No. Don't get weak now. You have to leave, for your own good and theirs as well. They may not exactly know what's good for them yet, but you certainly do.
I strengthen my resolve as we approach the inn, with only a few cars outside its small parking lot. Luckily, there’s an awning to park under, but the men still aren't taking a chance with me. They get me out of the back of the car and into their arms, running up through the awning and pushing open the heavy oak doors.
“Hello,” Luke calls out in the empty lobby, low ceilings held up by weathered timber beams. “Is anyone here?” He sees a bell on the desk and gives it a ding. After just a moment there’s a sound of a door opening and closing, followed by slow, shuffling footsteps coming nearer.
“Yes, hello.” An older female voice emerges as a woman appears from a door behind the reception desk. “Sorry to keep you, my dears, I wasn’t expecting any new visitors with this storm. People don’t tend to drive far in this sort of weather. Not if they don’t have to, leastways.”
“Well, we're kind of here because of the storm. Actually, I don’t know if you remember me, but we stayed here a few years ago.”
She peers closer at Luke. “Oh yes, of course.” She adjusts her glasses. “You’re that fella on TV—the chef. I wouldn’t forget a face like that!”
“Ah, you're too sweet.” Luke's eyes sparkle when he grins, even if it's only a perfunctory one. “I remember you too, Hazel. You made the best apple pie I've ever had in my life.”
“Oh, stop blowing smoke up my behind.”
“No, seriously. I don't think I've ever?—”
“Can we get a room?” Tal cuts him off, looking in no mood for long conversations. He jabs his head toward the stone fireplace dominating one wall, with weathered leather couches around it. “Preferably one with a good heater in it, and where she can take a hot water bath before she freezes to death.”
“I’m fine,” I try to say, but my chattering teeth ruin the effect. Tal glares me into silence.
He’s right. I’m not fine.
The cold has seeped into my bones.
Hazel purses her lips. “Well, we have radiators in each room, but there’s no hot water. Something’s wrong with the furnace. We've been trying to get a plumber out for a couple of days now, but you don’t know how hard it is to find good tradesmen in this neck of the woods…”
“I’ll fix it,” Tal says, and he passes me over to Luke like I’m a piece of delicate cargo.
“I can walk,” I remind them, but Tal ignores me, telling the lady, “Where is it?”
“Um… it’s in the back. Are you a plumber?”
“No,” he says at the same time as Reid says, “Yes.”
“He’s a lot of things,” Luke says. “Might as well let him take a crack at it.”
The woman looks apprehensive, but she eventually sighs. “Well, I’m not sure it can get much worse than it is now, so why not. Oh, and we do have a room for y’all. You’re in luck, because it’s the last one we have available. The bed’s pretty big, and there’s a pull-out, so hopefully you can all share. Best of all, it’s got a fireplace—so if one of you young men wouldn’t mind bringing up a few logs from the woodstore?”
“I’ll do it,” says Reid.
We head up the creaking stairs to a large, family-sized bedroom.
It’s not too bad. The room’s actually kind of charming with its rustic decor and stone-based hearth. It smells like cedar and woodsmoke, and it’s sizable, with a small writing desk and a couch in the corner. The bed itself is huge, covered with an old-fashioned, handmade quilt likely pieced together from all kinds of old sewing projects. The fireplace is a good size too, and looks just the job for a day like this.
The rain lashes hard against the windows, and in the electric light it’s suddenly noticeable how dark it’s gotten outside. Reid closes the shutters, which dulls the sound of the wind and rain a little, before following Hazel out to get the logs for the fire.
The room reminds me of a Hallmark movie, and the way Luke carries me into it makes me feel like a Disney character, or a blushing bride on the first night of her honeymoon.
Except my love interest is three different men, and I want all of them, so no… on second thoughts… not much like a Disney movie after all.
Reid and Hazel soon return—Reid with a big armful of logs, Hazel with kindling, matches, and firelighters. I continue to hold onto Luke and close my eyes as our hostess tells us where everything is and what time breakfast is served in the morning. Meantime, Reid builds up a fire in the grate and sets a match to it. The crackling sound of the fire catching is a cheery one, but nevertheless, I’m anxious about the moment when we’re finally properly alone. We have to talk about everything, and I guess it’s a relief, but on the other hand it’s going to be awkward and potentially painful.
I don’t want to hurt anyone.
I also don’t want to get hurt.
But either could happen, and I’m trapped in this room until the rain stops and until my car is fixed.