He pulled up behind her and the blue egg travel trailer that she pulled up beside the small cabin on the property. She climbed out and hurried toward him as he cut the engine and got off his bike.
She was smiling brightly. “I can’t wait to show you my tree. Have to find it first. I’m so excited at the thought of getting my treehouse.”
He paused. “Did you come visit BJ at some point and find this property?”
She raked her hand through her curls, pushing it back out of its ever-present attempt to get into her eyes. “I found it on the Internet for sale and then I looked it up on Google Maps and zeroed in on it.”
“You picked out a tree over the Internet?”
“Well, I think so. At least it looks pretty tall when I zoom in on it. You’ll have to help me find it, since I haven’t actually seen it in real life.”
She’d googled her tree. He tried not to let his disbelief show in his expression. He was glad he’d put his aviators back on to hide his eyes. He turned to stare at the mass of trees surrounding them. “Any idea which direction?”
She glanced at the cabin and then turned north and walked away from it across the barely there road and looked into the woods and then up. “It’s in there.” She moved into the trees. She wore sturdy hiking boots.
He watched her go. She had the stride of a woman comfortable moving around in dense trees. It hit him then that she’d worked most of the last several years in national parks. She would naturally be comfortable among trees. He followed her, more than curious to see her tree. Her Google Mapped tree.
“There it is!” Delight was in her squeal as she pointed upward and he knew exactly which one she pointed to considering it peaked up above the tops of the other trees. She had started forward again and he followed.
They had to go slow because there was a lot of underbrush but finally they reached the tree.
“It’s beautiful. Don’t you love it? I can’t wait to write here. I mean, I have the little cabin for now, which will feel like a palace compared to my little trailer but I can’t wait to live and write in my treehouse. I want open space, windows, and well, I’m open to your creative ideas.” She spun toward him. Excitement illuminated her expression. “What do you think?”
Think? You’re beautiful. He was startled by how right she looked here among the trees, earthy and vibrant with her wild hair and easy manner.
“Will it work for a treehouse?” she asked when he’d said nothing.
What was wrong with him? He wasn’t used to being off-centered by a woman but that was exactly how he felt looking at Lilly. “It’ll work.” He yanked his gaze off her and stared at her tree. It was perfect, with thick, strong limbs to build around. Studying it, his imagination began to whirl. “You had a good eye, even looking down with a satellite view. I’m still amazed by that.”
She laughed. “They are fairly detailed. And I was taking a bit of a chance but I talked to the Realtor, too, and she assured me that the property had a lot of strong trees. She was probably curious about why I was so interested in the trees but I didn’t tell her my plans.”
He moved forward to get a closer look. “It will do nicely.”
“Awesome. I can see myself up there writing. Creating.”
He studied her now. “So you’re a writer? BJ or my sister never mentioned that.”
She cocked her head to the side. “That’s because they don’t know.”
That startled him. “They don’t know?” She shrugged when he was certain she read the surprise in his expression.
“I write under a pen name. Chloe Beck. Have been for several years now.”
He would not have pictured her as a writer; then again, he’d never really known a writer so he wasn’t really sure why he couldn’t picture her as one. “So, let me get this straight. BJ, your brother, doesn’t know you’ve come to town, bought property, are building a treehouse or that you’re a writer?”
She looked suddenly a little torn. “True to all of the above. It’s complicated.”
“Sounds like it.”
“I’m going to tell him tomorrow. I just needed…” She paused and for the first time since he’d met her, she looked vulnerable, uncertain. Then she blinked it away and gave him a quick smile. “I needed to get myself set up on my own. You’ll learn I’m pretty much a loner. I can’t help it. BJ knows it. Understands it.”
“Sure. I was just asking.” It wasn’t his business anyway. It wasn’t like him to pry. He kept to himself too. “I’ve heard a lot of writers use fake names.”
“Pen names. For various reasons. For a while there, I tried to hide it but the truth is that I love what I do and am very good at it. But I like my anonymity.”
It was obvious that she wasn’t trying to impress anyone considering she drove a faded truck, lived in an old trailer and wore cutoff shorts. “I get it. I like hiding out in the trees myself.”
She smiled widely. “Two peas in a pod. So, when can you start?” She swung back to her tree and he focused his attention off looking at her to the tree.
He laughed; he couldn’t help it. “Maybe so. So, what kind of books do you write?”
“I write romantic love stories. Sweet ones, the kind you would see on the Hallmark Channel. Not particularly something that would appeal to a guy like you.”
He crossed his arms. “So how do you know I don’t like Hallmark movies?”
She laughed and shot him a sideways glance. “Do you? I have a lot of male readers. I just didn’t picture you as the romantic type.”
“Wow, you’ve put me in a nice, neat box.”
“Sorry, I just assumed…”
“Why would I not like a good love story?”
“Maybe I jumped the gun. Do you have a girlfriend?”
“No, I don’t have a girlfriend. I haven’t been looking for one in a while.”
“Me too. I don’t date.”
“Why did you ask?” His head spun from the way she moved from one conversation to the next. It had been a long time since he had even been interested. After losing Erica, after all that had been taken from him physically and emotionally, he just needed time to himself. But lately he’d been restless and for the first time since that terrible day Erica had been killed, he felt a stir of interest toward Lilly, even with the way she made his head spin.
Whether it would go any further than that was yet to be seen. If he took this job on nothing would happen, because he never crossed business with personal. He was still curious about why she’d asked if he had a girlfriend.
“I don’t know, actually. My luck with men is not that great. Besides, my working schedule is crowded. Full throttle, hectic. I have deadlines I set that I need to meet. And it helps me not think about the dating thing.”
“This conversation is getting more curious by the minute. The dating thing?”
“Well, you know, the whole conflict that comes with dating. Distraction. The drama. All that I don’t have time for right now. So, the dating thing—too complicated. I write about it but have no want for it in my own life.”
He stared at her, a little dumbfounded. “Are you worried about me asking you out? Or hitting on you? Because you don’t have to worry about that. If I take this job, there’ll be no ‘thing’ between us. I’ll be working for you. So you can rest easy, hole up all you want, and I’ll go about my business and do what you’ve hired me to do. How does that sound?”
She stared at him as if he had just sprouted a second head. “Oh, I wasn’t saying that to imply you were going to hit on me or ask me out. Sorry, I stick my foot in my mouth more times than not. That’s another reason me and working in the deep woods has always worked. I get along well with wildlife. They listen to me talk and never misunderstand. I was just saying that to say that me being up here is going to be perfect. Secluded, but my own private place. I’ve been cramped inside my little blue trailer there for years among the other workers. But I actually stopped working for the park service a year ago and have been rent
ing a spot at a camping site and writing. Still, it wasn’t like my own place. And well, I finally told BJ I was going to settle down soon. I just haven’t told him everything. I wanted to get everything figured out before I told anyone. I need this to be my doing.” She stopped her rapid fire deluge and took a deep breath.
He was lost. Really lost. She was cute, but as far as he was concerned, she was complicated—without getting into all her reasons for not wanting a complicated life. It sounded as if she had a little bit of a…he didn’t really know how to put it but it was something.
“Why don’t you tell me what you want in this treehouse of yours?” He needed to get them back on the business end of this. She might have interested him, but he already had red flags flying up everywhere. Lilly McCall was obviously more complicated than anything he was interested in.
Chapter Three
Lilly’s motor mouth had gotten her in trouble once more. Why did she always do that? She always rattled off more than she meant to say. Especially if she was nervous. And the macho—Mr. Romance Novel Hero Man—made her nervous. She wanted him to build this treehouse for her. So why had she told him all her personal stuff? It was ridiculous. Sometimes she just wanted to slap a hand over her mouth or stuff tissues in it so she would keep quiet. But, she sighed, she only told him the truth. Just too much.
Sometimes she wrote for days and days. Sometimes she forgot to bathe—yes, yuck but true. Sometimes she was so into her stories that she didn’t want anybody to disturb her. And most of the time she was a mess.
What guy would want that?
What guy could put up with that?
None. Nope, it would be asking for too much.
Trent was quietly studying her, waiting.
Waiting on an answer about your treehouse plans, silly. Lilly gasped. “Plans! I want you to help me come up with them. I know that I need to get at least one room at the top where I can see the ocean. Do you think I could see the ocean from up there?” She squinted upward at the tall tree. “I like being in the trees, like the seclusion of it, but I’d really like to see the ocean while I’m creating—I think it would be wonderful and something I’ve never had before. And then openness downstairs and room for a bed. It doesn’t have to be gigantic; it just needs to be sturdy and nice. And unique. To tell you the truth, I’m going to start a new series and I want to write that series in the treehouse. My new series, and don’t tell anyone, my heroine in the story—she’s a cozy detective. And she lives in a treehouse. And I want to feel that while I’m creating her stories. I want to be able to do this series from my own treehouse. I think it will be unique and I think it will be something my readers will enjoy knowing as behind-the-scenes info on the series. It’s really appealing to me. But I need your expertise to get me there. Does that get your creative ideas flowing? Do you think you can do that? Can you help me?”
A wide smile took over his face and he raised his aviators up to stare at her with those gorgeous ocean blues. He looked a little dazed. She was used to people looking at her that way. Dazed and confused. Which she sometimes felt herself, but she really thought in whirlwinds sometimes and couldn’t help herself. She grimaced. “Did I lose you?”
He chuckled. “I’ll tell you the truth, I’m going to take this job. And one reason is because you intrigue the dickens out of me. I’m not real sure if your mind works faster than your mouth, but I want to do this project just to find out where it goes.” He laughed, and his eyes twinkled. “And Olivia would probably kill me if I didn’t take the job for her new sister-in-law. I promise I’ll let you write and I’ll get my job done so you can create this character of yours up in your treehouse.”
“Yes! And you can do it in two months?”
“I can do it within two months if we get going quickly. I have a job starting after that and so it will actually work into my schedule. However, we’ll need to come up with the idea and stick with it pretty close. You won’t be able to start changing your mind all over the place. Can you do that? Not change things up every few days?”
Despite his skeptical question, she wanted to hug him. “I can do that. Really, I can. Let’s design it. I want to see your ideas and then I’ll let you do your thing while I do mine. I have to finish up the deadline I’m on right now so I’ll stay out of your hair. We will both be busy. It’s perfect. I’ll have to see BJ and Olivia, too, some.”
“I have a feeling you’re going to see them some. They’ll know where to find you.” He took out his phone and started snapping pictures of the tree.
She watched him snapping lots of pictures and followed him as he moved. “Yes, you’re right. But I’ll have to make sure they know I need my alone time.”
He glanced at her and she halted before she slammed into him. She was suddenly worried about protecting her writing time. She’d come here to force herself to start getting involved with people again. She’d drifted further and further away from people over the last year. And even she had recognized that that wasn’t healthy. But this was going to take some getting used to. But it would work out. She looked up at her tree and breathed in a fortifying breath.
“This is going to be good. Perfect.” She shot Trent a smile then stared at her tree again. Better than perfect…
As he followed Lilly back to the small cabin, he decided, just from knowing her the short time that he had, that there was no way she would be able to stay on target and budget. With the way she skipped around from one topic to the other, he could see the nightmare of the next couple of months. One minute, she’d want the kitchen on the north side of the treehouse; the next instant, she’d want it reversed. It would be one headache after the other. He should say he couldn’t do it. He should walk away.
But he wouldn’t. He knew how much Olivia and BJ had wanted Lilly to come here and try to settle down. If he didn’t do what he could to help keep her here, then they would be upset. Oh, they’d get over it. But there was no way he’d let them down. Besides that, something told him that deep down, Lilly needed to be here. She might not know it but he felt it was true.
His only hope was that she held her almighty deadline in as high regard as it seemed she did. If that were so, then maybe between her holing up and working on it and getting to know her family again, she would leave him alone and let him get the work done.
That was what he was counting on. Her very tight schedule.
“Do you have time to discuss the plans? Or do you have time to get to it tonight? The sooner the better.”
She didn’t waste time. “Look, it’s dinnertime and you’ve got to be tired from driving. What if we go down the road to the Shrimp Shack—you passed it on the way here. We can eat on the deck, relax and discuss plans. I’ll bring my sketchpad and get details started. Strictly business.”
“I am a little hungry. I can get settled in here tomorrow so let’s go.”
“You’re going to stay here tonight? I’m sure BJ and Olivia would welcome you to stay with them.”
“No, I’ll be staying in my trailer tonight and get settled into the cabin tomorrow.”
He didn’t push. “Okay, then if you want, hop on my bike and we’ll head that way. We can get my truck at my house—”
“Or not. I want to ride this,” she said, looking at him in surprise. “No need for the truck on my account.”
“You’re sure?”
“Oh yeah, you bet I am.” She strode to the Harley and flourished a hand toward the bike. “After you.”
He grinned and threw a leg over, let it off its stand and waited for her to settle in behind him. He wasn’t prepared for the way his adrenaline jerked when she slipped her arms around his waist and held on. Warmth curled in the pit of his stomach and his pulse raced.
“Hold on,” he warned and then they shot out of the driveway and down the winding road.
All the while, his heart thundered from the feel of her soft form pressed to his back.
Complicated?
This had complicated written all over it.
The Shrimp Shack was truly a shack of a place right on the beach.
“It’s not much to look at but the shrimp is fresh and the best you’ll find.”
“Great.” Lilly glanced around at the brightly colored little joint, glad to have something to concentrate on rather than the fact that she had been far too appreciative of the man she’d had her arms around coming down the hillside. Every fiber of her body had been more than cheering the fact that she was pressed up against the man. It had been a ferocious mental battle to talk herself into letting go of the sexy builder—and she’d had to firmly remind herself that he was her brother’s brother-in-law and there had to be some sort of taboo associated with mauling the man who was now kin to her through marriage.
The conflict of the whole situation had her mind churning with story ideas…it was a setup that she would have to explore. In her books. Not in real life. Not with Trent.
No matter how sexy the man was, she was not interested in opening up her life to any more pain and suffering. After all, she had come here to let herself get to know her brother again. And his wife. That right there was enough to open herself up to the possibility of suffering.
She’d already decided that she was going to do this. Try to force herself to connect again. But after the nightmare of losing her parents, this was a first. And there were no guarantees that she was going to be able to do it.
The treehouse was part of her plan to help root her to the idea. She’d always dreamed of living in a treehouse. Hopefully fulfilling that dream would help her stick.
She just didn’t know whether her heart could do it.
With This Wish (Windswept Bay Book 9) Page 2