Oh, boy. With the way he looked between the paper and me, there was no doubt we were dealing with a big mistake. One that would increase the debt to income ratio of the mill further.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, resigning myself to some major change. Had he ordered too much lumber? Did he need to stop buying from us altogether? Anything was possible, and with our luck, probable.
If Rich and I were going to be forced to sell, who cared if the Coopers went somewhere else? It was easy to set aside feelings in theory, but my gut twisted when the reality hit. I rubbed the carved C on my desk.
“It’s about the order Paxton put in earlier.”
“Just tell me.”
“He messed it up. Well, actually,” Owen corrected, smiling before he dipped his head. “He didn’t mess it up. I did but didn’t realize my blunder until it was too late.” He leaned forward and pointed to the paper. His hand shook as if he’d had too much caffeine. “I’m working on a new project. I’d only finished the plans last night. I was …” He let out a frustrated growl. “I was tired. I factored in the pine and spruce I needed, but not the Douglas fir. I’m here to fix that.”
I shook my head, debating if I’d heard him correctly. “You need to increase the order?”
He stared at me the way a puppy does when it wants a treat. “Yes, substantially.”
I wouldn’t believe it until the numbers were in front of my eyes. “What exactly do you need?”
He handed me the piece of paper. “Twenty percent less pine, but a lot more fir. Keep the spruce the same. The needs depend on the build. All the numbers are there.”
My lips twitched into a broad smile. The order had increased considerably. “Seems like you’re building more than one house.”
He nodded. “I’m building several models. They’re all out by my neck of the woods. Hopefully, it’ll become more than that.”
“Hopefully?”
Owen smiled with obvious excitement. “Hopefully, yes.”
I was certain if I asked him, he’d tell me about his plans, but since I wasn’t going to be in the lumber business much longer, I didn’t see the point. His order might have increased, but it wouldn’t save us.
I stared down at the paper he’d handed me. “Today’s your lucky day. We haven’t processed the order yet.” I glanced out of the open office door, then down at my overalls. “We were short-staffed today, as demonstrated by my fashionable attire.”
Owen snorted. “Honestly, you look a million times better than my brothers and I look after a day of construction. Dirty overalls are a good look on you … Carla.”
Oh, I could see the player in him now. He was a charmer through and through. And here I thought nobody could be more tooth-achingly sweet and delightful than his blond-haired brother, Paxton.
I shuffled the papers on my desk then stood. “If that’s all the business you had …”
His eyes were laser focused on me. “How come I’ve never seen you around?” He held out his hand as if he intended to touch my arm but pulled it back when I held my breath and waited for contact.
“Your brother is the one who deals with us directly, so it’s not all that surprising we haven’t met in person.”
Owen didn’t seem convinced. “Oh, come on. Frazier Falls is tiny. How come we’ve never crossed paths? How come no one ever talked about a Stevenson sister running the mill?”
I pondered for a moment how much I wanted to share with him. This was supposed to be a professional meeting. Owen’s questions were of a personal nature. But if I was going to move away …
I gave him a good long look, trying to gauge his age. With a man as good looking as him, it was hard to tell. There wasn’t a gray hair on his head. His body was firm and fit. The only sign of age was the crinkling of his eyes when he smiled and laughed, but that could come from a life working outdoors.
“How old are you, Owen?” I blurted my best guess. “Thirty-seven …?”
His mouth opened in mock outrage. “I’ll have you know I’m thirty-six.”
“That explains why we haven’t met. I just turned thirty-two. Did you know each one of the kids in your younger brothers’ classes? I would have entered high school after you graduated. An easy miss.”
He narrowed his eyes and stared. “Okay, I’ll buy that, but what about after high school?”
That was simple to explain. “You were at college, then you moved away from Frazier Falls. I was at college and took a year off to travel. By the time I came back, you wouldn’t have recognized me even if you had known me as a kid.” Despite the overalls and ponytail, I did have feminine moments in my life where I dressed like a girl. “I was more than a tomboy back then. I was basically a boy with developing breasts.”
His eyes went straight to my chest, making me regret I’d brought them up at all.
“How do you explain the past few years?”
I waved my hand around. “This place keeps me pretty damn busy. I’m a bit of a workaholic, and I tend to do my shopping at the megastore a couple towns over, so it isn’t surprising you haven’t seen me around.” The truth was, I buried myself in work, trying to find a way out of our mess.
“You don’t drink?”
“Not at Reilly’s or that old dive Huck’s if that’s what you mean. If Frazier Falls suddenly gained a real cocktail bar, then maybe you’d find me there.”
He looked around the office, no doubt seeing it for the first time.
While it wasn’t state-of-the-art, it served its purpose.
“What are you doing in a place like Frazier Falls? You sound far too metropolitan to be happy here.”
I suppressed a sigh. “I like the peace and quiet.”
He stood up and smiled.
“I’m sorry. It was rude of me to have kept you so long. I’ll get out of your hair.”
Guilt sat heavy in my heart. That meant this guy was good. He was effortlessly smooth.
“Surely, there’s a much better use of your time than chatting with me.”
Owen looked up at the clock above the door and cursed loudly. “Damn time. Always getting away from me.”
“I was right?” I smiled wryly.
He winced. “Just a little.” His hand stuck out to shake mine. When our fingers touched, I had to admit that the roughness and strength caused me to heat up.
“It was a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Cooper,” I said as I pulled my hand away.
“Likewise, Miss Stevenson.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That makes me sound like an elementary school teacher.”
“Or a librarian,” he teased.
“Librarian? What are you thinking inside that head of yours? You do want me to fill this order, right?” I raised a suggestive eyebrow as Owen laughed at his own remark.
He held his hands up in resignation. “I get it. I get it. It’s after hours, and I’ve overstayed my welcome.”
“Definitely.” I gave him a smile that my orthodontist would take pride in. “But feel free to drop by again next time you mess up an order.”
“Now that’s mean, Carla. Why would you want me to mess up my work?”
Feeling bold, I added, “Have you considered I don’t?” I walked him to the door. “Hope to see you again, Owen.”
“Now, you’re talking.” He gave me a smile that could melt my panties, and then he walked away.
Chapter Five
Owen
All this time, I thought I’d known who I did business with. In my mind, Rich and Carl Stevenson were brothers running a local business like I was doing with Eli and Pax. Except Carl was actually Carla, and he was a woman. An attractive woman. How could I have worked with the Stevenson lumber mill his long without having known that?
I dialed Pax.
“Why didn’t you tell me Carl was a woman?”
“Thought you wouldn’t be interested. Besides, don’t you have a date?”
I growled and hung up the phone. I indeed had a date.
I gave myself a s
ide sniff. Pax was right. I needed a shower. I smelled so foul I was half-tempted to burn the shirt I’d worn all day. Honestly, I had no idea how Carla hadn’t smelled me coming from a mile away. Then again, her overalls had been covered in oil, and the sweet, pleasant smell of sawdust filled the air of her office, so maybe she hadn’t noticed me smelling like a functional alcoholic. Or possibly, a non-functional alcoholic, considering how badly I’d messed up my order.
I certainly hadn’t put my best foot forward at my first meeting with the lovely Carla Stevenson. I’d never been so flustered in front of a woman before, no matter how attractive they were.
It wasn’t every day I met someone I believed to be a man and had them turn out to be a woman. And my goodness, she was hot.
I shook my head as I entered the shower. It wasn’t right to think of Carla that way. Just because she wasn’t who I had thought she was didn’t change the fact that she was a supplier. No more and no less. What the situation taught me was I needed to be more involved in the front-end aspect of Cooper Construction. I’d fix that in the future.
For now, I pushed all thoughts of Carla and work from my mind so I could focus on getting ready for my date with Ruthie.
Ruthie what, I wondered? In all honesty, I couldn’t remember her last name. I wasn’t even sure I’d ever asked. All I knew was she couldn’t be older than twenty-five or six, and that meant I had no business going on a date with her in the first place. However, she had asked me out. She was pretty, and I’d been bored if not a bit tipsy the night I said yes.
Now I regretted that decision. Being the gentleman my parents raised, I had an obligation to go through with the date. I shaved my face, put on a hint of cologne that reminded me of the forest behind the mill, and pulled on my best shirt. I paired it with dark jeans because Frazier Falls was rarely, if ever, a dress pants kind of place. Dress slacks were only pulled out for weddings and funerals.
I threw on a blazer and slipped on my nice shoes. After a glance in the mirror, I decided I’d cleaned up well enough. I might not look as young as I once had, but I didn’t look too bad. The lines under my eyes were more prominent than they had been last year, and the year before that, but time had been my friend. The fine lines and dark shadows sitting below my eyes would disappear after a good, long sleep—an entire weekend of sleep if the world were perfect and I had the time.
I picked up the keys for my Tesla—a car my brothers harassed me for buying until they drove it themselves—and left to get Ruthie.
I gave myself a high-five for being only seven minutes late.
When she opened the door, her frown reinforced her displeasure with my time management skills.
Ruthie had tightly curled, strawberry-blond hair. With the way she swatted at the curls, it was evident that she didn’t appreciate the evening breeze. Her lips, painted a dark red, were down-turned in disapproval.
“You’re late, and if my hair is a ball of frizz by the time we get to Razz, I’m blaming you,” she pouted as I opened the passenger door of my car and helped her inside.
“I’m sorry. Work ran over. Can you forgive me?” I flashed her a smile that worked with most women.
When she smiled back, I knew she wasn’t immune.
‘Razz’ was the one Italian, semi-decent restaurant Frazier Falls could claim. Though it was actually called Razzoli’s, the place had gained its moniker shortly after it had opened three years ago.
I peeked over at Ruthie. She wore a blue summer dress that glowed against her pale skin. A smattering of freckles danced across her nose. Her reddish hair hung, beautifully curly, past her shoulders. She was pretty in a delicate porcelain way. Not an absolute knockout like Carla, but few people could pull off stained overalls, no makeup, and a smudge of oil across their face and look like a beauty queen.
Stop thinking about her. I was on a date with another woman, imagining my lumber supplier in an unprofessional way.
Thankfully, Ruthie took charge of the conversation as I drove. I managed to laugh and nod when it was appropriate. She seemed content with the arrangement, which wasn’t surprising. Given her job as Reilly’s resident bartender, it was usually Ruthie who had to listen to the regulars whine about their problems, rather than the other way around.
I suppressed a yawn even though I was tired. Exhausted beyond reason, I wanted to head home and sleep for twelve hours. After a good night’s rest, I’d wake up fresh and ready to move forward with my Green House Project. That was what I wanted, but not what I’d get. I parked and led Ruthie into the restaurant, where we were seated at a quiet corner table covered in a red-checkered cloth.
Garlic and oregano scented the air while Frank Sinatra serenaded the diners.
Ruthie took her time fussing over wine and appetizers while I struggled to stay alert.
“Do you like a dry red?” She pointed to a bottle on a nearby table. “How about a bottle of Chianti?”
“I can’t drink if I have the car,” I reminded her. A gentle nudge so she wouldn’t order an entire bottle. I made it a personal policy to not drink and drive, especially when I was tired.
She looked at me, clearly annoyed. “Can’t you leave the car here? We can take a cab home.”
We. I could tell where she was hoping the date would end. She could see on my face that I hadn’t anticipated that scenario.
Her frown deepened. “You didn’t have to say yes when I asked you out. You could have refused. If you’re not interested—”
What could I say? Obviously, I couldn’t hide the truth written on my face.
“It’s not that, Ruthie,” I replied quickly, hoping to fix the situation.
An unhappy Ruthie could make going to Reilly’s a living hell. My brothers hated Huck’s, and there weren’t any other alternatives unless we wanted to drive to Blackwood and visit Damon, who owns the saloon there.
I tried to save the night. “Ruthie, it’s not you. I’m tired. It’s been a long week.” I didn’t mention that it had been made even longer by an impromptu Thursday night drinking session, or that I was thinking about another woman. “I’m sorry. Please don’t take it personally.”
Her expression softened. “I love how hard you work,” she murmured. She gave the bottle of wine a look of longing and sighed. “Okay. Let’s go for a no-booze date, but we’re not scrimping on the appetizers.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
I successfully wove my way through most of dinner, only periodically having to force my mind back to my date instead of thinking about Carla, or bed … or Carla in my bed.
By the time we reached dessert, I couldn’t keep up the flawless façade. I let out a large yawn, which brought the scowl back to her face.
“Am I boring you?”
“Ruthie,” I said with a high level of frustration. “I’m tired.”
“Don’t ‘Ruthie’ me, Owen Cooper. If you were too tired to give your all to this date, you could have rescheduled once you’d had some sleep. I told you I was off the whole weekend. But no”—she stretched out the ‘no’ for emphasis—“you kept the date tonight. And with the way you’re behaving, it’s obvious you’re not invested in our time together.” She grabbed her purse and stood. “Don’t put yourself out, I’ll get a ride home.”
I reached out to her as she walked by, but she snatched her arm away.
“Don’t.” She swung around to face me. “I was so excited about our date. Looking forward to it all week and wondering what to wear. Turns out I didn’t have to worry about anything. I was basically by myself, anyway.” She tucked her purse under her arm. “John told me I’d have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince, but you’re the wartiest toad I’ve ever met.”
She stormed away, leaving a restaurant full of people staring at me. Their wide eyes and barely contained laughter told me everything. I’d be the talk of the town for a few days.
“Eli told us you guys hit it pretty heavily last night,” a local man said from his position at the nearby bar. His friends stayed
silent but acknowledged the statement with nods. “Most everyone knows you’re nursing a hangover.” He looked to where Ruthie had stomped out the door. “Everyone but her.”
“Hell,” came a female voice from the end. “You were loud enough down by the creek to keep my dogs barking for hours,” said Lucy, the neighbor from two houses down.
I made a face. “What else was I supposed to do?”
“Reschedule, like poor Ruthie suggested.” It didn’t seem odd that Lucy chimed in. She tended to make everyone’s business her own.
“Other than that.”
“There are only so many eligible women in town, and you chased one away,” Ben, who owned the only gas station in Frazier Falls, commented.
I immediately thought about Carla and grinned.
The guy sitting at the end of the bar must have seen my change of expression. “So, who is it you’re thinking about?”
I signaled for the check. “You’re making me sound much worse than I am. I’m tired, and yes, I am a tad hungover.”
“Bad form for a first date,” Ben said.
“You mean the last date,” Lucy chimed in.
Everyone at the bar laughed.
I threw my hands up in the air. “I get it. I’ll apologize tomorrow, but right now, I’m heading home and climbing into my bed. Alone. All of you lovely folks have a wonderful dinner.” I made a swift exit. Once outside, I looked around for Ruthie, but she was gone.
The drive home was quick and uneventful.
It was with relief and a sigh of pleasure when I stripped off my clothes and collapsed onto my bed. I looked at the handcrafted workmanship of high beamed ceilings—beams that came from the Stevenson Mill—and wondered what Carla was up to. Was she also lying in bed? What was she thinking about?
After a moment’s thought, I realized that while Carla might have been the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, she was still merely a woman. I was fine on my own.
“Stop, you idiot,” I mumbled aloud before my heavy lids shut.
Chapter Six
Carla
Rescue Me: A Frazier Falls Novel Page 3