by Debra Kayn
Fraternize Me
by
Debra Kayn
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Fraternize Me
1st Digital release: Turquoise Morning Press, Suite Cowboy, Debra Kayn Copyright© 2012
2nd Digital release: Copyright© 2015 Debra Kayn
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
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Chapter One
Ava Walsh tapped the pen against her notepad, while cradling the phone on her shoulder. She wrinkled her nose. Mr. Holland talked too fast for her to write down all the details, but she understood the importance of every word. There were two hundred guests arriving any minute, and she had to make sure they had a good time, or she'd lose her job.
The one time she'd had a face-to-face meeting with him, Drake Holland, her boss and owner of the Holland Hotels had scared her to death with his loud voice and rules. So many rules, she stayed up all night trying to memorize the employee handbook from front to back. She needed the job too much to make a mistake.
“I expect you to run the hotel with extreme care during my absence,” Mr. Holland ordered over the phone. “Don’t disappoint me, Ava. I’m counting on you. Do a great job, and the managerial position will be yours.”
“I’ll do my best, sir.” Ava ended the call and sagged in her chair.
Mr. Holland had left on business and instead of bringing in a backup manager; he’d put his trust in her. She stood, hooked a stray blond curl that had slipped out of her French braid behind her ear, and left the office. There was no time to worry or feel sorry for herself, her evaluation started now. Everyone at the hotel was relying on her to keep business running during Mr. Holland’s vacation, and she’d do everything in her power to keep them all happy.
The Cattlemen’s Association would be arriving at any moment to check in and from the rumors circulating amongst the workers; conventions always put a strain on hotel staff. With only one more week left on her evaluation period for the managerial position, she couldn’t screw up. Mr. Holland demanded excellence, and she would pass his test.
The worst part of losing her job was she’d have to sell the home she grew up in to supplement Gram’s living care bill. Medicare only paid so much, and despite all of her reminders for Gram to sign the house over to her to keep it out of the courts, the dementia Gram suffered from won once again, and Gram never got around to signing the papers.
By the time Ava had noticed, the attorney and doctor deemed Gram unfit, and nothing Ava said could change their decision. Either she paid the rest of the monthly bill to have Gram in the best nursing home to keep her safe, or she’d have to liquidate Gram’s assets to afford the expense of keeping Gram at Sunny Oak nursing home. No matter what, she wasn’t going to move Gram out of Sunny Oak. It was the one place she believed truly cared about their residents.
She glanced at her watch. The crush of convention goers should start arriving soon. She walked down the wide, red-carpeted staircase, and crossed the glass-enclosed lobby. She smiled at Sally, the desk clerk.
Holland Hotel boasted three levels above ground; yet guests had to take the stairs in the main lobby to the second floor in order to use an elevator. When she asked Mr. Holland about the lack of elevator service at the front, he'd shrugged, and noted that at the turn of the century, the stairs were the focal point of the hotel and he wanted to keep with tradition.
Explained that way, it made sense. The hotel was quaint and charming, leaving the experience of a visit to Seaside as a memorable time to many who traveled to the Oregon Coast.
George, the concierge, waved to her from the side of the room and gave her a nod that everything was going fine. She relaxed. Once everyone checked in, she’d meet with the manager of the restaurant and lounge to make sure everything was running smoothly on their end.
How hard could managing the place on her own be? The small coastal hotel wasn't that big. It should be easy for her to run. One week, that's all she had to worry about. If Mr. Holland hired her afterward, the level of stress she was dealing with would be worth gaining a full time job.
“Oh, save me, here they come.” Sally straightened and clicked on the computer, bringing up the main page. “Last year, the cattlemen started a brawl in the lounge and ten guests asked for their money back. Mr. Holland had to remodel two of the rooms after one of their wild parties. I hate to think of what they'll do this year.”
“You’re kidding!” Ava ran her hand over her skirt. “Why did Mr. Holland agree to host them again?”
Sally shook her head. “I don’t know, but I do not want one of those guys picking me up this year.”
“There’s no flirting allowed with hotel staff. Mr. Holland is firm on that rule.” Ava squeezed Sally’s arm. “Come to me if anyone gives you a hard time, and I’ll deal with him immediately.”
“I’m not talking about flirting with me.” Sally’s brows rose. “Some huge cowboy literally picked me up and threw me over his shoulder as if I weighed nothing at all. He carried me halfway to his room before George convinced him to let me go.”
Ava closed her mouth and hid her shock. She couldn’t rely on George to keep the female staff members safe he must be sixty years old. “Stay behind the counter. I’ll try to handle the men for you.”
The carousel door spit out guests faster than Sally could check them in. Ava stood off to the side, smiling and welcoming them to Holland Hotel. The ranchers were loud, big, and male. A sea of cowboy hats filled the room. Back slaps and boastful laughter made it almost impossible to hear any specific conversation. She was so out of her element.
In all her twenty-two years of living, she'd never seen so many big, loud, rugged men all in one place. She blinked at the sea of cowboy hats and swallowed. Nothing in life had prepared her for this part of the job.
One man stood out from the suited men with bolo ties, in his dusty jeans and pearl-buttoned shirt. Muscular arms showed beneath his rolled up sleeves. His hat, worn and dusty, sat askew. He shifted his gaze and connected with her. Her smiled faltered, and she swallowed.
Dark hair skimmed his shoulders, and he tipped his hat further back on his head. Green eyes stared at her with a shocking intensity. She guessed he was in his thirties, and he seemed at home standing in the middle of the hotel lobby wearing chaps, looking as if he'd rode off the range and left his horse parked outside.
A slow grin almost hidden behind the black goatee softened his attention. She bit her lip. Compared to him, the Marlboro man appeared weak and boyish.
“Ava?” George stepped beside her. “I’ve received word that room 340 is unusable.”
She smiled and kept her gaze out at the crowd, lest they think something was wrong. “Can it be fixed?”
“Not today. Maintenance is running to Portland to pick up the correct part. Unfortunately, they couldn’t find anywhere closer that had the part on the shelves. Until then, there’s no running water in the room,” said George.
“That’s okay. We’ll just have to put the person in the vacant room I kept open in case of an emerg
ency.” She glanced at George, and nodded. “Let Sally know to page me when the guest arrives, and I’ll take him aside and explain about the change in plans.”
“Very good.” George hurried away.
If that were her only problem today, she’d be okay. Even though every room at Holland Hotel was full to capacity, she’d taken Mr. Holland’s advice and kept one backup room available. The guest should be satisfied once she informed him of the switch.
She worked her way through the crowd to the other side of the room and followed the hallway to the lounge. Tony stood behind the bar, drying glasses. She waved, weaving around the tables.
She leaned against the counter. “Is everything set up for tonight? The cattlemen will finish dinner at seven o’clock. Then they have a two-hour class scheduled afterward. So, you should have a crowd starting at nine o’clock.”
“Ready and waiting.” Tony grinned. “Drinks are ready, tips will flow, and men will be happy.”
“Good. That’s what we want to hear.” She knocked on the wood surface. “Yell if you need anything.”
“Will do. Thanks, Ava.”
She returned to the lobby, caught Sally’s look of desperation, and joined her behind the counter. Sally pointed to the screen. The guest in Room 340 had arrived.
Ava lifted her gaze, surprised to find the gorgeous cowboy with his dusty hat standing in front of her. She glanced back down at the computer screen, found his name, and walked around the front desk.
“Mr. Johnson? I'd like to talk to you for a moment, if you’d please follow me.” She motioned him away from the desk.
“Sure, darling.” He wolf whistled under his breath, loud enough for her to hear.
With her back to him, she schooled her features not to react. Away from the other guests checking in, she held her hands in front of her. “I’m afraid our maintenance crew is working on a small problem in the room assigned to you.”
“Damn.” He scratched his forehead, almost knocking his hat off. “I can’t have that. I spent good money to attend the conference, and—”
“Not to worry, Mr. Johnson.” Ava laid her hand on his arm. “I’ve already changed your room number for your entire stay at Holland Hotel, and we’ll make sure you’re comfortable. This is our fault, and we’d like you to stay and enjoy the convention.”
“No kidding?” He grinned and leaned closer. “Is the room bigger?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, there're two full beds in your new room instead of one.”
He dropped his gaze to the front of her blouse. “So, there’s plenty of room for two?”
She swallowed and stepped back. “There’s adequate space for you to stretch out and be comfortable, I assure you.”
“I appreciate the service.” He moved backward and tipped his hat. “I’m Hank, by the way. Might as well get rid of the ‘Mr.’ part of my name, since I'm staying at the hotel and I only answer to Hank.”
Her heart raced. There was something about his low, gravelly voice that made it seem as if he had reached out and caressed her skin. Her legs quivered, and she cleared her throat. “The Holland staff does their best to make sure every guest is taken care of and comfortable during their stay. Our goal is for you to have a relaxing time, and come back again to enjoy our accommodations.”
He chuckled. “Do they make you memorize the employee handbook?”
She smiled and glanced away. It was true. She’d spent most of the night after orientation repeating the rules to an empty house until she knew them by heart. “Your room is on the left, two doors down.” She handed him the keycard. “I’m sure you’ll find everything to your satisfaction. If you need anything, you can contact me, my name is Ava.”
"Thank you, Ava." He winked and walked away.
She inhaled deeply and watched him take the stairs. The back of his Levi’s fit snug on his butt. She snapped her head up and looked away. Stop it. She thought. What is wrong with me?
The stress must be getting to her. She’d never ogled a guest before. The job came first, men never entered her radar. The last date she’d gone on had also been her first. Jared Brown, who lived down the street, took her to the movies on her eighteenth birthday. She remembered because it was the last good, full day Gram had remained lucid. She pursed her lips. How was she supposed to fool Holland Hotel into giving her a job when she lacked not only the job skills but life skills too?
She shook her doubts away and walked to the counter. At the computer, she put in Mr. Johnson's new room number and verified the work slip for room 340.
"Ava, there's a call for you on line five," Sally said.
"Thank you, Sally." She picked up the phone, pushed the button, and said, "Hello, this is Ava speaking."
"Ava. This is Hank. I think you gave me the wrong keycard," Hank said.
"Oh, let me check." She leaned down below the counter. Sure enough, she'd handed him the wrong card. "My mistake, I have your new keycard here at check-in. I'll find someone to run it up to you ASAP."
She disconnected the call, spotted George hurrying by, and waved him over. "George, could you run up this key to Mr. Johnson? I forgot to change cards when I informed him of his new room number and he's locked out."
"I'm sorry, Ava. I'm running an errand for a guest." George backed away.
"No problem, I'll take it to him myself." She smiled and excused herself through the crowd of men.
Not wanting to keep Mr. Johnson waiting, she took the stairs. On the third floor, she spotted him leaning against the wall in the hallway and warmth crawled up her neck to her cheeks. "I apologize. I grabbed—"
"No problem. A simple mistake." He took the card from her and slid it through the lock, and then pushed open the door. "It might be a good idea for you to wait a moment, so I can check things out and save you another trip. I had my suitcases sent over earlier and I want to make sure they arrived with the room change."
When she moved to pass him, he leaned forward, making the room close in on her. She froze. A quiver bomb detonated in her lower stomach. Was he smelling her hair? Did men really do such a thing?
“Strawberries. Nice,” he murmured.
She clamped her lips together, snuffing her fascination with the rugged cowboy, and walked into the room. “As you’ll see, the fridge is stocked and the menu is on the counter. You’ll have round the clock access to the kitchen too. The numbers you’ll need are beside the phone.”
“Is there a hot tub?” he asked.
A few more steps and she stood in front of the sliding door, leading out to the balcony. “Yes, right through these doors. All the rooms on this floor facing the ocean have private balconies and a wonderful view of the Pacific.”
“Great. It also looks like my suitcases arrived. Excellent.” He swept off his hat, tossed it on the couch and with no hesitation, grabbed each side of his shirt and tugged.
Ava stared at him.
Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.
The sound of his pearled-buttoned snaps coming undone echoed in the room, and set her heart to racing. She had no idea what he did with the shirt, because all she could concentrate on was the broad expanse of chest. And shoulders. And lean stomach.
A dark sprinkling of hair formed the shape of a diamond in the middle of his chest, and trailed down into a line, disappearing under his belt buckle. She sighed in appreciation. He even had a long scar that ran along his ribs that was crazy sexy.
Carved out of stone, without an ounce of fat, Hank flexed his shoulder, causing her to whip her gaze up to his face. He cocked an eyebrow at her, questioning her silently. Could he hear her thoughts?
“I’ll leave you to settle down.” She wrinkled her nose. “I mean, get comfortable.”
She walked a wide path around Hank, afraid if she was in touching distance, she’d do something even more embarrassing – like reach out and run her fingers across the corded muscles above his belt buckle to see if they were as firm as they appeared.
Satisfied she’d settled him into his new
room properly, she closed the door. But not before his low chuckle reached her ears. She held on to the doorknob and leaned her overheated forehead against the cool, smooth wood. Never, in all her life, had she come so undone over a man that she’d forgotten her responsibilities
She had a hotel to run, and flirting with a guest was out of the question. To make sure she remembered what she was here for, she removed the sign from the doorknob and flipped it to Do Not Disturb. It was her sign. She could not let one sexy cowboy distract her from getting the job.
Chapter Two
Hank removed his boots, took off his chaps, and peeled his jeans off his legs. His half-brother, Drake, owed him big time. He didn’t have time to run the convention, run the ranch from a distance, and run the new manager through the tests Drake wanted him to oversee. Once again, his brother gave no thought to Hank’s life.
He preferred living on the ranch and not dealing with the backend of the hotel business. That’s why he’d left running the Holland Hotel in his brother’s hands when Drake's mom wanted to retire and gave control of the hotel to him and Drake.
He walked out to the balcony naked, and eased into the hot tub. “Ah.” He sank down to his shoulders and leaned his head against the edge of the tub.
After a morning of running five thousand head to the north quarter, then having an overzealous bull slam him against the stock trailer, the heat and comfort of the water soothed his tired muscles. He closed his eyes. The only thing better to rejuvenate him after a hard day was a woman.
Ava Walsh.
Drake hadn’t mentioned the new candidate for manager was a hot filly with thick blonde hair, startling blue eyes, and curves built for his hands. Hell, he wouldn’t have fought with Drake over yet another favor if he’d known she was beautiful. He stretched his legs out. Ava’s obvious curiosity aroused him. He recognized an interested woman when he saw one, and Ava’s blue eyes told him she liked what she was seeing in him.
