Snow Place Like Home

Chapter Fifteen

Shonna

Shonna had been thinking about Jason ever since the night she spent wrapped in his arms.

It was the first time she had ever slept that peacefully. Shonna's mind was always racing, so she found it hard to settle at night. She would usually stay up late, mulling over a case or watching late-night reruns on TV. But when she was curled up by the fire, head resting against his bare chest, she fell into a deep slumber, and it had been nearly noon by the time she'd awoken to the sound of Veronica's incessant pounding.

She didn't have Jason's number, but she needed to talk to him about her grandmother's will. He never mentioned it, so she wanted to believe he didn't know, but then again, after learning about the letter her grandmother wrote to him, there was no way to know for sure until she talked to him.

It was hard to be angry with him. He had been there for her grandmother when she wasn't. He was the last one to see her alive. He knew her grandmother better than she did. It made her envious, but she had no one to blame but herself.

Shonna's phone rang. Since they had the same phone, she was able to use Veronica's charger to give hers some juice. She glanced at the caller ID, and Devin Longfellow was calling.

Again.

He had been ringing her every day since she quit, but she wasn't ready to talk to him. She wanted him to sweat it out a bit, and when she was good and ready, she would listen to whatever gibberish he had to say.

In the meantime, she would stay through the holidays as she planned to. Help Jason remodel her grandmother's cabin, then rent it out. Maybe she could visit from time to time to make sure the place was well looked after. She considered selling it and being done, but she would need Jason's consent since he was a partial owner. She wondered what his reaction would be.

Veronica had taken Penny for her evening walk, so Shonna was in the room alone, looking at the urn that sat on the bedside table. She and Veronica had spent the last day and a half exploring the small town and reminiscing about YoYo.

What were you thinking, YoYo? What is it about this man that made you think he and I were meant to be?

A knock on her door jolted her out of her thoughts. It was an inn employee with a pushcart.

"Room service, miss."

"I didn't order anything."

"Compliments of Mr. Locklear." He wheeled the tray and then excused himself, refusing the tip she tried to hold out for him.

Shonna removed the lid, revealing two dishes − chicken smothered in gravy and eggplant Parmesan. For dessert, two decadent slices of chocolate cake drizzled in chocolate syrup. Her mouth instantly pooled with saliva.

When Veronica returned, her eyes lit up, and she was pleasantly surprised there was a vegetarian meal for her since she didn't eat meat. The two crammed down their dinners before tearing into dessert.

The chicken was bursting with flavor, still simmering in its savory juices, while the cake melted over her tongue. Before she knew it, she had eaten every last bite of food, yet she was unsatisfied. Her craving wasn't for food but for the man who fed her. She would give anything for another taste of her Goliath mountain man intent on proving to her romance hadn't died but was alive and well.

Shonna wanted to repay him for his generosity, but she didn't want to show up unannounced at his room for one, because she knew where that would lead, and two, because that was not her style. She called down to the front desk to leave a message for him, but the receptionist informed her that he and some of the staff had gone out for the evening to Fisherman's Bar.