Love Locked

by Britney M. Mills

  He thought back to the connection when he touched her skin and wondered if she’d felt it too. It had been so long since he’d even thought about another girl that he wanted to run back to his room and hide out until she found a way home. But he could hear his mother’s voice in his head, telling him that wasn’t how one treated guests. And if the lodge was going to work out in the long run, he’d have to get used to the hospitality and customer service parts of the business, something that now freaked him out the closer it came to opening day.

  Sighing, he walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. It was well-stocked with food, which was now a blessing since he wasn’t sure when they would be able to get to a store. After pulling out a carton of eggs and a package of bacon, he turned on the gas to the stove and put a pan on top.

  With the bacon sizzling and the eggs cooking on the griddle in the middle of the stove, Walker turned to stir the frozen orange juice in a large pitcher. He was grateful for his mother and sisters and all they’d done to set up this kitchen with the necessary tools the future chef would need. And that he’d paid attention to pick up a few cooking skills from his mother. He was no chef by any means, but he didn’t starve.

  “Wow, do you do this every morning?” a voice asked from behind him.

  Walker turned and grinned at Lauren, whose hair fell in waves around her face. She looked beautiful, even just having woken up, and he wondered if she’d always looked like that. The pink in her cheeks reminded him of when they were younger. She always seemed to have rosy cheeks when she was around. The thought of simpler days made him smile wider.

  “Not every morning, but it helps to eat something other than cold cereal when there’s a lot to be done around the place.” He gestured to a chair on the other side of the island. “Take a seat. How do you like your eggs?”

  “Scrambled, if you don’t mind. That bacon smells delicious.” She took a seat, her eyes wide.

  “Chewy or crispy?” Walker asked, turning the bacon over.

  “Crispy.”

  He turned to smile at her and said, “Me too. Juice? Milk?”

  “Wow, I feel like this is some kind of twenty questions for breakfast,” Lauren said, tipping her head back and laughing. The sound reverberated through Walker’s chest, and he laughed too. “Juice, definitely juice.”

  After plating and pouring, Walker set the meal in front of her. He turned to do the same for his own meal and took it around the large island to sit next to her.

  “Thank you for this. I haven’t had a home-cooked breakfast since, well, it’s been a while.”

  “Lots of cold cereal?” Walker asked with a smirk.

  Lauren twisted her lips to the side as if she were embarrassed to answer. “Lots of cold cereal. I’m impressed you even know how to cook this well. My boyfriend—I mean ex-boyfriend—didn’t know how to cook toast, let alone eggs and bacon.”

  Walker nodded, taking a sip of his juice. So, she’d had a boyfriend, and it sounded fairly recent. What had gone wrong in their relationship? That was a sign to him to back off and put the reins on the feelings that seemed to surge every time she was in the room.

  He hadn’t recognized the feelings from when they were younger, but she’d always been a great listener growing up. For those random times when he’d had to make major life decisions, she’d always been the one to listen to his fears and help him put things into perspective. That realization made him smile, surprised he’d never identified it before.

  “I’ve been meaning to ask you, what are you doing with the lodge?” she asked. “I mean, aren’t you busy getting ready for the rodeo finals?” She took a bite of her eggs and turned her gaze back on him.

  Walker shuddered, memories of his injury flashing through his mind in a split-second. “I, uh, I got hurt last year. After surgeries and several scans, I decided it was best to hang up the spurs and find something else to do with my life.” He focused on his plate, not wanting to see the disappointment or incredulity he’d usually see in people’s faces. He’d been in the top three in the world for nearly five years, so for him to give up bull riding had been a shock for most.

  He turned his head when Lauren set her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry. It must have been hard to give up something you’ve loved your whole life and then try to figure out what to do with yourself after. Do you have any lingering pains or injuries?”

  “I have aches and pains, but that’s understandable since I’ve done bull riding since I was young.”

  “Are you going to the finals this year? Your brothers and sisters are all still in it, right?”

  Walker gave her a half-smile and nodded. “The last time I talked to Kassidy, she said this might be her last year. I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll go or not. Opening day for the lodge and the hotel is in less than two weeks, and there’s still a lot to accomplish. I just hope there’s enough time for the rest of the materials to come in with all this snow.”

  Lauren gasped as she looked out the window. “It’s still snowing? How high is it now?”

  “It was about mid-waist when I went out earlier. It doesn’t look like the snowplow has been by either. You might be here an extra day.” He grimaced, not sure how she’d take that news.

  She glanced around, and her shoulders visibly relaxed. “Anywhere is better than Fort Collins right now. And this place is really nice, so I can’t complain. Besides, the service is amazing.” She lifted her juice and winked at him, sending that trickle of excitement flowing through him.

  “That’s my first review, so I’ll take it. I have a bunch of little things around the lodge to do today, but if you need me, just let me know.” He took his plate to the sink and rinsed it out, leaving it in the dish drainer. He hated using the dishwasher when it was just him and Bear.

  “Thank you. I need to call my dad and let him know I’m all right. He’ll give me an earful when he hears that I tried to drive through the storm, but I’m glad you saved me.” She gave him a look that was a mixture of pleased and embarrassed. “After that, I’ll probably just be online, looking for jobs. I need to at least figure out a part of my life before I head back to Colorado.”

  Walker wanted to pry, but he didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, so he just said, “There are always jobs around Coldwater Creek.”

  She nodded as though she hadn’t thought of that until he’d said something. “That’s true. I’ll have to look around.” She followed what he’d done by rinsing her plate and wiped her hands on her ice cream flannel pajama pants. “Thank you again for breakfast. It was perfect.”

  Walker waved to her as she wandered out of the room. As much as he kept telling himself to keep his distance for the limited amount of time they’d be together, the other part of him wanted to hug her to him and solve all her problems for her.

  He’d always had a soft spot for quietly solving people’s problems, maybe because it distracted him from his own. When he’d realized Cara had broken up with him, he’d found Bear at a rescue the same day. The center had claimed he wasn’t adoptable after the abuse he’d suffered, but after a little work, he’d become the best dog Walker could have asked for.

  He knew he couldn’t fix everyone’s problems that easily, but the pull toward Lauren made him itch to help her. Not to mention the comfort he felt around her, and when she smiled, he may as well be a puddle on the floor.

  Chapter 9

  Lauren rubbed at her eyes. It was well past noon, and she’d been staring at her laptop since breakfast. Breakfast…every time she thought about it, she wondered what she’d ever seen in Cory. He never would have done something so kind as to make or do anything for her without an ulterior motive.

  She’d called her father, and while she’d been right about his frustration in putting herself in danger, he sounded glad she was safe.

  Once they ended their call, she’d dived into her job search, and after going through all the classifieds and different businesses in Fort Collins and surrounding areas, she’d moved he
r focus to Coldwater Creek, wondering if Walker was right about the availability of jobs.

  There were more than she’d thought, but not many of them were what she was looking for. She wasn’t desperate for any job just yet, but she knew that time would come if she didn’t find something soon.

  After taking a quick shower, she changed into some fleece-lined leggings and a large sweater and pulled her wet hair into a quick bun. Just doing that helped her feel a little better.

  She reminded herself that she’d been through a lot in the past few years while working at the Turner family company. As she walked down the stairs, she ticked off the responsibilities she’d been given in those three and a half years: customer service, management of other employees, payroll. She’d also rearranged and organized the entire office once when the family had gone on a cruise. With all of those skills, surely her future wouldn’t be a complete failure.

  Not that she was ever complimented or compensated for the work she did above her job responsibilities for them—which now, in hindsight, made her burn with frustration. How any company could thrive when they treated their employees like second-rate citizens was beyond her. As she thought of her relationship with Cory over the past years, she knew, just as she’d told Sharlene, she’d dodged a bullet. She just wished she’d been able to see it all sooner.

  A fire was going in the wood-burning stove in the large gathering room, and Walker’s dog was curled up on the rug in front of it, taking a nap. This whole scene was so different than everything she’d seen over the past few years, and it made her homesick, even though she was only a few miles from home at the moment.

  She sighed, and a sound from the kitchen caused her to jump. Walker came into view and must have seen her startled face because he extended both arms, hands out as if talking her down from panic.

  “Sorry, I just heard you and wanted to make sure you were okay. Can I make you some lunch or get you something to drink?”

  Lauren gave him a half-smile, seeing the sincerity in his eyes. “You’re on your way to working in hospitality. That’s a good thing.”

  His cheeks colored, and he stuffed his hands into his pockets, shifting nervously. He was adorable when he was embarrassed. “I can only hope. There are times when I wonder what I was thinking, taking over something like this. How to ride bulls, I know. Managing and hiring people, or even making a simple spreadsheet…now, that’s all over my head.” His shoulders sagged as though he’d been kicked in the gut and wasn’t sure how to attack once standing.

  “See, now, spreadsheets are something I can’t live without. Do you mind if I take a look and help you with it?” She took a few steps forward.

  Walker took a step back, allowing her to pass to the table where the laptop sat. “I’d appreciate that. It’s one of those things that never clicked in school.”

  Lauren sat in the chair next to the computer and pulled it toward her, letting her eyes scan the screen to get the gist of what he was trying to organize. “Is this a spreadsheet for income and expenses?”

  Walker nodded, sitting in the seat next to her and rubbing his chin. “That’s what I want it to be. Right now, it’s just looking like a bunch of random numbers in columns.”

  As Lauren looked at the list of descriptions, she knew the easiest way to make life simpler for Walker later was to create different groupings. After adding another column, she turned and caught the look of horror on his face.

  She placed a hand on his arm, hoping to reassure him she was, in fact, helping. But the result of the shock from the touch caused her brain to blank for several seconds, and her eyes drifted to his lips, the thought about how soft they looked crossing her mind.

  “I promise this will make things easier later. Let’s put these into categories so if you need to know how much you’re spending in an area, you can just quickly sort it.” She clicked on the top box and moved the cursor down slowly so she could highlight the sort function. “After we come up with your categories, we can work on setting up the sums and totals of the different columns. As long as you don’t delete the formula, you should have accurate numbers from there.” She gave him a small smile, and he nodded, looking as though he was still processing everything she’d said.

  She’d known Walker for years, and he was by no means dumb, but she could understand how hard it would be to figure out this kind of stuff when he hadn’t ever done it before.

  Filling in descriptions took about ten minutes of brainstorming before they settled on the names of each category he’d need for the business. Then she helped Walker with the formulas needed to total each of the columns.

  “Okay, so now we have it split into office supplies and amenities—the little complimentary soaps and stuff you’ll include in each room. Here you can include what you’ve spent on furniture and décor.” She scrolled down a bit and was about to keep explaining, when he spoke up.

  “I think I’ve got all that. I just put the expense in this column, and then anything I make goes into the income column, correct?”

  Lauren nodded, grinning at him. “Yes. If you keep an accurate account of everything, maybe checking at the end of the day, your taxes will be so much easier to figure out at the end of the year.” She turned back to the computer.

  She could feel the heat of Walker’s gaze on her face, and she pretended to focus on the screen for as long as she could before the pull caused her to turn in his direction. His features were soft, and they were so close that goosebumps popped up along her arms. She rubbed at them, which broke Walker’s gaze.

  “Are you cold? We can go closer to the fire.” He picked up the laptop and waited for her to stand and walk in front of him. It wasn’t until she sat on the couch that she realized they’d be sitting that much closer than they were in the chairs at the table.

  He sat next to her, placing the laptop across their legs. That smell of pine filled her nose again and heightened all her senses, making her hyperaware of his leg barely touching hers.

  Why she’d never experienced anything like this around Cory, she had no idea. Was it because she’d always had a crush on Walker that things seemed to be exaggerated? Her defenses against her attraction for him were weakening, and she would need to finish this up as soon as she could to give them some space. Otherwise, she might end up with a real broken heart.

  They worked on filling out everything he could remember, and she pushed the laptop back to him. She hadn’t felt this good about finishing a project since she’d pitched the idea to help with the Medicare applications at Turner Insurance several months ago. That had taken some convincing, but for once, Carl had stood up to his wife’s rantings and overruled her.

  “How do you feel about that? Do you need any other spreadsheets created?” Lauren asked Walker, seeing the hint of a smile around his lips. It was strange staring at him after all those years of secretly crushing on him, seeing a more vulnerable side than the strong, silent type he’d always exuded.

  “That helps me quite a bit, thank you. I think you just taught me something in fifteen minutes that I didn’t learn throughout one semester of my computer class.” Walker leaned back and grinned, brushing a hand through his hair as his eyes stayed locked on the computer screen. He finally turned to her and asked, “How did you learn how to do all this? I thought Preston said you were an art major or something like that.”

  Lauren chuckled, pulling her feet onto the couch and wrapping her arms around her knees. She was beaming at the compliment he’d paid her and couldn’t seem to tamp down the feeling. “Art History, actually. And no, I didn’t learn how to do this in college. I’ve been working at an insurance company for the past few years and had to learn quickly how to keep information organized. My favorite thing to do has always been to organize, so I think that helped a bit.”

  Walker nodded with a close-lipped smile. “Are there not a lot of jobs in art history?”

  “There are a few,” she said, a little flood of shame running through her chest. She looked down,
picking at her fingernails. “It wasn’t until I graduated that I realized getting a job in that field meant more school or an amazing streak of luck to get a good internship. I didn’t have more money to go on and had started dating someone. His parents owned an insurance company, and they offered me a job, so I’ve worked there for the last three and a half years.”

  “I take it you didn’t completely enjoy it?” Walker asked, one eyebrow rising in emphasis to the question.

  Lauren let out a loud laugh, one of those awkward kinds that came sailing out and was louder than she meant. “I’m sorry, um, that’s just a loaded question. If you’d asked me a week ago, I would have said I was helping out the family I thought I would eventually be a part of.”

  A few seconds of silence ticked by as she tried to decipher her thoughts and feelings, working to put them into alignment. He shifted as he took in the news, and she wondered what he was thinking.

  “And? What happened?” Walker finally asked, moving his arm to the top of the couch behind her. She knew it wasn’t supposed to be a romantic gesture, only a way to turn and see her better, but her stomach still reacted as though at any moment he would lean over and kiss her with those perfect lips.

  Lauren groaned. “Thanksgiving happened. The first time he’d invited me to a family holiday in all the time we’d dated. It was more of a train wreck than I’d ever imagined, but it seemed like everything came into focus all in a matter of two hours, or however long I was at their house.”

  She covered her face with her hands and dragged them down her cheeks, embarrassed to continue. “You know, I never got a pay raise in all the years I was there? And most of the time, I had to cover for Cory in meetings with clients because he was the only boy in the family and his mother treated him like he was the most amazing gift to the world, never caring if he was showing up and doing his job or not.” Shaking her head, Lauren still couldn’t believe she’d survived that long under the guise that she would eventually be married.