The most unavailable man on the planet.
“What were you two talking about?” Jill asked, trying to appear disinterested by looking out the window. “Did he mention me at all?”
Ryan cocked his head and gave her a sideways look. “Did he mention you?”
“What I meant is did he mention that he loves working for me? That I’m the best boss he’s ever had and he’d never in a million years think of quitting such a cushy gig.”
“Yeah, I think he said all of those things.” Ryan smirked. “You don’t have a thing for him, do you? Because that would be stupid and you’re far from stupid.”
“Don’t read anything into it. I’m just...wondering how I’m doing as a boss.”
“Ah, okay. What we did discuss is you working too much and sleeping in your trailer. He assured me that it wasn’t going to happen anymore.”
At that, Jill was certain her entire face was the bright color of a strawberry. She sank a little in her seat and stopped talking. Ryan drove them into downtown Fortune and the city hall building on Main Street near the library.
Fortune was a smaller town, or used to be, and Mayor Mark Coggins was actually someone that they’d all gone to school with. He had been a couple of years ahead of Ryan. Mark had served many years on the city council where he merely got a stipend but now he was a bona fide government employee.
Mark and Ryan exchanged pleasantries and then they went straight to business. If Mark had any comments about her outfit, he sure didn’t mention them. Didn’t even blink twice. He was concerned about the environmental impact study. Which they’d done a year ago.
She took a deep breath. “Mark, we couldn’t even move forward without the study. Is there a problem?”
“Not a problem. Just a concern from one of the residents.”
A little late, Jill resisted saying. She’d jumped through hoops for the residents for what felt like ten years instead of approximately two. Surely she’d aged at least ten years in that time. Accounting could do that to a girl.
She gritted her teeth and smiled as Ryan had advised her to do. “I’m always available for residents who want to voice any concerns.”
“Oh good. I love to hear that.” Mark shuffled some papers on his huge mahogany desk that her tax dollars paid for. “We can take care of this at the next council meeting. I’ll put you on the docket.”
Jill glared at Ryan sitting next to her, staring straight ahead and ignoring her wrath. He might have warned her. Only he knew how much she hated those stuffy meetings. He had to attend them, of course, but she thought she was done with all that.
“Wonderful.” She leaned forward. “Can you just give me a hint as to what the concern might be? We are only a couple of weeks away from our opening day.”
Noise level? She’d had that checked and they were far enough away that most residents wouldn’t hear them. Environmental impact? They were actually helping to bring back the ridge from some of the fires it had endured over the years. Traffic? Not much she could do about that, but she’d provided only enough parking so that they could obtain some revenue from tickets. Ryan hated that idea as much as she did.
“It’s some kind of wildflower.”
“Wildflower?”
“Yes, apparently it’s indigenous to the area.” He shuffled papers on his desk, his brow furrowed. “Here’s the formal complaint.”
“We had the study and no one mentioned a wildflower.” Her throat tightened as she scanned the complaint, and her voice went up into the squeaky register Mom referred to as “whining.”
“I know, I know, but there it is.” Mark threw up his hands. “Honestly? Some days I hate my job.”
And some days Jill wanted to go back to bed and start over.
* * *
On the way back from the meeting, Jill had Ryan drop her off at Carly’s. She had potted flowers on her front porch so she had to know something about flowers, right? Maybe she could help. Jill wouldn’t know a rosebush from a toothbrush. Okay, she was exaggerating. But she’d never exactly been little miss homemaker.
Carly answered the front door wearing a beautiful blue silk blouse complete with a ruby pendant showcased on a simple gold necklace. Above the waist, she was the picture of elegance and style. Below the waist, she wore yoga pants and Tazmanian Devil slippers. Her work clothes. Carly worked from home and the thing about that was she might be home but she was hardly ever available.
Still, all Jill wanted was to look in her garden for wildflowers and get some advice.
“What’s up?”
“Do you have a minute?”
“Sure, I just finished a Skype meeting.” Carly moved and let Jill inside.
“Levi?” Her pilot husband worked odd hours, and one never knew.
“At the airport.”
“The baby?”
Grace was adorable, no doubt, but she was a handful.
“At the sitter’s.”
Jill took a deep breath, convinced she’d have Carly’s undivided attention. “I have a wicked serious problem.”
“Oh good. Because you caught me on my wicked serious problem day.”
“Do you have any special flowers in your garden?” Jill headed toward the backyard.
“Why? You need some?”
“Actually, I need to know what you would do if you had a super special flower you wouldn’t want anyone to get to.”
“Jill, what on earth are you talking about?”
Jill explained the grim wildflower situation.
“I’m going to get on top of this immediately. Find the wildflower, and solve the problem before it even becomes a problem.”
“Seriously? When you might not even have anything to worry about?”
“I have a lot to worry about! Someone wants to delay my opening.”
“You’re always doing this. Always worrying about stuff before it’s even happened. You don’t know that it’s going to be an issue yet.”
Her friends were so clueless, living their simple lives with their husbands, babies and dogs. Meanwhile she was trying to swim upstream like a salmon.
“Remember when they found that endangered butterfly on El Toro Hill? They couldn’t build the high school there for six years. Six years, Carly!”
“Well, that’s different. It was a butterfly. They’re so pretty.”
Jill plopped down on the couch in Carly’s living room, out of steam. It had been a busy morning after a sexually charged and sleep-deprived night. She hadn’t had nearly enough coffee yet to be solving problems.
“I’m just tired of all the obstacles. You know better than anyone I’ve been ducking all the flame torches the concerned residents have thrown my way. Three years of them. Traffic. Noise. Blight. And of course, did I mention traffic? And just when I think I’m finished taking care of every possible objection on planet Earth, there’s another one.”
“You’re so close. It’s going to happen.”
“Remind me again why I did this?”
“Because there are one too many inns and B and Bs in the area, and you wanted something special.”
“Something big. Life changing.”
“There’s nothing like it in our area.” Carly sat beside Jill. “And when you came up with the idea to hire veterans as guides...that was brilliant. A stroke of genius.”
“Thanks.”
But after so many failed ventures, she was bound to eventually find success. It was just a matter of odds, and she’d finally beaten them.
“So. Levi had a great time.”
“I’m glad.”
“And?” Carly was obviously waiting for something, and Jill could guess what that something was.
Jill folded like a blanket. “I slept with Sam! Why the interrogation?”
“Actually, I was going to ask if Zoey followed Ryan around a
ll day, but this is a whole lot better. Do go on, please.”
“It was just once. That’s all.” Guilt flooded her. She was such a bad boss. “We were both curious.”
“That’s totally understandable.”
“Wow, you are being way too easy on me.”
“Or maybe you’re way too hard on yourself.” Carly grinned. “I mean, I haven’t seen him yet but I got the full report from Zoey.”
“Yes, he really is something to see. But that doesn’t excuse my lack of self-control.”
“What did you do? Attack him and tie him up?”
“No! It was totally mutual.”
“That’s what I thought.”
If only it were that simple. “I have a problem. I really like him.”
“Yeah?”
“Even more than I thought I did. He’s...he’s just so...”
Carly leaned forward.
Jill tried to find words and continued to stammer. “He’s...”
“I think I get it.”
“But I haven’t said anything.”
“Oh, yes you have.”
But Jill was still trying to find the right words. Sam had an indefinable quality to him that pulled her in. He was also a good listener. She couldn’t remember the last time a guy had really cared enough to listen to her go on and on. With Sam, she tried to tell herself that he had the same investment she did in the success of the park. At the same time, that alone didn’t ring true. Unless she was misreading him, he genuinely seemed to care.
She could get used to that.
“Any advice for me? I mean, what did you and Levi do after that first time? Did you feel terribly guilty?”
“In my case, it was a little different because Levi had a child. I knew I couldn’t just have a fling with him. I worried that I’d hurt him and Grace both if it didn’t work out between us.”
And Jill worried despite all her best intentions she’d hurt a man who’d already been hurt enough. By the world. By his family. She had no idea how deep those wounds went, because the family issue was the only one she knew about. There had to be so much more and he wasn’t talking.
“He’s...damaged. And I don’t want to make it worse.”
“Then don’t. Just be that soft place for him. Listen to him.”
“He doesn’t like to talk about his personal life. I’ve had to drag stuff out of him.” Jill stood to go. Visiting time was over and she had to get back to the ridge. “I’m going to keep my hands off him from now on. I’ll be his friend. I don’t want it to get weird between us.”
“What are you going to do if he wants more?”
It could be a problem. Sam trying to steal a kiss when no one else was looking. Maybe cop a feel here and there. Sneak into her trailer for a nooner. Yes, it could work out to be quite an issue.
Frankly, that would be one problem she’d love to have.
Chapter Twelve
Sam was in deep trouble.
Jill was not only beautiful, kind, loyal and brave, he was beginning to believe he couldn’t walk away from what they’d started. It wouldn’t be the same as the first time. This time they couldn’t easily walk away from each other. But rather than regret that, he was grateful. She couldn’t get away from him. It wouldn’t be easy to walk away, and damn if he would make it simple.
Like her, he knew a little about overcoming physical odds though he hadn’t opened up to her like she had to him. After the explosion, some of the doctors thought he’d never walk again. The spinal surgery he’d had carried a risk of permanent paralysis or death, but he’d rolled the dice and taken it. Do or die. He’d had the surgery. Some could live out long and fruitful lives in a chair. Sam didn’t think he could be one of them.
The rehabilitation had been what nearly killed him. He could still see the kind and compassionate looks on the nurses’ faces. They’d written him off and felt sorry for him, and grateful for his sacrifice. Once he’d accidentally heard a nurse say it was too bad he was so young. Having seen so many soldiers come through with injuries they’d never overcome, they obviously expected the same out of him.
He hated their pity because he’d been long ago prepared to die for his country. But losing the ability to walk was a different scenario. He’d feel the anger and hostility course through him with every compassionate glance. Hated the assumptions they’d made about him.
Jill hated pity as much as he did, and that knowledge settled deep in him. She understood.
This morning, he’d taken his leave of her before anyone could suspect they’d spent the better part of a night together. It hadn’t been easy. She’d looked soft and vulnerable lying fully naked on the faux bed he’d fashioned out of pillows and blankets. He’d skimmed his hand down her spine to the small of her back and silently cursed at his idiocy. How could he have ever entertained the idea that once more could get her out of his system? One more time had done the opposite. It had firmly established one true reality. She was not someone he’d ever be able to forget.
So there was that.
Back in his trailer, he’d showered, made coffee and waited for the sun to come up. No way could he sleep. He was too wound up to relax. While he waited for dawn, he went over some of the ideas he’d had for the park. Ideas to expand the offerings to excursions to Lake Tahoe for snowshoeing and skiing. He outlined the possible logistics of such an endeavor. Sometimes he couldn’t shut his brain off. Today he and the other guides had plans for a hike they’d scope out before the opening. This one was a higher level, more switchbacks and inclines, and climbing to the summit. They were going to rate the hike, hoping it would rate as moderate to extreme. They wouldn’t know for certain until they tried.
He’d heard the cruiser rolling up the hill a couple of hours later and realized he’d lost track of time. Since Jill’s trailer was next to his, he heard the loud knocking and Ryan calling for Jill. He felt a little guilty as he overheard snippets of their conversation. She’d obviously forgotten an appointment. Sam wanted to believe that was because he’d kept her otherwise entertained for most of the night and wiped her out. Because of who he was at heart, he’d treated the sex last night like a competitive sport. He had every intention of making himself and last night as unforgettable as the first time and now he felt an odd pinch in his chest realizing he’d intervened in her seemingly carefully arranged life. He wanted to do just that—muss up her hair, bruise her lips, leave behind a love bite or two.
When it had become clear Ryan had not been invited inside her trailer and was instead waiting outside his cruiser, Sam made the decision to join him. While he wasn’t Mr. Social, Ryan Davis had something in common with Sam. He also apparently had a medal from his time in the service. Sam’s was a Purple Heart and he talked about it about as much as it sounded like Sheriff Davis did. Not at all.
Sam didn’t know anyone still fogging up a mirror who did. Getting a medal for being alive while your friends were dead was particularly stunning.
“Hey.” Sam greeted Ryan with a chin lift.
Ryan was tall and rangy and looked more like a former soldier than any officer he’d ever met, and yet there was the sense of authority surrounding him, too. Whether from his previous life or his new life as Sheriff, Sam didn’t know.
Ryan’s head had been bent down studying his phone, but he rose and met Sam’s eyes. “How you doing?”
Sam nodded. “Anything I can do to help?”
“Waiting for Jill.” He held up his phone. “We’re late for a meeting. It’s not like her to forget. Must be everything she’s taken on.”
“Doing what I can to relieve the workload.”
“Don’t doubt it.” Ryan seemed to hesitate, then spoke. “Actually, you might be able to help when she gets back from this meeting with the mayor.”
“Trouble?”
“Afraid so. Have a feeling she’s not going to
be thrilled, I can tell you that much.”
“How can I help?”
“Remind her it’s not the end of the world as we know it? I noticed you’ve taken lead around here and I appreciate that. She needs a right-hand man around here even if she refuses to admit it.”
“Got it.”
Just then Jill flew out of the trailer, the door nearly flying off its hinges. Her gaze briefly locked with his before she looked away and practically threw herself in the front seat of the cruiser.
“Huh.” Ryan stared from Sam to Jill and back again. He nodded briskly. “See you around.”
Going by the furrowed brow, Sam guessed that Sheriff Davis had his suspicions about Jill and Sam. He couldn’t blame him. Her clear avoidance of him was too calculated and couldn’t have been more obvious.
* * *
Later that afternoon on the ridge after her meeting with the mayor, Jill squatted in a field to admire the bright yellow flowers that decorated a part of the hill slowly returning to life. She petted the flower gently, admiring its soft ruffly edges. She took a photo with her phone so she could later do an image search and identify it.
“How could something so beautiful be so much trouble and what did I ever do to you?”
It was a Mimulus. Had to be. This was the wildflower that the concerned resident had mentioned. There weren’t many flowers left on the ridge, not even poppies, their state flower, most having been obliterated in previous fires. But the beautiful Mimulus had come back. To haunt Jill, of course. She didn’t see the problem. Surely the wildflower could coexist with a bunch of extreme sports enthusiasts. Surely this wildflower appreciated hot guys. They wouldn’t step on the flowers. What if she swore an oath to that fact?
She couldn’t allow anything to slow down their opening at this point. That would be a huge failure. She’d done so much advertising and spent so much of their promotional budget banking on their opening date. Why couldn’t anyone have mentioned this to her sooner?
Jill could just hear her father right now: Forewarned is forearmed. Always do your research. Confirm your first and secondary sources. For God’s sake, don’t Google it. Are you ever going to listen to me? Jill Davis, this is your father speaking!
More than One Night Page 10
