From This Moment

Rona

“I’m sorry, Rona,” Jake tells me after being turned away from the reception at the Wort Hotel.

Jake’s friend, Lucy, was full up at her bed and breakfast and suggested we try the hotel. Unfortunately, they’re full up as well. The guy on reception tried to make a joke by offering me the broom closet. That went down like a ton of bricks.

Standing in the lobby, my disappointment starts to settle in, and I realize I should have called before leaving Dublin to find accommodation. I could have searched online as well.

I glance around the hotel and feel the tears in my eyes. I guess I could go to the cabin Nick and I were supposed to use, but the thought of that is filling me with dread. I’m not all that sure what I’m going to do now, especially after the guy at reception admitted the majority of hotels in the area are also booked up due to there being some sort of winter festival weekend. He actually told me to come back Tuesday!

Cade reaches out and tugs me into his side for a one-armed hug. He rubs my back, offering more comfort, but I get the feeling he’d rather be holding me a lot closer. I certainly wouldn’t object, although I’m not sure how Jake would take it.

I feel bad that instead of heading straight home, Cade and Jake are running around Jackson Hole to help me find accommodation. They must be tired—I know I am.

“You know,” Jake interrupts my thoughts, “there’s plenty of room at our house, and you won’t be alone with the both of us. My sister, Beth, and her husband, Mack, along with their kids, are staying at the house while they have work done on theirs.” Jake looks at his dad for confirmation.

Cade nods.

Jake turns back to me. “You heard the guy behind the desk about lack of accommodation. You could always move to town on Tuesday if staying with us gets too much.” He shrugs.

It would mean we head to their home now, and get warm instead of driving into the next town in the bitter cold. It might be comfortable in the truck, but with a light snow having started falling on our way into town, I don’t feel right having them drive me around in this weather. The snow isn’t sticking to the ground yet, but it will be soon. Besides, the trip to the next town over is about twenty minutes and that really is too much to ask of them.

I’m so tempted to say yes . . . but they’re strangers. I’ve only known them for a few hours, and even though Cade and I are irrevocably drawn to each other, that doesn’t mean I should just move right on in with him and

his son.

I’m so torn with what I should and shouldn’t do. If my grandmother were still alive, she’d be telling me to go with my gut instinct instead of what I consider right. They seem like well-respected men in town, and I remember the friendly hug they both received from a couple of elderly ladies on our way into the hotel. Even now, as people pass by, they are stopped to catch up with some of the hotel staff. It’s clear people in this town trust them.

Rubbing at my temples, I realize I want to move in with them—to see where this connection I have with Cade is going. Because I doubt we’ll get this chance if I stay elsewhere.

I decide to trust my instincts, and reply to Jake’s offer. “I’d love to stay at your home. That’s if you’re sure it isn’t going to cause any problems?” I look between the two men, waiting for my answer.

Cade’s look of worry turns into a smile. “We’d be happy to have you stay with us, Rona. As Jake says, there’s plenty of room and my daughter is there. I’m sure she would love having another female around for company.” As he gazes at me I can’t think of anywhere else I want to be right now.

My heart beats wildly as they lead me out of the hotel toward their SUV. The entire time I’m hoping that I’m making the right decision.

~*~*~*~

It’s a relief to be sitting in the back of Cade’s SUV with Jake behind the wheel, knowing the search for accommodation is over for now. I look out the window and all I can see is Cade and me, back at the airport. I still can’t believe what happened back there, that he wanted me so much to risk being caught in public. Not once in my life have I done anything like that. Heck! I used to get embarrassed when Nick kissed me goodbye outside the café where we sometimes met for lunch.

With Jake chatting most of the way through the valley toward their home, time seems to pass quickly and before I know it, Cade is turning slightly so he can face me behind him.

He smiles, and says, “We’re just about to turn onto the property.”

Knowing we are close to Cade’s home sends my heart rate sky high. What is it about this guy that has my heart all a flutter?

I manage to look away, back outside, and finally pay attention to my surroundings instead of daydreaming about a man I shouldn’t be wanting.

The views outside the vehicle are tremendous, with snow-capped mountains surrounded by trees along the mountain highway. As Jake makes a right turn, we enter a tunnel of tall cottonwoods and pines, and I can just make out what looks to be a pond behind the trees to the right.

“Wow, I love the pond,” I say in amazement. “I don’t remember seeing anything so pretty before.”

“You can’t really see it properly from here, but you can see the pond from the house,” Jake adds.

Just then we come out of the trees to the most amazing house I’ve ever seen. Cade was right about it looking like a postcard. It’s a huge structure of mainly glass and wood with what appears to be a couple of feet of large stones around the base.

The gardens look like something you’d see in a gardening magazine with well-maintained lawns surrounded by various shrubs.

“Your garden is amazing,” I comment in awe.