Page 39 of Mountain Bean Dream
“Top of the morning to you.” He strode over, his expression falling fast. “What’s wrong?”
I stared down at my shoes, my shoulders falling as much as my spirits. “I can’t tie them, and I hate to ask, but can you do them up for me?”
A slow nod greeted me as he dropped to one knee. “My pleasure.”
He took his time, fingers moving with practiced ease as he looped and tied, pulling just the right amount of tightness into the laces. His head was close enough to smell the faint scent of the forest clinging to his hoodie, mingling with the hint of coffee on his breath. My heart fluttered at the intimacy of such a simple act. Why did this feel… different? Special?
“All good?” he asked, looking up at me with those soft, crinkled eyes of his.
I nodded quickly, heat rushing to my face. “Yeah, thank you. Just one more thing?” I gestured to my unzipped jacket. “Would you mind zipping it up?”
He stood, taking the travel mug I’d been clutching in my good arm. “For you. It’s a bold dark roast with a hint of milk. Nothing fancy since I lack the frother and steamers.”
“You made it, so I’ll enjoy it,” he said, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
Jeremy tugged the zipper and its mate away from my body, his touch gentle, careful, and so maddeningly precise that my pulse quickened. When his fingers brushed my chin ever so slightly as he zipped it up halfway, something in my chest shifted.
My breath hitched. Why was I noticing so much about him? His steady hands, his warm gaze, the quiet way he stepped back like this was just a normal morning. For me, it didn’t feel normal at all. My mind spun with a startling clarity that left me feeling exposed.
Jeremy isn’t just being kind—he’skindness personified. He isn’t just helping—he’s making me feel seen. And maybe I liked being seen. Liked him seeing me.
“Shall we?” Glancing at his watch, he waved me to start walking.
The morning air was fresh and slightly crisp, perfect for a long morning walk.
He pointed out the baskets on the island and which flowers he’d planned to plant. As we continued to the edge of the property, he spoke highly of the trees, of playing hide and seek with the visitor’s kids, and how there used to be a park near the grove of trees but it was torn down a few years ago for safety reasons.
“About what your grandma said yesterday,” I started.
“About my mom?”
“Yeah. I’m curious, but you don’t have to tell me. It just conflicts with what you told me.”
We left the property and turned onto Highway 93A. Thankfully, as it was a secondary highway, there wasn’t a lot of traffic. We stuck to the shoulder, the gravel crunching beneath our feet.
A world-weary sigh escaped his stronghold. “My mother was a single mother, and although she did the best she could, shewasn’t great. She ignored me and left me to do my own thing, so by eight, I knew my neighbourhood well, as we lived in the city. Whatever her reasons were, as I never learned any of them, she just never came home one night after work. A few phone calls were made, and finally, her employer admitted how she’d quit and was moving her family to BC.” His shoulders slumped and there was no feeling in his words. “But it was just her and a boyfriend I never knew about. She’d left me behind without a care in the world.”
I pocketed my travel mug and gave his arm a rub and a pat. “I’m so sorry.”
“My father was located, and he was granted custody of me, but sadly he wasn’t great either.”
My heart ached, and I desperately wanted to hold him tight.
“But he wasn’t abusive or anything, just neglectful. He’d had twin newborn daughters by that point and they consumed his attention. I was invisible. Over the years with him, I’d written letters to my grandma here at the lodge, and every summer I’d come out and help somehow. After high school was a bust, I thanked my father and stepmother for their help, bid my sisters well and I left, packing up the few things I had in my car and making my way out here. Grandma set me up on the couch in her suite until I was earning enough money working for the town to afford my own place. Was really hard to beat the rental price she offered, so I moved into room 20, and when she needed more help than I could give her, I took over her suite, which, incidentally, was named after all the honeysuckle plants there used to be on that wall.”
The end room on the south wing on the second level.
“Gosh, I am so sorry for your upbringing.”
He shrugged. “It’s all good now. It’s made me who I am.”
Lest I fall out on the highway, I kept my focus on thegravelly shoulder. “Isn’t it wild how something less than ideal can shape you into an amazing human being?”
A low laugh breezed out as he shoulder-bumped me. “You think I’m amazing?”
Since I wasn’t prepared for that, I double-stepped to the left and started to lose my footing. Before I could stumble any further, his arm shot out, snaking around me with practiced ease. He pulled me close, so close I could feel the steady strength in his hold.
Heat scalded my cheeks, rising so fast it felt like I might combust. My breath hitched as my thoughts ran wild.