“Relax. I’m staying in one of the cottages, a quarter of a mile from the main lodge. Besides, Harper and I have a very professional relationship. Neither of us wants to do anything to mess up this deal.”
“Glad to hear it.” Cam resumed his sanding.
He breathed a sigh of relief when Cam didn’t interrogate him further. He only hoped he was telling the truth about not messing things up. Ethan pulled a stool up to Cam’s worktable. “So, what are you working on?”
“It’s going to be chair, eventually. I found an old wooden chair at an auction sale I really liked, and I’m trying to replicate it.”
“Nice.” His brother could make wood come to life the way artists could bring energy and soul to a canvass. “I was hoping you could help me out. We got five bids for the general contracting of our project and most of them of are pretty similar. I thought maybe if you knew some of these people, had some clues about their reputations, it would give us insight on which direction to take.”
Cam took off his safety glasses and set down his sanding block. “Show me.”
Ethan handed him the papers. Cam laid them out side-by-side on his worktable and read through each one. He picked up one bid and set it to the side. “I’d eliminate this one immediately. I don’t know this guy, but his bid is significantly lower than the rest, so that makes me think that either he didn’t properly cost materials and labour, or he’s planning to cut corners. Whatever the reason, I don’t think he’s the kind of guy you want to work with.”
Ethan nodded. “Agreed. One down. What about the rest?”
“I know Jason Cummings. He does good work, but I’m not sure he’s done a project this big before. You’re talking about totally retrofitting the old timber frame lodge, right?”
“From top to bottom. New plumbing, new electrical, new kitchen, new roof. The whole thing is going to be heated with geo thermal and powered using solar energy with a backup to the electrical grid. We’re also adding a new wing of guest rooms and several out buildings.”
“Sounds complicated.” He pointed to one bid. “I think Reese Hanson is your man. His company has been around for years and they’ve done a number of larger, complicated jobs like this. I’ve worked for him from time to time, and he’s a good guy. Treats his men right. He’s local, too. Lives here in Minnewasta now. I think your project will be safe with him.”
It was good to have their first choice confirmed. “Thanks. That helps a lot.”
“The only thing with Hanson Construction is that Reese may not be on site for the whole project. I’ve heard he’s been sending his brother to jobs as general contractor the last couple of months because his wife is sick.”
“Abby?”
“You know her?”
“No, but Harper does. Abby and her mother were best friends at one time.”
“They aren’t friends now?”
Ethan shook his head. “Harper’s parents both died when she was ten.”
“Jeez. That’s tough.” Cameron ran his hand through his hair, disturbing bits of fine wood shavings through the dark strands.
“How sick is Abby? Do you know what’s wrong with her?”
“I don’t know. I only know Glenn has had to step in help Reese. But that shouldn’t be a problem. Glenn’s a good guy and he’s been in the business nearly as long as Reese. For all I know, Abby might be better by now. If she wasn’t healthy, Reese probably wouldn’t have bid on your project.”
Cam had a point. Still, Ethan thought Harper would want to know about Abby. From the way she talked, she’d cared very much about her at one time. But he’d have to tell Harper that Abby was ill without revealing anything about Cam. He’d told her he had a brother, but he hadn’t told her his first name or that he lived in Minnewasta.
Or that his last name was Hainstock.
Oh, what a tangled web…
“Does this bid encompass the whole lodge project or are the cottages you talked about a separate tender?” Cam asked, breaking into his thoughts.
“No, we kept the cottage project separate. Tenders are going out next week.”
“I want to bid on them.”
That surprised him. “You do?”
“Yeah, I do. I’d like to work near Minnewasta this summer so I can be close to Tessa. It’s a smaller contract that my crew and I can handle. And you know I do good work.”
“Yes, of course I know that. But you don’t have to work, you know. You could use some of the money I gave you to spend as much time as you want with Tessa.” He’d given both Cam and Lydia a portion of the money he’d won, but neither of them had used much of it.
“I like to work, you know that. I need to keep busy. Besides, my crew counts on me.”
Ethan nodded, conceding the point. Cam needed to be productive, and if he was busy, there was less chance he’d backslide into drinking. “If it were up to me, I’d give you the contract. But Harper doesn’t know you’re my brother. She’s going to think it’s really strange you have the same last name as our mysterious investor.”
“For Christ’s sake, Ethan.” The words exploded from Cam’s mouth in a roar of displeasure. “Don’t tell me you still haven’t told her who you really are. She doesn’t know that you and Hainstock Investments are one in the same?”
“No.” He wouldn’t let him see how guilty lying to Harper made him feel.
Bits of sawdust went flying as Cam ran his hand through his hair once more. “That’s the stupidest, most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. This is a small town. If she doesn’t know already, she’s going to find out soon enough.”
“She doesn’t know. I’m sure of it.”
Cam made a dismissive sound deep in his throat and folded his arms across his broad chest. “If that’s true, then she has the right to know who she’s dealing with. Why haven’t you told her? If you don’t trust her, why are you involved in her project?”
“I do trust her. Harper is the most honest woman I’ve ever known.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“It’s…complicated.” Ethan slipped off the stool and went to stand beside Tessa’s dollhouse. He picked up a wooden block carved with a T and turned it over and over in his hands.
He had a hard time speaking about what he’d gone through with his ex-girlfriend, Bree. Even Cam, who he trusted more than anyone in the world, didn’t know all the details. Bree had betrayed him. She’d cheated him out of the life he should have had. All because of money, either the lack of it, or the overabundance. Every time he thought about telling Harper how much money he’d won in the lottery, fear stopped him cold. The money could change the way she saw him. He cared for Harper, more then he wanted to admit to Cam or even himself. It would kill him if she used sex to reel him in once she found out about the money.
He brought the conversation back to the tenders. “I’ll make sure you get the contract. I promise. Can you put together a proposal, maybe some drawings of the cottages you want to build?”
“I can do that. I’d like to see where the cottages are going to be situated. Would it be possible to take a look at the property?”
“Sure. Harper’s working at Miller’s tomorrow. Come over about ten and I’ll show you around. Bring your camera.”
Cameron shook his head. “So we have to sneak around behind her back? I don’t like it.”
“Do you want the work?” Ethan snapped.
“You know I do!”
“Then be at the lodge at ten and quit ragging on me.” He busied himself with collecting the papers and stuffing them back into his briefcase.
“Fine. I’ll be there.”
Cam was right. Harper had the right to know who he really was, for business reasons as well as personal ones. And he was right about Minnewasta being a small town where it was difficult to keep a secret. He had to tell her before someone else did.
Ethan’s truck pulled into the yard and a thrill of anticipation pulsed through Harper’s blood. He’d been away for four days, and she’d
missed him desperately. After she’d come home from her shift at Miller’s last week, he’d told her he needed to leave for Minneapolis the next morning. The news disappointed her since he’d only spent three nights at the lodge. She hoped Willy’s sudden appearance hadn’t put him off. He seemed to understand, and was sympathetic to her desire to help her friend, but then a couple of days later he was gone.
Was he going back to Minneapolis for more than work? Was he going back to a woman?
She wanted to believe Ethan would never lie to her. She wanted to banish the seed of doubt that had suddenly taken root in her thoughts. But now that the thought had been planted, it was difficult to dismiss.
For now, she pushed aside her misgivings and opened the front door for him. When he stepped into the front foyer with a smile and swept her into his arms, she forgot all her doubts. Ethan was here and he was hers.
“I missed you,” he whispered against her hair. He stroked her back. “I hate being away from you.”
She leaned back to look into his face. “Then don’t go away. I miss you, too.”
He cupped her face in his hands. “I wish I didn’t have to leave, but I’ve got work responsibilities in the city.”
Maybe if she was a different woman, one confidant in her ability to keep a man, she’d ask him not to leave, even demand it. But she wasn’t that woman. She had no hold on him, sexual or otherwise.
Especially sexual.
He stroked her cheek. “Hey, don’t look so sad. I’m home now.”
Home. She wondered if he realized what he’d said, and what the word implied. She made herself smile. “Yes, you are.”
She wound her arms around his neck and brought his mouth to hers. In a nanosecond, their kiss changed from sweet and chaste to hot and demanding. Harper pressed herself against him, needing to be closer, needing to feel his desire for her. The hard length of his erection pushed against her stomach, and she reveled in the knowledge that he wanted her. She wanted to give herself to him, body and soul. She wanted him inside her.
Where does he really go when he leaves me? Who does he see?
Icy doubt jolted her eyes open. She ended the kiss abruptly and stepped away. If she gave herself to Ethan and he didn’t return her feelings, it would destroy her.
Like it had destroyed her mother.
She’d never shared her thoughts with her sisters, but she believed what had gone wrong with her parents’ marriage had been infidelity. Her father had been away from home so often. Perhaps he’d been seeing someone else.
“I’m sorry. I can’t.” She hated that even though she cared deeply for Ethan, even imagined herself in love with him, she couldn’t bring herself to trust him.
Ethan’s breathing was erratic, his eyes glassy with desire. “Give me a minute.”
He turned away from her and leaned one hand against the front door, still breathing heavily. Harper felt like the worse kind of tease. She’d made a promise with her body that her heart couldn’t keep, and now Ethan was paying the price.
“I’m sorry,” she said again.
He didn’t look at her. Instead, he waved a hand and mumbled, “It’s okay. I just need a minute.”
Harper left the foyer, feeling embarrassed and stupid. She went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, though all she did was bang some pots together. Perhaps it was acceptable for a teenager to act the way she had, but not a grown woman of thirty-two. She wanted to cry and scream in frustration, her body still thrumming with need. Always thinking too much. Analyzing everything to death. She wished she could tell the stupid, insecure voice in her head to shut the hell up. At this rate, she was going to die a virgin.
She picked up one of the pots and heaved it against the wall. “Damn it all to hell!”
Ethan walked into the kitchen and scooped the pot from the floor. “Was the pot being naughty?”
She couldn’t look at him. “It deserved everything it got.”
“Did throwing it make you feel better?”
She risked a glance. He looked concerned, but not angry. If she was him, she’d be angry. “Not really. I’m sorry, Ethan.”
He put the pot on the counter and gathered her close. “It’s okay, sweetheart.”
She didn’t deserve to take solace in his arms, but it was so good to be held by him. “You’re being too nice. At the very least, you should yell at me.”
His chuckle rumbled through his chest. “If it’ll make you feel better, maybe I can come up with a rant or two. I might even swear.”
She tightened her hold around his waist and listened to the steady beat of his heart. “Do your worst. I deserve it.”
“No, you don’t.” He kissed the top of her head. “I know you’re not ready, Harper. We both got a little carried away and it took us by surprise. That’s all. It’s okay.”
It’s so not okay.
“When the time is right for us, we’ll both know it.”
Harper didn’t reply but held him more tightly. Perhaps the time would never be right. If she was unable to silence her fears, Ethan might get sick and tired of waiting. Her indecision, her fear, her insecurities might not only jeopardize her fledgling relationship with him, it could sink the lodge project.
She couldn’t let that happen. Maybe it would be best if they kept their business lives and their private lives completely separate. Harper squeezed her eyes shut, her heart breaking inside her chest.
Whatever the cost, the lodge had to be saved.
After dinner, Ethan helped Harper with the dishes before joining her in the lounge with a cup of coffee. She’d been quiet all evening, ever since the explosive kiss that had shaken them both. Thinking about her breasts pressed against his chest, her nipples taut and ready and begging to be sucked, made him hard. He suppressed a groan.
Don’t push her.
As he sat in the chair opposite, he repeated the phrase over and over in his head. Maybe if he said it often enough, he’d actually manage to do it.
She wasn’t ready to make to love to him and take their relationship to the next stage. They really hadn’t known each other all that long and mixing the business of the lodge with their personal relationship was probably a bad idea. He understood her reticence.
That didn’t mean he had to like it.
Then there was the whole truth thing, the secret of his true identity. Cam’s words played in his head – perhaps someone from town had told her who he was. Maybe that’s why she ended their kiss. Guilt kicked him in the gut. If that was true, he had no one but himself to blame.
Today. He’d tell her the truth today.
Harper glanced at him over her coffee cup. “So, did your research conclude that Hanson Construction was the best general contractor for us?”
Ethan pushed aside his troubled thoughts and cleared his throat. “Yes. After speaking to companies Reese Hanson has done work for, and visiting one of his projects in Minneapolis, I believe his company is the best one for the lodge.”
“It sounds like you were busy while you were away.”
“I was, yeah.” He hesitated a moment, unsure how to broach the subject of her mother’s friend’s illness. “I discovered something during my investigations. Your mother’s friend Abby, Reese Hanson’s wife, has been ill. Apparently Reese’s brother Glenn has had to step into Reese’s role as general contractor on a few recent projects because of her illness.”
Her fair skin paled. “Abby is sick? With what?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t able to find out what’s wrong with her or how serious it is. But I thought you should know.”
She nodded and her forehead wrinkled with worry. “Yes, thank you. I’ll have to find out where she’s living and visit her. I hope it’s nothing serious.”
He hoped so, too. Harper didn’t need to lose anyone else she cared about.
For a few moments they sat quietly, though the silence was peaceful rather than uncomfortable. He rested his head against the cushions of the old sofa and listened to the clock on the
fireplace mantle tick down the time.
Time. He’d tell her the truth about everything right now. She’d understand his reasons for not coming clean with her from the beginning.
At least, he hoped she would.
“Harper—”
“Ethan, we need to talk.”
Something in her voice made him sit up straighter. “About what?”
She lowered her gaze and toyed with her empty coffee cup. “About us not mixing our personal relationship with business.”
Her words caused a punch to the gut that was painful and totally unexpected. “Is that really what you want?” Did she know who he was? Had someone told her?
“It’s what’s best.” She looked at him then, and her eyes were clear. Not a trace of regret. “This project is too important to me to let it get entangled in personal feelings.”
“Is this because of our kiss earlier? Because if it is, I want you to know I didn’t plan for that to happen. It was…spontaneous.”
He didn’t know how to explain what had come over him when he’d walked into the lodge and saw her. The look of welcome on her face, like he was the one person in the world she wanted to see, like he was something special to her, had caught him off guard. He’d forgotten about the money, the renovation project, the lies. All he wanted was to take Harper into his arms because she was something special to him.
She swallowed. “I know, but we can’t let ourselves get carried away like that again. What if we became…involved? What would happen if we had a falling out, and we decided we weren’t good as a couple anymore? How could we continue to work together? Would the lodge renovation suffer because we couldn’t get along? Every time we disagreed on something to do with the lodge, I’d wonder if we were really disagreeing about business or if you were angry with me.”
“We’re adults, Harper. We can figure out a way to work together.”
“I don’t want to have to worry about messing up the biggest deal of my life. I think it’s best if we keep our relationship on a completely business level. I think Mr. Hainstock would agree. He probably wouldn’t be pleased if he knew…”
Lies and Solace Page 14