“It takes a lot of smarts and drive to tackle all of this and start your own business at the same time.”
“There are more than a few people around here that would disagree but thank you. That means a lot.”
Running a gloved finger over the edge of a lathe, Annie turned in a slow circle. Like everything else about CJ, it looked like a lot of care had been put into arranging the saws, sanders, and the various other power tools around a scarred work table.
“My dad would’ve loved this. I remember him hanging sheets of heavy plastic across the front of the garage to block off a small work area because Mom kept complaining about sawdust getting all over her car.”
“Smart man,” CJ said with a small smile. “I have to admit that if I’d been married going into all this, I don’t think I’d have made it this far.”
“With the marriage or your dreams?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it?”
He looked serious and a little sad.
“I guess it would depend on the woman and on you. You don’t seem like a quitter. The way I see it, life is about learning what you can and can’t compromise on,” she said with a soft shrug. “Which probably explains why I’m still single.”
“You and me both,” CJ said with a bark of laughter.
Smiling to herself, Annie circled a rocking chair that was a work in progress. The letter D circled by an intricate chain of flowers was carved into a wider center slat in the chair back.
“That’s for some friends of mine that are expecting their first baby. The first of many if she’s to be believed. Their last name is Davidson. I thought it would be nice for the nursery and then maybe their front porch.”
“They’re going to love it. Did you do the carving?”
“Yeah. It’s something that my grandfather used to do, whittle and carve. I picked up some of it from him.”
“Is there anything that you can’t do?”
“So many things,” he said and waved to a couple of doors on the far end of the room. “The rest of this is storage, office and freezer space for my guide work. There are better examples of the finished furniture in the house. How about something warm to drink before we head back?”
“That sounds great and suspiciously like changing the subject,” she said, peeking up at him as he led her to the door. “I want to hear more about these perceived shortcomings because there hasn’t been any evidence.”
“Ouch. Don’t say shortcomings to a guy.”
Annie shook her head at his exaggerated wince and shudder. “Now I know you’re hiding something. That sexual innuendo was classic deflection.”
“I’m not good at basketball.”
“You’re dead to me. With my height you know basketball is a huge part of my life,” she said sarcastically.
“I can see that.”
Keeping her hands in her pockets, she nudged him with her shoulder. “You know what? I can’t dunk, but let’s see LeBron do a Yurchenko full vault.”
“I’m not sure what that is, but I’d pay to see him try vaulting at all.”
“My point exactly. He’s considered superhuman, but really he does one thing. That doesn’t mean he can do anything else. There are plenty of people not good in one sport or another. Some people aren’t athletic at all. What else do you have?”
“You’re tough.”
“You seem pretty perfect to me. You’re going to have to work to convince me otherwise.”
“That wouldn’t be very smart of me.”
“Before I break out the rubber hose, let’s try this. What was your least favorite subject in school?”
“How do you do that? You just zero in on a person’s weakness.”
“Years of advanced people watching. I should have been a profiler.”
“Really? In that case, why don’t you tell me what my weakest class was?”
“Hmm. You enjoyed history and geography. It could be math, but I saw a piece of paper in the shop with some pretty impressive numbers, long hand. Very old school. You’re hesitant to tell me. I’m going to go with English-Lit. You told me you read a lot so it was the grammar and/or writing part of the class that tripped you up.”
“Damn,” he muttered as they stepped up on the cabin’s covered porch. He hesitated a moment and then shook his head. “Just damn.”
“And that means I nailed it,” she crowed, thrusting her arms in the air in victory.
CJ pushed open the heavy front door and motioned her through. She let her gaze crawl over the buffalo and pines carved in the wood portal first. So realistic. He really was talented. Turning, she looked into the great room. The house didn’t look that big from the outside, but the wide open floor plan and exposed beam ceilings made it seem huge. The furnishings were simple and what one would expect for a bachelor, right down to the prerequisite leather sectional in front of the fireplace. At least this one was beautifully distressed with rustic accents that fit the setting.
The Newel Posts at the base of the stairs were logs, their knotty imperfections lacquered over, adding to the natural beauty. Wrought iron spindles walked up the stairs and across the loft area. Drawn to the large dining table back downstairs, she took a step forward before stopping herself.
“Sorry,” she said, stepping back and fussing with her snow covered boots.
“You’re fine. When it’s just me I usually come in through the garage into the mud room,” he said, shedding his own boots.
“But the front entrance gives a much bigger wow factor,” she finished for him.
“You could say that. Plus, the garage and mud room are …” He took a deep breath. “Man zones are what my mother calls them. With the barn and garage, the intent was to keep all that stuff out there, but it still creeps in somehow.”
“Maybe because a man lives here,” she said with a teasing grin.
He took her coat to hang it up.
“I know, but Mom says—”
Annie’s grin widened when he stopped abruptly.
“Let me guess. Your sweet wonderful mom says that if you ever want to get a girl you can’t be a slob.”
“You definitely should have been a profiler,” he muttered, heading for the kitchen.
Trailing along, Annie ran fingertips over the wood table that had grabbed her attention before. The thick wood planks were worn and scarred under the polish giving the piece so much character.
“I can’t even tell you the list of things my family is convinced will prevent me from ever getting a man,” she said without looking up from the wood. “I’m sure they mean well like your mom.”
“Doesn’t make it any less annoying.”
“This is one of yours?”
“Yeah. It’s reclaimed barn wood. Over a hundred years old,” he said, opening and closing cabinet doors. “Carpenters are paying a pretty penny for it these days, but I got lucky and traded a guy firewood for the right to tear it down and take it away.”
“Lucky sounds like a lot of work.”
“Regardless of what some people say, that’s one thing I’ve never been afraid of.”
Annie wandered over to sit on a stool at the smooth stone island. She rested her chin on a fist. “I take it not everyone is a fan of a man having the balls to go after what he loves instead of just blindly chasing the almighty dollar?”
“It’s uncanny,” CJ said, looking over at her and check-marking the air in affirmation.
“Nah. I just listen and watch. Besides, jealousy is the root of most people’s shitty comments. We’re not that different. I took a lot of heat for choosing to live off blood money while I got my writing off the ground.”
“Jesus!” CJ snapped, slamming down the carton of cream and turning to look at her. “Someone had the nerve to say that to you? What is wrong with people?”
“More than one someone,” she admitted with a negligent shrug. “Truth is, writing isn’t what most people would call secure. My income is erratic. Have there been times in the last twelve years wh
en I wouldn’t have made it without the interest from the blood money?” She made sarcastic air quotes. “Yes.”
“Please don’t call it that. You didn’t kill them or ask for the insurance money. Whoever said that is an ass.”
“There are a lot of them in the world. The point is, if you’re pursuing your dreams and not asking them or the welfare system to foot the bill, then people should keep their damn mouths shut.”
CJ didn’t say anything, just nodded as he studied the swirling cocoa. He was scowling. Had she put her foot in it? Her mom had always said that Annie had an opinion on everything. Opinionated wasn’t on most guys lists of things they looked for in a woman. She bit the inside of her lip and looked at the countertop.
“Did you build the house yourself?”
“A buddy I went to school with joined his family construction business after we graduated. Their crew came in and did the big stuff. I helped out.”
Looking around, she tried to pick out things that she thought CJ had built. The square coffee table that centered the living room looked like the barn wood again. It was a unique design with industrial castors under it. He’d been right about the fireplace. It was a mini-replica of the one at the lodge, right down to the roughhewn mantle. Gorgeous. She looked up into the glass eyes of the huge head hanging above it. She’d seen her fair share of dead deer in Michigan. None that big. She frowned. The nose and antlers were wrong for a moose. It had longer hair on its neck, kind of like a lion’s mane. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember seeing a picture of an elk.
“Does Eli creep you out?” CJ asked, setting a mug on the island in front of her.
“So it is an elk.”
He laughed. “Yeah. It’s a bull elk.”
Annie blushed despite herself and wrapped her fingers around the warm coffee mug. “It seemed big for a deer and then I noticed the hair,” she murmured, waving fingers at her neck.
“I shouldn’t pick on you.”
“Why? I gave you crap in the barn. Are you taking it easy on me because I’m a girl or because I’m from the city?”
“City girl,” he said, starting to grin again. “I’d expect girls from around here to know.”
His grin was infectious. Bumping his mug with hers, she took a sip to hide her amusement.
“I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen an elk.”
“We’re going to have to fix that. What about pronghorn?”
She shook her head.
“Buffalo?”
“Yes. There’s a farm right outside of Grand Rapids that raises them.”
“Not nearly the same as seeing a herd in the wild.”
“I can see that. Or should I say I’d like to see that?” Annie said.
She liked the look on CJ’s face when he talked about wildlife. Her dad hadn’t always bagged something when he went hunting, but he’d seemed about as happy when telling her about what he’d seen.
“Have you ever done any hunting?”
“No. My dad taught me to shoot, but I’ve only ever taken aim at targets or tin cans. I used to love going fishing with him though. If things were slow, I would stretch out to soak up some rays or read a book.”
“That sounds—sounds like you two had a close relationship,” CJ said, shifting and swirling the dregs of his cocoa.
“I was definitely a daddy’s girl,” Annie said, searching CJ’s face for a clue to his thoughts.
He sounded off. Had she really screwed things up that badly? What had they even been talking about? Mentally retracing their conversation, she looked for where it had gone wrong. Things had been good in the barn. They’d headed inside. She caught her breath. The blood money comment had pissed him off. He’d slammed the carton of cream down on the counter. She hadn’t said it to upset him or even to elicit pity. She’d been trying to show that people were assholes. They thought they knew what was best for everyone else. She might have an opinion on things, but she didn’t tell people how to run their lives. Shit. How did she make this right? This awkward tension between them had to go.
“Musical instruments.”
The words came out of the blue. Annie tilted her head with a frown.
“Things I’m not good at,” CJ said looking her in the eye. “I can’t play a musical instrument.”
The words hung between them. Were they a peace offering?
“I’m horrible at math. My dad said I’m the reason God created calculators,” she said softly.
CJ smiled. “You were right. I sucked at the grammar portion of English Lit, and I never could get the hang of breaking down sentences and parts of speech.”
“Oh my God. Who can?” she asked shaking her head. “And honestly, what is the point? Have you ever used it? I’m a writer and even I don’t.”
“Maybe your editor does.”
“If anyone does, it’s her. Finn’s a blessing, but I call her the comma Nazi. She’s convinced I purposely don’t use them to irritate her, and I think she sprinkles the little bastards in there randomly at times.”
“I could tell you where any lure in my tackle box is by memory, but can’t find the top of my desk,” CJ confessed.
“I can live with the condo being cluttered as long as my desk isn’t,” she shot back.
“I’ll take you fishing if you help me organize my desk.”
They both laughed and when she caught her breath, the awkwardness was gone.
They were both laughing again when CJ wheeled the Jeep up to the lodge.
“Door to door adventure,” Annie said, reluctantly releasing her seatbelt. “That wasn’t in the brochure.”
“That one is reserved for pretty authors.”
“I guess that rules Mr. King out.”
CJ’s surprised bark set her off again and she was holding her ribs when the lodge door opened. Her aunt’s lips were moving before Annie got the Jeep door open.
“…hell have you been? What is wrong with you? Crystal is in a panic.”
Annie blinked at the harsh words. Her aunt’s face was flushed and furious. What had happened?
“How could you be so selfish? I understand you’re feeling a little overshadowed, but this is her day. It’s not about you.”
The words hit her with the ferocity of a slap. Tears stung her eyes and she drew in a desperate breath of the frigid air to stop the sob or scream that threatened. Taking another, she looked back at CJ.
“Thank you.” She wanted to say more, but couldn’t force the words past the lump in her throat. Steeling herself, she jumped down out of the Jeep and brushed past her aunt.
CJ stood still as Tyler’s mom secured the boutonniere and smoothed his lapel. He offered his aunt a tight smile but anger thrummed under the surface. He hadn’t seen Annie since the fiasco at the front door. What in the hell was wrong with her family? He’d seen her literally flinch from the verbal ambush. Instinct had been to protect her. It had taken everything in him not to reach around her, slam the door and take her back home. Maybe worse than seeing the pain in her eyes had been watching the mask fall in place as she turned away.
The lodge had been in chaos all afternoon. It had been decided while they were gone that the wedding would be tonight because they had the local runway cleared and flights were resuming to Denver. With the roads nowhere near cleared, the poor pastor had been brought in by snowmobile. Maybe that’s how the wedding party would get to the airport tomorrow.
With a sigh, he tried to swallow his snark. His uncle and cousin should have known better, even if no one else directly related to the decision-making did. It was one thing to clear a runway. The winding maze of county roads to get to the airport were a different matter. Running his finger underneath his collar, he tugged and looked out the window. As much as he would’ve liked to step out for a breath of fresh air right now, he was afraid he would just keep walking.
“How is everyone doing in here?” the father of the bride asked.
Unwilling to play nice with Annie’s family at the moment, CJ slipped
out of the room while the man thumped Ty’s back. Guests were gathering near the main fireplace. Avoiding them and the bustling banquet hall where the ceremony would take place, he headed for the kitchen. God wasn’t smiling on him. The first person he saw when he pushed open the doors was the wedding planner. Backing out, he thought about his parents’ quarters off the back of the lodge but decided against it in case Tyler needed him. Being responsible sucked.
The hallway dead-ended just back past the room where the guys were getting ready. He pulled a chair over to the window where he wasn’t in anyone’s way. As with any other spare moment he’d had today, his thoughts immediately went back to his morning with Annie. She had enjoyed the ride if nothing else. It was hard to fake the kind of sparkle he’d seen in her eyes as they’d two-tracked their way over to his place.
In the barn, she’d pitched right in despite his telling her she didn’t need to. Aries loved her. She’d championed the barn cats, even if in jest. It was obvious she was an animal lover. Major bonus points. Oh! And she liked to fish. He smiled. That was just the whip cream and cherry on top. The woman was perfect. Leaning the chair back on two legs, he remembered her memories of fishing with her dad. He’d come damn close to telling her that it sounded like heaven to him. Fishing with Annie kicked back in a bikini or cut-offs and one of those cute little ribbed tank tops—he groaned. It was thoughts like these that had made him grateful the kitchen island was between them today.
CJ dropped the chair back to all four legs and rubbed the back of his neck. A part of him knew that he was getting way ahead of himself, but she’d looked so right at his place. It was hard to remember that they’d only known one another for a few days. There seemed to be such a connection between them. He was sure she felt it too. Hell, she’d actually gotten a little riled when he’d mentioned certain people questioning his intelligence for chasing his dreams. Other than maybe his mom, he’d never had anyone so ready to stand up for him. His lips twitched. There were a few people he’d love to turn her loose on. Amusement turned to a frown. There’d been no further mention of her staying. With the festivities already going two days over, he hoped she was still considering it. Right now, he was more than ready for the rest of her family to get the hell out of his state.
Why not Wyoming? (Wyoming Wilds Series Book 1) Page 5