"I really appreciate your time in interviewing me," she told him.
He traded another long look with Steffi.
Damaris interpreted the look and gesture as, Okay, we're done here.
You knew this was a long shot, she told herself, but she suddenly felt like crying with disappointment.
Then Ash said something completely unexpected. "I want to offer you the job as HR director at Grizzly Creek Games."
What? Really? His words triggered a dizzying rush of incredible hope and joy.
"But…my references…" Damaris managed.
Ash folded his arms over his broad chest. "Look me in the eye and tell me that everything in your resume and everything we've discussed here today accurately reflects your experience."
His hazel eyes were still friendly as she met his gaze, but they were more intense and looked more golden than brown now.
"I swear that everything I've told you is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." She hadn't intended to sound like a smartass, but her desperation came out as defiance.
He stared intently at her for a few unsettling moments, and she felt like he could see straight into her soul.
She felt a primal shiver go through her. Despite his disarming appearance, she sensed that Ash was just as dangerous as Tony or any of the other mobsters she knew.
Then he stood and extended his hand to her over the coffee table. "Welcome to the Grizzly Creek Games team, Damaris. How soon can you start?"
She gaped at him.
He added, "Oh, I almost forgot. How does this sound as a starting salary, plus benefits, of course?" He named a figure double what she was making now, even with the bonus payments from her special assignments.
"I think that sounds great. Thank you!" Damaris could hardly believe it.
She clutched her purse strap. It was all she could do not to jump up and down like Sophie when her daughter was over the moon about something.
He wants to hire me! I'm never this lucky! Never!
Except maybe now. Maybe Dimitri is my good luck charm.
Ash's grin turned conspiratorial. "How would you feel about relocating to Bearpaw Ridge? I know it would be a big change, but it's a great place to raise kids."
Damaris took a deep breath to calm herself but couldn't help the smile of pure joy that tugged at her mouth. "It's beautiful here, and I think Sophie really likes it. I have a few things to wrap up in New York, but I could start anytime."
An icy needle of apprehension pierced through the cloud of warm triumph.
Now all I have to do is somehow convince Tony to let me go.
Getting the job at Grizzly Creek Games felt like a miracle. But now she'd need another miracle to close the deal and walk away from her current life.
Chapter 10 – A Place to Belong
When Damaris emerged from Ash's house into the warm sunlight of a summer afternoon, she saw Dimitri crossing the road and heading towards her.
He caught sight of her, and his smile made her heart soar. No guy had ever looked at her like that, as if she was the most beautiful woman in the world and seeing her made him happy.
Which was good, because she was having the same exact reaction to seeing him. She remembered the urgency of his lips on hers last night, and she wanted to run to him and fling herself into his arms.
At the same time, she felt shy and strangely terrified. I've never wanted anyone so badly. Dimitri could really hurt me.
"How'd it go?" he asked as he neared her.
"Great!" she replied. "Ash offered me the job!"
Dimitri stopped. "No shit?" His smile widened.
"No shit," she confirmed and yielded to her desire to fling her arms around his neck. "Thank you. Thank you so much!"
God, he felt so good against her, all hard muscle and strong hands as he lifted her with effortless strength and whirled her around triumphantly.
It was enough to temporarily dissipate Damaris's nagging worry about Tony and how he was going to react when Damaris told him that she was abandoning her special assignment, shutting down her consulting company, and leaving New York.
"Hey, I didn't do much," he protested. "And that's great news! Ash is a good judge of people, and he must have been really impressed by you!"
"He wouldn't have given my resume a second look if it hadn't been for you," Damaris said.
Dimitri set her gently back on her feet. His smile sobered a fraction. "I know my brother-in-law well enough to tell you that he wouldn't have hired you just as a favor to me. If he hired you, then he—and Steffi, too—think that you're a great fit for the company, and they acted fast to make sure that they got you before anyone else could."
He gazed down at her, his gray eyes alight with happiness and something hotter and hungrier. "So, are you going to telecommute from New York…or stay here in Bearpaw Ridge?"
She didn't have to think at all, just follow her instinct. She rose on tiptoes and drew Dimitri's face down to hers.
"I want to stay in Bearpaw Ridge," she breathed. "And get to know you better."
Then she pressed her lips against his. His arms tightened around her and crushed her against his hard chest as he took control of the kiss.
Last night, Dimitri's goodnight kiss had been gentle, teasing, and sweetly seductive.
Now she saw another, exciting side of him: passionate, a little rough, and totally hot.
His mouth was fiercely demanding against hers, and his fingers dug into her waist as if he wanted to tear her dress off.
Shockingly, Damaris found herself wanting him to do that. She didn't care that they were standing out in the open and that her new boss and coworker were probably going to come out of the house at any minute now.
Damaris made a noise of pure need deep in her throat and pressed herself against him, feeling the hard ridge of his erection through the denim of his jeans.
All she could think about was how fantastic it was going to feel when they had sex. Especially if he kissed her like this while they did it.
Her universe shrank to the feeling of his lips and tongue and his restless, roving hands. She was surrounded by heat and strength, and it felt so damned good.
She was brought back to earth when someone cleared their throat behind her. Dimitri stiffened, his mouth stilling against hers. Then he pulled away but kept his arms around her.
Damaris felt the heat of embarrassment rising from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
"Hey Ash, Steffi," Dimitri said. "Damaris told me the good news."
"I saw you celebrating." Ash grinned as he walked up to them, the two dogs bounding happily around him. "I just emailed you the paperwork, Damaris. We can talk about what's happening with the company and our upcoming release of Werewolf Hunter on the way over to Mom's place."
Dimitri released Damaris but only so that he could take her hand and fall into step next to Ash and Steffi.
Damaris felt buoyant with hope and happiness as they walked hand-in-hand and she listened to Ash talk excitedly about his company's newest game. It was clear that her new boss loved his job, and his enthusiasm was infectious.
"So have you asked any of the Jacobsen boys whether they're interested in beta-testing the game?" Dimitri asked when Ash paused for breath. "I know Ethan's into gaming, and he could probably use the money after what happened to his truck on Friday."
"Not to mention the Jacobsens' other qualifications," Steffi said with a sly smile and a sideways glance at Damaris.
"We met Ethan at the BBQ restaurant yesterday," Damaris said, feeling like she was missing out on a conversational subtext. "He seemed really nice."
"Oh, he's a total sweetheart," Steffi assured her.
"Great idea," Ash said to Dimitri. He turned his head to address Damaris. "How would you feel about setting up a summer internship project for some of the local teenagers as your first project? I'd love to get some feedback while we're still in development."
"That sounds like a lot more fun than
trying to work out a schedule for strippers that gives the best shifts to the manager's girlfriend while not pissing off the other dancers," Damaris answered.
Everyone laughed as they crossed the gravel road that separated the big yellow Victorian from Ash's house.
"Great," said Ash. "I'll spread the word and tell the applicants to text you, if that's okay."
"Mommy! Mommy! Guess what?" Sophie called breathlessly as she and Matt came running down the road from the barn. "I rode Oreo and Latte, too, he's one of the big horses!"
"She did good," Matt confirmed.
As Sophie skidded to a halt, Damaris saw that her daughter's cheeks were flushed pink with excitement, and her eyes shone with equal excitement behind her glasses. "And I got to unsaddle and brush down Oreo! It was sooooo cool!"
Her joyful recounting made Damaris's heart swell with happiness
"I'm glad you had a good time, Ms. Kiddo," Damaris said. "Did you remember to thank Matt and his dad?"
"Of course!" Sophie said, sounding a touch indignant at the reminder. "They're really nice, and Mr. Dane said I could help bottle-feed a baby calf before dinner! All the kids get to help."
Her eyes widened at she spotted Royce and Thunder. "Are they friendly? Can I pet them?"
"Yes," Ash, Matt, and Steffi said simultaneously.
In another instant, Sophie was rubbing both dogs' ears and fending off Royce's attempts to lick her face.
"Hey, did you know that my Uncle Tyler has a parrot?" Matt asked. "His name is Bogie, and he talks. He's inside the house, if you want to meet him."
"Just how many uncles do you have, anyway?" Damaris heard Sophie asking as she and Matt dashed ahead of them to the house.
The two dogs bounded alongside them.
"A lot," Matt replied.
Then the two kids reached the porch steps, pounded up them, and vanished inside the house.
These are good people here at the ranch. Damaris turned her head and looked up at Dimitri's gorgeous features. I never thought I would be so lucky.
As they approached the Victorian, Damaris saw that the house's wide wraparound porch was crowded with people. It was raised several feet above the lawn and was reached by a set of steps that led up to a fancy antique front door with leaded glass insets.
At their approach, a big, dark-haired man leaned over the white wooden railing and waved at them.
His T-shirt had a cartoon bear wearing a construction hat, with "Swanson Construction" lettered in a wide arc over the bear, and his thick, muscled arms were covered with tattoos. His right hand clutched a can of beer, and his left arm was looped around the waist of a tall, attractive blonde woman who looked extremely fit.
"Hey, I was wondering when you guys would make an appearance!" he called down to them.
Dimitri, Ash, and Steffi all waved back good-naturedly. Damaris followed a beat later, wondering who the guy on the porch was. He strongly resembled Dane and Ash, so he was probably one of the other Swanson brothers.
Over dinner last night, Dimitri had told Damaris that Elle had five sons. And that there were a lot of cousins in the Swanson clan.
"I'm recruiting a demo crew for next weekend," said the tattooed guy. "You bring the muscle, and I'll provide the beer and sledgehammers. Justin says he'll feed us all lunch. You in, Ash? How about you, Mitya?" The tattooed guy grinned down at them. "Nika's already volunteered, and I can guarantee that neither of you will hear the end of it if she shows up and you two slackers don't."
"Who are you calling a slacker, Tyler?" Ash shook a playful fist in the other man's direction. "I always show up for demo day!"
Tyler ignored him in favor of looking Damaris over. "Hey, there. You must be Dimitri's new friend. Damaris, right? He told everyone that you were coming to dinner."
He did? Knowing that Dimitri had wanted her to meet his family made Damaris feel absurdly happy.
"I'm Ash's cousin Tyler, and this is my beautiful wife, Mary. She's our new police chief," Tyler finished proudly.
A cop? Here? Damaris froze with instinctive guilt as the blonde woman gave her a wide, friendly smile.
"Hi, Damaris! We've heard all about you, and it's nice to meet you in person. Was that your daughter who ran by a minute ago with Matt?"
"Yes. Her name is Sophie. It's nice to meet you both, too," Damaris managed, hoping she sounded normal.
Police of any kind made her nervous, and the last person she'd expected to meet today was a cop.
She knew she should say something else, but shock had made her mind go blank.
It was stupid to assume that anyone would look at her and immediately know that she was a Mob hitwoman, but her gut clenched in guilty anticipation every time she encountered law enforcement.
Dimitri rescued her. "Tyler owns a construction company, and they're about to convert one of the older buildings in town to a nursing home associated with the new medical center," he explained. "Everyone here enjoys smashing things, so Tyler always recruits the clan, along with anyone else he can rope into it, for demolition days."
Tyler addressed her. "Do you want in on the action? It'll be fun!"
Damaris cast a doubtful glance down at her sandals. "Um, don't you need a hard hat and steel-toed shoes for construction work? I didn't pack anything like that."
"But you agree that it would be fun, right?" Tyler winked down at her.
Damaris thought about it. She didn't have to think too hard. "Sure! It sounds like great stress relief."
"Awesome." Tyler gave her a thumbs up around his can of beer. "Mitya, I like her. Don't screw up and scare her away, okay?"
Dimitri looked mortified, which made Damaris laugh. "Hey, I'm not the one trying to rope a guest into doing demolition work ten seconds after meeting her," he protested.
"I don't mind," Damaris said quickly.
"I want to do it, too!" Matt hollered from somewhere inside the house.
Damn. The kid sure has good hearing, Damaris thought admiringly.
"Me, too!" Sophie shouted.
"You're on! We need everyone we can get," Tyler yelled back cheerfully. "Wednesday morning, bright and early!"
"Don't worry about the safety gear for you and Sophie," Mary assured her. "I'm sure we can dig up work boots in both your sizes, and Tyler's got plenty of safety glasses, gloves, and hard hats to go around. All you need to do is wear comfortable clothes that you don't mind getting dirty.”
"We'll even provide you with Swanson Construction T-shirts—you can keep them as souvenirs," Tyler added, tapping his chest to highlight the bear with its hard hat.
Without letting go of her hand, Dimitri escorted Damaris up the short flight of stairs to the porch.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" Justin asked as he strolled up next to Tyler. "With the weather so nice, we're doing cocktail hour out here before going inside for dinner."
"I'll take a Diet Coke," Damaris said.
Justin raised his tawny eyebrows and looked surprised at her request, so she added, "I’m a lightweight on an empty stomach, and I still have to drive back to the hotel tonight."
"Gotcha," Justin said. "Dimitri, how about you? Beer?"
"Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks, Justin."
Elle emerged from inside the house. She was wearing a green canvas apron emblazoned with "Wildcat Springs Texas BBQ" over her dress.
"So, how'd it go?" she demanded.
"I got the job," Damaris said, hardly able to believe it was true. "I'm going to be relocating here."
"Oh, that's wonderful news!" Elle made a beeline for Damaris. Damaris found herself enveloped in a brief but firm hug that smelled of rosemary and roasted meat. "Congratulations! And I'm so glad that you agreed to join us for dinner, so that we can celebrate together."
She stepped back. "Did I overhear Tyler trying to draft you into joining the rest of us for demo day at the old Carpenter Dry Goods store?"
"There is no try, only do," Tyler quoted Yoda smugly.
"Are you going to help, too?" Da
maris asked.
"Of course," Elle said. She threw her husband a fond look as he approached with a can of Diet Coke and a dark brown bottle of beer. "Justin got me a pink tool belt and a set of pink tools for Christmas. I've been waiting for a chance to use them."
* * *
Elle's dinner, served about an hour later, was delicious—and a lot of fun.
By that time, Damaris had met most of Ash's brothers, plus their wives, including Dimitri's sister Nika, who had the same clear gray eyes and black hair as Dimitri.
They were an interesting group of people that included a doctor (Nika), a lawyer (Ash's brother Mark), a wildlife biologist (Evan), a journalist (Caitlyn), and the owner of the popular Cinnamon + Sugar Bakery & Café (Annabeth), in addition to Bearpaw Ridge's police chief Mary Jacobsen.
Damaris was informed that Ash had one more brother, named Thor, who worked as a professional firefighter in Colorado. Thor was married to Justin's daughter Cassie.
Everyone was friendly and welcoming, and to Damaris's surprise, they all assumed that she was Dimitri's girlfriend.
Exactly what did he tell them about me? Or maybe it was the fact that he only let go of her hand long enough to drape an arm over her shoulders?
She knew she should have been a little freaked out by this, considering that she'd only met Dimitri a couple of days ago, but being with him just felt right.
The interior of Elle and Justin's Victorian was beautiful, with antique furniture and fixtures, and there was a huge dining room at the back of the house.
An antique oak sideboard stood along one wall of the dining room and held a selection wine bottles, along with two large silver water pitchers coated with condensation.
A huge oval dining table dominated the room. It was covered with a damask linen tablecloth and set for fourteen adults.
A long kids' table had been set up just outside the dining room on the covered porch at the back of the house. Damaris quickly realized that there were a lot of kids at the ranch, when Elle clanged the triangle-shaped dinner bell hanging from the roof of the porch and they began streaming in. A pair of tall French doors stood open so that everyone could see and hear each other.
Blaze (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 8) Page 9
