by Marie Force
“I don’t want to put you out.”
“We’ll share the space. It’ll be fine. Once the auditors are done, we’ll get the conference room back, too. We’ll work it out.”
The idea of sharing such a small space with him was a little too appealing. Maintaining her professional demeanor with him in close proximity was going to be one heck of a challenge.
She eyed the phone on his desk covetously, trying to remember the last time she’d used a landline for anything.
“Do you want to use the phone, Cameron?” he asked with a laugh.
“Would you mind terribly? I’ll reimburse you for the charges.”
“Don’t be silly. Hunter has us on a great plan where we pay a monthly fee for unlimited long distance. Go for it.”
“Thank you so much.”
“I’ll check on you in a bit.”
“I’ll be here.”
He left her with a warm smile that made her quiver with delight. “Good.”
“Oh my God,” she whispered to the empty room. He’d all but admitted to being interested in her. He’d told his mother about her. He’d acknowledged the fact that they came from completely different worlds and had completely different ideas about many things. And still, he was interested.
That worked out rather well, because she was, too.
Lucy’s number had been programmed into Cameron’s phone for so long, that Cameron had to look it up on her phone to place the call on Will’s landline.
“Hey, it’s me.”
“Where’re you calling from?” Lucy asked.
“Will’s office.”
“So now he’s Will, huh? Any pictures yet?”
“Hang on.” Cameron stretched her neck for a view of the reception area where Will was talking to his sister Ella. He pulled something from his wallet and handed it to her. As the two continued to chat, Cameron picked up her phone, zoomed in on him and snapped a quick picture. He looked particularly yummy today in the brown flannel that was a perfect complement to his golden coloring. Propping the desk phone in the crook of her neck, she sent off the picture to Lucy, all the while praying for a stronger than usual cell signal. “On its way.”
“Finally!”
“We’re going to get the job, Luce. They’re voting this morning, and we’ve got the votes.”
“Oh thank goodness. That’s the best news I’ve had in ages.”
“I’m kind of panicking.”
“How come?”
“We’ve never done anything like this. I sold him on it, but now I’m worried we won’t be able to deliver. It’s a lot of money. A lot of money. Maybe we’re not the right company for them.”
“Cameron, stop. We can totally handle this.”
“I know almost nothing about Vermont, the store, the family. The research alone is going to be huge. It’ll take weeks, if not months. What about our other clients? What about—”
“Cameron! Breathe. Are you breathing?”
Cameron drew in a deep breath and blew it out. “Yeah.”
“Listen, I have no doubt that with you overseeing it, the site will be brilliant.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. You’ve got this, hon. I know it.”
Lucy’s assurances went a long way toward calming her. “I’m going to need you, too. At least for part of the time.”
“I’ll come. Whenever you need me, I’ll be there. Now that we know how we’re going to pay them, I can even bring reinforcements.” Lucy gasped. “Shut up. Are you serious? That is Will Abbott?”
“I take it you got the picture.”
“Damn. He has brothers, right?”
“Six of them,” Cameron said with laughter that helped to offset her burst of nerves.
“How soon do you need me?”
“I’m going to spend the weekend mapping out the project and figuring out time lines and schedules. I’ll let you know once I have that done.”
“What gives with Will?”
Cameron lowered her voice, mindful of the fact that the man in question was lurking nearby. “He keeps leaving gifts for me.”
“What kind of gifts?”
“Stuff I admired in the store, and this morning I got a coat—with sleeves—and I love it.”
“So the mountain man picked out a coat that you actually liked? That’s astonishing. You’re not exactly known for being easy to please in regard to fashion.”
“Those jeans were ugly, Luce. Even Troy said so.”
“What does he know? I can’t believe you didn’t like them. I thought I had finally struck upon a winner with that gift.”
“I apologized a hundred times.”
“I know, I know. So how is it that this guy you met only two days ago is already knocking it out of the park with the gifts?”
“He got lucky. That’s all it is.”
“Have you gotten lucky?”
“Luce! I just met him. Jeez.”
“Don’t tell me you’re not thinking about jumping all over him. Hello, I know you.”
“Not if you think I’m already doing that with someone I just met.”
“Don’t act like it’s never happened before.”
“Once! Six years ago! I swear to God, I’m never telling you anything ever again. You’ve got a mind like a steel trap.”
Lucy snickered. “Thank you.”
“That was not a compliment.”
“My steel trap comes in handy on a regular basis. I don’t care what you say.”
“If only you confined your freakish memories to things that aren’t embarrassing to me.”
“What fun would that be? So do you think he likes you?”
“I know he does.”
“Likes you like a colleague or something more?”
“Something more. Maybe. He told his mother about me, and she invited me to Sunday dinner at their house.”
“He told his mother about you.”
“That’s what I said.”
“Cameron, oh my God!”
“And he got me to try Vermont maple syrup.”
“You hate maple syrup.”
“Hated. Past tense. I love it now.”
“The situation is worse than I feared. Do I need to get up there now before you completely lose your mind over the mountain man?”
Cameron sat back in Will’s chair and watched him share a laugh with his sister. “It might be kind of fun to lose my mind over the mountain man. For a little while anyway.”
“What happens when the job is done and you have to come home?”
The question deflated Cameron like a balloon stuck with a needle. “I’m talking about some harmless fun. Nothing more than that. He wants to take me to Ben & Jerry’s.”
“I bet you didn’t say no to that. Does he know about your Chunky Monkey addiction?”
“Not yet, but I’m sure I won’t be able to hide it when we tour the factory.” Will broke away from the conversation with Ella and headed back toward the office. “I’ve got to go. He’s coming back.”
“Have fun, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Lucy said in a rush of words.
“Bye, Lucy.”
Cameron hung up as Will came in.
“Don’t let me interrupt,” he said.
“I was done.”
“About the Internet connection … I talked to Charlotte. She oversees all our systems.” He handed her a slip of paper. “Here’s a log-in and password to get you online. The system is wireless, so feel free to use my computer if you want. I don’t need to get online this morning. I have a couple of meetings outside the office.”
“What kind of meetings?” Cameron was immediately mortified by the question. “I’m sorry. I have no right to ask that. I was just wondering if it was anything that might be of interest to your new web contractor.”
“You know, it might be. I’m going up to see Colton to check on the sugaring and to see if he survived the snow. I also need to speak to Hannah about something. If you want to come along,
you’re more than welcome to.”
Cameron was fascinated by his cell phone–free life. In her world, you called people when you wanted to speak to them. In his world, you went to see them. “Are you sure it would be okay? I’d love to see the sugaring facility, but I wouldn’t want to intrude on your visit with your brother.”
“It’d be fine. I need a few minutes to talk to Wade and Hunter about the website. We’ll do a quick conference call with my mom so she can cast the tiebreaking vote, and then we can go.”
“Good luck,” she said, her stomach cramping with worry about the potential fallout.
At the doorway, he propped his hand on the doorframe. “This isn’t the first time we’ve disagreed around here, and it won’t be the last. I don’t want you to worry about being in the middle of something unpleasant. Once the vote is taken, we all try to respect the outcome, even if it didn’t go our way. It’s the only way we can successfully work together and maintain family harmony.”
“And that’s important? Maintaining family harmony?”
“Sweetheart, that’s everything. That’s what it’s all about. I’ll be back in a few.”
As he walked away, Cameron gave herself permission to start breathing again. She’d been called sweetheart before. Plenty of times. But never before had the word gone straight to her heart and settled in the way it did this time.
CHAPTER 9
That’ll put a quiver in your liver.
—The gospel according to Elmer Stillman
The ride around Butler Mountain was a winter wonderland of beautiful scenery so bright and shiny it almost hurt her eyes to look. “So what did everyone say when you voted against the site?”
“I think Hunter saw right through me, but I played dumb. My dad seemed disappointed, but my mom will explain it all to him. Doesn’t matter now. It’s on, it’s happening and everyone will get behind it.”
Cameron could only hope he was right, because she had no desire to be stuck in the middle of a big family drama.
On the way out of town, Will pointed to a white Cape. “That’s my aunt’s house. My mother’s sister Hannah.”
“Why do they have so many cars?”
“She’s also the town clerk. Her office is in her house. She was voted Vermont’s Town Clerk of the Year last year. She’s very proud of that. She’s been doing it for like thirty years or something.”
“Do you have cousins?”
“A million of them. My mom is one of six. They’re all scattered around here, and most of them had at least four kids. My aunt Hannah has five kids.”
Cameron marveled at how his big family was even bigger than she’d thought. “None of them were interested in the store?”
“Nope. Only my mom showed an interest, which is how it ended up in our family. My mom’s brothers are cops or firefighters. Her other sister is a homemaker.”
“Were you close to your cousins growing up?”
“Extremely. We spent summers and holidays together. Lots of sleeping around from house to house. Other than my brothers, my cousins are some of my closest friends.”
Cameron let out a sigh that was equal parts envy and amazement.
“Do you have cousins?” he asked.
“A few. I don’t really know them, though. They were all older than me. My dad has two brothers who he’s not really close to, and my mom was estranged from her family, so I don’t know them at all.”
“I can’t imagine being estranged from my family.”
“They didn’t like my dad,” Cameron said with a shrug. “And she married him anyway. I guess it caused a rift.”
“You really grew up all alone, didn’t you?”
She refused to allow in the melancholy when she was having an otherwise enjoyable day. “I had the Huxtables,” she said, aiming for a light tone that fell somewhat short of her goal. “That glare is tough,” she said as her eyes watered behind her sunglasses. She wasn’t sure it was entirely because of the glare.
“You get used to it.”
“It’s so pretty after the snow.”
“It will be for a day or so and then the snow starts to get dirty and gross, and it’s not so pretty anymore.”
“Is winter your favorite season?”
“I like them all for different reasons. Winter is fun because I’m addicted to snowboarding and skiing. I also love to take out the snowmobile and go ice fishing.”
“Ice fishing. Seriously?”
He grinned at her. “Doesn’t sound appealing?”
“Not even kinda.”
“It’s a lot of fun. Very relaxing.”
“I’ll have to take your word on that. So the snowboarding … You’re pretty good at that, huh?”
“You saw the trophies.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I was good at it until I wiped out and tore up my knee. That was the end of that.”
Cameron could hear the hint of bitterness in his tone that told of a bigger story. She wasn’t sure if she had the right to ask.
“Sorry,” he said with a sigh. “I didn’t mean to say it like that. I had sponsors and a nice little career going. One big crash, and it was all over.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you. It must’ve been so disappointing.”
“Crushing. I loved it. But, hey, what can you do? Shit happens, right? My grandpa says, ‘One day you’re drinkin’ wine, and the next day you’re pickin’ grapes.’”
“He sounds adorable. I can’t wait to meet him.”
“He’ll like you. He respects people who make their own way in the world.”
“That’s nice of you to say.”
“I respect it, too. It would’ve been so much easier for you to rely on your father’s money. Instead you struck out on your own and made a go of it. That’s admirable.”
“Or crazy. Depends on your perspective. I’m sure even my friends think I’m nuts for not taking the easier path.”
“You wouldn’t have been satisfied by the easier path, and you wouldn’t have wanted him to have a say in how you run your business.”
“No,” she said softly, startled by his insight. “I wouldn’t have wanted that at all.” They drove past an Airmail box that sat at the top of a twenty-foot pole. “Is that for real?” Cameron asked with a laugh.
“Nah. Someone’s idea of a joke.”
“What goes on there?” she asked as they passed a sign for a ranger station.
“Lots of search and rescue stuff when people get lost in the snow or on the mountain trails. Happens more often than you might think around here.”
Cameron shivered just thinking about it. “I can’t imagine being lost in the woods in the snow.”
“My brothers and I are all trained in search and rescue. We go out a couple times each season to find wayward tourists. We haven’t lost one yet. So stick with me, kid. I’ll keep you safe.”
Cameron found herself at a complete loss for words as she contemplated the possible double meaning behind his words.
As he took a left onto a road that headed uphill, the truck’s four-wheel drive kicked in. “This is where it gets interesting. Hopefully Colton plowed this morning or we might not be able to get to him.”
Cameron, who was still having images of being lost in the snowy woods, felt her ears pop as they continued up the hill. She tried not to look at the drop-off to her right, which was bordered by a metal guardrail that didn’t look like it would be any match for Will’s big truck.
“Don’t look,” he said, tuning into her thoughts once again as the truck did a little fishtail on an icy patch.
A squeal of distress escaped from her tightly clamped jaw.
He reached over for her hand. “No worries. I wouldn’t take you up here if it wasn’t perfectly safe.”
Since she had no choice but to take his word for it, she held on tightly to his hand. He’d proven his one-handed driving abilities the night before, so she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“He lives out her
e all by himself?” Cameron asked, hoping to direct her mind away from the fear of plunging off the mountain road and the incredibly arousing feel of his work-roughened hand curled around hers.
“Yep. If you think my life is primitive, wait ’til you get a load of his. No electricity or running water.”
“How in the world does he live without those things?”
“Quite nicely. He loves it. He’s always been a bit of a loner, so it suits him. He comes to dinner on Sunday to see everyone and do his laundry at my mom’s. It works for him.”
“Doesn’t he get lonely up here all by himself?”
“Not that he ever says. You should ask him.”
“Wouldn’t that be a nosy question from someone he just met?”
“He’s an open book. He wouldn’t care if you asked him.” He squeezed her hand as they took a sharp curve onto a stretch of road that seemed to go straight up to the sky. “Hang on. Here’s the dicey part.”
Cameron wasn’t at all pleased to hear that it could get even dicier than it already was. She clung to his hand as well as the door handle and had to force herself to keep her eyes open when she wanted to squeeze them tightly shut. The farther up they went, the snowier and icier it got and the more her ears popped.
“Are you breathing over there?”
“Just enough to stay alive.”
That made him laugh.
“Don’t laugh! Concentrate!”
“I am concentrating,” he said with a chuckle that irritated her. “This is nothing. I’ve seen it much icier than this.”
“Great. Happy for you. Now stop talking and drive.” As much as she loved holding his hand, she tried to withdraw hers from his grip. “Maybe you should take back your extra hand.”
He held on tighter. “I can do it with one. Take a look at the stream over there. The ice is really cool.”
Since looking “over there” meant checking out where they would land if they went off the road, she didn’t look.
“You’re not looking.”
“I’ve seen ice before.”
“Not like this. Go ahead and look. I promise you won’t end up down there.”
Clinging to his promise and his hand, she ventured a glance down at the rushing water and had to admit it was an amazing sight. Chunky ice islands filled the stream and made her long for her camera, which was in her bag. Retrieving it, however, would require her to let go of him and the door, and that wasn’t happening. “I’d love a picture of that.”