“Did you have a housekeeper before?”
“It’s been a while. I hire a cleaning company every now and then, but truthfully, I need more than just a housekeeper around here.”
“More than a housekeeper?”
“Yes, something more than that.”
“You mean, like a live-in maid or something?” I asked. I hated pressing the man for answers that were really none of my business, but I couldn’t help it. How did he end up alone with a kid that wasn’t biologically his?
He sighed. “It’s complicated. I’m not the kind of man to go on dates. I don’t have time for that stuff anymore.”
“Oh.” I looked down at the floor. I recalled a time when I told my sister that I didn’t have time for dating random guys. She told me that I should at least start dating someone. Back then, I was afraid of getting my heart broken and I guess she was just trying to tell me that she didn’t plan to stick around to keep me company. Either way, I kind of understood where Viktor was coming from.
“I’m gonna grab a beer and prep the dinner. Want some tea?”
“Sure.” I followed him into the kitchen.
“If I took the right stuff out of the freezer, the meal should be ready in an hour or two.”
“I can help if you’d like,” I offered.
“Sounds good.”
After putting some water in the kettle, he took a package of turkey breast from the refrigerator.
“So, besides the mishaps you’ve encountered, how do you like Arrow Lake so far?” he asked, gulping down some beer.
“It’s cold as hell, but nothing I can’t handle. One thing I can say is that at least I don’t have folks in my business. Your closest neighbors are half a mile away. My closest neighbor is on the other side of a wall. And they’re loud as hell.”
“You and your sister grew up together, right?”
I nodded. “We lost our parents when we were ten. We’ve lived with our grandmother most of our lives. And then we lost her. Our family is so spaced out and some of them even live abroad, so contacting relatives is always a pain in the ass. Plus, we were a couple of misfits. Nobody really wanted to give us a home.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your parents. I understand why you need to find your sister now,” he said.
The tea kettle whistled. I grabbed it off the stove and poured the steaming water into a cup over a tea bag. I knew that his gaze hadn’t left me. I figured he did this to every new person. He probably thought I was still that stranger who’d come to steal from him and set his property on fire.
I spun around. “What about you? Any siblings?”
“Only one. A brother.”
“Really. Does he live in Arrow Lake?”
He shook his head. “Naw. He moved away a while back.”
“Wait,” I exclaimed. “Is Roy…is he…you said you had one brother? So, is your brother Roy’s father?”
“Yes,” he said, flatly.
Based on his blunt reply, I could tell he didn’t want to discuss that issue further.
“I hope I’m lucky enough to have kids one day,” I said.
He smiled. “A beautiful woman like you? You will.”
“Thanks. It’s just that the men in my area are all assholes. My grandmother warned me. Made me promise her that I’d save myself for the right one.” I sipped from the teacup.
“Save yourself?”
“Yes, save myself.”
Viktor looked puzzled.
“For my husband. I’m a virgin.”
A glass bottle of spices slipped from his fingers, crashed to the ground, and broke instantly from the impact. “Shit,” he exclaimed.
I walked to the corner of the kitchen where I spotted a broom and dustpan earlier and brought it back. “I hope you’re not as clumsy as I am,” I joked.
“I’ll get it.” He took the broom and dustpan. “You stand back. I don’t want you to step on any glass.”
“While you’re doing that, I’ll check your cabinets for some more spices.”
“Yes…okay.”
By the time Viktor got done sweeping and wiping up the spilled seasonings and shards of glass from floor, I’d already selected all the spices and had the turkey breast laid out on the pan ready to season. He still looked a bit disheveled from the mess he made on the kitchen floor, or maybe he was shocked that I was so naïve for wanting to keep a promise that I made to my grams years ago. Apparently, I was the last virgin on earth my age since none of my friends ever took me seriously whenever I told them.
“Looks like you know your spices,” he commented.
“I haven’t worked in a kitchen this big in a long time. I used to cook all the time when I lived with my grams. She’d talk and point, and I’d listen and practice. Eventually, I stopped burning up her pots.”
We laughed.
A phone rang somewhere down the hall. He looked in the direction of the sound for a minute and sighed. “I left my cell on the foyer. That’s probably one of my suppliers. Rex usually calls me around this time to fill my orders. I’ll call him back when we’re done here.”
“If you want, I can finish up dinner. That way, Roy won’t have to wait for dinner when he gets home.”
He smiled. “Um…okay. Have at it. Honestly, you’d probably do a better job than me. My turkey usually comes out really dry.”
I grinned and grabbed a bottle of olive oil from the counter. “I have a solution for that.”
“Well…”
“You took some broccoli out earlier? Is that what you’re having on the side?”
“Yup, just gotta convince Roy to actually eat the vegetables.”
“I may have a solution for that too. Something my grams taught me.”
“You impress me more and more with your skills each time I see you,” he exclaimed. “I’ll leave you to it. If you need me or you have trouble, just holler.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t burn up your pots or your kitchen.”
“I know you won’t. I doubt you’d want to be indebted to a workaholic like me for life,” he teased, and left me in the kitchen.
I got to work, pretending for a while that one day this would be my life. That I’d have a house to live in instead of a small studio in the city. That I’d have a big, modern kitchen just like this one and someone to cook dinner for every night. This was the life I wanted. I wanted a family again.
Chapter Ten
Viktor
Time flew by the next day. I hardly realized that the lunch hour had passed by. I’d been in a zone the whole time while working on fixing a backup generator.
I tossed the screwdriver on the ground beside me and pulled out my cell phone. Kristene must have been handling service calls without issues because I hadn’t gotten one call from her needing instructions. But was that a bad thing? I recalled the last time I hired someone other than my regular gal to work in the rental office. The poor student had gotten so frustrated with customer complaints that she took off without a word. This incident was another reason why I seldom relied on anyone’s help in my business.
For years, I’d been steering the Kamaz business without counsel. Of course, I always had lawyers on retainer for legal things that came up and my accountant got my books into shape a few times a year, but I was in charge of making the bulk of the decisions. Before I took control, it was just me and my brother, Vincent. But then Vincent took off…
About two times a year, investors popped up asking if I wanted to sell my businesses. They’d dish out low ball offers and, occasionally, they’d even offer attractive lump sums that they thought I wouldn’t refuse. I wasn’t ready to sell out. Not just yet. And maybe I never would. I had Roy now…and I had a plan.
I came out from behind the shed where I was working this morning and walked out into the open where my cell got the best reception. No voicemails. No missed calls. The lack of calls could only mean that this was just the calm before the storm. Folks usually waited until the last minute to need things. Especia
lly before the snowstorms.
I wondered how Kristene was handling the calls, so I glanced out across the yard at the rental office. In a way, I couldn’t believe she was still here. But who was I kidding? She wasn’t sticking around for me. She was here to find her sister.
I almost wondered if I was asking for too much by making her work to pay for the damage she caused. People who broke into other people’s property and caused fires were usually booked into the local jail where the Sheriff and his clerk, Natalie, gave them a run for their money. Giving Kristene a job and accepting her offer to clean up the area she burned up was nothing compared to the community service she could have gotten.
Just as I was getting ready to call Kristene to ask if she wanted me to bring lunch to her, a little red Corvette turned the corner and slowly crept up the dirt path leading to my house.
I paused in thought, wondering if someone had gotten lost on the highway. Tenants usually didn’t bypass the rental office to get to me. Most of them had no idea that my home was so close.
As the sports car continued to roll up into my yard, something dawned on me.
I shielded my eyes from the sun with my hand and focused my attention on the stranger.
My mouth dropped open when a redhead woman stepped out of the car with a briefcase wearing a pencil skirt and stilettos. She stumbled across the icy patches of dirt before she reached me.
“Mr. Viktor Kamaz?” she asked, smiling widely.
“Yes, that’s me.”
The woman held out her hand. “Hi. I’m Francesca. I was sent from the agency to follow up with you about possible long-term spousal arrangements.”
“Spousal arrangements?” I stepped back in shock. How could I have forgotten that I’d made an appointment? Did I? I didn’t remember telling anyone to come out here. I cleared my throat. “Um…I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“That’s okay, Mr. Kamaz. We didn’t really confirm an appointment. We had trouble reaching you on your cell phone. Must be the storm or something. My agent advised me that I needed to complete our interview within a week. She said you were in immediate need. I live about an hour away, so I thought I’d come out.” She looked around. “Wow. You have a really big place here. Just like the news article said about you. Do you still own half of the paper mill down in Rockwell county? I have family up there and saw your name come up a couple times a few years back?”
I scratched my head, unsure of how to handle the situation. I had promised the agency that I’d give these spousal arrangements some thought, but I wasn’t ready to make any concrete decisions yet. I needed the help, but this was sudden…and suspicious. “I appreciate you coming out here…Francesca, but I’m a bit unprepared here.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I can wait. Your little receptionist said you might be busy working, but I assured her that I was here on business too.” She smiled. “I thought maybe you might want to see at least one of the options in person. You know, to check me out and interview me. Give it a test run.”
She batted her eyes which surprisingly did nothing to convince me to…give it a test run.
“Options?” I frowned.
“Yes. There’ll be more women coming from the agency. I don’t know how many, but I was the closest. Also, I should mention that I’m really good with my hands. I cook, I clean, and I give really good back rubs which can be beneficial after a long day’s work. You’re a lumberjack, right? Kathy said you were shy and picky and may need a bit of convincing.” She grinned, biting her lip.
“Um…no…no,” I stuttered.
“No?” She looked hurt.
“I mean, I wish Kathy wouldn’t send any more women here.”
Amy’s lips spread out into a full smile. “Does that mean you like me best?”
“Oh…no…I mean.” I cupped my forehead and took a couple deep breaths. “Let me be honest, Francesca. Now isn’t a good time.”
She sighed. “I’ll leave my number with you. I can come back, but with the snowstorm, it might be a couple weeks. You don’t need to be to needy out here all by your lonesome.”
“Don’t risk coming back out here in the snowstorm,” I told her, walking her to her little Corvette.
“You don’t have to worry about me, Mr. Kamaz. I’m not afraid of a little snow. But, if you like what you see, I’m willing to come back out. Just give the agency a call. Or if you’re not ready to commit long-term, I can be of some other use to you too.”
Her suggestive tone didn’t go unnoticed, but I wasn’t interested. Odd. I hadn’t been with a woman in far too long and this young redhead hadn’t even piqued my interest.
“That’s not necessary. I’m sorry this wasn’t a good fit. Please drive safely.” I closed the door for her and stepped away from the car.
Moments later, the red sports car was headed back down the trail from where it came. I released a big sigh, wondering what the heck was wrong with me. A full-grown woman had just offered herself to me and I had declined, just like that. Not that I was a manwhore or anything, but I’d never been one to deny someone the chance to work for me. There had been a time years ago that I would have been tempted to entertain her offer, but not anymore. But that redhead came onto me hard. Not to mention, she seemed more interested in my businesses than me. Usually that meant they were motivated by money. If she lived just an hour away, there was probably no mystery about who I was, who I did business with, and how much I was worth. And according to her, the agency had more women coming out here.
I toggled through my phone log until I found the number for the agency. I keyed in Kathy’s extension, anxious to find out why she had started sending women here to see me without final confirmation. I got her voicemail.
“Uh, Kathy, it’s Kamaz. I just met with your client, Francesca. I was a little caught off guard. I thought we had agreed that I’d get back with you. Some things have changed, and I’d like to table this arrangement. Don’t send any more of your clients. We’ll talk again soon.”
I hung up, stuck the cell phone in my pocket, and walked across the field to the rental office. My strides were long and hurried, so I got there in half the time.
To my astonishment, Kristene had already gotten rid of all evidence of the fire, except for a burn stain on the desktop and a bit of the smoky smell still lingering around. When I opened the door, she was arranging some paperwork in a file cabinet.
She looked up from her work and smiled. “Hi.”
It took me several seconds to realize that I wasn’t breathing as I stared at her. I closed the door behind me and came inside.
“Would you like to take a lunch break?” I asked.
She glanced down at her watch. “Sure, but I’m only here for another thirty minutes. Remember? I’m only working a few hours a day.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right. How about this? Your boss says you have the day off early and now he’s inviting you to lunch.”
She grinned. “If that’s what the boss wants…”
I nodded. “By the way, any issues come up?”
“Nothing major.” She picked up a list. “There was a toilet overflow in cabin 62. Cabin 19 reported that the draft from the windows was unbearable. The lady in cabin 12 said she heard some noises under her porch and thinks that she might have a furry visitor.”
“You mean, Ms. Rochester?”
“Ms. Rochester from cabin 12, yes.”
“She’s a long-term rental. She feeds stray cats and sometimes forgets, but I’ll go check that out for her this evening.”
“Oh, don’t worry. Charles from groundskeeping is scheduled to go out around 2. He says he has time to handle all three of those issues today,” she said.
“Well, it’s only your first day on the job, and I’m completely impressed.”
“I told you I had skills.”
I nodded. “You might even be a bit over-qualified.”
“Um…one more thing. There was a woman. In the little red car. She said she had an appointment with you ab
out household matters.”
I frowned. “There was a mix-up at the agency I’m using.”
“You mean she didn’t have an appointment?” Kristene put her hands on her hips. “I knew she was lying, but I didn’t want to cause a scene.”
“It’s okay. I should have told you that I didn’t accept guests at the house unless pre-arranged.”
“She was so rude. She said she knew you.”
“I get a few folks like that now and then. If they persist, my prior receptionist used to tell them that I had vicious dogs in the yard and to trespass at their own risk. That usually kept them away.”
Kristene giggled. “I’ll use that next time.”
“Be my guest.”
Kristene caught my gaze. “Yesterday, you said you were looking for help around the house. Something more than a housekeeper. Was that why that woman came?”
“Yes, but I sent her away.”
“Why’d you do that? Don’t you still need the help?”
“Let’s make lunch. I’ll tell you about it then.”
She nodded and smiled. “Okay.”
In my heart, I already knew why I sent the redhead away. I didn’t want to admit it just yet, but my reason was staring me right in the face.
Chapter Eleven
Kristene
After lunch, I asked Viktor if I could to stay for a bit to use his computer and internet. The speed at the motel sucked and there were only two stations which were somehow always occupied by another guest at the motel. He didn’t seem to mind that I was staying late, and every so often, he would come in from outside to check on my progress concerning my sister.
It was late evening and Roy hadn’t made it back home yet. Apparently, sometimes he played after school with the Bennet boy over at their house. His tardiness was a good thing since Viktor forgot to take something out of the freezer to cook for dinner.
Wife for the Lumberjack: A Single Dad Mountain Man Romance Page 6