by Lori Foster
“Maybe.” As if she only just then realized the direction of the conversation, she said, “Oh, I don’t mean with you.”
Cocking a brow, he asked in mock affront, “Why not with me?”
Her dark lashes fluttered in nervousness. “You’re part of the crowds.”
Damn, he did not want to be lumped in with the masses. He wanted to be different. He wanted to be more.
Softly, he said, “Not if it’s just me.”
“But I...” Her words trailed off.
“You what?” he prompted.
Defiant, she whispered, “I don’t look that great in a bathing suit.”
His imagination went into hyperdrive. “I find that very hard to believe.”
At his inadvertent husky tone, pleasure colored her cheeks. “I’m...” She gestured. “You know. Maybe a little thick?”
Coop nearly choked on a laugh, but he knew she wouldn’t understand so he turned it into a cough. Here he was, getting semihard thinking of her stripped down a little, and she thought he might be disappointed.
His gaze went unerringly to her breasts. “That’s not how I’d describe you.”
A little breathless, she said, “No?”
He looked at her closely, watchful for fear or anxiety. Instead, he saw interest in her eyes.
“Can I be frank?” On the heels of that, he explained, “I don’t want to overstep or...make you nervous.”
Pride lifted her chin. “I’m not nervous.”
Though she didn’t say it, he heard the unspoken qualifier: Not with you.
Pleased that some of the barriers were crumbling, he smiled. “All right then. I’d say soft, curvy.” His gaze moved over her body. “Sexy.” As he looked at her, her breathing hitched and her color intensified.
She blinked, nodded and let out a breath. “Thank you.”
He was probably pushing too fast, way too fast, but he heard himself say low, “You don’t ever have to be afraid of me, Phoenix. I swear, there’s no reason.”
Her eyes flared, then narrowed in defensive annoyance. “I’m not.”
Hoping that wasn’t a lie, he said, “Good. Then we can swim sometime?”
She shook her head. “I’m not afraid, it’s just—” With an agitated huff, she reached back to flip up her ponytail, letting the humid summer air kiss her nape. After a quick peek up at the sun, she put clip-on sunglasses over her lenses. “I’m sometimes uneasy. That’s all.”
“With me?”
Immediately, she shook her head. “No.” Her frown deepened, this time, he suspected, with confusion. “No, not with you.” As if realizing what she’d said, she rushed into new conversation. “It’s going to be crazy hot today. I better get to work before the sun starts roasting everything in sight.” She turned away, taking two fast steps.
“Phoenix.”
She stopped, waited and finally glanced back.
With the sunglasses in place, he couldn’t tell if she looked at his face or his naked upper body. Either was okay with him. “You’re doing a great job.”
“Thanks.” A small smile came and went. “For the compliments and the nice visit.”
“Anytime.” Coop watched her leave with a long, purposeful stride. He thought of everything she’d gone through.
The bruises had healed, but some of the wounds remained.
Still, they’d gotten to a first-name basis. She’d smiled. She’d chatted.
She’d more or less admitted that she felt differently with him.
He’d call that progress.
* * *
I saw his wife.
Phoenix sent the text to Ridley, then waited for a reply.
Her phone rang instead. She was alone in the maintenance building, so she answered. “Hey, Ridley.”
“What wife? When did he get a wife? All this time I thought we were discussing a single guy!”
“He is single, but he’s widowed.” She thought of the image on his desk area and grew wistful. “She was beautiful.”
“I didn’t know,” Ridley said. “How long ago did she die?”
“Maris told me about her. You know, the woman—”
“Who runs the camp store, yup. I have all the characters clear in my head.”
Phoenix laughed. “They’re not characters.”
“Well, I’ve never met them because someone won’t invite me to visit, so for me, they’re not yet three-dimensional, regardless of your great descriptions.”
Ridley had been using that sarcastic tone since Phoenix was four years old. It stopped working on her when she’d turned twelve or so, but Ridley, three years older, had never given it up.
Now, it merely seemed a part of her sister’s personality of snark tempered with love.
Giving a credible snort, Phoenix said, “It’s beautiful here, and loads of fun, but you know it’s not your style.”
“My style is ever evolving,” she said in lofty tones. “So when did he lose his wife?”
“Maris said it was six years ago, before he bought the park.”
“Do you know how she died?”
Phoenix tucked the phone against her shoulder so she could continue prepping for work. “No. Maris isn’t really the gossipy type.”
“And neither are you, so I suppose you didn’t ask?”
“Of course not. It makes me feel so bad for him, though. He’s a great guy. Can you imagine going through something like that?” As soon as she said it, Phoenix cringed. “I mean—”
“No worries, sis.” Ridley adopted her best I don’t give a shit tone. “My situation was entirely different and I know it. I may have lost a man, but he’s still living.”
True, but Ridley’s ex had been so cruel in how he’d left her and the reasons he’d given...
“Stop it,” Ridley commanded. “I’m loaded, thanks to that dick, so I get to live the life I love. That is, the life I love minus seeing my sister who won’t let me visit.”
Phoenix rolled her eyes. “I’ll visit you on my next day off.”
“Now where’s the fun in that? I want to ogle the man candy.”
Phoenix choked. She definitely didn’t want Ridley doing that. “Daron is too young for you. Heck, he’s too young for me and he’s my age!”
“I wasn’t talking about our studly repairman, fun as that sounds. It’s the head honcho I want to see. The way you’ve described him... Rowrrrr.”
Phoenix felt her face go hot. In a low whisper, she said, “I haven’t!”
“Oh, it comes through, sis. Pure lust.”
“It’s not!”
“You’re screeching. That’s a telltale sign of lust, you know.”
Phoenix exhaled a deep breath and said more calmly, “I’m not lusting.”
“I hope you’re fibbing, because I was totally jazzed over the possibility.”
“Ridley,” she warned. Was she lusting? Maybe a little bit. And that was a huge deal. For a while there, she’d only been able to see men as threats first, and once that faded, with indifference.
There were so many other priorities that required her focus...
“Men and sex and all the good stuff in between are things you should be enjoying,” Ridley said. “I know you think you can’t right now, but I promise, it’s just like riding a bike. Once you’ve learned it, you never forget. It all comes back in an instant.”
Phoenix burst out laughing.
“Let me guess,” Ridley said, her voice deadpan. “You’re imagining pedals and those narrow seats?”
Sputtering with her hilarity, Phoenix added, “And ten-speeds!”
Ridley laughed too, then snuck in, “So you do like him, huh?”
Sudden caution washed away her humor. Ridley was like a bloodhound on the scent. “Who, Daron? Yes, he’s nice and he’s good at what he does.”<
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“I’m not dumb and you’re not dumb, so give over already.”
She sighed. “Yes, I like Cooper, but like is not lust, Ridley. And I don’t know when...or rather if, I’ll ever again be comfortable with that.”
“You will be.” Ridley said it with conviction. “I think you’re almost there already, and I have that resort owner to thank for it.”
“Rather than debate it,” she said, “I have to get to work.”
“Okay, sorry for calling. I just needed to hear your voice.”
Phoenix softened. What would she have done without her sister? Ridley was more than a sibling, more than a best friend.
Sometimes, Ridley was everything.
Smiling, Phoenix said softly, “It was nice to hear yours, too.”
“Smooches.”
“Smooches back atcha.” As Phoenix slipped the phone into her back pocket, she heard a sound and whirled.
Daron stood at the entrance to the maintenance building, his not-quite-six-foot frame lounged against the opening. He wore a ball cap backward over his shaggy brown hair, loose board shorts, an unbuttoned shirt and a playfully leering smile. “Did I just hear you making kissing sounds with a guy?”
Relieved to see a familiar face rather than the boogeymen who haunted her dreams, Phoenix grinned. Daron she could handle. He was never serious, didn’t push, and she had no real problems being around him. “Actually, that was my sister.”
“Yeah?” His brows climbed. “Younger or older?”
“Older by three years.”
Suggestively, he asked, “Does she look like you?”
“Chubby? No. She has some red in her hair, but we have the same eyes.”
Daron pushed away from the wall. “Just so you know, you’re chubby in all the right places.”
She looked down at her chest, laughed and said, “Well, yes, Ridley and I have that in common.” It was so odd that she could joke with Daron in a way she couldn’t with Cooper. How she felt about Cooper made all the difference, but it still surprised her that she could be so easy with Daron.
“If she ever visits, I want to meet her.”
“Trust me, Ridley would insist on it.” She gestured at the riding mower. “I think it died, but if you can revive it for a few more weeks, that’d be great.”
“Why just a few weeks?”
“Because after that, Cooper says he’ll look into a zero-turn.”
“Whoa.” Daron rocked back on his heels. “How’d you talk him into that?”
“I just mentioned it.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve mentioned it to him a hundred times but he always just tells me to resuscitate the poor old thing.” He lifted the hood on the mower and began tinkering. “Because it came with the park when he bought it, Coop considers it nostalgic.”
Thinking of the photo of Cooper’s wife, Phoenix asked, “Were you here already when Cooper bought it?”
“Nah. I was working part-time in town at the grocery while going to school for an associate degree in business. Coop was in buying groceries when this older lady’s car died on her. I went out to the lot to get it going. I guess a few customers told Coop that I had a knack because after watching me work, he offered me a job—and I agreed. Best decision I ever made.”
Probably one of Cooper’s better decisions too, Phoenix thought. She knew Daron was invaluable to the running of the place. “Has it changed much since he took over here?”
“Are you kidding? It’s all different.” He rolled one shoulder. “Better.”
“New employees?”
“For the most part.” He grunted as he twisted something. “Most had already moved on or retired.”
Fascinating. She watched Daron’s arms flex, then something gave way. Frowning, he switched positions.
“I guess he changed the name after buying the resort?” That was the one thing that surprised her. Cooper didn’t seem the type to flaunt ownership, or to draw attention to himself.
Daron grinned. “I did that. The big sign up front used to say Cherry’s Charm.”
“The previous owner was named Cherry?”
Shrugging, he said, “That, or the name came from all the weeping cherry trees.” He adjusted a few more things inside the hood of the mower. “The sign was all but falling off the pole, so Coop told me to take it down. Talk about nostalgia—it was a vintage sign, shaped like an old camper, you know? I couldn’t see pitching something like that, so I removed the rust, repaired the lights, repainted it with Coop’s name and hung it properly.”
What a wonderful thing for him to do. “And the name stuck.”
“Much to Coop’s annoyance.” He raised his head from the engine to flash her a sheepish grin. “He eventually forgave me.”
Phoenix tried to resist, but curiosity got the better of her. “He’d already lost his wife when you met him?”
Daron paused, his expression troubled. “Yeah, that’s why he came here.” He glanced up again. “I think it was like a fresh start or something. A way to move forward instead of just...suffering.”
Her heart squeezed painfully at the idea of him hurting. She thought of the sign and whispered, “Cooper’s Charm. A good place to get away.”
“I guess Coop thought so, since he bought the park and he’s been here ever since.” Stepping back, he said, “Give her a go.”
Trying to reclaim her light mood from moments ago, Phoenix sat on the riding mower seat and, after inserting the key, she pressed the clutch, checked that the mower was in Neutral and turned the key. It fired right up.
“There you go,” Daron said with a bow as he closed the hood. “My work here is done.”
“Actually,” she said over the engine, “there’s some issue in the laundry.”
“Always is.” With a jaunty walk, he saluted her on his way out.
Phoenix sat there a moment, then she withdrew her phone and opened the ongoing text conversation with her sister. She typed in, Cooper’s Charm is a good place to get away.
Ridley replied with a smiley face.
They both knew that no matter where she lived, if she truly wanted the past behind her, she had to fully face the future.
* * *
A week later, Phoenix darted through a drizzling rain and into the camp store. It was still early, but she saw lights on and figured she’d join Maris in a cup of coffee. The two of them got along well and Maris was friendly without being intrusive.
Unfortunately, as she rushed in, her wet sneakers met the tile floor and came out from under her. She flailed in the air.
A strong pair of hands caught her under her arms. “Easy.” Those same hard hands got her upright and then lingered as she turned to see who owned that deep voice.
The shock of his touch hit her first, followed swiftly by a stab of...well, not exactly fear, but definitely uncertainty.
She was reflecting on the progress she’d made, pleased that she could think calmly enough to know she was in a room with friends, when she looked up—into vivid green eyes framed by sun-bleached blond hair, all wrapped up in muscled perfection.
Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.
Beside her, she heard a chuckle and turned her head to see another—more familiar—vision, this one with darker hair in a perpetually tousled state, rich brown eyes and a huge smile.
“Daron.” She straightened and stepped away from the man holding her. “I... Sorry, the floor is slippery.”
“Especially in the rain,” the man agreed.
“Don’t worry about it, Phoenix,” Daron teased. “All the women ogle Baxter. He’s used to it.”
Baxter said, “Shut up, Daron,” without any evident animus. “It was mutual ogling.”
Oh, no, no, no. Accepting his assistance without fear was one thing. Anything else was out of the question.
Daron
whistled. “And the day just got more interesting.”
This time Phoenix glared at him. He pretended to lock his lips. Right. Like she’d believe that.
Daron might be a fun-loving, harmless guy, but he was rarely quiet.
Baxter, she knew, was the scuba instructor. She’d visually admired him from a distance several times—after all, she might be damaged but she was still a woman. She’d already known that Baxter was lean, strong and undeniably gorgeous. However, that hadn’t prepared her for seeing him up close. The man was put together very finely.
Rather than continue looking the fool, she pushed aside the nervousness and, putting on her most polite and purely social expression, she held out a hand. “I’m Phoenix Rose. We haven’t had a chance to meet.”
“Phoenix. Interesting name.” Thankfully, at least from her perspective, he picked up on her lack of personal attraction. “Baxter McNab. I’m the scuba instructor and director.”
“I’ve seen you with groups at the lake.” She looked down at the wet floor. “Thanks for the good catch.”
His gaze slanted to Daron. “Dumb-ass over there did the same thing, only I didn’t bother catching him.”
Daron dramatically rubbed his sexy behind. “I think I broke my...pride.”
From the other side of the counter, Maris asked, “Coffee?”
“You read my mind.” With a fleeting smile toward the men, Phoenix headed for a stool. “I hope this rain doesn’t last.”
To her surprise, Baxter took the seat right next to her. Until Maris refilled his cup, Phoenix hadn’t noticed it. Now it was too late for her to get up and move without looking rude, which would draw unwanted attention.
“It’s going to rain all day,” Baxter predicted. “Long as there’s no lightning, it won’t interrupt my day.”
“Wetsuits,” Daron said, taking the seat on the other side of her, “are impervious to rain. But you and I—” he gestured at Phoenix and himself “—won’t be able to get anything done.”
Hunks as bookends. Not that long ago, she would have been crawling out of her skin, but now—although a little uncomfortable—she accepted the situation as harmless.
She was congratulating herself for that small coup when Maris slid a cup of coffee in front of her, already doctored with creamer and sugar. “Thank you.” Phoenix couldn’t imagine a better way to toast her continued improvement than with fresh, strong coffee.
