Sitting up, I saw Van near the fireplace, teasing the embers. He was fully dressed as he’d been before coming to bed.
“Good morning,” I said sheepishly.
“I let the fire go out. I should have it going soon.” He turned my way. “Stay under the covers. It’s probably forty degrees or less out here.”
I wiggled my nose, realizing it was cold. “After you get the fire going, you could join me.”
Van remained quiet, his concentration on his job as fire master.
I saw the glow radiate against his skin at the same time the logs began to snap.
Van stood tall and walked toward me. “Julia, if things were different... IfIwere different, I would want a woman like you in my life. I’m not different. I told you that you’d regret last night, and I am sure you do.”
My head shook. “I don’t.” Keeping the blankets up to my shoulders, I sat against the headboard. “Van, I’m not some damsel in distress.” I giggled, thinking that was exactly who I was. “Not usually. I’m not looking for a man to save me. I don’t regret last night. I’ll carry it with me forever. You made me feel desired and...” I searched for the words. “Good.” That simple word was the perfect description. “I felt good and real, the way it feels to not pretend. It felt amazing. I don’t need to know your last name or you mine. I’m on the pill. We don’t owe one another anything. This was two people stranded along the white ribbon.”
Van took a deep breath. “The snow has stopped. I was going to walk out to the road. If it’s plowed, I think we can get you into town. As for your car—”
I waved him off. “Town is good. Ashland, right?”
“Yes, that’s the closest town with resources you’ll need.” He came closer.
“Good. I have reservations at a hotel there. I’ll deal with my car later. You, Van no-last-name, have done your part in rescuing this damsel.” I reached for his hand. “I regret nothing. I hope you don’t.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed. “I have regrets, but last night isn’t one of them. My regret is that I’m not someone else.”
My cheeks rose. “I like who you are.”
“You don’t know who I am.” Walking to the end of the bed, he lifted my clothes from the footboard. “Your clothes are dry.”
“Then I guess I’m done wearing your shirt.”
“I’ll never look at that shirt the same way.”
“You don’t owe me any promises,” I said as I pulled back the covers. Turning to Van, I asked, “Have you seen my panties?”
Julia
A few days later
“Miss McGrath?” the older gentleman asked, standing to shake my hand.
I reached forward and shook Mr. Fields’s hand. “Thank you for seeing me today.”
“I was surprised you were able to get here so soon. We’ve had some difficult weather.”
Warmth filled my cheeks as I recalled the difficult weather. “Yes, I had a problem with my rental car. Thankfully, Chase at the automotive shop was able to rescue it and all of my belongings.”
I was currently dressed for success. With a silk blouse, high-waisted black slacks, and high-heeled black boots, I wasn’t left to interview in a shirt owned by a man with only a first name. Yet as I stood in the office of Fields and Smith, I knew that the white ribbon had taken me to a place that not only rescued me from the cold but also showed me that I could survive without Skylar or life’s well-laid plans.
“You’re wrong, Van. I don’t regret a thing.” That was my thought as I waited for my interview.
I deleted the numerous text messages from Skylar from my now fully charged phone. I’d spoken to my mother. She was caught somewhere between supporting my decision and not. “There’s more than love involved here,” she told me more than once.
She was right. There was also fidelity and trust.
I’d also spoken to my friend Vicki. She was supposed to be my bridesmaid. Vicki, Beth, and I had been close since high school. Vickie was shocked to hear my news. “I swear, if I knew, I’d have told you,” she’d said.
I wanted to believe her, unwilling to lose both of my best friends to Skylar’s infidelity.