Free Innkeeper's Daughter by Dormaine G Page B

can tell
you a lot about a man. His told me he was straight forward and to the point.
Not the kind to rumble with. “I’m checking in for a few days.”
    “Have you been here before, sir?
John asked while punching keys into a computer screen. “Plan on taking in a lot
of skiing?”
    “Honestly,” I chuckled picturing
myself on the slopes. “I’ve never skied before. I’m looking forward to playing
around on the bunny slope in between reading over work.”
    It had been so long since I’d
taken some time off. Guilt of allowing myself to ever be happy ate at me. This
last year alone I worked more than I ever have. An estranged marriage seems to
give you that incentive. Some days, she could hardly stand the sight of me. My
wife, I miss her, but God only knows walking on eggshells for a year with no
pardon gets to a man. 
    “Oh, garbage,” said John “Hanna!”
He yelled robustly into the cherry wood hand carved door behind the desk. “My
daughter is the best trainer, better than me or any of our other instructors.”
He whispered the last part of the sentence as if not to offend anyone. The
proud father bragged going back to the computer searching for the right
buttons. 
    While John and I discussed small
talk, I was taken aback when this tall splendor woman stepped out from behind
the door.  Lightning struck me in my chest and a hot sensation ran up my back
so vigorously that I needed to catch my breath.
    She was tall, maybe 5’7” or 8”
wearing denim jeans and a cream sweater. Her hair hung long, well past her mid
back. It was wild, lose and free. The  Her hair’s dark mane complemented
her flawless olive complexion and her eyes were a striking shade of green.
    “Hanna, say hello to Mr.
Chandler.” He gently but ever so forcibly edged her forward. “Why are you
acting shy? You’re never shy? I’m sorry Mr. Chandler, I usually have to stop her,
she’s always talking our guests to death. I guess at nineteen you never know
what to expect, do you?”
    “Hello, sir,” she spoke softly as
if words were foreign to her. She focused only on my lips when she spoke while
tenderly touching her full pink lips. Once she consumed all that she could of
my mouth she then rolled her five karat emerald eyes over my body one inch at a
time. Heat rose in me with such fierceness I had to force myself to regain my
composure.
    I blinked back my
uncharacteristic reaction of loss of speech and found my way back to
self-control. “Sterling, please call me Sterling.” I extended my hand to see if
she would take it. At first she seemed as if to examine it then shook it with a
shy half grin.
    “Hanna, I was thinking that maybe
you can show Mr… I mean, Sterling the slopes,” John said.
    “Okay,” she said softly gazing
deeply into my eyes as if to tell me something I refused to believe:
inquisitiveness. As innocent as it was, curiosity still filled her disposition.
She was but a child and I was a man of thirty.
    “I don’t know, John.” I had to
force myself to turn away from her. “I’m sure that there are far more people
eager to learn and besides,” I looked at her and once again turned away from
the growing fire in her impenetrable greens that where burning red.  She now
rested against the wall behind her father who could not see the innocently
consuming expression on her face. “I have work to do.”
    “You drove all this way you might
as well try skiing. Anyway, it comes with the package you bought so no
chickening out, Sterling.”
    “I guess then I can’t say no,
huh?” I swallowed hard watching the proud father, but I wanted to get out of
this awkward situation. He was clueless to how seductively gorgeous his little
girl was. I did not come here to start a whirlwind love affair with the
Innkeeper’s daughter.
     
    ***
     
    After stepping out of the
steaming hot shower I felt like a new man. I already needed more towels. 
Places never had enough but supposedly I used more than normal. According to