Page 12 of Finding Cheer
“Okay, so you’re always this careful with glassware?” He leaned casually against the counter—too casually. The kitchen washerplace.Why is he acting so comfortable here?But she couldn’t just ignore his teasing.
She took a step forward, moving closer and closer until she was nearly touching him. His eyes widened. Then she reached her arm past him to the cupboard behind him, pulling out a loaf of bread. She slid around him again for a cutting board and knife.
Without saying a single word, she continued to move quickly, reaching into the fridge for ingredients and whisking back to the counter. Within two minutes, she had crafted a gourmet sandwich with all the fixings. She slid the plate across the counter to him then leaned against the sink, crossing her arms.
“I don’t have to be careful,” she said at last as his eyes moved from the sandwich and back to her. “I’m just good at everything. Including breaking glasses.”
His eyes sparked, and she tried to suppress a smile of satisfaction. “Enjoy your sandwich,” she said then breezed past him and out of the kitchen.
Chapter Twelve
ISAIAH
Isaiah let out a deep breath as Sofia walked past him.Good lord, that woman is a whirlwind.When she’d stepped toward him, smelling like something spicy and floral, he stopped breathing for a moment.
Then she’d leaped into the sandwich making with the precision of a neurosurgeon. He swore the room was still ringing with the sound of the ceramic plate sliding across the stainless steel and stopping exactly in front of him.
Then she’d left, with all the intensity she’d worked with.Does that woman ever cool off?he wondered as he searched the cupboards for a glass. He needed a drink of water after that interaction. When he located one, he filled the glass and took a long, refreshing swig, then he bit into the sandwich. He studied it appreciatively. He might not have memories of any specific meals, but something told him it was the best sandwich he’d ever eaten.
Isaiah wokeup with a sense of restlessness. He couldn’t remember his dreams, but he knew they’d been active and disconcerting. Holly, the beautiful woman who had offered him a room in the Emerald House on New Year’s Eve, had fixed him up with a very comfortable one, and he’d climbed into bed not long after midnight.
He’d fallen asleep quickly but tossed and turned all night. He wondered if the dreams were some of the memories he had lost on the hiking trail, trying to work their way back to him subconsciously.
Or maybe the visions of the fiery Sofia in her sparkling dress and untamed curls contributed to the vibrant dreams,he thought, shaking his head as he sat up.
He didn’t want to dwell on that memory at the moment. His goal for the day was to get back to the hiking trail, go to the spot where she’d found him, and get his memories back.
Isaiah walked to the window and pulled aside one of the curtains. The sun was already halfway up the sky, and he spotted his hosts, Ash and Holly, walking toward the Emerald House from the woods, a black dog with a white streak down its back trotting along beside them. Snow was gently falling around them. The scene made Isaiah smile despite the circumstances. It looked like something in a postcard.
He turned away from the window and thought about the town.How did I end up here in Emerald Hollow? Was I traveling here for some reason? Do I know people here? Is someone going to come forward today, looking for me excitedly? Someone who was expecting my arrival yesterday?
Isaiah’s brow furrowed. Something about that didn’t feel right. It was a small town, and Ash seemed to know everyone. Ash hadn’t heard of anyone looking for a missing friend or relative. If word hadn’t gotten around by midnight, hours afterhe should have arrived, that likely wasn’t the explanation for his being there.
No, the town was tight-knit. He could tell that much. If someone knew him, word would have gotten around already.
As his brain continued to wake up, he remembered something else that had happened the night before. Not long after Sofia had left him in a whirl and he’d eaten that delicious sandwich, he’d been cornered by a woman named Esmeralda who introduced herself as the president of the chamber of commerce. She’d explained that the New Year’s Eve party was a fundraiser for the local animal shelter. Esmeralda had not so subtly encouraged him to bid on the silent auction, and since he couldn’t exactly tell her he had no money to speak of, he’d agreed to volunteer at the animal shelter instead.
Why did I do that? With any luck, I’m leaving today.He got dressed in the previous day’s clothes—Holly and Ash had given him some pajamas and underclothes when they showed him his room—and began to ready himself to meet up with Sofia and go to the trailhead.
He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her the night before—the sparkling dress, the fire in her eyes, the way she’d acted like shattering glass meant nothing at all, and those freckles and springy curls, which added a dose of softness to her otherwise fiery demeanor—it all seemed to run through his head like a movie. He wanted to know what was going on behind all that controlled chaos Sofia emanated.
He wondered if that was what happened when you lost your memories. Maybe you developed an unhealthy interest in the first person you met.But what are the chances that person would be someone undeniably gorgeous and intriguing?
He scrubbed a hand through his hair and told himself to forget the intense feelings from the encounter in the kitchen the night before and tried to focus on her attitude toward himinstead. She clearly thought he was suspicious, and maybe she had every right to. He had no idea what kind of person he was, and that was the reality he needed to face that day.
He stepped out of his room into the hallway, where Ash was passing by with Comet. Ash paused to greet him, the dog wagging his tail and sniffing Isaiah.
“Good morning. Everything okay with your room?” Ash asked.
Isaiah nodded. “Slept like a log.” Isaiah didn’t mention the dreams he couldn’t quite remember.
Ash laughed. “I hear that a lot. So, Sofia told me you’re needing directions to the trailhead today. Holly and I thought we could tag along. Comet here hasn’t been out there in a while, and he loves hiking.”
Isaiah knelt and scratched the dog behind the ears. He thought he knew why Ash was offering to join them. He was worried about his female friend being out in the woods with a stranger. Isaiah certainly didn’t blame him. He would feel the same in his shoes. “Absolutely. That’d be great.”
Isaiah could sense Ash studying him, and he thought the man wanted to say something else. “Are you wondering if my memories came back?” Isaiah asked, thinking that Ash was too polite to ask what was going on and why he wanted to go back to the trail.
“I wasn’t going to ask directly, but yes. None of us want to leave you out in the woods if you don’t know where you’re going.”
