The Long, Hot Texas Summer

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  He flipped their positions.

  His hands trapping hers, he moved lower, finding the silkiest, sleekest part of her in a slow, hot invitation. Amanda gasped, surging upward, and then there was no more waiting, no more playful foreplay. Eyes heavy-lidded and sensual, he moved over her and possessed her in a way that commemorated what they felt. In a way that promised even more satisfaction in the days and night ahead. In a way that said she was his. And he was hers. And for the moment, Amanda knew, that was more than enough.

  Chapter Ten

  Amanda accepted a cup of coffee from Justin. “You want to have a meeting every morning at eight?” She’d barely stepped out of her trailer when he was on the front porch of the lodge, waving her inside.

  He favored her with a sexy smile. “I think it’ll help keep us on track if I know what you have on your to-do list and you know what I have on mine. We’ll add the rest of the staff as they’re hired on, too.”

  “Okay,” Amanda said, slipping off her tool belt and setting it on the floor.

  He got out his list. “Do you want to move into this office or would you prefer to take the one next door?”

  Amanda blinked, beginning to feel overwhelmed again. “Aren’t they both the same size?”

  “Yes.” Justin nodded affably at his current office. “But this one is closest to the living area, the one next door is closest to the kitchen.”

  She grinned back. “Well, then it’s settled, I’ll take the one closest to the kitchen.”

  He looked into her eyes as tenderly as he had made love to her the night before. “So you want to move all the files over there?”

  Deep breath. “How about we leave them with you for now, since you know what most of them mean?” And I’m not sure I ever will...

  Nodding, Justin moved on to the next item on his list. “The application for the big Lone Star United Foundation grant has to be signed and postmarked by Friday.”

  “That’s the big one we’re hoping to win?”

  “Yes. Although there are several others that are due next week, and then another batch to start applying for right after that.”

  “So this grant application business...”

  “Is a continuous process, since the deadlines occur all year long. But like I said, I’ll fill them out as long as you want me to do so. All you have to do is read through them and sign them.”

  How hard could that be? “No problem.”

  “We have inspectors from the state social services department coming out tomorrow to do a preliminary inspection.”

  Amanda moved closer. “Why preliminary?”

  “They want to have a look around and red-flag anything that will need correcting before the licensing inspection the last week of July.”

  She inhaled the masculine scent of him, wishing they were back in the bedroom instead of hanging out here discussing business. “Is it going to be a problem that the bunkhouse isn’t finished?”

  He inclined his head. “I doubt it, but they’re going to need a firm date for when it will be done. And I would advise that to be at least a week before the final inspection, in case anything comes up on our end.”

  On more solid ground now, Amanda vowed, “I’ll do an assessment when we’re through here, and let you know.”

  His handsome features softened in relief. “Okay.”

  Without warning, the dogs jumped up and headed en masse for the front door.

  Barking heralded a vehicle approaching the lodge. Justin went to the door. “Were you expecting a visitor this morning?”

  * * *

  “GRANDDAD!” AMANDA ENGULFED him in a big hug. “I didn’t expect you this morning.” How did he always know when she needed bolstering?

  A.B. reached into his truck. “I have some papers for you to sign.”

  Amanda sighed at the sight of the legal documents. “Seems to be a thing lately.” Briefly, she explained her visit to the attorney’s office the day before.

  They walked inside the lodge and settled in the living room area. “Well, if it were just you and me, I wouldn’t require you to sign anything. But the new owner wants everyone who isn’t moving over to the new company—which is basically just me and you—to sign a severance agreement with a noncompete clause.”

  Amanda looked over the contract, feeling unexpectedly nostalgic. “It says I can no longer work in San Angelo.”

  “But,” A.B. pointed out cheerfully, “there’s nothing preventing either of us from working in Laramie County. My attorney and I made sure of that.”

  Amanda signed where indicated. “What about the work left on the bunkhouse?”

  Granddad pointed out an addendum. “I had everything here excluded from the sale, since it was the one project I had that was still ongoing. But, now that you’ve signed on as director...”

  “It wouldn’t be right for me to charge to finish up the bunkhouse, given that as of today I’ll be drawing a salary for my work here.”

  A.B. smiled. “How is the bunkhouse going?”

  Amanda leaped to her feet. “Want to come over and take a look?”

  Together, they went through all she’d done. “You have what—three bedrooms and baths to go?”

  “Plus the wide-plank oak floor,” Amanda affirmed.

  Granddad contemplated the stacks of flooring in the main living area. “How long do you have?”

  Amanda shoved her hands in the pockets of her coveralls. “Less than two weeks to completion.”

  A.B. whistled. “And it’s just you and Lamar?”

  “When I have him, yeah.”

  Granddad understood why she felt overwhelmed. “Looks like you need some help.”

  Justin walked in to join them. “That we do,” he said.

  Amanda turned back to her grandfather. “The only problem is, you can’t do this kind of heavy lifting anymore.”

  A.B. harrumphed. “That’s not what Doc Parsons said. He said I can’t do carpentry all day and then travel to and from a job. I can do one or the other just fine.”

  This was an old argument. “You promised Gran before she died that you would enjoy your retirement the way she never had a chance to before she became ill.”

  Granddad sighed. “You want the truth? It can get a little boring.”

  “I say let him help,” Justin urged.

  Lamar walked in, his backpack slung over one bony shoulder. He grinned. “The more, the merrier, isn’t that what they always say?”

  Amanda put the heel of her hand against her forehead. There was way too much testosterone in the room. “Y’all are ganging up on me, and it’s not fair.”

  A.B. hooked an arm around her shoulder. “Relax, honey. It’s all going to get done, and in record time. You’ll see.”

  Before Amanda knew it, she’d been escorted to one of the bathrooms to begin installing the premade cabinetry with Lamar’s help. Justin was tapped to carry the pieces of wood for the lockers and bookshelves to the cutting station set up in the dining area. He and her grandfather spent the morning measuring, cutting and sanding down the edges of all the required pieces. By noon, the necessary wood was stacked in each remaining bedroom. By evening, they had the storage units installed. The cabinets in the bathrooms were done. All that was left was the flooring.

  “If the four of us work on it together, we could knock it out in two, three days max,” A.B. said. “Then all that will be left is the staining and finishing.”

  Justin tilted his head respectfully at her granddad. “Helps to have another pro around.”

  Granddad smiled and slapped Justin on the back. “Helps to feel needed again.”

  A little irked to see her grandfather so chummy with a man she wasn’t sure would be a permanent fixture in her life, Amanda retorted, “Well, be that as it may, yo
u can’t drive all the way back to San Angelo tonight, Granddad.”

  “Honey, I have to get the papers to the attorneys tomorrow. But I can come back the day after.”

  She could see how tired he was. “I don’t want you driving home alone tonight.”

  Justin stepped in to help with the persuasion. “Why don’t you bunk in one of the guest rooms tonight? Get a good night’s sleep and then head home tomorrow morning.”

  “Please, Granddad,” Amanda reiterated.

  “All right,” he relented. “If it will make you feel better, I will.”

  * * *

  “THANKS FOR TALKING sense into Granddad,” Amanda said several hours later. It was nearly midnight, but Justin was still elbow-deep in paperwork. She had been trying to get caught up, too.

  He pushed away from his desk and leaned back in his chair. “No problem. Although I think you worry a little bit too much. A.B. may be seventy but he’s in fine physical shape.”

  Amanda propped her hands on her hips. “Only because he hasn’t been overdoing it.”

  Justin tilted his head, considering. “Is that your only objection?”

  Amanda wandered closer. She stood facing him, with her hips propped against the desk, arms folded in front of her. “What other issue could I have?”

  “I don’t know.” Narrowing his gaze, he studied her a long moment. “That’s why I’m asking.”

  Amanda drew up to her full height. “I heard you talking to Granddad earlier today when we were working about the possibility of him working here.”

  Justin looked up at her, running his palm over the arm of his chair. “That’s right. If he wants to work in the carpentry shop, teaching the kids the same way he taught you the trade, we’ll put him on the payroll.”

  Amanda tensed despite herself. She met his level gaze. “I wish you had discussed that with me first.”

  Justin paused. “Are we talking about his health? Or something else?”

  Up to now, the only one who could read her like a book had been Granddad. Trying not to make too much of Justin’s ability to read her, too, Amanda said cautiously, “He was really happy to be here helping out.”

  Justin nodded. “And that’s a problem because...?” he probed.

  What if I don’t work out and the board decides I’m not right for the job after all? What if none of this works out?

  Would she and her grandfather both be set adrift, with no family business to fall back on? “It’s too much of a commute for him,” Amanda said finally. Too much of a risk for me.

  And the key to her happiness, she had learned long ago, was to keep her life safe and simple.

  Justin caught her hand in his, turned it so their fingers entwined. “So we’ll set up accommodations for your granddad, whenever he is here, or find a place for him nearby. These are all details that can be worked out, Amanda.”

  She knew that.

  Justin came closer. He touched her chin, angling her face up to his. “So what’s the real problem?”

  It was time to confide. “I’m feeling overwhelmed.”

  He released a long torturous breath. “Me, too.” Amanda peered at him through lowered lashes. “You don’t look overwhelmed,” she pointed out.

  He winced. “Paperwork, I can handle. A miter saw and nail gun—” he made a comical face “—not so much.”

  She waved off his anxiety. “Flooring is easy. Particularly if someone else is doing the measuring and cutting. All you have to do is line it up, drop it down and hit it with the hammer so it’s nestled in tight.”

  He grinned confidently at her. “I imagine you’ll help me until I get the hang of it.”

  Amanda grinned back. “I imagine I will.”

  Silence fell. Their smiles returned. Despite her hefty agenda, Amanda found herself relaxing.

  Had her grandfather not been sleeping upstairs... But he was, she reminded herself sternly. So nothing of an amorous nature was happening tonight. Or would be on most nights, since they had to keep their private life out of the work realm.

  Figuring this was good practice for the self-restraint that would be required of them in their new positions, she looked at her watch. “Well, it’s late...” she said in a wistful tone.

  He nodded, looking as if he were feeling, wanting, the same thing. Knowing, at least for that night, it wasn’t going to happen.

  Amanda cleared her throat, disengaged their fingers and moved away. “We probably should both get some shut-eye. The state inspector is going to be here at nine tomorrow morning.” Since they couldn’t make love tonight, maybe not tomorrow...or the day after, it would help to stay busy.

  She would focus on that.

  * * *

  “WE SEE TWO problems that need to be addressed right away,” the inspector told Amanda and Justin when he had finished the following day. “All the carpentry equipment and materials need to be secured when not in use, preferably in a building of some sort.”

  “Will a portable building work?” Justin asked.

  The inspector nodded. “As long as there is a lock on it. Second, the travel trailer has to be removed from the property right away. The sooner the better.” The inspector handed them their copy of his report. “Naturally, when I come back the last week of July, I’ll expect to see the bunkhouse completely finished and ready for move-in.”

  When the inspector had gone, Justin turned to her. Obviously noting this was not good news to her, he pointed out matter-of-factly, “You were going to have to move into the lodge anyway.”

  Amanda walked back to the office that had been assigned to her. At the moment it contained a desk, chair and lamp, and little else. “I didn’t think I would have to do that until the ranch opened.” If then. She’d been hoping to wangle a way out of moving in, on some grounds or other. The truth was, she didn’t want to be that physically close to Justin. Or get so emotionally entangled with him that she couldn’t imagine a life without him.

  Justin lounged against the desk, his knit shirt taut across his broad shoulders, looser over his abs. “Where do you usually park the trailer when you aren’t living in it?”

  “I’m always living in it. At least, I have been since I bought it a few years back.”

  He looked at her candidly. “You don’t have an apartment or a house?”

  She placed the report front and center on her desk and sank into her chair. “No. This is the only home I have. With the exception of my old room in my granddad’s house. I mean, I can always go there, and I do from time to time. But the trailer is my home.”

  He studied her with an emotion she couldn’t identify in his eyes. “A home you don’t want to give up.”

  “Would you?”

  He stepped closer. Reaching down, he drew her to her feet. “I sold my condo to live here.”

  Amanda flushed. “That was different. You bought the land and oversaw the building of the lodge and the bunkhouse. So this has to feel like your home now.”

  Justin drew her into his arms and slid a possessive hand down her spine. “It will feel like your home, too,” he promised. Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her with all the pent-up emotion of the day. Tempting her again and again, sweetly and evocatively, not stopping until she felt wanted beyond all reason.

  Suddenly aware that things were moving way too fast, that if this continued she would feel even more confused and vulnerable, Amanda wriggled free of his embrace. “And that’s another thing.” Without her trailer home, without comfort and privacy... “We’re not going to be able to do this anymore, either.”

  “Sure we will,” Justin countered with a slow, sexy smile. “If we plan for it.”

  Talk about determination! She smiled as she studied him, suddenly feeling reinvigorated. “You really expect...?”

  His eyes crinkle
d at the corners. “To keep making love to you? Yes, Amanda.” He kissed the nape of her neck. “I do.”

  * * *

  THE IRONY WAS not lost on Amanda as she hooked up her trailer to her pickup truck and drove it several miles down the highway to the campground Justin had assumed she wanted the first time they met.

  Luckily for her, the Lost Pines Campground had a vacant slot at the far end of the park. There was no view of Lake Laramie where she was situated, but there was enough sunlight coming through the surrounding trees to power her solar panels. There was also an electric hookup in case her batteries ran low.

  When she returned to the ranch around noon, she found a note from Justin on her desk saying that he and Lamar had gone to San Angelo to purchase a large shed and would not be back until much later.

  “Well, fellas,” Amanda told her five canine companions. “It looks like it is just us for the rest of the day.”

  Twenty minutes later she was proved wrong.

  A gleaming yellow truck with license plates that said WILDCAT drove up. Josie McCabe got out, a huge beribboned gift basket in her hands. She smiled as Amanda and the dogs approached. “Is Justin here?”

  Amanda explained where he had gone.

  “Oh, dear. I had hoped to speak with him, and leave him this peace offering, before I left town again.”

  “You can wait,” Amanda offered.

  Josie shook her head. “Actually, I can’t. But perhaps it’s just as well you and I have a chance to talk privately, Amanda.”

  Able to see that a number of the items in the basket needed to be refrigerated, Amanda led the way inside the lodge. “It’s okay, Mrs. McCabe. I understand why you would have been upset that I got the director job over Justin. It was an unexpected turn of events.”

  “But, according to both Justin and my husband, as well as the other board members, it’s the right solution for what has been an ongoing problem.”