from life with a newborn. But she didn’t want to go out, so she sat back and stretched out her legs luxuriously, pulling the handmade orange and green afghan over her legs.

  The action on the TV flashed in front of her, but her mind was somewhere else – a heli-skiing lodge. Brock had held her in his arms all night, and she had felt a sense of belonging. She wondered if he was there with her now, would he slip in behind her? Would they snuggle into the late hours of the night? As her eyes grew heavy, she swore that she could feel his breath on her neck and his arms looped around her waist.

  She woke up to total darkness, the text on the TV screen asking her if she was still watching. She sat up, disoriented until the furniture in the room slowly came into focus. She checked the time on her phone and saw that it was only ten p.m. She groaned. It felt like it was the middle of the night. She also saw that she had missed three calls from Baxter.

  She padded to the bathroom to brush her teeth, wondering why he was calling her on a Friday. The hearing wasn’t until Monday morning. She splashed some cold water on her face and then pressed the button to listen to her voicemail messages. He was the only one who had called, and she smiled when she heard his voice.

  Lauren, I need to talk to you about something important. Call me as soon as possible.

  She stared at her phone, wondering what could possibly be so important. She let her finger hover over his contact information. Her stomach clenched as the worst-case scenario flashed in her mind, what if he found out about Tabitha. But how? She leaned against the sink, her internal lawyer arguing whether or not to wait until morning to call him. What if it’s about business? There’s nothing that can’t wait until the morning. But what if it’s really urgent? Oh, come on, there’s nothing that urgent, but Lauren’s gut overrode her brain, she pushed the button and her heart pounded in her ears as the phone started to ring.

  ‘Hi.’

  ‘Hi.’

  ‘I got your message,’ she said. ‘And I’m calling you back.’ She tried to sound as nonchalant as one could with their heart thumping like a bass drum in their ears

  ‘I need to talk to you,” he said.

  ‘Okay,’ she replied.

  ‘In person,’ he clarified.

  ‘Sounds serious,’ she said.

  ‘It is.’

  She tried to gauge his response, but his voice was all business. There was no emotion, positive or negative, in his tone.

  ‘Can I come over?’ he asked.

  ‘What, right now?’ Her eyes glanced at the mirror where she saw the pillow creases in her face, and the kid’s toothbrush in the holder, evidence that a child lived in this home.