by Elena Aitken
“Why don’t you go talk to her?”
Before he could even realize he’d been caught out, Jason shook his head. “Nah. I’m not going there.”
“Why not? It’s been four years. It’s okay to move on.”
“You sound like my sister.”
“Family resemblance and all that.” She smirked and tilted her head in a way that was very much like Jennifer. “Besides, you know we’re right.”
“No.” He shook his head and stood up. “I should go. It’s getting late.”
“Jason.”
He threw some money on the table, more than enough to cover his drinks. “It’s not going to happen, Emily. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
He walked away before she could pry further or ask him why it wasn’t going to happen. Because he honestly didn’t know whether it was because of him vowing to never have anything more serious than a fling, or Lisa not wanting anything to do with him. It was a question that bothered him more than he cared to admit because never before had it come up.
CHAPTER THREE
“What do you think about going for a swim today?” Lisa tried to ignore her friend, Astrid’s, voice calling to her, breaking through her dreams, interrupting her long overdue sleep-in. She tugged the pillow over her head and buried deeper under her quilt but she knew it wasn’t a long-term solution. Not where Astrid was involved.
“I know you’re not really sleeping.” Astrid’s singsong voice was closer. Too close. “The vibe is all wrong in here and I can practically feel your energy aura from here.” Before Lisa could stop it, the covers flipped back and she stared, bleary eyed, up at her friend. Although, if she didn’t back away quickly and let her sleep, she couldn’t be sure she’d be her friend for long.
“Go away.”
“I don’t think so. Sleeping in so long isn’t good for the spirit and your spirit needs all the work it can get.”
Lisa ignored the quip and rolled over on her side. “Eight in the morning is hardly sleeping in for too long.” She groaned. “Besides, weren’t you out at some sort of party last night? You should be the one sleeping in.”
When Morgan decided to move in with Bo, she’d insisted that Astrid was a fabulous roommate and although the two women had grown close, the jury was still out on whether she was a fabulous roommate or not. Usually her crystals, incense, and random comments about her aura energy flow, or whatever it was, didn’t bother Lisa. At least not too much. But at eight in the morning on a rare day off, anything would bother her.
“No way. It’s bad karma to sleep in on such a nice day. Before you know it the snow will be here, and our chance will be gone.”
Lisa cracked one eye open a slit. “Our chance to swim in the pool? I hardly think that chance will go away.”
Astrid waved her hands in a bizarre pantomime motion that probably had something to do with evoking some type of positive energy that Lisa must certainly be lacking, and let out an exasperated sigh. “No. The chance to absorb the power from the day. It’s not all that usual to have such nice weather in November. I can’t remember the last time we went this long without our first snowfall. It’s a good sign. A sign that the universes are—”
“Okay.” Lisa gave in. Anything to get her to stop talking about universes, power and the energy of the earth or whatever she was going to go on about next. “I’ll go swimming with you. But don’t think I’m happy about it. And next time you have a day off, I’m going to...”
There was no point finishing the thought. If Astrid ever did have a day off, the last thing she’d be worried about would be sleeping in. With a sigh, Lisa resigned herself to the fact that whether she liked it or not, she’d be starting her day. She might as well make the best of it.
“Give me five minutes.” She rubbed her eyes and swung her legs out of bed. “And a coffee. I’m not doing anything without caffeine.”
Twenty minutes later, the friends were on the wooded path and made their way through the thick pines, toward the main lodge and the pool area. As employees, they didn’t have free access to the pool facilities, but they had a punch pass for some access and were encouraged not to use it during peak times. Most of the staff didn’t bother, but Lisa loved nothing more than a long soak in the outside hot tub, surrounded by the mountains with the smell of pine floating on the breeze. It was her idea of a heaven, which was why she hadn’t protested harder.
Fortunately the pool area wasn’t very busy in the morning. Only a few people were in the pool, and even fewer in the hot tub.
“Come on,” Astrid called. After she threw her towel on a nearby chair, she headed to the deep end of the pool. “Come do some laps with me.”
“No way.”
“It’s good exercise.” Astrid pulled her long skinny braids back into a ponytail. “Water helps align your chakras.”
“My chakras are fine.”
“They’re really not.” Astrid put her hand on her hip and opened her mouth to say something else, likely to tell Lisa how she needed to work on an aura adjustment or do a smudge or some such thing.
“I’ll be in the hot tub, soaking, because that’s good for my chakras, my muscles, and pretty much everything else I can think of.”
Astrid waved her away. Lisa waited a beat and watched her friend enter the deep end of the pool with a graceful dive before she turned and made her way across the tile and into the hot tub. With each step into the hot water, she could feel herself relax. The water was magical.
Lisa avoided making eye contact with any of the guests, especially the male ones. It was just easier that way.
The pool was half inside and half outside, and that’s exactly where Lisa headed. She pushed through the strips of vinyl that separated the two spaces and was rewarded with the warm autumn sunshine on her face. She located an empty spot away from everyone else, and sank down onto the bench so her shoulders were completely covered by the water. A sigh escaped her lips as she lifted her face up and took in the cloudless blue sky.
She could sit like that all day and maybe she might. Laundry, groceries, and all the other details that she needed to take care of could wait. Nothing was more important than soaking. Besides, didn’t Astrid say something about it being good for her aura or something? That was important. She should probably listen to her friend. Her eyes drifted shut.
She might have dozed off, but a shriek followed by a splash and a large wave that doused Lisa’s face effectively broke the magic spell of her serene moment. Her eyes popped open. She sat up with a start and looked for the source of the splash.
A little boy, a grin on his face, splashed a few feet away. He was cute, and so pleased with himself, any irritation she felt with being interrupted vanished. She shook her head slightly and smiled. He could obviously swim, but Lisa couldn’t see an adult who clearly belonged to him, and her childcare instincts kicked in.
“Hey.” She got the little boy’s attention. “Where’s your mom and dad?”
The boy shrugged.
“Are you here by yourself?” The pool area didn’t have a lifeguard on duty because there was a rule about children under the age of twelve being accompanied by an adult. What type of parent would let a little boy swim in the pool by himself? “Well, maybe we should go find your parents. What’s your name?”
“Kayden.”
The name sounded familiar, but Lisa saw so many kids at the Cub Club, it was likely she’d had another child with the same name, because she didn’t recognize the cutie in front of her. “It’s nice to meet you, Kayden. Should we go find who you belong to?”
“That would be me.”
The deep voice behind her sent chills up her spine, and caused something in her core to tighten in reflex. Lisa turned slowly. There’s no way. It couldn’t be—
“Uncle Jason.”
Uncle Jason?
Of course.
What was it about the guy? He just kept popping up. She couldn’t catch a break. The sight of him shirtless, water dripping off his six-pack
, a sexy smile at work on his face, was nothing short of torture, because nothing was ever going to happen with him.
“Well, I’m glad Kayden has supervision of some kind.” She turned away. Satisfied that the boy wasn’t in any immediate danger, she could go back to her soaking and relaxing. And that’s just what she intended to do.
“It’s nice to see you again.”
She stopped. His words washed over her. She should just continue walking and pretend she hadn’t heard him. She should go back to her spot where she could continue enjoying the hot pool and the day. But there was something in his voice. She couldn’t help it. Lisa turned and looked at him, careful to keep her eyes on his face and away from the very hard body that her fingers instinctively wanted to touch.
“It does seem that you’re everywhere I seem to be.”
“Or maybe it’s the other way around.” His eyes flashed with the tease.
Determined not to let him affect her, she shrugged as casually as she could. “The Lodge isn’t really all that big when you’re trying to avoid someone.”
The dangerous smile on his face vanished and Lisa instantly regretted her words, mostly because she wasn’t trying to avoid him. Not really. But before she could think of anything else to say, Kayden was there and splashed water up at his uncle.
“Uncle Jason. Let’s go. You said we could go to the cold pool.”
His eyes never leaving hers, he nodded. “Absolutely, buddy, because you’re not really supposed to be jumping in the hot tub. You should apologize to Lisa for disturbing her.”
“It’s okay.” Lisa turned her attention away from Jason, to the much safer male. “I think I’m going to see you tomorrow anyway. Are you ready for a hike?”
Kayden nodded eagerly before he took off for the pool. Lisa didn’t bother to see whether Jason would say anything else to her. She wasn’t going to risk everything for a fling. Not even one with a man like Jason. And he’d made it perfectly clear that’s all he wanted. She wasn’t that kind of girl. Not anymore. But something intrigued her about him. Which meant it was probably for the best that after a second, Jason followed his nephew’s lead, and with only a quick glance back to her, took off across the large hot pool. Yes, it was definitely for the best, she decided as she settled herself back into the water. All she had to do was mind her own business. She should have known that would be easier said than done. She’d only had her eyes closed for a moment before a voice interrupted her silence.
“The view out here is incredible.”
Lisa waited for a moment before she opened her eyes to see the source of the voice. The pools were never so busy in the morning: what were the odds that the day she wanted to be there, they were overrun with guests? Slowly, she opened her eyes to see a man sat next to her, a smile on his face. Only a few days ago, Lisa would have found him extremely attractive, but compared to Jason, the man in front of her wasn’t nearly as good-looking. Something about him and the way he looked at her rubbed her the wrong way. But he was a guest.
“It is amazing out here, isn’t it?” She answered him and angled away from him slightly.
“It is.” The man slid closer. “But I wasn’t talking about the mountains.” His grin was wicked, and slightly familiar. “The name’s Conrad.”
~ * ~
Anger flared through him, and Jason had to force himself to look away from the scene he’d watched through the large picture window that looked out to the hot tub. The urge to hold his cousin’s overgrown head under the water until he begged for mercy was overwhelming. It was also irrational, particularly because Lisa wasn’t his. He had no claim over her, and she’d made it clear that she wasn’t interested in what he was offering. Hell, he didn’t even know what he was offering. It was only because of reflex that he’d tried to suggest a one-night stand. He hadn’t meant it. Not really. She wasn’t even his type, because he no longer had a type. And now she would barely give him the time of day. Which was fine by him.
Except it wasn’t really. Despite everything in his head that told him he had no business pursuing anything with her, not even a casual conversation, he couldn’t help the draw he felt toward her. He’d never felt that before. Even with Nikki, things had been different. Their attraction had been more of a slow build until they settled into a comfortable companionship. At least he thought they had. As it turned out, there a was a lot—
“Uncle Jason! Watch me.”
With a small snort in Conrad and Lisa’s direction, Jason did just that, and turned to watch Kayden cannonball into the pool. The kid had no fear for such a little guy, and he never failed to make Jason smile. He was a good kid, and the closeness they shared was even more special considering Jason would never have kids of his own. That required a partner.
Kayden’s head popped out of the water and Jason reached out to pull him over. “That’s awesome, buddy. Where did you learn how to do that?”
“Swim lessons.”
“They taught you how to cannonball in swim lessons?” He raised an eyebrow at his nephew, who only smiled in response.
“Yup, and they taught me to do this, too.” Before Jason could back away from what he knew was coming, a splash of water hit him smack in the face and with a shriek, Kayden took off and swam as fast as he could to the other end of the pool.
“What kind of swim lessons does your mother have you in?” He laughed and waited another beat before he dove under the water and quickly caught up to Kayden. With ease, Jason flipped him up in the air and caught him again with a splash.
“Again!”
Like the good uncle he was, Jason obliged and spent the next few minutes tossing Kayden into the air, occasionally letting him go under before pulling him to the surface. With every spurt and sputter of water, Kayden’s smile only got bigger. But soon, despite the happiness written on his face, exhaustion was also there.
“What do you say we go hang out in the room now?” And before Kayden could protest, he added, “I think they have room service and I bet if your mom’s not looking, we can order milkshakes.”
Not about to turn down the offer of illicit milkshakes, Kayden quickly agreed. With a laugh, Jason wiped the water from his face, and slicked back his hair as he turned around.
His smile froze on his face when he saw Lisa. He’d managed to forget about her and his sleazy cousin while he played with Kayden, but to his annoyance, the sight of her instantly made his heart race. He glanced around but Conrad was nowhere to be seen.
He knew he shouldn’t bother with her. He knew he should just leave her to Conrad, because after all, isn’t that how it would end up anyway? But he couldn’t stop himself when his body moved in her direction. She was still in the hot tub, this time inside, her head tilted back; she was obviously relaxed and enjoying her soak. It wouldn’t be nice to interrupt her. And besides, what would it achieve? Nothing. He knew that. Yet, it didn’t seem to matter.
“Kayden,” Jason called.
“Right here.”
He looked down to see the little boy smiled up at him. “Right. I think we should probably go have a soak in the hot tub before we get changed. It’s good for your muscles to soak after a workout.”
“Was that a workout?”
Jason bent down and hoisted Kayden up so he could carry him on his back. “Absolutely. Now let me see you flex.”
With his mouth set in a determined line, Kayden lifted his arm up and squeezed as tightly as he could. Jason made sure to swallow his smile when he saw how serious his nephew was.
“That’s a huge muscle, Kay. You’re getting so strong.”
“Not as strong as you.” Kayden’s face fell, and Jason tilted it back up. He stared into the boy’s eyes.
“Not yet, buddy. But soon.”
“Let me see your muscle, Uncle Jason.”
“Nope.” Jason shook his head. “Not going to happen.”
“Pleeassseee.”
“Okay, okay.” With his free arm, Jason obliged and easily flexed his bicep, much to Kayd
en’s excitement.
“One day will mine be as big as yours?”
He ruffled Kayden’s hair. “Of course, because you’ll be just like your Uncle Jason.”
Hopefully not just like him, Jason thought ruefully. With any luck, Kayden would be happily married or at least find a nice girl to enjoy his life with. It was lonely to live the way he did. He ran a hand through his hair and forced the thought away. It was what he’d chosen. And he’d live with it. But just because that was his path, it didn’t mean it was the kind of life he’d guide Kayden into.
Done with dwelling on his life choices, Jason swung Kayden around on his back, so he carried him monkey style. “Let’s go have that soak now.” He turned toward the hot tub, and his eyes locked with Lisa’s. Had she been watching him? The sweet smile on her face told him she had.
Maybe he didn’t have to live with his choices after all. Maybe there was time to make changes? The thought came out of nowhere and was so unexpected, Jason almost dropped his nephew. He didn’t know whether it was the Lodge or the woman, but he hadn’t felt so...so hopeful about anything in a long time. And he’d barely been there forty-eight hours, or had a conversation with her that didn’t end with one of them frustrated.
Just imagine what could be if you let it, a little voice inside him said.
“Okay, buddy.” Jason put Kayden down with a soft plop when they got to the hot tub. “Soak your feet, and then slowly slide into the water until your body is submerged.”
“But not your head?”
“No.” Jason laughed. “Not your head.”
Kayden did as he was instructed, taking the whole process very seriously.
“Like that?” he asked as soon as his shoulders were under the water.