The hotel had told her she’d have to be out the following afternoon. She’d given up trying to find a decent place on such short notice and had reluctantly decided she’d have to accept Elizabeth’s offer of her guest room, for now. Edith and Mary Ellen had no extra room and the two motels in town were totally unsuitable. Arthur had said he’d put out the word with his business associates. Someone was bound to know of a cottage or a short-term apartment rental. Four weeks, that was all she needed until the wedding.
A rap at the door had her sitting up straight. She wasn’t expecting anyone. She waited until the polite rap sounded a second time, then put down her pen.
“Hello?”
Cameron Donnelly stood in the hall, a look of un-ease on his face, his hat in his hand. “Hello, ma’am. I’d like to see you for a few moments. May I come in?”
“Come in?” Zoey echoed like a speech-impaired parrot. She opened the door a bit wider. “Why, certainly. Come in and sit down.” She hoped she sounded gracious. What she felt was surprised. Cameron Donnelly stepped forward and she shut the door behind him.
Omigod, the place was a disaster. For company, anyway. She’d made the bed, in a fashion, but she had the manuscript spread all over the bedspread and desk, damp panty hose hanging from the old-fashioned radiator by the other window, a half-eaten bag of Fritos open by the phone and she was dressed—just barely—in her favorite working costume of tights and a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. Her hair was a mess.
“I won’t take up much of your time, Miss Phillips.”
He was so proper and old-fashioned it hurt. “Please call me Zoey,” she invited. “It’s my name.” He cracked a smile. “Zoey, ma’am. I won’t stay long but I do have something I’d like to put to you.”
“Sit down, please!” She cleared a cardigan sweater off the back of the loveseat that, together with the upholstered chair and low scratched coffee table, formed the sitting area to one side of the room. Nothing disguised the size of the bed, though, or the mirror on the ceiling.
He sat down on the loveseat. She whipped a magazine off the seat of the chair opposite him and sat down, too. What in the world could this be about? She’d met him once, danced with him for one short dance and they’d exchanged about seven words.
He looked around the room silently for what seemed like ages. “So this is the honeymoon suite.”
“Yes. It’s all they had available.” She cleared her throat.
“I see.” Cameron looked around again, and this time Zoey noted that he’d spotted the mirror on the ceiling. He studied it, then glanced at her. She felt the heat rise in her face. “I, uh, I’ve never been in one quite like this,” he said finally.
“Me, neither!” It was an icebreaker. “In fact, I’ve never been in one at all.” Time to change the subject. “How are things at the ranch?”
“Fine.”
“Your daughter? Melissa? She’s all right?”
“Oh, yes. She’s in kindergarten this year.” He nodded slowly, the proud daddy trying not to show any emotion. Zoey felt her heart squeeze. She was dying to ask about Melissa’s mother but didn’t dare; she was hardly on personal enquiry terms with him.
“Ryan?”
“He’s okay.” Cameron met her eyes and took a deep breath. “I, uh, wondered if you’d had any luck finding a place to stay? Arthur mentioned that you’re looking.”
Zoey felt a surge of relief. That was all! “Well, no, I haven’t. I checked out a couple of bungalow rentals, but they were quite dreadful. The motel at the edge of town has a room, but I can’t say I’m crazy about it, either. The ceiling has cracks and there were bugs in the bathroom. The other motel was—yuck!”
She shuddered dramatically, remembering the horror of finding half a dozen beetles scrabbling about the corners of the shower stall.
He looked skeptical. “That bad?”
“Really!” She paused, then added, “I might stay with the Nugents for a few days until something turns up.”
“I see,” Cameron said thoughtfully.
“I’m just wondering why—you know, why you ask?” Zoey said, leaning forward. Did he know of a rental? If he did, couldn’t he simply come to the point?
“I can suggest a place,” he said, appearing more ill at ease than ever.
“You can? Why—why, that’s wonderful! I’d be prepared to pay any—”
“Never mind rent,” he said gruffly. “This is free, if you want it—”
“Oh, I couldn’t!”
“Wait until you hear what I have to say. You might not be so interested.”
Zoey stared at the man sitting across from her. He was certainly attractive, in a rough, outdoorsy kind of way. It was just that next to his brother he’d seemed rather…ordinary. Unexeptional. He had nice eyes, a sort of warm hazel, and thick, dark hair. Good teeth.
Zoey slapped herself mentally for letting her attention wander. “Do go on. Tell me what this is about.”
“Well, we have a little apartment at the ranch, self-contained, that we built over the garage when Marty—that’s our aunt—first moved out here. Then Ryan joined us. He’d had, well—well, he’d had some bad luck and needed a place to live.”
“You mean after his marriage fell through?” She couldn’t help it; she took some satisfaction in meeting the situation head-on. She hated beating around the bush, although she suspected Cameron Donnelly preferred it. Did he think he was sparing her feelings? Was he even aware that she and Ryan had had some history, pathetic though it was?
He frowned at her for a second or two. “Well, no. It was quite a few years after that.”
When he said nothing more on the topic of his brother’s aborted marriage, Zoey muttered, rather sheepishly, “Elizabeth told me about it.”
“I see.” He paused and gave her a stare that clearly said: women talk too much. “Ryan went to Alberta after the wedding fell through. He worked on the rigs and did some cowboying south of Calgary before he came back here.” He shrugged. “Ryan never moved into the apartment. Nor did Marty. The place is empty.”
He glanced at the mirrored ceiling again. It was like a two-ton elephant in the room; it couldn’t be ignored. Zoey bit her tongue, knowing he’d eventually continue.
“If you’re interested…”
“Oh, definitely!” Zoey blushed. What luck. Peace and quiet and nothing much to do out there in the country. The more she’d thought about it since she’d arrived in Stoney Creek, the more she wondered if there might not be some real basis to the feelings between her and Ryan all those years ago. Perhaps with Adele Martinez muddying the waters, that attraction—if any—had never had a chance to flourish.
“I, uh—” he shot a worried glance at her “—I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t tell you the whole truth. I’ve got another reason for offering you the apartment. It’s to do with you and my brother.”
Zoey sat straight up in her chair. “And that is?”
“I know he used to see a fair bit of you in high school. Now you’re back and—well, I don’t need to tell you you’re a very beautiful woman. Very, uh, impressive. My brother, I believe, is still sweet on you…” He paused, studying her as though to see how she’d taken his information.
Impressive! She was glad he’d noticed, but couldn’t help thinking he was describing her more the way he would a new crescent wrench or a reliable snowblower