Bailey looked shocked. “No! Of course not!” she said immediately. “Actually, I’m doing everything I can to make sure that you keep your job.” She grimaced. “Look, I know that things have been weird and that I’ve kind of screwed with your finances by taking you off the schedule since Friday. But we’re going to do whatever we can to make that up to you, whether it’s a raise or a bonus or whatever. And if you need help getting caught up on work, I’m here to help, whatever I can do. Although…” She trailed off, sounding upset.
“What happened?” I asked worriedly. “You were supposed to call me if there was something that you needed me for.”
“I know,” Bailey said. “And I swear, that’s the plan. That’s still the plan.” She cleared her throat. “But there’s been kind of a problem. Ian hired this other company to do maintenance. They showed up yesterday afternoon, and I meant to get involved before all the contracts were signed and stuff, but I was helping out somewhere else on the resort and everything got signed.”
I stared at her, wondering if I had heard her correctly. She had said before that she was doing everything that she could to keep me in the job, but from the sounds of things now, I didn’t even have a job anymore. There was a whole company there to replace me now, with signed contracts and everything.
I knew that it wasn’t Bailey’s fault. She had done the best that she could. But my worst fears had come true; by kissing Bailey, I had given up everything that I had worked for over the years.
“You don’t have to worry about it,” Bailey said quickly. “The contracts that they signed with Ian won’t be worth anything once my lawyer gets involved, because Ian had no hiring power with the company. He isn’t an owner. Hell, he isn’t even an employee. He had no right to bring them in.”
I shook my head. “You can’t sue Ian, or anything like that,” I said. “He’s your brother.”
“He is,” Bailey agreed tersely. “But he can’t just walk in and take over my company just because he wants to look out for me, and if suing him is what I need to do to make him see that, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
I frowned down at my sandwich, trying to think of what to say in response to that. Ian and Bailey had always been close, I knew. And I knew also that everything Ian was doing, he was only doing it because he wanted to look out for Bailey. She was his younger sister, and… well, I couldn’t forget that he had asked me to look out for his sister too. I hadn’t. And so if I lost my job, it was my own fault.
“I just need a few more days to straighten everything out,” Bailey promised me. “A few more days and then everything will be back to normal.” She sighed and shook her head. “I really wanted Ian to stick around through Christmas, but to be honest, if this is the kind of shit that he’s going to try to pull if I let him stick around, then I’m not so sure that I even want that. Things were going really well before he showed up.”
I stared at her for a moment. There was so much that I could say in response to that. Did she want to talk about that kiss that she and I had shared? Had that been ‘going well’? But I didn’t have the guts to bring that up right now. What would I do if she told me that she wanted to be with me but that I could no longer continue working for Brooks Mountain? It would kill me, but I needed a job, and I couldn’t tie myself down to Park City without work.
“Maybe you should just listen to Ian,” I finally said, even though I hated to do so. I shook my head. “Look, Bailey, this job has been my whole life forever. But I don’t want to wreck things between you and your brother. And we all knew there were bound to be some changes with a new owner.” Of course, I had been more sure than anyone that my job was secure, just because it was such specialized work. But that was neither here nor there.
Bailey looked taken aback. “Adam, what do you want?” she asked. “Because what I want is to have you keep working for us.” She said it matter-of-factly enough that I could believe it was true. Almost.
I shook my head, though. “Bailey, what do you want?” I asked her, and I hoped she knew I wasn’t just asking about my job at the mountain.
Bailey laid both her palms flat on the table, a challenge in her eyes. “We’re not going to find a better maintenance man than you,” she said. “Not least of which because you’ve been working on these same lifts for years now, and that’s something that no one else if going to have.” She paused and then shrugged. “I need you, Adam. And I’m sorry that Ian seems to think that you’re replaceable or whatever, but I know what you’re worth to the resort, and I know that, that I need you.”
I heard that briefest of pauses in the middle of that last sentence, ‘I need you’, and I wondered if she was talking about more than just the resort. But I didn’t want to push things now. I was already on shaky enough ground because of one kiss. If I wanted to keep this job, I needed to make sure that things stayed strictly professional between the two of us.
Bailey might be willing to go up against Ian over the maintenance company, but that didn’t mean that my job wasn’t still at risk in the future. If I continued things with Bailey, who knew what Ian might do. I didn’t want to find out.
But then again, if I didn’t continue things with Bailey…
There was definitely a part of me that had missed her. A part of me that so appreciated having lunch with her right now. I wished that the afternoon could just continue for longer. That I could stay here with her, shoot the shit, hear all the latest happenings at the resort. It was one of the busiest weeks, the start of the holiday season, and I was sure there had been plenty of laughable happenings on the mountain in the days that I had been gone.
But I didn’t know how to ask her about any of that, and I didn’t know how to steer things around to us again.
Bailey, to my surprise, suddenly reached out and caught my hand, stroking her thumb over my knuckles. “We’ll figure it out,” she promised me, looking seriously into my eyes.
I didn’t know what to say in response to that, but I found myself nodding at her.
“How’s Ethan, anyway?” Bailey asked, changing the subject. “I’m sure he loves having you home more right now.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Actually, he’s been asking about you,” I said. “You told him that we’d go skiing together, and now that’s all that he can talk about. He can’t wait to see you again. Apparently, you made quite the impression on him.”
Bailey laughed. “Should I be sorry about that?” she asked.
I grinned and shook my head. “Nah,” I said, “it’s cute.” I paused. “But actually, he’s starting his winter break as of tomorrow, so if you wanted to go skiing at some point and that’s still on the table… Or well, maybe going skiing isn’t the best option since Ian is still at the mountain.” I fell silent, feeling silly for even suggesting it. I should have just told her that Ethan was fine, that he was looking forward to his break from school, and left it at that.
But Bailey was smiling at me. “Well, tomorrow’s Wednesday, right? That’s a slow day for the mountain anyway, even this close to Christmas. You should see our ski school logs for tomorrow; looks like hardly any guests.” She paused. “So why don’t I come over? See you and see Ethan, let you know how things are going, that sort of thing?” I could hear the hope in her voice, and I tried not to be surprised by it.
“That sounds like a plan,” I said, nodding at her. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
29
Bailey
I was really glad that Adam didn’t seem upset about the news that Ian had hired a new maintenance team for the mountain. He just took it all in stride, even going so far as to ask me if that was what I might want. It wasn’t, it definitely wasn’t. But I was glad to hear him be so forgiving about the whole situation.
Not that I had really expected anything else from Adam. He was nothing if not kind and understanding. And the whole lunch had just made me want him more.
I wondered if Ian realized that the more he did to frustrate me, the more he was just pushing me right into Ad
am’s waiting arms. Ian had always been my best friend, my biggest help in business, and my role model. But since he had come back to Park City and basically tried to take over my business, there had been more and more space between the two of us. I just couldn’t handle him being there any longer, and I could tell that he was starting to realize that. There was a distance there that hadn’t been there before.
And the more I realized that he wasn’t my friend, at least not in this venture, the more I ached to have someone else fill the void of friendship that he had left. If that was Adam, well, Ian couldn’t exactly blame me. I knew that part of it was Adam just looking out for his job. And for the resort that he had worked for for so long. But there was a part of it that made me sure he was also looking out for me, that he was being friendly specifically to me.
I remembered just how cold and closed off he had been when I had first come back to Park City. He just wasn’t like that anymore. Maybe I had forced him to change. Maybe I had found a way to get Adam to open up to me. That was definitely the way it felt.
So when he told me during lunch that Ethan had been asking about when he and I could see one another again, I realized that I would do whatever it took to get to see him. I didn’t think that skiing was the best idea. What would Ian have to say to that? But I could go over to Adam’s house, since Ethan was on break from school and Adam didn’t have anything to do with the mountain at the moment.
Now that I was here, though, driving up the long driveway towards the wooden house, I couldn’t help feeling nervous.
I had wanted to talk to Adam about more during lunch the previous day. To tell him that even though I knew he probably regretted kissing me, since it meant that he had lost a whole week’s worth of work, basically, I didn’t regret it at all. In fact, I was more resolved than ever that I wanted things to work out between us somehow.
I wasn’t quite sure what that would look like yet. I knew that he was still Ian’s friend, or at least that he and Ian still had some things to resolve. And I also knew, more than ever, that things were likely to get complicated between us.
But at the end of the day, I was starting to realize just how difficult it was for me to stay away from him. Starting to realize that each new day when I didn’t see him around the resort was like a knife to the gut.
I still had Ian’s words echoing through my brain. He thought I deserved someone better. But the more I thought about it, the more sure I was that I didn’t want anything different, better or otherwise. Adam was passionate about his job, and about Ethan. He was hardworking almost to a fault, and even though he wasn’t always as communicative as I would have liked, I could tell that he was opening up to me, slowly but surely. I didn’t want to quit on that.
My worries vanished as I pulled up towards the house and saw Ethan on the front porch, waving happily at me. “Hey, Ethan,” I said when I got out of my car.
“Hi!” he said excitedly, still waving.
Adam came out onto the porch as well, grinning at me. “Hey, Bailey. Hope the drive was okay?”
I nodded at him. “Honestly, I think the plow trucks do a better job out here than they do around town,” I joked.
“We shoveled the driveway all by ourselves,” Ethan told me proudly.
“Well, you did a very nice job,” I told him approvingly. “I didn’t slip at all.”
Ethan giggled, and Adam grinned. “So do you want the full tour of the place?” he asked me.
“Sure,” I said easily, letting him lead me around the house, both inside and out.
“Gosh, the view out here is beautiful,” I said as we paused in the kitchen, looking out over the whole valley. I swear, you could see everything from there at the sink. I had never seen anything like it before.
Of course, you got a pretty amazing view from some of the places in Vegas. Either down the entire strip, or out towards the desert. But it was nothing like this. The mountains were beautiful, but that was just part of it. Not a skyscraper in sight, just rolling mountains and houses and strips of white that must have been ski resorts. And as the day faded towards sunset, twinkling Christmas lights started to dot the valley below us, lending a merry air to everything down there.
Adam smiled at my clear appreciation of the place. “It takes a certain type of person to be comfortable living out here,” he said. “We’re kind of in the middle of nowhere.”
“Kind of?” I teased. “There’s only, what, the one other house on this road?”
“Yup,” Adam agreed.
“And that’s Gramps’ place!” Ethan piped up excitedly.
I laughed and shook my head. “Of course it is,” I said. Adam looked defensive at first, so I hurried to explain. “I think it’s great that family is so important to you,” I said quietly. “And there’s a kind of beauty to the fact that you’re so disconnected to the rest of the world. It’s just you guys, and no one else. I like that.”
Adam stared at me for a moment and then glanced away, shrugging. “I don’t want just anyone knowing where I am or what I’m up to,” he said.
“I can understand that,” I sighed, looking out the window. I was thinking about Ian just showing up there in Park City like he had.
What might have happened this week if he hadn’t shown up like that, unexpectedly, walking in in the middle of Adam’s and my first kiss? If I was out in the middle of nowhere like this, not accountable to anyone except myself?
It would be lonely, that was the first thought to come to my mind. Except that as I looked over at Adam, I wondered if it would. Of course, if I was on my own, I would be lonely. But there were other kinds of family than the bond that I had with my brother.
Not that I was thinking that far ahead, as far as Adam and I were concerned. I knew we weren’t at that point just yet. No matter how comfortable it was, being here with Adam and Ethan, getting to see where and how they lived.
“Do you want to go grab some dinner together?” Adam asked suddenly, to my surprise.
“I want mac ‘n cheese,” Ethan piped up, and Adam laughed as he knelt down next to his son.
“You know Gramps makes the best mac ‘n cheese,” he reminded his son. He paused. “Maybe he could make you mac ‘n cheese while Bailey and I go out to dinner. What do you think of that idea?”
“We don’t have to,” I started to protest, but Ethan interrupted.
“Yeah!” he said, sounding totally on board with the idea. “But can we play on the PowerBox afterwards?”
“Sure thing, buddy,” Adam said easily, smiling up at me, a question in his eyes.
I grinned shyly back at him and shrugged. “I guess so,” I said. “Let’s go get dinner.”
30
Adam
I couldn’t help but feel nervous when Bailey came over, even though I was glad to see her again, and glad that Ethan got to see her again. I didn’t know what it was that had me so uncomfortable and uncertain about all of this. What did I think she was going to do? Of course, I knew that her family was rich, that she had probably grown up in a place five times the size of this. Easily.
But she was so down to earth, kind, friendly, and comfortable that I doubted she was going to point out anything like that. And in fact, she seemed totally enamored of the place, no matter how ‘quaint’ it might feel to me sometimes.
She grinned as she looked out the kitchen window, and I felt my heart break for a moment, remembering Beth’s smile the first time we had been there, before we had bought the place. She had loved that view out the kitchen window, and it was one of the main things that had sold us on this place over every other place that we had looked at.
But as heartbreaking as it was to see Bailey’s positive reaction to that view, it also helped to mend something inside of me. I might have lost Beth, but that didn’t mean that all the magic was gone out of that view, that no one was ever going to appreciate it again. I hadn’t really ever thought that with Beth gone, that was the end of the appreciation of that view over the valley but, well, t
he mind worked in strange ways.
All I knew was that seeing Bailey’s naked appreciation of the view did something to me, in ways that I couldn’t describe.
Which was how I found myself down on my knees suggesting that Ethan stay with his grandfather for the night while Bailey and I went out to dinner.
Dad gave me a knowing look when I dropped Ethan off a little while later, having cleared the plan with him over the phone. But he didn’t say anything. Instead, he just reached out to Bailey, shaking her hand. “Congrats on buying the resort,” he said gruffly.
She grinned at him, although I could see how brittle the grin was. I wondered if she was thinking about Ian’s interference with her job. “Thank you,” she told him simply.
“Do you have any suggestions for where to eat?” I asked her as we got back in my car.
She laughed. “You’re the one who knows this town,” she reminded me.
I snorted. “Fair point, but I meant more, any cuisine suggestions?”
“Burgers,” Bailey said decisively. Then, she looked shyly over at me. “If that’s okay with you? I don’t know why, I just have a hankering for a really good burger and a beer.”
“That sounds great,” I agreed. “And I know just the place.”
I took her to my favorite hole-in-the-wall bar. The place could get busy at times, but we didn’t have too hard a time finding a table since it was a Wednesday night, and we were able to hear one another talk still.
“This place is great,” Bailey said, smiling at me after we had ordered our burgers and beers. She looked around curiously. “This is what I’m still missing with this whole thing,” she mused. “I bought the ski resort, but I still don’t know the town at all. There’s a lot of local flair that I feel like I’m just missing out on.”
“You’ll get to know the place,” I said, not sure what made me so confident that she would. Hell, for all I knew, she was only going to stick around for the one winter, if that, and then head right on back to Las Vegas or on to somewhere else.
One Shot At Love: A Billionaire Single Father Romance Page 17
