“Please,” I begged, setting it in front of him. “You don’t take me as the kind of man to beg for money, but I want you to take it. You’ve helped me, and I want to return the favor.”
With a heavy sigh, he held the money in his hands. “Thank you, child. This means a lot.”
“You’re welcome. Stay warm out here.”
He chuckled again. “You too.”
Getting in my car, I followed his directions to Snowflake Lane and down to the Snowflake Lane Inn. The second I saw the large, yellow house all decked out for Christmas, I gasped. It was exquisite, and more beautiful than any house I’d ever seen. There was garland draped with white lights everywhere, and red ribbons at the top of each fence post. It was something you’d see on a postcard.
I pulled up, and there was a man on a ladder, cleaning out the gutters … in the snow. It wasn’t like Charleston here. When it snowed back home, everything would shut down, and people would seclude themselves inside where it was warm. Not here, apparently. All I wanted to do was grab a good book and drink hot chocolate.
When I got out of the car, the man on the ladder looked down at me. Even from the distance, I could see his eyes were a bright shade of green, almost magical. His dark brown hair was mussed like he had just ran a hand through it, and he had on a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt that no doubt hid his muscular arms beneath.
“Can I help you?” he asked, slowly making his way down the ladder.
I cleared my throat. “Gabe sent me here. He told me to find Colin Jennings.”
The man smiled and approached me. “He did, did he? I guess you came to the right place then, Miss Aberdeen.”
My breath caught. “You know who I am?”
He snorted. “I think everyone in this town does.”
Groaning, I ran a hand over my face. “That must be why I got a cold greeting at the general store.”
His smile faded. “I’m sorry to hear that. Some people in this town aren’t too fond of outsiders, even if they are famous.”
“That’s not the way I imagined it would be here,” I said softly. “Besides, I’m not famous anymore.”
The man shook his head and waved it off. “Give it time. So why did you come to see Colin?”
I pulled my jacket in tighter. I was freezing, and he was outside in the snow with just a flannel shirt on. “The heat died in the house I’m renting. I didn’t know who to call to come and fix it, but a man in town told me to come here. I was hoping Mr. Jennings could either help with the heater or help me get in touch with the owner. The real estate agent is the only one I know who has his number, but she’s on vacation.”
The man chuckled. “You’re in luck. I know just how to contact him.”
“Great. If you give me his number, I’ll call him up.”
Pulling a set of keys out of his pocket, he backed up toward the big, red truck in the driveway. “No need. I’ll head over there now.”
“You don’t have to do that. Let me call the owner.”
He opened his truck door and smiled. “I am the owner. I’m Colin Jennings.”
Chapter Four
Colin
Layla wasn’t anything like I expected her to be. She was much more beautiful in person. She followed behind me to her house, and I had to slow down several times to make sure she caught up. It was obvious she wasn’t used to driving through the snow.
I pulled into her driveway first and grabbed my toolbox out of the back. The snow had slowed down, but we’d gotten the six inches the weatherman had predicted.
Layla rushed out of her car and ran over to the door. “I don’t know why I’m hurrying. It’s probably warmer out here.”
That I found hard to believe … that was until I stepped through the door. It was unnaturally cold. The sound of her chattering teeth grew louder. Arms crossed over her chest, she bounced on her feet. “Told you it was cold.”
Setting my toolbox down, I blew into my hands. “You’re telling me.” I walked over to the thermostat to see if there was something wrong, but it looked normal. “I’m going to take a look at the heating unit outside. I just replaced it last summer. I don’t see how there could be problems.”
She followed me out the door and into the snow. “I wonder what’s going on with it then. I only turned the heat up to seventy.”