Bear Valley Valentine: Valentine's Day Paranormal Romance (4 page)

Hadley studied the picture on the wall nearest the kitchen. There were probably fifty men, women, and children in different states of chaos. One woman reached for a child who was streaking out of the picture, one man lay in front of the group on his side with a comical grin. A blond-haired woman sat atop the shoulders of a short, stalky man. And on the end, a man who looked suspiciously like Colin leaned on a stoic looking bruiser, holding bunny ears behind his head.

“Is this you?” she asked, pointing.

Colin turned from the fragrant, steaming pot of chili he was cooking over the stove. His look darkened, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “Yeah.”

“Is this some sort of camp picture?” The row of cabins in the background made it look like a wilderness retreat. Perhaps these were his coworkers, all out for a weekend event.

“Those,” Colin said with his back to her, “were my people.”

“Your people,” she repeated, staring at the glossy eight by ten. “What does that mean? Was it a family reunion or something?”

“I used to live with them before I moved up here.” His tone had gone cold and emotionless, and it conjured chill bumps across her arms.

“What happened to them?”

He turned empty eyes on her, eyes that had darkened noticeably to a stormy blue. “They’re dead.”

“All of them?” she whispered, pain slashing through her chest as she dragged her eyes across the photo of the children’s smiling faces.

“Almost all of them.” Colin’s dark brows lowered, and he suddenly looked exhausted. “It hurts to talk about them.”

He turned back to stirring the chili, and she swallowed her questions down. She didn’t want to hurt him by dredging up an obviously painful past. She wanted to make him happy, like he made her.

Padding across the wood floors, she bit her lip against the tears that stung her eyes. He’d gone through so much more than she could’ve ever imagined. The scars on his skin weren’t the only clues to his secrets. He’d lost people he loved. She wrapped her arms around his middle and rested her head between his shoulder blades. “I won’t mention them again. When you’re ready, I’ll be here to listen.”

The muscles in his back relaxed, and he rested his hand over hers, as if to keep her in place, holding him.

“So a blacksmith, huh? Because I have to tell you, I honestly thought that only existed in the Old West.”

A soft chuckle reverberated against her palm, and she relaxed as the tension seemed to drain from him. “It’s hard to find nowadays, but it leaves room for knife makers like me to make a decent wage. You can buy a knife at any sporting goods store, and know you’ll get a sharp, durable tool, but it won’t be custom. It’ll be just like ten thousand other knives made in its likeness in some factory. When people want custom weapons or tools, they track down someone like me. I ship the orders out a few times a week in town.”

“At the post office. That’s why you always carry all those small boxes inside. They’re knives.”

“Yeah,” he said in a bewildered voice. “Have you been watching me?”

Hadley kissed his back and leaned around to taste the steaming spoon of chili he fed her. “It’s perfect,” she said as the rich flavor of tomato, beef, and spices burst against her tongue. “And yes. You did something nice, chivalrous really, by paying for my lunch last month, but then you wouldn’t even acknowledge me when I saw you in town. I was curious about you.”

“Mmm, curious about the town recluse?”

“No, just you. Why didn’t you talk to me when I passed you at the post office or when you walked past the front door of my store?”

He sighed and took the pan off the stove, then pulled two bowls from a cupboard and began to spoon chili into them. “I thought if I just talked to you online, it could be enough. But all that did was make me want to be nearer to you in real life.”

“Why would that need to be enough? We’re both single and open to dating.”

“Because I meant it when I told you earlier you deserve better. My life is…complicated.”

“Accepted. I accept your complicated life, Bearman.”

“You wouldn’t if you really knew me.”

“Enlighten me, then. Let me get to know you, and I’ll make my own decision on whether this is all too much for me.”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” He looked down at the bowls in his hands with a frown, then set them on the table while she made two glasses of ice water.

“We made a deal. You want me to be your Valentine, you’ve got to spill some beans.”

She sat down and placed his glass of water in front of him. The table was small, so she stretched and rested her ankles in his lap. Absently, he stared out the window and massaged tiny circles against her calves, which were bare, thanks to her leggings being in the dryer. Currently, she was wearing his navy sweater that hung to the middle of her thighs, panties, and nothing else. She spooned some of the thick broth and blew on it. He was quiet for so long that she thought he had shut down completely, but still, he massaged her legs.

“I heard you in the Dash Inn when Vona was telling you she’d set up the profile on the online dating site.”

Hadley’s spoon clinked against the bowl as she set it down carefully. “I saw you there that day. You were sitting in the booth across the restaurant.”

“My hearing is really good,” he said, giving her a significant look she didn’t understand.

“Is that how you knew when to pay for my food?”

“I heard you say you wanted to take your food to go so you could get back to work. And then you talked to me outside and I felt…well, I
felt
, and it had been a long time since anyone had looked at me like you did out in the snow that day. I went home and for two days convinced myself I wouldn’t track you down, because it was wrong, violating your privacy like that. But I ended up on my computer by the third day, searching every online dating site for Flowerlady26. You know, there are a lot of dating sites out there.”

“Was everything you told me true? This last month, in all of our conversations, I feel like I’ve gotten to know you. Was that all a lie to get closer to me?”

“No. For the first time in a long time, I felt like myself again talking to you.”

“Did you like me before the day at the Dash Inn?” The answer was important. It would change how she saw their relationship. No, it would cement how hard she was falling for him if he answered her the way she thought he would.

“I’ve liked you for three years. I just couldn’t muster the nerve to go out on a limb and invite you into my life.”

A shaky sigh left her lips, and she leaned back in her creaking chair. “You’ve wasted both of our time, Colin.”

His face fell, and he dropped his gaze to his steaming bowl.

“Because we could’ve been together long before this,” she said thickly.

He lifted his lightened eyes to hers with such a look of hope, it broke her in two. She stood, settled into his lap, and then wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his. “You should’ve asked me out. I would’ve said yes.”

“To a reclusive mountain man who nobody knows anything about?”

“You’re a good man, Colin Cross. Whatever you’ve been through, you deserve companionship. Now tell me about your eyes. They change colors like a mood ring. Is it the light up here? Or are you sick?”

He pulled her palm to his lips and kissed it gently. “It’s how I was born. They used to stay dark blue, but after everything…well, they don’t stay steady anymore.”

“Does the light hurt them?”

“No.”

“Then why the sunglasses?”

“Because, Hadley, not many people would be as understanding about my eye color as you are.”

“Can I tell you a secret?”

“I’m good at keeping secrets.”

He was a little too good at keep secrets. It was obnoxious. She narrowed her eyes but let it slide. “I like that I’m the only one who gets to really see you. You feel like all mine.”

“Hmm.” He eased back and searched her face. “That sounds like the bond talking. Go eat your chili, woman, or I’ll take you to my bed again.”

“What bond?”

“Nothing you have to worry about.” He kissed her nose, then her mouth, and before he pulled away, sucked gently on her bottom lip.

He patted her bottom as she stood, then waited for her to sit down before he began to eat his own meal. Hadley had been starving, but her appetite couldn’t touch Colin’s. He ate three bowls before she finished her first, but he probably had to eat like that so he could work as hard as he did.

“I think blacksmithering is hot,” she said through a cheeky grin.

He snorted and wiped his mouth with a napkin, then leaned back in his chair with a satisfied grin. “Blacksmithering isn’t a word, but yes, it’s really hot. The fire to heat the metal takes the blame for that.”

“No, ridiculous man. I mean, it’s sexy.”

“What’s sexy is you prancing around my kitchen in one of my shirts.” He pulled her feet back into his lap and relaxed into his chair while she finished eating. “What time do you work tomorrow?”

“Talking about work is very unsexy.”

He laughed and said, “I have a reason for asking.”

Pushing her bowl away, she wiggled her toes against his stomach and stretched. “Five in the morning.”

“Whoa, that’s early.”

“It’s Valentine’s Day, remember? Plus, I cut out a little earlier than I usually would today so I could come up here. I still have a lot of orders to put together and will probably have a lot of last minute orders tomorrow, too. Men tend to forget it’s Valentine’s Day until the day of. That’s what I’ve learned in my five years at the flower shop.”

“Did you always want to be a florist?”

“Yeah, since I was a kid. My mom was really good at gardening. She used to take home awards from the city for our yard. I remember she was obsessed with orange tulips. She planted the bulbs, and every spring, we had orange tulips pop up everywhere. I spent weekends helping her in our flowerbeds. When she passed, it was the best way for me to feel connected to her.”

“She died?” His face looked stricken as he asked the question.

“Yeah.” Hadley swallowed the sadness down and tried to keep the tears from her eyes. Talking about Mom brought up a whole slew of emotions she tried her best to keep buried. “We knew it was coming for a long time, so we were prepared as much as we could be. She was ready by the end.”

Colin’s gaze drifted to the picture on the wall and back, like it was an unconscious motion. As if the ghosts there beckoned his attention.

“You’re a special kind of woman, Hadley. You’re nice to people, but strong. You make me…” He ran his hand over his hair and looked embarrassed.

“I make you what?”

He cleared his throat and began shredding the paper napkin on the table. “You make me want to be better.”

Oh, what that man did to her insides with declarations like that. Churning and butterflies and roller coaster dips, and she was too far away from his warmth for comfort. She stood and folded into his lap again, then held him for a long time.

Resting her cheek against his shoulder, she inhaled a long, steadying breath. “You make me want to be better, too.”

Hadley stumbled to the front door of her shop. It was a horrific hour to be awake. The street lights on Main Street were still on, casting a yellow glow over the parking spaces that lined the main drag. Her little hatchback was the only car here besides a police cruiser parked in front of the precinct a couple of doors down.

Bleary-eyed, she fumbled with her keychain for the key that would open her building, but a package on her front stoop drew her attention. It was small, the size of an envelope, but three inches thick, at least. Squatting down until she felt the stretch in her calves, she lifted the tag that was fluttering gently in the breeze.

Flowerlady26
, it read.

An instant smile took her face as she scooped up the package. Hurriedly, she unlocked the door and flipped on the lights inside before locking up again.

He’d come down his mountain, all the way down that winding road at the ass crack of dawn to put this present here before she arrived. An excited squeak left her lips, and she set the package on the counter and plucked the handwritten note from under the brown twine that held the box together.

Hadley,

You once told me you’d never had a Valentine before. I aim to make up for it. Today is your day. I’ve never done this before either, so I Googled popular gifts for the occasion. Imagine me, wide-eyed and terrified, looking at a glowing screen full of neon-colored hearts and giant boxes of assorted chocolates.

She laughed and bit her lip before she unfolded the letter wider and read on.

I wanted to do something a little different for you, because you’re different. You’re special. You’ve brought me back to life in more ways than you can even understand. Or maybe you could understand, but I’m not great with words. Open the box before you read further.

Her stomach fluttered and her hands shook as she untied the twine and lifted the lid. Inside, nestled in red velvet, was a pocket knife. It wasn’t like any she’d ever seen. The handle was smooth and stained a rich earth tone, and the spine of the knife was etched with a floral design that looked like a creeping ivy vine. She ran a reverent finger down the smooth hilt and pulled it free of its case. On the edge was engraved
Flowerlady26
in a fine, pink line that contrasted with the darker arcs of the wood grain. She opened it carefully, and the sharp blade shone in the fluorescent lighting. She’d be able to use it for so much around the shop, and it would fit perfectly into a compartment in her purse. From the craftsmanship, he must have spent some time on it. This was the most thoughtful gift anyone had ever given her.

A single tear fell to her cheek as she closed the knife and picked up the letter again.

I began making this for you the first day we talked online. I hadn’t made a knife for fun in so long, and I wanted it to be special, just for you. This is the one I was holding yesterday when you came into my shop. I was trying to think of a way to give it to you without it seeming a strange gift. Maybe it still does, I don’t know.

I wanted to be the first to tell you Happy Valentine’s Day today, Hadley…so…

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Love,

Bearman

Hadley wiped her eyes and pulled her cell phone from her purse. Colin had given her his number, and a trill of excitement zinged through her as she put it to use for the first time.

Are you awake?
she texted him.

His response was immediate.
Yeah. I’m out working in the shop.

She grinned and hit the call button. It rang three times before he picked up.

“Hey,” he said, his breath catching like he’d been rushing to answer her call.

“Hey mister,” she said as creeping shyness filled her. “I got your present.”

“Do you like it?” Colin’s voice was all deep and gruff, as if he was sleepy, and the sexy tone of it brought heat to her cheeks.

“It was the sweetest gift you could’ve ever thought up. I love it indescribably much.” She turned the closed knife in her hands and rubbed the polished hilt. She wouldn’t tell him that she was going to keep his letter forever because that might freak him out, but it was definitely going into her lockbox of meaningful trinkets she kept hidden in the top drawer of her dresser.

She sighed regretfully, not wanting to get off the phone. Duty called, though. “I have to get to work on these orders, but will I see you tonight for dinner?”

“I’ve made a reservation for us at the Winchester Steakhouse at eight. Is that late enough?”

She stifled a smile at the thought of sitting with him all through dinner, and in public. The ladies around here were going to lose their biscuits when they got an eyeful of Colin without his mountain man beard. “I’ll make it work. Colin?” she asked, turning to the display case filled with red roses. “Did I ever thank you for the flowers you had shipped in yesterday?”

“Yes, about a dozen times before you left last night.” His voice sounded amused, and she imagined him leaning against his work bench, arms crossed as his snow-colored eyes rivaled the neon streaks of sunrise peaking over the horizon.

“Well, I just wanted to be thorough about it. You took a lot of pressure off me. Really, you saved the day, and a lot of couples will be getting roses from their significant others because of your thoughtfulness. It means a lot to me that you did that.”

“I’m glad, Hadley.”

She loved the way her name sounded in his deep voice.

“I’m not going to give your sweater back,” she said, leaning on the counter and biting the end of her thumbnail.

“You like wearing it?”

“It smells like you, and it’s comfortable. I’ve decided it’s going to be my new sleep shirt.”

“Mmm,” he said, though it sounded like a contented rumble that likely rattled his throat. God, he was sexy when he made wild-sounding noises like that. “I like imagining you in it.”

“I like you,” she blurted out. Clamping her hand over her mouth, she squeezed her eyes tightly closed and fought the mortifying blush that was burning her face.

“Say it again,” he said low.

She swallowed hard, stalling to make sure her voice came out steady. “The gifts are nice, and they make me feel so special and cared for, but even without any of that…” Hadley inhaled deeply. “Even without the roses or the sweater or the knife, I’d still be just as excited to go to dinner with you tonight.”

The line went silent, and she frowned and checked if it had been disconnected. When she opened her mouth to ask if he was still there, he said, “I like you, too, Hadley. I’ll see you tonight.”

His voice was full of some emotion that brought a new wave of rawness to her heart. He didn’t have to admit it out loud that those were big words for him to say to someone else. She could tell.

“See you tonight, Colin,” she said softly, then hung up.

A slow smile took her face as she stared at the knife nestled against her palm. Her mountain man was softening up, and little by little, he was letting her in.

And that was just as big a gift as the one in her hand.

****

It had been hard to focus after the surprise Colin left in front of her shop this morning. She fumbled with ribbon lengths and gave the wrong bouquet to Mr. Nall. He got a much bigger, prettier one for his wife, but she was out the extra money and had to make another for the right customer.

She and Vona had settled into a routine eventually as the hours passed. Hadley worked the counter, wrapped flowers, lined up delivery orders, talked to customers, and with any spare time, created new arrangements for the display case to replace the bouquets that she sold. Vona made the deliveries. Hadley’s Flower Shop and Gifts was the only florist in town, which meant on days like today, deliveries ran them ragged. After two years working at the shop, though, Vona was a professional and barely needed any direction. Once her deliveries were made, she’d come back and pick up the next few in line. Not too many at once to avoid spills in the back of her little silver Corolla, but enough to remain efficient.

Geez, Hadley hoped they wouldn’t run out of vases. In a binder she kept near the register, she made a note to order more for next Valentine’s Day. She smiled around the line, three people deep, at Vona as she bustled back in to pick up a few more orders.

“Do you have any chocolates and stuffed animals to go with the flowers?” a man with glasses and thinning hair asked.

“Of course,” she answered. “Over on that back wall are all of the options we have available. Pick and choose what you like, and I can attach them to any bouquet you want. Our notecards and envelopes are right here.” She pointed to the end of the counter and nodded her head after he thanked her.

“That’s the one,” a short-haired woman in a parka said, pointing to an arrangement of pink and red Gerber daisies.

“I was wondering who was going to end up with this one,” Hadley said, pulling it from the floor to ceiling display case behind the counter. She lowered her voice. “I’m not supposed to pick favorites, but when I made this one this morning, it just felt special. I know Sheri will love it.”

The woman, Linda, grinned and nodded as she filled out a notecard. “You know she loves the daisies.”

“How is she? I haven’t seen her around in a while.”

“Good. Busy. Her high schoolers are running her ragged, and she’s coaching cheerleading this year. She loves it, but I think we’re both ready for that week off at spring break.”

“Oh gosh, that was always my favorite time of year when I was in school,” Hadley said with a giggle. “A week to travel to a beach, and then a few months later, summer.”

“Yep, and that’s exactly why Sheri wanted to be a teacher. Well, after the kids. She loves those crazy kids. Sorry it’s taking me so long. I want to think of the perfect words to say to her.”

“Don’t rush. I’ll just check you out when you’re ready.” Hadley patted the counter and moved toward the register again.

A delivery man halted her progress with his approach, though. Hadley frowned. They weren’t waiting on any shipments.

“Got a delivery,” the dark-haired man said with a blinding white smile.

“Vona, did you order something?”

Vona stopped scribbling on an order form and frowned. “No. I don’t remember ordering anything.”

“It’s not for the shop,” the man said, setting a large, rectangular box on the counter. “This is for Hadley Bennett. I just need a signature right here.”

Baffled, she scribbled her name where he pointed and thanked him.

“You got a secret admirer?” Linda asked, grinning up from her work on the notecard.

Hadley popped open the lid and gasped at the two rows of frosted gourmet cupcakes. The top trio had candy teddy bears decorating them, and the bottom three were adorned with sugar flowers. She couldn’t help the ridiculous grin that stretched her face if she tried. “He’s not being very secretive about it. I have a Valentine this year,” she admitted excitedly.

Linda and Vona both leaned over the box and peeked inside while Hadley pulled out a handwritten note from the edge.

Hey Flowerlady,

I told you I wouldn’t do traditional chocolates, but then I got to thinking you might like chocolates, so I compromised and got cupcakes instead. I know you and Vona are working hard today, so this is a treat for both of you.

Happy Valentine’s Day to Hadley’s Flower Shop and Gifts.

From Bighorn Custom Blades

Oh, she was going to Google Bighorn Custom Blades as soon as she had time to breathe.

“I call the vanilla one with the buttercream frosting,” Vona said as she took Linda’s payment.

“You can pick half of them. They’re for you, too.”

“They are? From who?”

“From Colin.”

Linda shot her a questioning look. “Colin who?”

“Colin Cross,” Hadley specified as her stomach went to fluttering again.

“The quiet man who hardly ever comes down from the mountains?” Linda asked, cupping her hand for the change Vona was handing her.

“He’s the one.” Those words felt so right. He was the one. The. One. She’d never felt more sure about anything in her entire life.

She wished Linda a good day and waved her off, then went to retrieve the bouquet the next customer pointed to.

Vona was perusing the cupcakes. She sank her teeth into one and rolled her eyes back in her head. “I take ith back,” she said around the bite. “I fully approve of Colin.”

“The sugary treaties won you over?”

“Every time. Ith like he knew. Sugar ith the direct way to my heart.” Vona gulped and shoveled the rest of the cupcake into her maw, then gathered up a pair of vases full of red roses and baby’s breath. “More deliveries,” she said in a muffled voice. “I’ll be back in half an hour.”

“See you later,” Hadley said distractedly as she attached a bear with an embroidered
I Wuv U
on its belly to a small vase with a trio of bright pink roses.

The man paid and looked so excited to surprise his girlfriend or wife or whoever with his gift. This was why Hadley did this. Mom had got her hooked on flowers, but this—the cheesy, corny romance of it all—was what she loved. She got to help couples sweeten up the day for the people they loved. She got to be a part of them thanking their loved one for being amazing. She was into this—red flowers, pink tissue paper, heart confetti, stuffed animals, and boxes of assorted chocolates. She was a hopeless romantic, and Colin was nailing Valentine’s Day for her. He got her, knew her—he was hitting everything that would be sentimental to her.