Green Mountain Collection 1

by Marie Force

  “I’ll take your word on the fact that it’s good.”

  “You have to try it.”

  “No, I don’t.” She turned away from him and stepped into a scent that made her mouth water. “What is that? What do I smell?”

  “Vermont cider donuts. Best donuts in the known universe. Want one?”

  The muffin she’d brought from the inn was quickly forgotten. “Ah, yeah.”

  Damn it, he smiled again. That smile was freaking lethal. “Plain or cinnamon sugar?”

  “Cinnamon sugar. Definitely.”

  “Morning, Dottie,” he said to the older woman working behind the counter.

  She lit up at the sight of him. Hell, she was only human. “Morning, Will. What can I get you?”

  “We need two cinnamon donuts, a coffee for me and a refill for Cameron.”

  “Hi, Cameron,” Dottie said. She was busy filling their order so she didn’t notice the face from hell—until she looked up to hand them their donuts and gasped. “Honey! What happened? Oh, you’re the one who hit Fred, aren’t you?”

  “Does everyone know about that?” Cameron asked with a moan.

  “’Fraid so,” Will said with a grin. “Word travels fast in a small town.”

  Cameron longed for the anonymity of New York City. “Fabulous.”

  “Don’t worry,” Dottie said, patting Cameron’s hand. “Something else will happen in a day or two to make us forget all about your auspicious arrival. In the meantime …” She smiled and shrugged.

  “It’s all me and Fred all the time, huh?”

  “You got it.”

  Next to her, Will chuckled, but Cameron didn’t look. She didn’t need to see that smile again. Twice was enough for one morning, she thought, as she took a bite of the piping-hot donut and went straight to heaven. “Oh wow, that’s good.”

  “Told ya,” Will said. “Thanks, Dottie.”

  “Yes, thank you,” Cameron said. “Nice to meet you.”

  “You, too, honey. Hope you heal right quick.”

  “I hope so, too.”

  A loud argument from the center of the store drew them in that direction.

  “My grandfather’s two best friends fight like cats and dogs,” Will said as they approached the red-faced men. “What seems to be the problem, boys?”

  “He’s cheating, as usual.”

  “Better watch yerself, old man. I ain’t too old to punch yer lights out.”

  “Cameron, meet Cletus Wagner and Percy Flanders.”

  Both men shook her hand. Cletus was bald with a bushy white mustache and blue eyes. Percy had a head full of white hair that looked like it hadn’t been combed in a year and warm brown eyes.

  They muttered greetings and got back to their game.

  Will gestured for Cameron to walk toward the clothing area, which was still selling warm winter wear long after the stores in the city had switched it up for spring.

  “What a couple of characters,” Cameron said.

  “They’re here every day, year-round. And they fight every single day.” He glanced over his shoulder to ensure the two men were absorbed in the game. “My gramps told me they called Cletus ‘Clitoris’ all through school.”

  Cameron sputtered with laughter even as her own clitoris tingled at the sound of that word coming from him. “Why would you tell me that? I’ll never be able to look at him and not think of that!”

  “Welcome to my world,” Will said with the engaging grin that brought all her girl parts to the party. He was just too hot for words.

  “I love those sweaters,” Cameron said between bites of delicious donut. She was desperately seeking another topic of conversation that didn’t involve her most sensitive region. The Icelandic knit sweaters came in red, blue, brown and tan and bore the VERMONT MADE sticker.

  “They’re handmade by a woman in Rutland. She shows up every September with a truckload of sweaters for us.”

  “They’re gorgeous. Oh look!” She laughed at the flannel pajama pants with the moose on them. “I need to get a pair of those to commemorate my meeting with Fred.”

  “It’s cool that you can laugh about it.”

  “Should I not laugh? Fred wasn’t really hurt, was he?”

  “The town vet, Myles Johansen, went out to check on him this morning.”

  “How did he know where to find him?”

  Will shrugged. “We all know where to find him. He hangs pretty close to town, thus his official status as town moose. Anyhow, he’s fine. Your car definitely got the worst of it.”

  “Maybe people will stop worrying about poor Fred and start worrying about my poor car now that he’s been checked out.”

  “Sorry, the moose is always going to trump the car around here.”

  “That’s really not fair.”

  “Life’s not fair.”

  Truer words were never spoken, but Cameron kept the thought to herself.

  “I still think it’s cool that you can laugh about it when you got so banged up.”

  “What else can I do? Crying won’t get me anywhere.”

  “Don’t do that,” he said, seeming stricken by the thought of it.

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t do tears. Especially girl tears.” He shuddered dramatically, making her laugh.

  “Wimp.”

  “Guilty as charged.”

  Liking him more with every passing second, Cameron wandered around yet another corner and came to a stop in front of an extensive collection of Beatles memorabilia that was sealed off behind a glass wall. “Whoa. What’s all this?”

  “My father’s not-so-secret shame. He’s obsessed with all things Beatles. He has one of the most extensive collections in the country.” He pointed to a frame that held parchment bearing scrawling black handwriting. “See that? It’s a replica of John Lennon’s lyrics for ‘All You Need Is Love.’ The original sold for $1.25 million in 2005. He couldn’t afford that so my mom got him the copy.”

  “I love that song. It’s one of my favorite Beatles songs.”

  “Mine, too, although if I never hear another Beatles song, it’ll be too soon.”

  “You don’t like them?”

  “It’s not that I don’t like them. It’s that I was overexposed growing up. When I say my dad is obsessed, that’s putting it lightly. He would’ve named Hunter, me, Wade and Colton after the Beatles, but my mother intervened. She said when he could have the babies, he could name one of them Ringo. He fought hard for John, Paul and George as well as Jude and Prudence, but she fought back harder.”

  “So you would’ve been Paul?” Cameron asked, amused.

  “Or John, I suppose. Dad goes back and forth between the two of them when you ask him which one is his favorite. He took John’s death really hard. My mom said he wasn’t himself for months afterward.”

  A gorgeous yellow lab came bounding up to them and nearly knocked Cameron off her feet with an enthusiastic greeting.

  Once again, Will grabbed her arm and kept her from toppling over.

  “That crash was not on me,” she said, making him laugh.

  Will bent to scratch the dog behind one of his ears. “Cameron, meet Ringo the third.”

  Cameron busted up laughing, which made her face hurt like a mother. “If you can’t name your kids after the Beatles …”

  “Right. He’s had two of each, and now we’re into the third generation. George the third is probably with Dad in the office. This fella comes in every morning for a donut from Dottie. Go get your treat, buddy.”

  Ringo bounded off toward Dottie’s counter, nearly knocking over a stack of sweaters with his bushy tail.

  “I’ve got two just like him at home, and their tails are every bit as lethal as Ringo’s.”

  Oh my God, all this sexy goodness, and he has dogs, too. Cameron had always loved dogs and still mourned Jimmy, the terrier who’d been her constant companion as a child. She kept meaning to get another one, but losing Jimmy had been so traumatic she hadn’t yet been a
ble to go there. “Ringo is adorable, and he understands English, just like Lassie did.”

  “Now there’s a TV reference even I recognize. ‘What’s that you say, girl? Timmy is stuck in the old mine and we need to go rescue him?’”

  Cameron didn’t want to look at him. She didn’t want to share a warm smile with him. She didn’t want anything to do with his sweet gruffness or his adorable sexiness. This was a temporary assignment in a place so far from her reality it was hard to believe it was still in the same country. There was absolutely no point in allowing herself to be attracted to Will Abbott, who lived in the alternative universe known as Vermont.

  As she had that thought, her girl parts tingled in protest.

  “Hey, Will,” Dottie called from the donut counter, saving Cameron from having to admit that, despite all the reasons it was a very bad idea, she was, in fact, attracted to Will Abbott.

  “Over here,” he said.

  “Your dad is looking for you upstairs.”

  Will checked his watch. “Yikes, it’s almost ten.” To Dottie, he said, “Tell him I’ll be right there.”

  Cameron had never known a half hour to pass more quickly and suddenly felt panicky about the challenge ahead. “I need to set up for my presentation. Can you show me where to go?”

  “Right this way.”

  As he led her deeper into the store, Cameron tried not to notice that the back of him was every bit as spectacular as the front. Softly faded jeans hugged a very nice ass, not that she was looking.

  Much.

  Desperate to find something else to stare at, she diverted her gaze and honed in on a display of colorful beaded jewelry. She stopped for a closer look at the intricately made bracelets, necklaces and earrings.

  “That’s my sister Hannah’s handiwork,” Will said.

  “It’s beautiful.” Cameron could hear the pride in his voice when he spoke of his sister. Naturally, that made her like him even more. Where in the world had her cranky rescuer from the night before gone?

  The presentation she was about to give would remind him she was an interloper from the city, here to threaten his way of life. That ought to get them back on track toward being absolutely nothing to each other.

  Or so she hoped.

  CHAPTER 3

  She’s as jumpy as a cockroach in a frying pan.

  —The gospel according to Elmer Stillman

  Angry voices greeted them at the top of the stairs.

  Seeming embarrassed by what they’d walked in on, Will said, “Give us a minute. We’ll be right with you.”

  “Sure, no problem.”

  “You can have a seat in my office.” He flipped on the lights for her. “Make yourself comfortable.”

  “Thanks.”

  Cameron stepped into the room that smelled like him—outdoorsy, fresh air, pine trees and citrus. Because he’d told her to make herself comfortable, she sat at his desk and pulled her laptop from the computer bag. While it booted up, she took advantage of the opportunity to do some high-level snooping.

  The first thing she noticed were the shelves laden with trophies. With a peek at the door to ensure no one was watching, she stood to read the placards. He’d won snowboarding championships in seven consecutive years. “Wow.” Mixed in with the trophies were certificates and medals and other awards from what had obviously been a rather illustrious career.

  His degree in business administration from the University of Vermont hung on the wall next to a picture of him with two other guys in ski attire. Judging from their coloring, she decided they might be his brothers.

  Under that was a framed portrait of what had to be the full Abbott family, looking like they’d just stepped out of an L.L.Bean catalog. Every one of them was attractive in a wholesome all-American way. Their parents sat in Adirondack chairs in the front row with their ten gorgeous children standing around them.

  What a beautiful family, Cameron thought with a pang of envy. She couldn’t begin to know what it must be like to be part of such a family. While trying to ignore the raised voices coming from another room in the office suite, she sat to go over the PowerPoint presentation she and Lucy had labored over last week.

  They’d gone into the preparation knowing little about the store itself, so they’d used images and samples from other country store websites to show the Abbotts what might be possible for their site.

  As she clicked through slides she’d already memorized, Cameron realized her hands were trembling ever so slightly—and that the shouting down the hall had dwindled to a low murmur of voices. They were talking about her in there. Arguing over whether to allow her to make the presentation.

  With so much riding on landing this account, Cameron hoped they’d at least hear her out.

  Twenty minutes after he’d left her, Will appeared at the door. At first glance, he seemed stiff and maybe a bit peeved. And then she was peeved at herself for thinking she knew him well enough to judge his moods.

  “You can come in now,” he said. “Nolan dropped off your projector. Do you need anything else?”

  “No, I should be good.”

  “You can leave your coat and anything else you don’t need in here. It’ll be safe.”

  “Okay.”

  Even though she knew he and his siblings didn’t want her here, it was comforting to go into the conference room with a partial ally in him. After the time they’d spent together in the store, at least she knew his animosity toward her wasn’t personal.

  This was about business and business only, and she’d do well to remember that.

  When she walked into the conference room ahead of Will, an older man jumped up to greet her. “Cameron. I’m Lincoln Abbott.”

  She recognized Will’s dad from the photo in his office. Tall like Will, he had snow-white hair and twinkling blue eyes that drew her right in. He wore a starched light-blue button-down oxford shirt with khakis.

  “It’s so nice to see you,” he said. “I met you once many years ago in New York with your dad, but you probably don’t remember because you were just a little girl at the time.”

  She shook Lincoln Abbott’s outstretched hand. “I’m sorry I don’t remember, but it’s nice to meet you again. Thanks for having me.”

  “My pleasure. Heard about the accident last night. I hope you’re feeling okay.”

  “My pride is bruised along with my face, but Will was a tremendous help. I appreciated him coming to my rescue.”

  “That’s my boy. He’s a helper, that one.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she swore she caught her rescuer blushing. How cute was he?

  “Let me introduce you to my kids—well, some of them anyway. This is Ella, Charlotte, Wade and Hunter.” They sat around the conference room table wearing flannel, wool sweaters and jeans, except for Hunter who had on a white dress shirt.

  Wade and Charlotte shared Will’s lighter coloring, but Ella and Hunter had much darker hair and eyes. They all said hello and attempted friendly smiles, but the tension in the room was palpable.

  “Nice to meet you all. I just need a minute to set up my projector.”

  “Need any help?” Will asked.

  “Sure, that’d be great.” She showed him where to put the projector on the table and went through the motions of hooking up her laptop as her hands continued to tremble ever so slightly.

  “Don’t be nervous,” he said softly and for her ears only as the others conversed while they waited on her. “We’ve never actually eaten anyone. We’ve just acted like we were going to.”

  “Good to know. Thanks for the heads-up.”

  There was that lethal smile again, but this time it actually calmed her nerves. She appreciated his effort to put her at ease. “Our issue is with him, not you. So don’t worry. Whenever you’re ready.”

  Will took a seat next to Hunter, and all eyes turned to her.

  Cameron clasped her trembling hands together and tried to forget about how hideous her face looked. “I want to thank you for y
our time today, and I apologize for my banged-up appearance. I went ten rounds with Fred last night, and I think I put a hurt on him even if his bruises don’t show.”

  Their chuckles defused some of the tension in the room and helped her to ease into her zone, as Lucy called it. Cameron was good at selling their business to prospective clients, and she tapped into those skills now for the pitch of her life.

  “I know from talking to Will last night that some of you feel the store doesn’t need a website. I respect that opinion and the reasons behind it. You have a lovely small business here, and the website opens it up to the world in a way that might change things—and maybe not entirely for the better.”

  Ella and Hunter nodded in agreement while Charlotte and Wade remained expressionless.

  Cameron had to force herself to not let her gaze wander to Will, fearing she might be distracted if she looked at him.

  “Before we talk about your business, let me tell you a little bit about mine. I founded Creative Web Solutions five years ago with my best friend, Lucy Mulvaney.” Cameron clicked on the slide that revealed Lucy’s impish face and corkscrew red curls. You couldn’t be in her presence for long without smiling, and a quick look around the room told Cameron that Lucy’s picture had softened up the Abbotts. “She’s as fun as she looks, and she’s a whiz with Photoshop and the other programs we use to build websites.”

  Cameron introduced them to Lydia, who kept the books, and several of the junior programmers who might lose their jobs if she didn’t land this account. With them in mind, she forced herself to press forward with the presentation, even if most of the people in the room didn’t want to hear it.

  She flipped through a variety of slides containing examples of sites they’d done for other clients, focusing on retail clients. That none of their previous retail clients had come close to the size or scope of the Green Mountain Country Store was a fact she chose not to share.

  “Since you don’t already have a web presence, we took some bits and pieces from other country store websites to give you an idea of what we might be able to do for yours.” Cameron walked them through the various sections of a basic website, detailing the “About” section that would highlight the family’s story and the store’s history. Another section would detail the various hard-to-find products and items unique to Vermont.