Chapter Twenty-Four

AS SOON AS GABE PULLED UP to the curb of the B and B, Kendall reached for the door. “Thanks again,” she said. “You really saved me last night. Let me know about the contractor friend?” And then before he could respond, she wrenched the door open and jumped out of the truck into a pile of fluffy white snow.

Gabe lifted a hand in farewell, a frown creasing his face. Kendall forced a smile and waved back, even though inside she was cursing herself. He must think she was demented, practically throwing herself out of the truck before it even came to a complete stop. But she couldn’t stand waiting to see what his farewell would be. A kiss on the lips? A kiss on the cheek? A friendly punch in the shoulder as if they were buddies?

No, that one wasn’t his style, at least.

So instead, she grinned at him like an idiot and trudged up the sidewalk to the front stoop of Mr. Brandt’s B and B. She struggled with the key in the cold lock, but the minute the door opened, footsteps rang out from the back hallway, and the innkeeper appeared beside her.

“Ah, Kendall! No worse for the wear, I see.” The man gave her an awkward pat on her shoulder.

Kendall chuckled at the uncomfortable show of affection. “Did Gabe tell you he was with me?”

“He did, but that’s not the same as seeing it with my own eyes. Is he here?”

“Oh, um, no. He had to run into the office and check on things, I think. With the canceled bonfire and everything.” Kendall was fully making it up, and she hoped that Mr. Brandt didn’t question her too closely.

“Come get warm then. Can I make you some coffee?”

“Thank you, that’s very kind, but I think I just want to take a hot bath if you don’t mind. Even with my little propane heater, it wasn’t that warm in the house.”

“Understandable. If you need anything, just let me know.”

“Thanks. I will.” Kendall smiled at Gabe’s grandfather and then turned and made for the stairs.

She threw her bag down on the bed as soon as she entered the room and made her way to the attached bathroom, kicking off shoes and stripping off clothing as she went. The tile was cold underfoot, as was the edge of the tub when she perched on it to run the water, but just the prospect of a long, hot soak made some of the tension seep out of her body.

But once she was ensconced in the hot water, complete with lavender-scented bubbles, she couldn’t wait to get back out. She needed to talk to somebody about the situation with Gabe. She almost reached for her cell phone, placed just out of reach on top of her sweater by the tub, but she and Sophie didn’t really have that kind of relationship. They’d never discussed anyone they were seeing, unless it was to complain about the guys’ bad habits once they’d broken up with them. Besides, Kendall wasn’t usually the type to agonize over a man. She met a guy, went out with him, and decided to either keep dating him or let him down easy. Or in the case of the really obnoxious ones, immediately ghosted him. But talk about feelings, go around and around about the nuance of a conversation or a look? Not since middle school.

Fantastic. Gabe had reduced her to a middle schooler.

Still, Kendall couldn’t shake her restlessness, so she stayed in the tub just long enough to defrost her fingers and toes and then wrapped herself in a fluffy bath blanket while she thoroughly dried her hair. Not out of vanity, but out of survival instinct, considering it would freeze solid the minute she ventured outside. When it was finally dry and braided under a warm wool hat, Kendall layered up like she was braving the Arctic, pulled on her damp snow boots, and headed back out into the cold.

A block away from the B and B, she began to regret her choice, but it wasn’t like she had any other options. Her car was at the Lakeshore house, Uber didn’t exist up here, and she certainly wasn’t going to call Gabe to drive her to the coffee shop so she could talk about him with Delia.

No, she shouldn’t think of it that way. She was gathering intel from someone who knew him. It was only sensible. Delia might be a friend of his, but she was also a woman, and in these situations, sisterhood always trumped friendship.

By the time she reached Main Street Mocha, Kendall was a teeth-chattering icicle. Her cheeks burned from the cold, her nose was completely numb, and she’d ceased to feel her feet about a block ago. Maybe she wasn’t as adapted to the cold as she thought. Even two blocks in subfreezing temperature made her feel like she might die of hypothermia.

Thankfully, the coffee shop was open, but it was packed with people warming up over mugs of coffee and tea, some of them dressed like they’d come from church. Maybe Gabe’s claim was right—maybe this was a town of churchgoing folks, though that made her feel more out of place than she already had. A quick skim of the counter revealed a teenage girl working the espresso machine. So much for her hope of seeing Delia.

And then the woman bustled in from the back, carrying a large box, and started to transfer stacks of paper cups to the cabinets under the counter. Kendall skirted the line and moved to the side of the counter. “Hey, Delia.”

Delia twisted and then broke into a smile. “Kendall! You made it! I thought you might have decided to crawl back under the covers, not that I would have blamed you.”

“I was actually hoping to talk to you,” Kendall said, then quickly amended, “Just a chat. Nothing important.”

Yeah. Gabe was turning her into a total idiot.

But Delia smiled. “Sure. I just came by to check on things. Mary couldn’t find the extra cups, and she was worried about running out with the after-church crowd. What can I make you?”

“I hate to jump the line . . .”

Delia leaned forward and winked. “Advantages of being a friend of the owner.”

Kendall’s guilt wouldn’t let her choose anything complicated, so she said, “A peppermint tea would be great actually.”

“Coming right up.” Delia went to the hot water dispenser at the bar and came back a minute later with a paper cup. “Come on. We’ll grab that little table in the corner.”

Kendall studied Delia as she wove her way through her coffee shop. Despite her youthful, alternative appearance, there was something settled, even wise, about her. Those were two things Kendall wasn’t sure she’d ever be. Or maybe it was just that Main Street Mocha was Delia’s home, her business, her happy place.

“I am so glad you’re okay,” Delia said when they were seated in the corner, away from listening ears. “When Gabe came in looking for you, I was afraid you might be stranded somewhere.”

“I would have been, if not for you. Thanks for sending him out to the house after me. It would have been a long, cold night if he hadn’t shown up when he did.”

Delia nodded, saying nothing, just looking at Kendall in that focused way of hers.

Kendall sipped her tea and tried to figure out how to broach the subject.

Finally Delia sighed and cocked her head. “Okay, Kendall, spill. What happened?”

Heat rose to Kendall’s cheeks for maybe the ninetieth time today. What had happened to the self-assured woman who didn’t need anyone’s validation? “How do you know something happened?”

“Because you just told me it did.” Delia sobered. “Are you okay? Did you . . . do something you regret? Did Gabe do something you regret?”

Kendall’s eyes widened when she realized what Delia was implying, though she was warmed by her sudden sharp tone. She was ready to jump behind Kendall if she needed the support. “No, nothing like that. I mean, we spent the night together, but we didn’t sleep together.”

Delia exhaled. “Okay, good. I didn’t think that was Gabe’s style, but sometimes you don’t know people as well as you think you do.”

“But I did kiss him.”

“Oh.” Her mouth rounded in surprise. “And? He wasn’t bad, was he? You’re not trying to figure out how to let him down easy?”

Kendall laughed at the scandalized look on Delia’s face. Clearly this had been a topic of conversation at one point among the women, though it only took one look at Gabe to understand why. She lowered her voice. “No, it wasn’t bad. It was . . . good. Really good. Like, put on the brakes before this goes too far sort of good.”

“So where’s the hang-up?”

Kendall bit her lip, not sure how to explain the situation. “This morning, he was distant, like he regretted everything. I know he’s really religious, but it’s not like there’s anything in the Bible against kissing, is there?”

Delia’s brow furrowed. “No, thank goodness. But what do you mean, really religious? That’s not exactly how I would describe him.”

“I just mean his faith is obviously important to him. How many guys would purposely not take advantage of the situation? No one around, things heat up a little . . .”

“Well, yeah, that’s Gabe. His faith does mean a lot to him, and I’m glad to hear that it applies to all areas of his life. Frankly, that’s kind of hard to find.” Delia studied her thoughtfully. “Kendall, are you a believer?”

Kendall shrank back from the question and cupped her hands around her tea. “I mean, I believe God exists. But I don’t go to church or anything.”

“So you wouldn’t call yourself a Christian?”

Kendall choked on her mouthful of peppermint tea. “No. Definitely not.”

Delia rubbed the side of her nose. “Yeah. I think this is a conversation you need to have with him and not with me.”

“Why? Did I do something wrong?”

Delia reached for Kendall’s hand and gripped it hard. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then why won’t you tell me what you’re thinking?”

Delia looked like she didn’t want to answer, but finally she sighed. “Okay, you cannot be mad at me if I got this wrong, because you really need to talk to Gabe. But if I had to guess, I’d say that he’s putting on the brakes either because you’re leaving soon or because you’re not a Christian.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Kendall blinked at the other woman. “So it doesn’t matter how much we like each other or how compatible we are—he’s not interested because I’m not a church person?”

Delia smiled gently, but there was a tinge of sadness in her eyes. “It’s not a church or no-church thing, Kendall. Christians generally only date people who believe the same thing because it would be like . . . trying to operate the same machine while using two different manuals. You’ll inevitably have conflicts because you’re approaching life in completely different ways.”

“And that’s really important to him?”

“I can’t speak for him. But I do remember him saying he and his last girlfriend broke up because they wanted and believed different things. So yes. I imagine that could be a factor.”

“Wow.” Kendall wasn’t sure what else to say. She felt blindsided by the revelation, and she couldn’t decide if she felt better or worse. So maybe he really did like her, really was attracted to her, but he’d realized after their conversation that there couldn’t be a future between them.

“I’m sorry, Kendall. I really do think you two should talk, however awkward it might be.”

“No, it’s fine. I thought that maybe I’d done something wrong. But now I know it’s because I am something wrong.” Kendall pushed back her chair. “Thanks for the information. I appreciate it.”

“Kendall—”

She waved Delia down. “I’m okay. Thanks for the tea.” She turned on her heel and marched as quickly as she could out of the coffee shop, determined to make it outside before hot tears spilled from her eyes onto her cheeks.

That’s what she got for not leaving it alone, for pushing boundaries that had no business being pushed. Because now it wasn’t nervousness or fear that she felt; it was hopelessness. She might not be entirely sure what she wanted from Gabe, but he’d made it more than clear he wanted nothing from her.