Welcome To Winterville by Carrie Elks

16

Everley leaned on the Winterville Inn reception desk, grinning at her sister. “Okay, so long story short, Gray Hartson has agreed to headline the concert. I’m going to sing the final song. And Holly and Josh Gerber have been banging the brains out of each other.”

Alaska looked up from her computer, her eyes catching Holly’s. “I knew there was something between you two.”

It had taken the entire walk from the café to the Winterville Inn for Holly to fill her cousin in. She’d only given her the barest of details, but clearly Everley was filling in the gaps herself.

“It’s so dreamy,” Everley said, her expression soft. “Two houses, both alike in dignity.”

“Can you quit with the Romeo and Juliet quotes?” Holly said, shaking her head. “We’re not exactly mortal enemies.”

“But you are on two different sides,” Alaska pointed out. Her long blonde waves were coiled up into a bun. “How are you going to deal with that?”

“I don’t know,” Holly said honestly. “We haven’t talked about his plans for Winterville.”

“They were too busy doing other things to talk,” Everley said, giving them both a wicked grin.

“Don’t you have a concert to arrange?” Holly asked her, shaking her head. Everley never failed to make her grin. “And I hear you have a message for me?” she said to Alaska.

“Yep. Your friend Natalie called. Your phone is off and your voicemail is full. I tried it as well and got the same result.” Alaska rooted beneath the counter, then brought up a complimentary slip.

Natalie would like you to call her ASAP.

Holly pulled her phone from her purse. Sure enough, the screen was blank. The battery must have died while she was at Josh’s last night. She hadn’t even thought to check. “That’s my lawyer friend. I sent her those deeds we found.” She grimaced at her phone again. “I’ll go upstairs and charge it,” she said, taking the slip from Alaska. “Thanks, honey.”

“No need to go upstairs, we have chargers here.” Alaska pulled up a box full of plugs and cords. “You can’t begin to imagine how many people either lose theirs or forget them. They’re the new toothbrushes.”

“I’m going to head into the business suite,” Everley said, hugging Holly tight. “I’m guessing you won’t be here for dinner tonight.”

“Not tonight,” Holly nodded. “But that’s okay, because you have womanly things to deal with.”

Alaska frowned. “What kind of womanly things?”

Everley rolled her eyes. “Nothing. I was digging Holly out of the mess she’s made.”

Holly left her cousin to fill Alaska in, and wandered over to a sofa next to an outlet, sliding the charger into her phone. A moment later her screen lit up, then a barrage of notifications filled it. Three missed phone calls from Natalie, notifications from Instagram – including Everley’s latest video, and a billion messages and texts filled her eyes.

Of course she clicked on the ones from a certain Josh Gerber.

You’re so damn beautiful. – J

That one was sent right after eleven. She couldn’t have left his house long before he’d sent it. She smiled at the thought of him sending it as he sat in a video meeting. The next was sent twenty minutes later.

What time are you coming tonight? I need you here early. – J

She loved how impatient he was to see her. She felt exactly the same.

I just ran up to grab something from my room and the bed still smells of sex. Is it wrong that I like it? – J

No, not wrong at all. She swallowed hard, the memory of his body on hers making her skin feel hot.

What the hell, Winter? – J

But thank you for the coffee. – J

Although now I’m thinking of ordering coffee for the whole town and putting it on your tab. Just to see your face. – J

By the way, you still look beautiful. – J

She laughed, remembering his face when Dolores must have told him his coffee was already paid for. She slid her fingers across the phone screen, her smile still curling her lips.

You looked pretty good yourself. – H

Everley had disappeared from reception, no doubt pulling her hair out in the business suite. Alaska was talking to one of the few guests, leaning over one of the free paper maps they supplied, drawing out directions.

Thank god. I was starting to think I had the wrong number. Wanna come over and play? – J

I’m busy! And sore. I also realized I forgot to ask you a question last night. – H

What question? – J

What’s the thing you keep in your pocket? – H

Come over here and find out. – J

Good try. I have work to do. Some asshole is trying to demolish my grandma’s town. – H

He sounds like a bastard. Want me to beat him up? – J

It’s okay. I’m looking forward to doing it myself. But thanks for the offer. <3 – H

I love the way you tell me you’re going to beat me up then send a heart. It makes me feel all warm inside. By the way, that thing in my pocket? It’s missing you. – J

Shut up, I’m busy. I have phone calls to make. I’ll see you tonight. – H

My pocket and I look forward to it. Xx – J

With a stupid grin still on her face, she closed her message app and pulled up her contacts. A moment later, her friend Natalie answered, her warm voice echoing through the phone.

“Hey stranger. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all day.”

“Sorry about that.” Holly grimaced. “I forgot to charge my phone.”

Natalie sighed. “Oh my. You really have switched off from the world. I can’t imagine not having my phone fully charged twenty-four-seven. Nancy would personally hunt me down no matter the time of day or night.”

“I was distracted. And how is Nancy?” Nancy was Natalie’s boss. A kick ass divorce attorney that made grown men cry. Holly adored her.

“Busy as always. We have a new case brewing, but we won’t start work on it until the new year. You’ll be back by then, right?”

Holly swallowed. “Yeah, I guess I will.” Strange how she didn’t want to think about that.

“But that’s not why I’m calling. I got those papers you scanned. And I got one of my property lawyer friends to take a look. He says he’s found something interesting, and potentially game changing, but he wants to run it by another lawyer first.”

“What kind of thing?” Holly asked, her brows knitting.

“Something that might help you save your grandma’s town. But he doesn’t want to get your hopes up until he’s confirmed it. He should have more news tomorrow if you’ll be around? He’s suggested a video conference at seven.”

“Seven tomorrow night?” Holly remembered their family meeting. “Yeah, that would work. Will you be there?”

“Um, yeah. I kind of promised to go out for dinner with him afterward.” Natalie sounded almost embarrassed.

“Oh God, don’t you want to go?” Holly wrinkled her nose. “Sorry about that.”

“Oh no, I definitely want to go. Ryan’s hot as hell. I’m just embarrassed because I kind of used your problem to get closer to him.”

Holly laughed. “In that case, I approve. And I’ll get to see exactly how hot he is tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah you will. And I really hope he has some good news for you. I can’t believe those assholes bought up your grandma’s town just to demolish it.”

Holly pulled her lip between her teeth. She really was sleeping with the enemy, wasn’t she? Maybe if things were different, she’d confide in Natalie and tell her about Josh. But Natalie was hundreds of miles away, and this situation was way too difficult to discuss over the phone.

Even Everley and Alaska knowing made her feel uncomfortable. She wasn’t sure she could cope with Natalie’s judgement, too.

“Listen, I have to go. Nancy’s working a late one and I need to get our order in for Barracuda. I’ll send you the Zoom link tomorrow, okay?”

“Sounds good,” Holly agreed. “I’ll make sure my cousins are there. We all have an interest in this.”

“That’s fine. Talk to you tomorrow, Hol.”

“Laters.” She ended the call, wondering what the hell Natalie’s friend had uncovered. Letting out a lungful of air, she slid her phone back into her purse and waved to Alaska, who waved back. She needed to get ready for her evening with Josh.

The enemy.

Why was her life suddenly so complicated?

* * *

Josh fell back on the mattress, pulling her with him so her body covered his. “Jesus, I’m broken.”

Holly laughed against his chest. “That makes two of us.” They’d been in bed since she’d arrived at his place, save for an emergency break to inhale some food. He was too irresistible for his own good.

“You’re an addiction, you know that?” Josh brushed a tendril of hair from her brow. “I keep trying to concentrate on work, but all I can think about is you.”

Her heart thrilled at his words. “Maybe that’s my plan. Distract you while we steal the town back from you.”

The corner of his lips quirked. “What a way to lose money.” He ran his fingertip down the line of her spine, making her shiver. “You want a drink?”

“No.”

“A shower?”

“In a bit. I don’t think I can walk right now. There are no nerve endings left in my legs.”

Josh laughed, running his soft lips over her brow. How easy life would be if they could always stay here. Not think about work or family or fighting over this town. He was holding her again, his thick biceps pressed against her upper arms, and she couldn’t remember the last time she felt this good.

Or this safe.

Which was wrong, because she wasn’t safe. And wasn’t that confusing? Her body was saying one thing, and her heart the other.

“I’m pretty sure I’ll never walk again. I’m too old to go three times in one night.”

“You didn’t feel old to me.” She kissed his chest, and he stirred beneath her. “Feels like part of you wants to go again.”

He winced. “Ignore it. It’s like one of those ghost limbs. You think you can feel it, but it’s really not there.”

Holly laughed, and the movement made him even harder against her. “It’s definitely there.”

“Let’s talk about something else. See if we can get him to go away.” Josh lifted her chin so he could kiss her. She sighed against his lips, kissing him back, feeling her body slowly coming back to life.

“How about I ask you that question again?” Holly suggested, a sparkle in her eye. Maybe she’d finally get an answer.

“Okay. Shoot.”

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, eyeing him carefully. “What’s the thing you keep in your pocket that you don’t want me to know about?”

Josh grinned. “I thought we were ignoring him?”

Holly narrowed her eyes. “You know what I’m talking about.”

“It’s stupid.” He ran his tongue along his bottom lip. “But you can look if you want. It’s in my pants pocket. Right side.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Go on.” He nodded, watching with interest as she clambered naked over him, and reached for the pants she’d stripped off of him earlier. Sure enough, there was a lump in the pocket. She reached in, her fingers touching a smooth, cool surface.

“A pebble?” She frowned, lifting it out and inspecting it. It was about an inch and a half long, made of smooth, white stone.

“Turn it over.”

She glanced at him and then back at her hand, turning it in her palm. On the other side she could see paint, faded to almost nothingness. She pulled it closer, her brows knitting as she tried to work out what it was.

“It’s a butterfly,” Josh said softly. “Or at least it was when I got it.”

She tipped her hand, looking closer at it. Sure enough, the outline looked like it had wings, though they were very worn away. “When did you get it?”

“I found it in London, a few days after I arrived there.”

“A few days after you left here?”

He nodded. Her heart felt funny. Like it was trying to knock its way out of her chest. “Why did you get it?”

“Why do you think?” He was looking at her carefully. Like he was almost afraid of her reaction.

“I don’t know what to think,” she admitted. “When you left, I assumed you forgot all about me.”

“When I left, you were all I could think about. Then one morning on my way to work I walked past a pile of stones. They were all painted with different designs. In front of them was a sign saying to help yourself. So I picked the butterfly.”

“But why did you keep it?”

“I don’t know. I liked the way it felt in my hand, I guess. And the butterfly was pretty when you could actually see it. The years have worn it away.”

Holly rubbed her thumb over the surface of the pebble. It was smooth and cool. “If you thought about me when you left for London, why didn’t you contact me?” For that first year she’d practically lived by her phone. Checked her social networks constantly for a friend request that never came.

“I wish I had. At first I thought I could forget about you, but that was easier said than done. Then when I got back to Cincinnati the following year, I decided to go for it. Call you and see if you’d meet me.”

“But you didn’t call?” She turned on her side, her brow furrowed.

“No. I saw your engagement announcement online.” A regretful smile flitted across his face. “And realized I was too late.”

She closed her eyes, squeezing them tight. “Would you have come to me if you hadn’t seen the announcement?”

“I would’ve at least contacted you. But I figured you’d moved on. And that was a good thing, because I truly believe I would have made you unhappy. Workaholics have that tendency.”

“I didn’t get married,” she reminded him.

“I know that now. But I didn’t then. I forced myself to stop looking online about you. It didn’t help.”

“I was angry at you for not contacting me when you said you would.”

He slowly nodded. “I get that.”

“And when my mom introduced me to her step-nephew, and he made it clear he was attracted to me, I guess I thought maybe it was my chance to move on.”

“Holly, I didn’t expect you to wait for me. I only have myself to blame for all this. Everything that happened is old history. We’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

But for how long? She wanted to ask, but she was afraid of the reply. Because this time they had together was strictly limited. In a few weeks, the deal would be complete and he’d walk away from Winterville – and from her. Again.

And she wouldn’t pine over him. Not this time. For the simple fact that he’d have taken away her family’s home. When it was just the two of them in here it was easy to forget that.

Only one of them could win. Which would mean neither of them winning in the end. That made her heart hurt. Because she’d never felt like this before about a man. Not even the one she was supposed to marry.

“Are you okay?” Josh asked her.

Holly nodded. “Yeah. Just taking a trip down the ‘what if’ highway.”

He smiled gently. “That’s a crap highway to take. Goes nowhere.” He reached for her hand, taking the pebble from it and putting it carefully on his bedside table, before he pulled her against him. “We should get some sleep. It’s some crazy hour in the morning.”

“That’s because you insist on using my body for your pleasure.” She smiled against his chest.

He kissed the top of her head. “All the more reason to sleep while you can.” He pulled the covers over them, tucking her against him. The warmth of his embrace felt like a balm to her soul.

“Good night, Josh,” she murmured, her eyelids heavy. She nestled into the crook of his arms.

“Sweet dreams,” he said, as she felt her muscles loosen and her eyes close. Her breathing slowed and regulated as he gently stroked her hair.

Through the thick haze of her sleepiness, she thought she heard him speaking, but it sounded so far away.

“What if I fell for you?” It was just a murmur. “Could it ever work out?”

She wanted to say yes, but sleep stole her words away.