by Jill Sanders
“Yes, I was in Paris.” She waved her hand in the air as if excusing Raven and started to step past her.
“As I mentioned in my messages,” Raven said, blocking the path to her office, “Cannon Falls Resort is no longer in need of your services.”
“Who are you?” The woman’s eyes narrowed, then she glanced over to Colin.
“I am the owner of this establishment,” Raven clarified. “My uncle has been running the business in my absence.”
“Oh?” Morgan’s eyes moved to Colin. “I was unaware of this.”
“I assumed, which is why I left several messages,” Raven said again.
“As I said, I was in Paris.” Morgan waved her hand again.
“The last I knew, cell service works in Paris,” Raven countered. “Thank you for coming out today, but as I mentioned, your services are no longer required. Actually”—she turned back to her uncle— “you are both welcome to leave.” She walked over and held the office door open for them. “We’re done here.”
As Morgan walked out, she had a few choice works in French, which Raven fully understood thanks to three years of French classes. Still, she was just thankful the woman was leaving.
Then she turned to her uncle and waited.
“I think the lady has asked you to leave,” Cade said firmly.
Her uncle glared at him. “Stay out of this, Stone.”
“I’m here on business,” Cade shrugged. “The last I heard, you’ve been asked to leave by the owner of this establishment.”
“I live here,” Colin spat out.
“I’m willing to give you a week to find someplace else,” Raven answered.
“You said we were welcomed here,” Colin said.
“You were, until today. Roslyn, Cal, and Liza are still welcome. You wore out your welcome just now.” She nodded back towards her desk, where he’d grabbed her.
“You haven’t heard the last of me,” Colin said, moving towards the door.
She stopped herself from flinching as he passed by her and, after he stepped out, she shut the door and leaned against it after flipping the lock.
“You okay?” Colin asked, directly behind her.
Straightening up, she put up her protective shields once more as she turned to him.
“I’m fine. Thank you.”
“You don’t have to do that,” he said softly, his eyes scanning her.
“What?” She tried to hold it together, but her arm throbbed where her uncle had grabbed, which was making everything inside her throb with anger. Not all of it was aimed at Colin, since she’d allowed him to manipulate her.
“Put up the walls,” Cade answered, moving a little closer to her. His eyes went to her exposed arm. “He bruised you.” He moved closer to her, then surprised her by running the back of his finger over the spot gently. “Your skin is so pale, so…” His eyes moved up to hers. “Flawless.”
The breath in her lungs practically burst from her in short bursts as she felt her heart kick. Going from anger and hurt to lust so quickly had her head spinning. Even the room seemed to spin around them as she looked into Cade’s eyes.
Her mind wandered to what it would feel like to have him lean in and place those sexy lips of his over hers. How would it feel having strong arms wrap around her? Hold her? How long had it been since she’d allowed herself a moment of pleasure?
Reggie. She closed her eyes on the pain.
“Does he do that often?” Cade asked, his voice low and soothing.
“No,” she answered truthfully, not opening her eyes. “Normally he just yells at me.”
She felt his entire body tense next to hers. The air almost crackled with his anger. Opening her eyes, she could instantly tell that he was trying to get his temper under control.
Seeing it had an awakening effect on her. Blinking a few times, she shook the lustful thoughts she’d just had about him away and refocused.
Then she noticed for the first time that he was in a dark blue official-looking fire marshal outfit. Her heart skipped another beat seeing just how sexy the man was in uniform.
“I think we’d better get started on our work,” she said, taking a step away from him. Instantly, she felt more leveled. More in control.
She noticed that it took him a moment, but after a few deep breaths, he nodded.
“We’ll start in the kitchens,” he said.
As they made their way to the back of the building towards the kitchen, she glanced behind him.
“No Blue today?” she asked.
“No, he’s keeping Gran company. She’s working in her garden today, and he likes hanging out and helping her dig.” He smiled. “Course, I think he just ends up digging holes everywhere and chasing gophers before sleeping the rest of the day away.”
She chuckled as she imagined the old dog enjoying himself.
They stepped into the kitchen. Normally, during season, there’d be a large crew of employees there, handling the morning rush. Now, there was only one cook and two other staff slowly moving around the space. “So, what exactly are you inspecting?”
“The older buildings have an outdated system that needs to be checked more often. I’ve been coming by every six months to make sure it’s still working. The main system room is back here.” He headed towards a closet near the back of the kitchen and she followed.
For the next hour or so, she followed him around to various places and rooms that she hadn’t known existed. When she was a child, she’d only been allowed in several areas. Then, when she was a teen, she’d been too consumed with her own problems to care.
It was one of the reasons she hadn’t really known how much her parents had done to keep the resort functioning. The first years of college, she’d avoided business classes and had stuck with the basics. Then her counselor had suggested she take at least one to see if she might be interested in someday returning to Cannon Falls and taking over her parents’ business.
At first, she’d shied away from the idea, but then she’d started the class and had enjoyed it. After a few more classes, she realized she had an aptitude for business. She enjoyed the classes more than anything else she’d tried.
They made their way back to her office, and when she opened the door, she noticed Liza standing by her desk. When Liza noticed her, she stormed over to her.
“Is it true that you’ve kicked us out?” Liza asked, just before Cade stepped into the office behind Raven.
Her cousin’s entire demeanor changed in a heartbeat.
“Cade?” Liza blinked a few times, then she smiled brightly. “What are you doing here?”
Raven watched as Liza arched slightly so that the impressive boobs that she’d bought shortly after her eighteenth birthday stuck out further.
Cade’s smile looked a little strained, but he seemed to pour on the charm just to be friendly.
“Fire inspection,” he responded quickly as Raven moved to sit behind her desk.
Since she’d known Cade had been coming that day, she’d decided on upping her game with her outfit for the day. The dress slacks and blouse were comfortable enough, but the low heels were fairly new and not yet broken in all the way.
Sitting down, she motioned for her cousin to sit down.
Cade nodded towards the door. “I’ll go check the last closet we talked about and then stop by before I head out.”
“Thanks,” she said and waited until he shut the door behind him before asking Liza once again to sit down.
“No, I’m not going to calmly sit down. Not when you’ve just taken everything away from us.” Her cousin crossed her arms and glared at her.
“Liza, I’m not forcing you, your mother, or Cal out. Just your father,” she clarified.
“Why?” Liza shook her head, confusion crossing her face. Even though it felt wonderful to be off her feet, she stood up, walked over to her cousin and held out her arm. The slight red marks had turned into full-on purple and blue bruises by now.
Liza’s eyes narrowe
d. “He did that to you?” she asked, softly.
“If Cade hadn’t stepped in…” She took a deep breath. “Has your father ever hurt you before?” she asked her cousin, worried.
“No.” Liza took a step back as she shook her head vigorously. “Never.”
“Has he ever hurt your mother?”
“No!” Liza gripped her face as her eyes filled. “My god. Raven, what’s come over him? He’s upstairs right now, forcing us all to pack up.” Her eyes moved to the ceiling, as if she could see up to her rooms.
Raven laid a hand on her cousin’s arm. “As I said, the rest of you are welcome to stay.”
“Are you going to press charges?” Liza asked suddenly.
Raven had thought about it and, after talking with Cade, had decided that if her uncle steered clear of her, she would allow him to leave with just the warning.
“No, just as long as he leaves. He’s not welcome back here. I can tolerate a lot of things, but physical violence isn’t one of them.”
“Agreed,” Liza said softly. “I’ll—” She took a step towards the door. “I’ll go tell the rest of the family.”
“They’re welcome to stay, however.” She moved closer to Liza. “In a few weeks, I’ll need to move the three of you to lower rooms when the crew begins updating all the suites.”
Liza’s eyes narrowed. “Lower rooms?”
Here it was, Raven thought, here is where her cousin would fight her.
“I’m having all of the upper suites remodeled last. Once the construction crews need to get into the upper rooms, you’ll need to move. We can’t afford not to have those bigger rooms for some of our more high-dollar guests.”
Her cousin gave her a look that hinted at what she thought of her after this news before turning around and storming out of the room without another word.
Raven sank back into her new office chair. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the cool wood desk.
“Why must I have to keep disappointing people?” she asked the empty room.
Shaking off the dark mood, she jumped back into work, knowing she had to make a few phone calls before Cade returned after finishing with his inspection.
It hadn’t been a hardship watching the man work. The inspection wasn’t a particularly physically challenging job, but there were aspects of it that had her enjoying the view all the same. Especially when he’d had to remove his jacket and stand up on a ladder to inspect a few of the sprinklers. Just seeing his long, lean frame extend fully had her realizing the differences between Cade and what she remembered of Reggie. She had no other comparisons in her repertoire.
It hadn’t been possible for her to start another relationship after what had happened with Reggie. She didn’t trust herself or others with her heart. Other than her grandmother, of course.
When a knock sounded at her door, she glanced up to see Cade leaning against the doorjamb.
“Busy?” he asked easily.
Removing the computer glasses she wore to ward off eye strain at the end of the day, she motioned for him to come in.
He stepped inside, shutting the door behind him.
“Bad news?” she asked, feeling her heart jump in her chest. She didn’t know if it was from the prospect of his inspection highlighting more problems that would cost her a lot of money or just the way he moved that had her body reacting so.
“Some. I’m afraid the west building will need a completely new fire system. Just the mechanics of it. Until I have a chance to check the individual sprinklers and alarms in each of the guest rooms, we can start there. The old computer system has finally died.” He sat down across from her and leaned back as if expecting to stay for a while.
“I’ll arrange for a new system.” She turned back to her laptop and added a reminder to talk to David about pricing one out. “Anything else?” She looked up at him.
He was smiling at her. “Anyone ever tell you that the glasses are sexy?”
Her entire system jumped into overdrive at the look he was giving her.
She didn’t know how to respond. She’d never been any good at flirting. One more reason why it had been ten years since she’d dated.
Swallowing, she shifted in her chair uncomfortably and was thankful when another knock on the door saved her from having to answer.
Chapter Eight
The word “enough” does not exist for water, fire, and women. ~ Ukrainian Proverb
Cade hadn’t expected Raven to react to his compliment the way she had. Seeing the blood drain from her face and her eyes searching the room for an escape route had at first confused him.
Had he misread how she’d been reacting to him or the sexual tension he’d felt building up between them?
Either way, he’d realized that the only way to get what he needed from her was to get her to be completely relaxed and trusting around him. Which meant letting loose about his own desires around her.
When Rachelle Braun knocked on Raven’s door and entered, he could tell Raven was relieved.
“Raven, I need your…” Rachelle stopped just inside the doorway. “Oh, Cade, I didn’t know you were here.” The woman smiled at him. Rachelle was a close friend of his mother. The two women often met for drinks or shopping trips.
“Hi, Rach.” He stood up. “I was just leaving.” He turned back to Raven. “I’ll let you know when I can start inspecting each of the suites. Until then…” He flipped open his notebook and took out the duplicate of his inspection report. “Here is my preliminary report. Until these items are met, I’m afraid that the west building is off limits to guests.”
Raven sighed as she took the report from him. “I’ll see to it.” She set the report down on her desk. “Thank you.”
He nodded to Rachelle as he left Raven’s office. Heading back down the hall towards the lobby, he held in a groan when he noticed Liza standing around trying to act like she wasn’t waiting for him.
“Oh.” She turned slightly as if just noticing him. “Cade.” Her smile grew. It wasn’t that Liza Brooks wasn’t pretty. She was easily as good-looking as Raven, just… different.
Where Raven had natural beauty in her long red hair, porcelain skin, and subtle elegant style, Liza had shorter blonde hair with tons of product in it and her style was… well, louder and more expensive.
Not to mention that Raven had an inner beauty that showed each time she talked to someone around her with respect. Liza talked down to everyone as if they were there to serve her.
“Are you still hanging around here?” she asked when he stopped directly beside her.
“I was just leaving,” he told her, hoping this would discourage her from a lengthy conversation.
“Oh, well”—she wrapped her arm through his and started pulling him towards the bar area— “I was hoping you’d join me for lunch.”
He quickly glanced down at his watch and realized it was a quarter past one in the afternoon. He’d lost track of time working and when he’d been with Raven.
“I…” He tried to think of an excuse, but then Liza broke in.
“Don’t say no. I simply can’t stand that we haven’t had time to chat lately.” Liza stuck out her bottom lip in a pout that looked a little overacted.
“I suppose a sandwich—” He didn’t get anything else out, as she pulled him through the construction and into the seating area.
“There,” she said, sitting next to him at a table in the rotunda. “Isn’t this nice? I suppose some of the changes my cousin is making around here are… tolerable.” Liza waved her hand as if motioning to the area.
He had to admit, he’d admired every change Raven had made so far. Even though there were large sheets of plastic hanging up everywhere in the lobby to keep the construction dust to a minimum, he could see that when all the work was done, it would be a vast improvement from what it was before.
“It is starting to shape up around here,” he agreed, setting his binder down in the chair next to him.
Liza waved
a waiter over and quickly rattled off her order. Since he’d been down in the kitchens earlier, he knew they were short-staffed at the moment and ordered the same thing Liza had. After they received their drinks, Liza narrowed her eyes at him and asked.
“Why is it you and I have never…”
He almost choked on the sip of water he’d taken.
“Excuse me?” he asked, trying to sound relaxed.
Liza leaned forward, placing her impressive breasts slightly on the table. No doubt after seeing him in Raven’s office earlier, she’d rushed up to her rooms to change out of the slacks and blouse she’d been wearing earlier to the outfit she now wore. The low-cut top and skintight pants were more fit for a club than an empty hotel dining room.
“You know what I mean. Why haven’t we gone out? Partied?” Her smile grew as her breath lowered. “Surely we could have had some fun times together.”
He shook his head. “I suppose it’s because I’ve been busy working,” he said, thinking a completely different thing. After all, in the past ten years since his return, he’d been hard at work helping rebuild Cannon Falls, helping others in their time of need, while Liza had been sulking and selfishly partying her time away.
“Oh.” She frowned slightly at him, then playfully slapped his shoulder. “We’ll just have to change that.”
He held in a groan. “My job…” he started, only to have her roll her eyes at him.
“How hard could your job be? There hasn’t been a fire in Cannon Falls for ten years.” She giggled.
He felt his entire body stiffen. “That’s a good thing,” he reminded her. “And part of my job. A fire marshals’ main job is fire prevention.”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong,” she continued, as if she wasn’t aware that she was being offensive. “It’s a sexy career, being a fireman, but I would think that you have a lot of downtime. Time to fill.” She leaned closer to him and wrapped her finger around his arm. “With other things,” she finished with a purr.
“Sister, can’t you see that you’re scaring Cade.” Cal Brooks walked over and sat down in the chair directly across from him.