His eyes tried to read hers, and he held out his hands to her.
What a temptation to walk into them and be held. She had to resist. She reminded herself of her checklist, and how he didn’t meet the major criteria. She reminded herself it was a bad idea to be romantically involved with her boss. She reminded herself . . .
She pasted on a bright smile. “When can I get a look at the facilities? I guess Polly is there now.”
Noel reached out and captured her hand. “Come over to Elmer’s with me, and I’ll show you around as best I can. She’s usually gone for a few hours after lunch, so we can do a more detailed survey then.”
Claire pulled her hand out of Noel’s. Again. How she wished he’d earned the right to capture it . . . and her heart. “I need to let everyone inside know they’ll have to do the planning meeting without me.” She grimaced. “I hate letting them down.”
“What about you?” he asked softly. “I’m only offering six weeks.”
Claire paused. The rest of her life would be desolate and empty without Noel in it.
“You won’t be able to go back to The Sizzling Skillet, will you?”
She shuddered. “No. And I don’t want to. It looks like we have lots of events coming up here, if everything comes through. With any luck — and God’s blessing — I’ll have enough earnings from that.”
Relief swept his face. “I’m glad. I was worried I’d asked you to bail me out. I know you don’t owe me anything. If I’d been smart enough to hire you in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this mess right now.”
Being as he’d mentioned it . . . Claire tilted her head. “Question for you.”
“Yes?”
“Why didn’t you? You made fun of my menu. Was that it?”
“Did not.”
She laughed. “You did, too. But I got the feeling there was more to it. You were looking for a reason to hire somebody else.”
He swallowed so hard she stared at his bobbing Adam’s apple. He closed the gap she’d only just placed between them. “Claire, it’s all you. Your presence filled that little room and blew me away. I knew I’d never be able to focus on my work if you were around.”
Claire couldn’t believe he’d admit it so freely. Her palms turned clammy. She wanted to tease him and ask if it would be any better now than it had been then, but the words wouldn’t come.
Noel’s right hand entwined her fingers, but his left swept the length of her face.
He kept doing that, creating an insatiable longing inside her. In this instant, it didn’t matter. His eyes and hands had captured hers, and in only a few seconds, his lips did the same.
Claire melted into his embrace.
Chapter 16
Noel pushed the grocery cart while Claire loaded it with various items. An awful lot of vegetables for his liking, but Noel kept his mouth zipped. Might be a nice break from pasta. He had no doubt she knew what to do with the ingredients to make them tasty.
Her lips had been tasty. That kiss hadn’t lasted long, but there would be more of them. He needed to hold back, though, or risk losing a second cook. Not that he’d ever been tempted to kiss Polly. A shudder ran through him.
Claire glanced his way. “You okay?” She crouched to examine a case on a bottom shelf.
“Want me to get that?”
“Sure.”
He lifted the heavy box into the cart with ease. This must be what normal couples went through, picking up groceries. He and Claire looked like they belonged together. Maybe he could sweep her off her feet and take her with him when he left.
A niggling voice told him it wasn’t likely, but a guy could dream.
“Why, hello, Claire! I haven’t seen you in a long time.” An older man snagged Claire to his side.
“Ed! Nice to see you.” She smiled up at him. “Did you have a nice cruise with your family?”
“We did. Just got back in town a few days ago.” The man looked Noel over and nudged Claire. “Anyone you want me to meet?”
A flush crept up her neck. “This is my friend Noel. We’re doing an event for his family out at the farm.”
He rated being a friend. That was nice, sort of. He reached out to shake the older man’s hand firmly. “Pleased to meet you.”
“The name’s Ed Graysen. You may have seen Ed’s Plumbing Shop out on the highway. That was my business before I retired, but they kept the name.”
Noel glanced at Claire then back at the man. “That’s great. I’ll keep that in mind if I need any plumbing done.” Kind of unlikely, but he could keep the old guy happy.
“Ed did the water system at Green Acres for us last year. He was a big help.”
The old dude grinned.
Claire patted Ed’s arm. “Not only that, but he organized a crew to help us the day the trusses came. I’m not sure how we’d have managed without you, Ed.”
“You’re too kind.”
“Not at all.” Claire shifted out from under the man’s arm. “Anyway, it was nice to run into you.”
The old fellow looked Noel in the eye. “You’ll be in church tomorrow, then?”
Now why did Noel get the idea he was being measured? And what business was it of Ed’s, anyway? Still, he didn’t want to make things awkward for Claire. He smiled. “Possibly.”
It couldn’t hurt, could it? It would make him look better in Claire’s eyes. She wouldn’t be fooled for long. To win her he’d need to be better, not only look better. Was it worth it?
The old guy wandered away and Claire returned her focus to the shelves along the aisle.
When he was near Claire, she was worth giving everything else up. When they’d been apart for a while—say, a few hours—he still felt the pull but knew it was a temporary infatuation. He’d get over her when he moved on. It might take a while, but he would.
**
Claire followed Noel into the cook trailer at Elmer’s farm. Everything needed a good scrubbing. She’d assign Tony that task tomorrow, if still needed after the other woman moved out. If Polly left it like this between meals, Claire doubted it would look any better once she’d left in disgrace.
Still, with the groceries stowed, Claire was pretty sure she had things in hand for the first couple of days, at least.
She was crazy, throwing away a regular job for an intense month and a half and the hope of random events later. Was it because Noel asked? No, she was fed up to the hilt with Nevin and Don. But it didn’t hurt Noel had been the one to ask.
They exited the compact space.
“Hi, Claire. Remember me?”
Claire turned to face the petite blond woman. Oh, yes, she remembered her from the interview day. Jess, the unknown entity.
“I’m Jess, Noel’s crew foreman. I’m so glad you’ll be joining us here at Enterprising Reforestation.” The girl stuck her hand out.
Claire took it. She couldn’t very well not. While Jess’s gaze measured Claire from top to bottom, it didn’t seem in a jealous way. That ought to be a relief, but somehow it wasn’t. “Yes, I remember. Good to be here.” How she hoped that wouldn’t turn out to be a lie.
Jess indicated the tarped-off eating area. “I think you’ll find the crew quite welcoming and not too picky. They just want hot, tasty food.”
“That doesn’t seem too much to ask,” Claire ventured.
Noel’s hand touched the small of her back, and Claire shifted away. He was such a physical person. That kiss had caught her totally off guard. Her face heated again at the memory.
Jess must’ve noticed where Noel’s hand went. A smirk toyed with the edges of her mouth as she focused on Noel. Like they had a secret language about Claire or something. Not cool. She didn’t like the thought they’d discussed her, but it seemed inevitable.
It’s just a job, Claire. A well-paying temporary position that would both exhaust her and set her up for months to come. She didn’t have to take Noel personally.
But his kiss had been very personal, yet not insistent at all. As sweet
and gentle as the times he’d touched her face. She almost wished he’d demanded more, that she’d been the one to pull away. But no, she’d still been seeking more when Noel lifted his lips and cradled her face in his hands for another brief instant, gazing deeply into her eyes.
She took a couple of steps away from Noel. “I need to get going. I have to be at work in an hour. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She looked from him to Jess and back again, then nodded abruptly and fled.
**
“No, I don’t have time to watch the dishwasher.” Claire met Nevin’s gaze. “Who’s hostessing tonight? She can keep an eye and run an occasional load. Let the wait staff seat their own customers.”
Nevin narrowed his eyes.
The bell pinged with another order. Claire stared at Nevin for a few more seconds, daring him to argue with her, before turning to see an order for six entrees.
“You’re in charge of the kitchen, so we’d better not run out of plates or glasses.”
“You’re the one who fired my dishwasher and didn’t replace him. Keeping dishes clean is not my job.”
“Everything that happens in this kitchen is your responsibility.”
Claire bit her tongue before saying something she’d regret. Some people were just worse to apologize to than others, and there was no way she’d put herself in a situation where she’d have to say sorry to Nevin.
She took a deep breath. “Actually, everything is not my job. Furthermore, I’ll be giving you a piece of paper when we close tonight tendering my resignation. My last shift is tomorrow.”
Nevin’s eyes bugged out. “You can’t do that to me.”
“I sure can, and I will.”
“You have to give me two weeks notice.”
“No, I don’t. I realize it is polite to, but I can’t. It is six days, though. It’s the best I can do.”
He pushed himself in front of her. “Is it because I fired that little twerp last night? He was mouthy.”
Another order came in. “Nevin, can we talk about this later? Folks are looking for their meals now. If you’ve got all this time to stand around and talk, how about you run the dishwasher?”
By the look on his face, she’d gone too far. She only had to put up with him two more evenings, and if he fired her now for her impertinence, it wouldn’t be much loss. In fact, she’d welcome the chance to both cook and sleep in the next forty-eight hours.
“Watch it, missy,” he snarled and stalked away.
Oh, yeah, that terrified her. Claire turned to the row of orders and glanced over the meals she’d already started. Thankfully nothing had burned while Nevin messed with her routine, but she couldn’t count on getting everything plated at the same time.
Focus, Claire. She could do this. She’d done it a thousand times before.
“You’re testing him, aren’t you?”
Trust Don to be holding back just out of sight, listening. “Nope. It’s for real. Please peel more potatoes and defrost more eight-ounce steaks. Busy out there tonight.”
He trudged across the kitchen and dumped a bag of potatoes into the peeler. “You’re serious? You’re quitting over that kid?”
“I’m quitting. It isn’t about Tony.” Though that situation hadn’t helped. She shot a sidelong glance at Don. “Maybe this will be your big break. Ask Nevin to put you on the grill.”
His face lit and then clouded. “I doubt he will.”
“You don’t know that. You need to get a bit pro-active.” Did Don have it in him to grasp the opportunity? It seemed he always needed to be told what to do, and even then he whined.
Anyway. That was his problem, and Nevin’s. It wasn’t her responsibility anymore. For now, she simply needed to keep cooking and hope her stack of clean plates didn’t run out.
###
“What are you doing up so early, boss?” Jess sat behind her camper with a thermal mug in hand. “It’s Sunday. You always sleep in on Sunday.”
“Yeah, I know. Thought I’d try something new today.”
She tipped her head. “Want a coffee? I’ve got a whole pot brewed.”
Noel glanced at his watch. “Sure, that’d be great.”
Halfway to her feet, Jess frowned. “Going somewhere?”
He hesitated. “Yeah, maybe. My sister’s been after me to go to church. It’s been a lot of years since I last went. Thought I might give it a try.”
A knowing look crossed Jess’s face. “Your sister, eh? And here I’d have bet it was Claire. Seems like you’d do nearly anything for her.”
Noel hitched a shoulder. “She hasn’t asked me, but Amber has.” Claire had sure paid attention when that old guy had talked to Noel about church, though. And honestly? If Claire was giving up some of her day to go when he knew what a lot she had to get done, he had to wonder if there wasn’t more to it than he remembered.
Maybe the little church in Galena Landing wasn’t the same as the stuffy one he’d attended in Missoula, though Amber still went whenever she wasn’t at Green Acres. How could he know unless he checked it out?
Jess came back out with a tall, fat mug. “Poured some cream in it for you.”
“Thanks, Jess.” He popped open her spare lawn chair and collapsed into it, inhaling the dark, rich brew. Ah, yes, this should help.
“So you’re going to church with Claire. Never thought of you as the churchy type.” Jess leaned against the picnic table. “No offense meant.”
“None taken.” He took a sip. “And I said Amber, not Claire.”
Her knowing gaze met his. “Right. And Claire won’t be there, I suppose?”
“She’ll be there.”
Jess reached into the kangaroo pocket of her hoodie. “You might want these back, then.” She tossed him a thick envelope. “I grabbed them when I got your coffee.”
The photos of Claire. He caught the packet instinctively and fought the urge to open it and thumb through the familiar images. Not in front of Jess.
She laughed. “You’re welcome. So things are all going hunky dory now, eh? She’s gonna cook for the crew and be here onsite most of our waking hours.” She quirked an eyebrow. “Maybe sleeping hours, too?”
“Nope. You know better than that.”
“Yeah, I guess it would make working together tough if you had a fight or something.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it. I respect Claire. She’s not the kind for a fling.”
“You’ve turned over a new leaf?”
Noel held Jess’s gaze steady. “You know I did that quite awhile ago. More than one. I’m a new man.” Wasn’t there something in the Bible about that? Seemed like he remembered it from Sunday school back in the day. Only he’d renewed himself without God’s intervention, so it probably didn’t count.
Jess sighed. “Not sure I’m ready for you to add religion to all the rest. You were more fun back in the old days.” She collapsed into her lawn chair.
“Waking up hung-over wasn’t the most fun part of it.”
“Well, no. I guess not. But still, you were always ready for a good time.”
Noel took another sip of the coffee. Jess made it nearly strong enough to corrode his gut lining. Good things she’d added the cream. “I’d like to think I still have a good time, but my definition has changed somewhat. I think it’s made me a better boss.”
Jess propped her feet up on the camper steps. “Can’t deny that.” She shot him a sidelong look. “I can’t help but wonder how things would be different if you and I had gotten together when we first met.”
“We’ve been over it, Jess. It’s better this way.”
“I nearly always believe that. Then I see what you turn into when you really fall for somebody and, well, I don’t mind saying it makes me a little wistful.”
“No way, girl. You’re not jealous?”
She sighed. “Not full on jealous, no. Just . . . makes me wish I had somebody who wanted to look at me that way, you know?”
He did know. “You’re something spe
cial, Jess. Some guy is going to come along and sweep you off your feet. All I can say is I hope he doesn’t take you away from Enterprising Reforestation, because I’m not sure how I could ever replace you.”
Jess looked about to say something then shook her head. “Nah. That won’t happen.”
It wasn’t Jess’s fault he didn’t see her romantically. She was fun and attractive. She was also comfortable, more like a sister the past few years than Amber had been. And a guy just didn’t go having those kinds of thoughts about a sister. The idea of Shawn touching Amber intimately made Noel queasy, though Shawn would soon have the right. The guy better be worthy.
“Why don’t you come to church, too?”
Jess’s head was shaking before he’d finished the question. “No, I won’t interfere with you and Claire like that. You think she knows what to make of me? I doubt it.”
Chapter 17
Claire glanced out the passenger window of Amber’s Mazda as they pulled into the parking lot at Galena Gospel Church. She caught her breath. What was Noel’s truck doing here? He jumped out of the cab, dressed in clean jeans and a button-up short-sleeved shirt.
Amber zipped into the spot beside her brother’s truck, and Noel reached out to open the door for Claire. Good thing she wore pants, or it would be difficult to get out without showing too much leg.
“Good morning, Claire.”
She reached back in to grab her purse and Bible. “Hi.” What was she supposed to say? Her heart sped up every time she was near him. Especially when it was unexpected, like now. She couldn’t help the surge of delight that he might come to value spiritual things.
“Hey, bro. Didn’t expect to see you here.” Trust Amber to come right to the point.
Noel looked across the roof of the car at his sister. “Good morning to you, too. And why not? Maybe there’s more to me than you knew.”
A Farm Fresh Romance Series 1-3 (A Farm Fresh Romance Box Set) Page 39