There was a jingle of the bell over the front door making her jump. She spun around to find Editon shaking the snow off his hat and coat like a big dog.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. Kady held her voice steady but in reality, she was relieved to see another human being…especially a six-foot plus hunky one.
“We have a date tonight, right?” He pulled his hat off and wadded it into his hand.
“I figured because of the weather you would call it off. Besides, it’s not evening yet.”
“The weather is bad out there. There is a lot more snow than they had originally predicted. I wanted to make sure you were all right here at the shop and to tell you the bad news that there’s a tree over the main road.”
“How am I going to get home?” she asked more to herself than to him.
“It’s going to be at least a few hours until it’s cleared and the road reopens.” Unzipping his coat, he walked toward her.
Kady bit her lip. “I was just looking around the shop and thinking about a worse case scenario. There are wood benches and a few quilts in the back. I guess I could stay here.”
“Why don’t you come with me? My house is just about a half-mile from here.”
“I can’t. The shop is still open for a few more hours, and I can’t leave early.”
He frowned. “I don’t think anyone is coming out in this storm.”
“Well, if they do, I need to stay—” Kady was halfway through her sentence when the lights went out. She finished with, “Open. Wow…it’s dark in here. And I’m not sure if there are any flashlights.” She could barely see Editon who stood a few feet from her a few feet in front of her. Even though it was late afternoon, the storm made it as dark as night. “I don’t want to move. I?m afraid I might break something.”
He stepped closer. “I have an idea. I remember seeing a table of candles to our right.”
“Yes, there is. But those are candles for sale, not for power outages.”
Slowly, he moved away. In a few moments, a lighter sparked that he held and then he lit two candles. He came back toward Kady and handed her one. He lifted a twenty-dollar bill up and dropped it on the checkout counter. He chuckled. “I’m buying a few right now to get us through this pinch, so don’t worry about it.”
“You don’t need to do that,” she protested.
“We can’t stumble around here in the dark. I’m a problem-solver.”
“I see that.” She had to laugh. It was silly to buy fancy scented candles to light the darkness, but what else could they do?
“What was that about keeping the shop open for a few more hours?”
Kady tried to muster up a protest, but the temperature in the small space was already dropping, and she shivered. “You’re right again. It would be meaningless to stay open and freeze to death. You’ll cover for me and make sure that Tegan knows that the power went out?”
“Of course,” he answered. Lit by the glow of the candlelight, Editon’s handsome features were more pronounced.
“But if the power is out here, won’t it be out at your house too?” she asked.
“I have a generator, Que Syrah Syrah does not.”
“Okay…you win. And you have something warm to drink?” she asked hopefully.
“How does hot chocolate with spray can whip cream and homemade chicken noodle soup sound?”
“It sounds like possibly the best meal in the history of the world.” She grinned, happy that Editon was the one who came to rescue her.
Kady snuggled down into the seat of Editon’s pickup and further under the blanket he’d laid over her lap to keep her warm. She rubbed her hands in front of the truck?s heater.
She looked out the window and watched the wipers try and keep up with the heavy falling snow. “Can you see?”
“Good thing I know this road like the back of my hand. It would be difficult for someone who didn’t to even stay on the road.”
“No kidding.” Kady gripped the seatbelt a little tighter. “You said you live close by?”
“There’s my house.” He pointed to a enormous log cabin in the distance as they crept down the driveway.
“That’s your house?” She tried to keep the shock out of her voice.
“Sure is. I built it myself.” He pulled the truck up to the house and hit the garage opener. Waiting until the door slid open, he inched the truck into the open spot. Then he jumped out, - came around and opened her door. She followed him inside. “I’m going to start a fire. Make yourself at home.”
Kady set her purse on the concrete mahogany-stained counter and checked out the large kitchen. A six-burner gas stove with double ovens sat on one side of the room. Expensive copper chef pans hung above the island casting a warm glow off the sheen.
“Do you like to cook?” she asked.
“I do. I’m getting pretty good at it the more I try new things.”