Chapter 3

 

 

This was one of those misleading December days where the sun was shining so bright, it made you think it was warm outside.

It wasn’t. It was nowhere near warm. Not even lukewarm.

The temperature was in the low forties. The breeze kissed frozen snow and made the cold that much more bone-chilling – not to mention it had snowed more last night. Though this was the case, the beauty of it all couldn’t be ignored. The fresh snow had decorated the evergreen trees. If you caught the crystalized flakes at the right angle, you could see the moment the sun made them glisten beneath its charming light.

Haven had on a long, brown coat and pink gloves with the matching scarf and hat. It was too cold outside to try to look cute, although the pink, furry snow boots she had on probably did the trick.

She rode with Titus in his Rubicon jeep the short distance to the tramway. She was thankful for the short ride. Something about being in his jeep, smelling the scent of cologne and the heavy aroma of man that was embedded into his car seats was doing a number on her. Her pulse was racing so out of control she could hardly concentrate. Had it been that long since she’d been in the presence of a man?

It had. The only guy she ever dated was back in her college days and she ended it with him when he was interested more in getting in her pants than actually getting to know her as a person. She was too smart to waste time on that nonsense, especially when she had clear goals for herself – get her degree (check), take over as manager of the bed and breakfast (check), get married (no check/to be determined) and have kids (no check/to be determined).

The line for the tramway wasn’t terribly long on a Monday – it was only about a ten-minute wait and then they were boarded, riding the one-hundred plus passenger aerial tramway two miles up to the amusement park and ski area. From this far up, the snowscape was a lovely sight. Snow blanketed everything into a sea of white for as far as the eyes could see. It was like a heaven of clouds in earth form, hovering over the ground and trees. Haven had never considered snow to be majestic until this point in time. Before, it was a nuisance. Now it was simply amazing.

Titus watched her eyes as she stared out into the distance. He was more amazed by her reaction to the view than the actual scenery itself.

“Beautiful,” he murmured, still looking at her.

“It is. Wow. I can’t believe I’ve never done this before.”

“I can’t believe you haven’t either. If I lived here, I’d have to do it at least once a month. But then, of course you’d have to come with me because it just wouldn’t be right without you now.”

“Yeah, right.” She hissed. “You’d be tired of it after two months.”

“No. I love nature,” Titus said, snapping pictures as he talked. “I heard there’s a lot to do up there.”

“Yeah, like freeze to death.”

He chuckled. “We’re geared up. We can handle some cold weather. You got on enough clothes to survive a wintry mix.”

“Funny,” she said, smiling. “I heard there were a lot of shops and things up here, but I’ve never been, so—”

“We’re about to find out.”

They got off the tram and walked around. The views were even more magnificent up this high and there was plenty to do – mountain coasters, snow tubing, ice bumper cars, the scenic chairlift, the arcade and shopping.

Haven stared off into the distance, looking at the beautiful landscape of snow on varying elevations of mountainous rocks. Some peaks looked tall enough to touch the clouds.

“What do you think?” Titus asked.

“I think it’s amazing up here,” she told him as they walked, checking out the area.

“I figured we’d take the ski lift down.”

“You figured wrong…” she informed him. A look of panic came over her face. He may have had an adventurous spirit. She, on the other hand, valued her life.

“You’re scared of the ski lift?”

“I can’t ride the ski lift. I’ll just leave it at that.”

“Why not?”

“It’s really trivial.”

“Must be embarrassing, huh, since you don’t want to tell me.”

She glanced over at him, seeing the smile on his face. He wasn’t that much taller than her since she was pretty tall herself, standing at five-eight. He was about six-one. She figured they look good walking together.

“When I was eight, I got on a ski lift with my parents and I swear I almost fell off. No lie.”

“That was a long time ago, Haven. Trust me, if you can ride the tramway, you can ride the ski lift.”

“No. No. No. No. The tramway is enclosed. The ski lift is just a bench suspended in the air on some wires.”

“Haven, you’re panicking.”

“I have a right to panic. You’re trying to get me to do something outrageous.”

He smiled, showing a beautiful set of white teeth. “You’ll be safe with me. I won’t let you fall. Plus, you need this experience so years from now, when we get married, I can tell our kids the story of how I saved their mother from her dreaded fear of ski lifts.”

She laughed. “You’re crazy. Is that why you asked me to go sightseeing with you? So you could run some game on me?”

“Do you think I ride around to all the B&B’s in Gatlinburg, looking for unsuspecting, beautiful women to game?”

“That’s for you to answer.”

He chuckled. “I haven’t been on a date since my last relationship. It’s been a year.”

“What happened with that?”

Titus watched a few kids run by him with snow tubes when he said, “She decided to cheat on me with her ex.”

“Ouch. That’s terrible.”

“Yeah, but that’s the way it goes, right? You trust someone, love that person and they end up crushing your heart.”

“Actually, it shouldn’t go that way at all. I’m sorry that happened to you.”

“Thanks.” He pulled in a long inhale of fresh, mountain air and asked, “What about you? What’s your story?”

“Um…hmmm…I don’t really have a story.”

“Oh, come on.”

She chuckled. “I don’t. My life has been the B&B and that’s about it.”

“So, no dates, no boyfriends, no nothing. You looked like you’ve broken a few hearts in your day.”

“Nah. My life has revolved around school and work. I never had time to date. I know that makes me look weird now.”

“Not at all.”

“Don’t lie.”

“No, I’m serious. It doesn’t. You chose to put your schooling and career ahead of other pursuits. There’s nothing wrong with that. We’re all free to choose our paths.”

“What path have you chosen since splitting from your ex?” she asked him as they walked pass the shops.

“I didn’t choose a path necessarily. I did learn some lessons. I learned not to put too much time and energy in a woman who wouldn’t do the same for me in return. I learned that love takes time and there’s no need to rush it. I’ve learned that if a person doesn’t love you, it doesn’t matter how much love you shower them with. It just isn’t going to work.”

“Sounds like some pretty hard lessons.”

“They were but I’m still standing.”

“You are. I guess it’s a lot easier for me since I’ve never been in a relationship. You don’t miss what you never had and I don’t have drama from breakups and all that.”

“You don’t want to fall in love?”

“I do but only when the time is right.”

“How old are you, Haven?”

“Thirty. You?”

“Thirty-eight, and you’re beyond the age when women start thinking about settling down and having a family.”

“I am?”

He grinned, looked over at her. “Women your age are usually married already with at least one child. Are you telling me you haven’t given marriage any thought?”

Haven thought it was too deep of a conversation to be having with a guy she just met yesterday but she was already in it now so she responded, “Well, yeah, but I have my reasons for being who I am.”

“Let’s hear ‘em. Lay it all out on the table right now.”

She sniffled, the elements bothering her a little. “Well, I’m an only child. If I wasn’t around, who would run the B&B for my parents? And, secondly, I’m always at the lodge. It’s not like I’m out here skirting around in this world looking for my Mr. Right. At this stage, the job takes precedence.”

“I see.”

“You have no comment? You’ve been very vocal about how you think my life should be,” she said, stopping near the shops.

“I’m just making observations. I’m the last person who can give someone any advice on relationships.”

“Not true. You’ve been in them. You should have all the advice in the world.”

“Yeah, for my guys. Not for you, pretty lady.”

They walked further along until Titus spotted a place he wanted to try – a fudge shop. He saw all kinds of fudge. Peanut butter fudge. White chocolate fudge. Butterscotch. Whatever flavor you were in the mood for they had it. “Have you ever tried this fudge? I’m sure you have…”

“No.”

“You’re kidding me. You live in the mountains and you’ve never tried this homemade fudge?”

“No. It’s nothing but sugar. I’m sure it’s good. However, it’s not good for my rear end.”

Raising his brows, Titus looked at the clerk, a white woman dressed for an avalanche – ear muffs and all – and asked, “Do you hear this? This woman lives here and hasn’t tried fudge.”

“We have to fix that right way,” the clerk said. “Come on over here and get you some free samples.”

“I guess,” Haven said reluctantly. “I’ll try the peanut butter—chocolate.”

She gave them both a little cup. Titus wasted no time throwing his back, moaning how good it was.

Probably the sugar rush, Haven figured. She took a different approach when trying hers. She pinched off a tiny piece and put it in her mouth.

“No, Haven,” Titus said. “You have to take the whole thing. Don’t be scared of it. It won’t bite you, girl.”

“I’m not a go all in kinda girl. What if I don’t like it?”

“It’s delicious. Didn’t you just see my eyes roll back in my head?”

She giggled. “Yeah. I saw it.”

“Then, it’s your turn. Take it to the head, baby.”

“Ugh…” she said, feeling pressured, a feeling she didn’t like. “Alright. Alright.” She turned up the cup and ate the fudge sample. This time, she was able to get the full flavor of the fudge – the peanut butter and chocolate flavors combined to make a sensational blend with the texture of the fudge. “Wow. That’s pretty good.”

“See...now you know what you’ve been missing.”

“Definitely. I bet our guests would love to have some complimentary fudge cubes.” She picked up one in clear plastic wrap and asked the clerk, “How much?”

“They’re $3.99 each.”

“Okay. Let me get fifteen of them.”

“Alright.”

Haven commenced to picking out the fifteen she wanted – all in different flavors.

The clerk added it all up and said, “That’ll be $59.85.”

Haven removed her glove, then asked, “Do you take debit?” as she stuffed her hand in the pocket of her pants for the card.

“I do.”

“I got it, Haven,” Titus said handing the clerk a hundred-dollar bill.

“Titus, I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You didn’t ask. I volunteered.”

“Titus—”

“And you’re not talking me out of it so don’t try.”

“Okay. Fine, but just know that as a guest at my hotel, I’m totally not comfortable with this,” she said, putting her glove back on.

“Noted.” He took his change from the clerk. “Are there any other shops we need to hit up before we go back down,” he said taking in the view of downtown Gatlinburg. All the stores. The tourists. The snow didn’t make people stay at home in the mountains. If anything, it was all the more reason to get out and enjoy yourself.

“I wasn’t looking for a shop in particular, so we can do whatever.”

“Alright, then. Let me get us some tickets for the ski lift.”

“Okay,” she said and when he walked ahead to get tickets, she took the opportunity to make a clean break for the tramway in the opposite direction.

Titus glanced back and saw her power-walking in her snow boots. “Not so fast Ms. Baker,” he said running to catch up to her. “You’re going down this ski lift.”

“I knew I should’ve listened to my first mind and stayed at the lodge.”

“There’s no fun in that. Now, let’s go.”

“Ugh.”

“Oh, quit your grunting. It’s not bad.” Titus took her hand and walked her over to the ski lift. He bought tickets and they stood in line. “Don’t be nervous.”

“Easy for you to say. You haven’t had a near-death experience on one of these.”

He cracked a smile. “Neither have you. Come on. Our turn.”

He took her by the hand and helped her sit down.

“Oh my God. If I die, I’m going to kill you, Titus.”

He chuckled. “That’s gonna be hard to do, don’t you think?”

And then the lift began moving.

Haven’s body locked up. With her right hand, she grabbed a hold to the bar. With her left, she got a good grip on Titus’ arm. She squeezed her eyes closed out of fear.

“You’re safe. Enjoy the view. Look at all of this,” Titus said, still carefree and soaking in every moment. “Look at it, Haven.”

She opened her eyes to see the rolling hills of mountains spanning as far as she could see. This far up, she could truly take in the varying elevations. The blankets of snow. The shops that lined the streets. She could even get a good view of the mountain cabins that were tucked in on these majestic mountains.

“This is magnificent,” she said, loosening the grip on his jacket. “I’m scared to death, but this is—wow. It’s beautiful.”

“I thought you would like it,” he said admiring the look of astonishment on her face.

 

* * *

 

Back at the B&B, Haven saw her mother’s car parked near the entrance and immediately cringed. Cecily Baker had been after her about finding a man and having babies. If she saw her with Titus, she’d make assumptions.

“Oh, no,” Haven said.

“What’s wrong?” Titus asked, looking at her.

“My mother’s here.”

“And why’s that a problem?”

“Because it just is, and you’re not meeting her so don’t even think about it.”

“Looks like I am. Isn’t that your twin walking toward us.”

Oh shoot! Haven’s stomach did a cartwheel. Her mother was walking briskly toward the jeep. She loved her mom, but she could be downright nosy and intrusive.

“Crap. Okay, look—do not entertain her, okay. Just wave,” she instructed Titus.

“And what am I supposed to do when she asks me who I am? Wave?”

“Yes.”

“Then she’ll think I’m a crazy person.”

“You are a crazy person. You made me ride a ski lift. Look—just stay in the jeep for a minute. I’ll talk her back into the lodge. Meanwhile, you just walk in and go straight to your room. Got it?”

“Yes, mother,” he said amused. “How long am I grounded?”

Ignoring him, Haven got out of the jeep with the bag of fudge and when she walked toward her mother, she said, “Mom, I didn’t know you were coming by today.”

Cecily was too busy trying to see who was in the jeep than pay any attention to what her daughter was saying.

“Mom?” Haven stepped in front of her.

Undeterred, Cecily still peeped around her and asked, “Who’s that in the car?”

“Nobody. Just somebody who gave me a ride.”

“So is he a nobody or somebody?”

Haven’s eyes were rolling when she walked on to the lodge, opened the door and said, “Mother, why are you here?”

“Something told me to come by here today.”

“And who was that something? Dad?” she asked, then chuckled.

“Chile, your father doesn’t even know I left the house. He was in his office looking over some paperwork. I told him I’d be back and he didn’t even acknowledge me. Now, where are you coming from and who’s that man?”

Haven sighed and looked at her mother. The woman didn’t look like she was fifty-five. People always assumed she was at least ten years younger. She kept her hair dyed black. Even when the gray strands made an appearance, their days of being gray would be short-lived.

“Mom, I told you, he gave me a ride.”

“What kind of ride?” her mother asked waggling her brows.

Haven’s mouth dropped open. “Cecily Baker, I’m appalled.”

Cecily chuckled. “Look, honey…I ain’t getting no younger and me and your dad need some grandkids to spoil.”

“No, you need some kids to spoil which you can find just about anywhere.”

“No. I want my own grandkids and—”

The sound of the door opening had Cecily looking there. Her eyes widened when she saw the man she recognized from the jeep that Haven had just gotten out of. He was stomping snow off of his boots before walking across the wood floor.

“Well, hello there,” Cecily said, changing her voice to a phony touch of elegance. She sounded like she’d suddenly mastered the British accent. Actually, hers sounded more like drunken British.

Haven shook her head, already embarrassed.

“Hi,” Titus said.

So much for just smiling and waving, Haven thought. Her new, handsome friend didn’t know how to follow a few simple instructions. Didn’t she tell him to go to his room? Why was he still standing there?

Cecily wasted no time extending both hands to Titus like she was welcoming an old friend when she said, “I’m Cecily, Haven’s mother and you would be?”

“Titus.”

“Titus. What a lovely name. It’s very nice to meet you.”

Haven could just die. Who describes a man’s name as lovely besides her mother? And who changed their voice to a fake accent to impress somebody?

“You as well.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Titus, but didn’t I just see you sitting in the car with my daughter?”

Titus glanced over at Haven. She was irritated but the flush of color on her cheeks made her that much more pleasing to his eyes.

“Um, yes. I took her to the store,” Titus finally answered.

“Oh,” Cecily said, spinning around. “Something wrong with your car, dear?”

“Nope.” Haven tried to distract herself by finding a basket and putting the fudge that Titus had bought in it. Then she put it on the counter. Still, she saw the big smile that grew on her mother’s face.

Titus tried to walk away but Cecily said in a not-so-soft whisper, “You know she’s single.”

“Mom, I’m sure Titus would rather be relaxing in his room right now.”

Cecily’s eyes brightened in delight. “Oh. You’re a guest of Baker Bed & Breakfast. Fantastic! How long are you staying?”

“I’m checking out Saturday.”

“Okay. Then I hope you’re enjoying your stay so far. Yes?”

“I am. Haven’s a wonderful host,” Titus said, taking small steps further away as he talked, then gave Haven a single wave before he disappeared upstairs.

Cecily looked at her daughter and said, “He looks like a nice young man and, FYI, he wasn’t wearing a ring, sweetie.”

“Mother, I don’t need you playing matchmaker for me.”

“Why is it that every time I bring up anything about a man or children, you get an attitude? Tell your mama what’s really going on.”

“There’s nothing going on. I just need you to take a step back and let me do me without trying to intervene.”

“Let me do me—what does that even mean? Here you are thirty-years-old with nothing.”

Haven narrowed her eyes. “With nothing?”

“You know that I mean—with no man, no babies—”

“I’m sorry if that in some way makes me less valuable in your eyes, but I’m happy where I am. I’m running this B&B every day and I think I do a pretty good job of doing it.”

“Yeah, but honey, I want you to have a life, too.”

Haven’s irritation became apparent when she raised her voice a tad and said, “I have a life! This place is my life. This is what I do. It’s who I am. I live here. I went to college for this. If I hadn’t, who would be here to run it for you and dad? Answer that for me!”

“But dear, is that why you’re doing it? For us?”

“No. I like it. This is the line of work I chose and I honestly like what I do. But I’m stuck here all day long, day-in and day-out checking in people, making sure everybody else is comfortable—making sure people have soap, towels, food, clean covers, a friendly, clean atmosphere—I’m waiting on folks hand and foot while my life passes me by. And you wonder why I have an attitude when you constantly nag me about men and babies.”

“If this is how you feel, why’d you agree to work here?”

Haven leaned against the counter, rested her elbows on top of it and closed her eyes. Was her mother not listening? “I like what I do, but it doesn’t afford me that much of an opportunity to have a life. I live in one of the rooms here. I’m always here. I mean, let’s say I did meet someone, Mom. What is he supposed to do? Move in here with me? Become an insta-maid? Automatically bury himself with the operation of the family business? That’s my struggle and you’re not making it any better by trying to fling me to every guy who crosses your path.”

Cecily pursed her lips and threw a hand on her hip. “I will be talking this over with your father to see if we can come up with a solution to this problem.”

“No, you will not. I’m a grown woman. I don’t need mommy and daddy resolving my problems. I’ll take care of my problems my way. Now, is there a pressing issue that you came down here for, or—”

“No. I came down here to find out what my daughter was up to and to see if you needed any help with anything.”

“I don’t. I have everything under control.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Really.”

“Then why did I have to collect the towels outside our guests’ doors today?”

Haven shrugged. “Because you’re bored and have nothing better to do with your time? I have laundry on the schedule for this afternoon.”

“So you’ve been gone for a while, then...”

“Mother, I know what I’m doing. Please stop prying.”

“Okay but all I’m gonna say is this—almost half of your life is over and you’ve shared it with no one.”

“You and dad are no one, huh?”

“You know what I mean. As much as I love this place, I love you more and I don’t want your life to pass you by.”

Finally, something they were in agreement on – she didn’t want her life to pass her by either while she stayed stuck at work twenty-four-seven. Something had to give.