The Amish Baker's Rival

by Marie E. Bast

  Avery fought to withhold a grin, thinking about how quickly those shiny boots would lose their luster with all the dirt he’d raised with his foolish driving.

  Served him right.

  Then the other thought immediately made the smile drop from her lips.

  What was this stranger doing here?

  “And didn’t you say the cabin wasn’t listed yet?” Avery said quietly through a dry throat. She coughed to clear her voice. “What does this guy think he’s doing here?”

  “It hasn’t been listed,” Lisa whispered back. “I’m positive of that. I have no idea how—”

  “Good afternoon, ladies,” said the man as he tipped his hat, accompanied by a sparkle in his deep blue eyes and a grin Avery could only categorize as charismatic. Or maybe obnoxious was the better word for it. He could easily have starred in a toothpaste commercial.

  She had a bad feeling about this—a very bad feeling.

  As the man approached, the puppy at Avery’s heels started barking and straining against his lead—something he’d been in training not to do. Was he trying to protect her, to tell her this man was bad news?

  She wouldn’t have been surprised if that was so. In her experience, dogs were good judges of character. But if that was the case, they lost the battle within moments, as the man quickly won over her dog, crouching before him and holding out his hand palm down so Dandy could sniff it and then scratching the dog behind the ears, earning him a happy welcome lick on his well-trimmed, bearded cheek.

  The man chuckled. “You’re a cute little puppy, now, aren’t you?” the man murmured in the high pitch people typically used with animals and small children.

  Avery felt frozen to the spot, which was unlike her. While she didn’t exactly consider herself as a people person so much as a businesswoman, she knew how to handle herself. Yet, there was something about this man that threw her off. Fortunately, Lisa stepped into the gap, stepping forward and offering her hand. The man stood to his full height and enthusiastically returned her shake.

  He was solidly built, with broad shoulders that pressed at the seams of his suit. Yet Avery didn’t think it was his height that intimidated her. Rather, it was his presence.

  “Lisa Gibbons of Gibbons Realty. And you are?”

  “Super stoked to be here,” he said in what could only be a genuine Texas drawl. That explained the cowboy hat and boots, anyway. “Not that I mind drivin’, and the winter scenery around here could knock a man’s socks off.”

  Avery didn’t want to think about the man’s socks, which were probably made of pure gold. And it didn’t pass her notice that he hadn’t answered Lisa’s question.

  “I’m Avery Winslow,” she said, hoping the man would pick up the slack in the names department. “Of Winslow’s Woodlands.”

  “Right. Jake Cutter, from Marston Enterprises.”

  A tight knot formed in the pit of Avery’s stomach. She had no idea what Marston Enterprises was, but it sounded ominous. This couldn’t be good, a stranger arriving in town representing some big-name company.

  Why had this gregarious, ostentatious man shown up at her future bed-and-breakfast? It wasn’t exactly right off the road. More like off the beaten path, which was the whole point of her choosing this place.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked bluntly.

  He held up both hands, palms out in a sign of surrender, and took a step backward. “Whoa there, Ms. Winslow,” he said with another toothy grin. “No reason to get your dander up. What fun would it be if I gave away all my secrets right out of the chute?”

  “It’s Avery,” she said automatically, then immediately regretted it, realizing she’d just eliminated the mental distance between them by putting them on a first-name basis.

  “Call me Jake,” he said, but he wasn’t looking at her. Instead, his gaze was gliding over the house and onto the land around it.

  “Nice-looking place you have here.”

  Avery didn’t yet have it, but she would. Despite the stranger’s unexplained appearance, excitement crept back up into Avery’s heart.

  “We were about to take a tour inside the cabin,” Lisa said. “We’d be happy to have you accompany us.”

  Avery sent her best friend a glare and raised her eyebrows. What did Lisa think she was doing, inviting the guy in?

  Lisa shrugged and gestured to her clipboard. Avery supposed she couldn’t blame her for trying to get new business, especially since the man had shown up without a real estate agent. She was probably thinking about nabbing the guy as a client.

  A very rich client.

  But not in connection with her future bed-and-breakfast, thank you very much. Lisa knew she wanted this place. There was no way she’d betray her in this. She would have to point this Jake fellow in a different direction, which was, now that Avery thought about it, probably what Lisa intended to do.

  As it was, Avery was much more inclined to tell Jake Cutter to get back into his fancy red Mustang and see himself off the property—without taking a tour of the house and land.

  She usually didn’t mind a little competition in her life. With five brothers and sisters, she’d grown up with a competitive spirit.

  Just not now. Not for this. It was too important to her, and the sooner they wrapped up the particulars, the better.

  Apparently, however, this place meant something specific to Jake, as well, though she couldn’t begin to guess what it was he wanted with the place.

  Jake grinned and tipped his hat a second time. “I appreciate the offer—Lisa, was it? But I don’t need to see the inside of the cabin. I’m here for the land.”

  * * *

  Jake chuckled as he watched the women make their way into the cabin. That Avery Winslow was a beautiful spitfire, tall for a woman, with sparkling blue eyes and her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. He’d have to watch out for her.

  It was more what she hadn’t said than what she had. He hadn’t gotten where he was in life today by accident. He had a gift with people. He’d made a study of reading expressions and body language and could practically guess what people thought before they’d figured it out themselves.

  And it was clear that Avery Winslow didn’t like him.

  Which really should be neither here nor there—unless she ended up being the president of the town council, in which case it could be a very big problem indeed. He needed certain people in this town to be on board with his plans—or rather, Marston Enterprises’ plans—but Avery more than likely wasn’t one of them.

  He didn’t know why Avery’s clear rejection bothered him, exactly. In the business he was in, renovating old land and buildings to become upscale resorts, it wasn’t about making friends. He never stayed in any one place long enough to form any real relationships, which was just as well as he didn’t care to make any. He’d pop into town for a few weeks to make the necessary connections, then move on to his next conquest.

  That said, most people fell for his natural charm. It was part of what made him so successful. Getting to know people was easy, as simple as switching on his smile. Which was why Avery’s immediate dislike of him set him on edge, he supposed.

  He spent the better part of ten minutes walking around the land and surveying the area. He had studied a land map before he’d come, and the company had already decided this was the spot for a grand hotel. It was twenty minutes away from a major ski slope but secluded enough to draw in the type of clientele who Marston Enterprises wanted to attract.

  Actors, sports icons and other celebrities would be visiting this place when it opened. Once the papers were signed, it wouldn’t take long for them to build. He was just checking out the property for himself before he got down to the real business of getting the town council to vote the building permits and zoning in his favor.

  He didn’t need to see the inside the cabin, which was quaint in
its own way but had definitely seen better days, because it would just be leveled in order for the new construction to go up.

  Still, his encounter with Avery had made him curious—and it felt more than a little bit like a challenge. He never walked away from a challenge—especially such a pretty one.

  He let himself into the cabin, whistling as he casually sauntered into the house.

  “Hello?” he called, wondering where the women had gotten to. “Anyone home? Where’d y’all get to, now, anyway?”

  He wandered through the front room and poked his head into a large, empty room he assumed was supposed to be the dining room. He then walked into an oversize kitchen with an industrial-size refrigerator and oven that took his breath away. In the middle was a gorgeous solid-oak island with a marble inset on it for food prep.

  His mind drifted for a moment as he pictured himself and Lottie sitting next to each other on the stools at the island. He’d be serving his daughter the monkey-shaped chocolate-chip pancakes she especially loved.

  Too bad the whole cabin would be torn down soon. He blinked hard to erase the daydream from his mind.

  “Excuse me?” came a feminine but definitely annoyed voice from behind him. The deep, rich alto vibrated across his skin.

  Ah—Avery had found him at last.

  He turned and grinned, sweeping his hat off his head. He’d get it right this time—just to prove to himself he hadn’t lost his ability to charm the ladies.

  “I thought you said you didn’t need to see the inside of the cabin.” Again, Avery’s bluntness surprised him. No beating around the bush with this woman. She laid it out plain and clear.

  “I didn’t. I don’t.” It wasn’t like him to stammer, and he swallowed hard against the dry tickle in his throat. “I was just curious, so I let myself in. Lisa here said I could visit if I wanted, right?”

  He was more curious about Avery than about the inside of the cabin, if truth be told, but he knew saying that thought aloud would get him into a world of trouble and hurt, so he just tapped his hat against his thigh and waited for her response.

  “If you give me your cell number, we can set up a time to meet in regard to your needs,” the real estate agent said, holding her clipboard toward him. “I’m sure I will be able to provide you with several wonderful choices in land around here. If I don’t already know of something, I’ll work to find a property that will be perfect for your company’s needs.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” he assured her, ignoring the clipboard and instead shoving his hands into the front pockets of his slacks. “I’ve already done my homework, as has my company. If they haven’t already, Marston will soon start the official paperwork to secure the property.”

  Avery and Lisa passed glances Jake couldn’t even begin to decipher.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t understand. Because right now, all I know is you shouldn’t be here,” said Avery.

  More like she didn’t want him to be here, but he didn’t correct her.

  “Again, I just want to remind you I was invited inside,” he said, nodding toward Lisa. “I thought I’d take a look around the place. Out of curiosity, I mean. Not because I need to know.”

  Avery remained silent.

  “And while we’re on the subject, why are you looking at the property, if I may ask?” he said, turning the tables on her.

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but I intend to remodel this beautiful cabin into a bed-and-breakfast for the customers of my family’s businesses, especially because they often need to stick around for a couple of weeks to do the necessary training to receive a service dog to suit their needs. Many of them are facing major difficulties in their families as it is, and my vision is for them to have a quiet, peaceful place to stay.”

  “Bed-and-breakfast, huh?” He thoughtfully brushed a palm across his well-trimmed beard. It was a nice enough cabin, and the large kitchen was spectacular, but it was pretty run-down and would take a lot of elbow grease to get it into any kind of shape to serve customers. It’d be much easier just to raze the thing.

  Besides, his idea for new construction was much, much better than a quiet bed-and-breakfast. And who knew? Maybe some of Avery Winslow’s customers would enjoy a stay at the new resort—at least, the ones with deep pockets.

  “The kitchen is outstanding, I’ll give you that,” he said, gesturing his head toward the kitchen doorway. “I’d really enjoy giving that oven a whirl.”

  “You cook?” she asked, her mouth agape as she looked him up and down.

  He squared his shoulders. Why he felt offended by her response was beyond him. As if it mattered one way or another what she thought. “You don’t have to sound so surprised. I spent a few really good months going to culinary school before I started working as a salesman. Ask my daughter, Lottie, if you don’t believe me. I make a mean chocolate-chip pancake in any shape you want. Monkeys are Lottie’s favorite.”

  “It’s j-just that—” she stammered and then broke off. “I guess your fancy suit kind of threw me for a loop there.”

  He glanced down at his clothing and shrugged. “Marston has a dress code. And as a salesman, I try to look my best. I’m way more casual in the kitchen. Jeans and T-shirts on the weekends.”

  “Right.”

  He laughed. “You still look confused.”

  “I am. You never answered my question. What exactly does Marston Enterprises want with this cabin? What exactly is it that you do?”

  “It’s not the cabin we want, it’s the land. We build upscale resorts, and this area is perfect. It’s close to the ski slopes and only an hour and a half from Denver International Airport. There is a major highway nearby, but Whispering Pines is a nice small town tucked into the mountains.

  “This town could be the new Aspen. Doesn’t it excite you just a little bit that you might be having famous movie stars and sports icons wandering around Whispering Pines? Brand new businesses will move into the area to attract the types of customers our resorts bring in.”

  Her mouth grew wider with every word of his explanation. Clearly she wasn’t nearly as happy about the possibilities as he was, which cut him to the quick. He apparently wasn’t doing a very good job selling the idea to her.

  “You don’t really mean to—”

  “I do. Well, Marston Enterprises does. The process is already in motion, so it’s a little late to put the brakes on it now. Plans have been made, meetings convened.”

  “But this is my...” Her lips curled into a frown and lightning shot across her face. “What did you say will happen to my cabin?”

  “I’m afraid it’ll be torn down to make way for a grand hotel. Sorry.” He shrugged. He really was sorry, since the place clearly meant so much to Avery.

  “If you think you can just waltz in here and change the dynamics of our beautiful little town without getting any pushback, you have another thing coming.”

  Again, he shrugged. “I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again. And for the record, I’m good at what I do. I rarely receive any pushback from local town councils. Do an internet search on Marston Enterprises, and you’ll see just how successful we are in this type of endeavor.”

  “I assure you I’ll be doing that,” she said.

  “Good. Then you’ll have the opportunity to see how truly beautiful these resorts are. It’s totally worth whatever small inconveniences you have to give up. There’s a good reason the rich and famous seek out Marston properties when they want to take time off. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing for the town, either, you know,” he said, his throat closing around his voice. He cleared his throat and evened out his tone. “Just the opposite, in fact. Think of all the money the resort will bring into this quaint little town.”

  “It won’t be a quaint little town if you build your resort here,” she pointed out wryly, her blond eyebrows forming a V over her
nose.

  “At the very least, shopping will boom,” he insisted. “What exactly is Winslow’s Woodlands?” he asked, thinking he might be able to use her own business as a case in point and turn the tables on her. She was thinking of making the cabin into a bed-and-breakfast, after all, which smacked of some kind of tourism. Maybe his customers could be hers, as well.

  “It’s a Christmas-tree farm. During the Christmas season we sell evergreens—offering either precut or the pick-and-cut-your-own experience. The rest of the year, we provide for customers’ regular landscaping needs. Bushes and aspen trees, along with annuals, perennials and various types of rocks. You think your movie stars are going to want to go rock shopping while they’re here?”

  Her sarcasm wasn’t lost on him.

  “So, I’ll admit,” he said, “our resort may not directly affect your business, although some of our clientele may want to grab a dozen roses for their special someone.”

  “I didn’t say we’re a flower shop. We don’t do roses.”

  “Okay, so maybe not, then. But you have to admit, many other businesses will get a big boost from serving our wealthy guests.”

  Avery seemed to be biting her tongue or clenching her jaw—or maybe both. And Jake felt as if he was digging himself deeper and deeper into a hole with every word he spoke, which was an unusual feeling for him. He was usually so slick with his words. But something about Avery pushed him off-balance.

  Maybe because he’d seen in the flicker of her gaze just how much she cared about this place, although he couldn’t imagine why.

  A cabin was a cabin was a cabin. She could easily find somewhere else equally as serviceable as this one, probably even better. As he’d noticed when he’d first entered, this place would take a lot of work to bring it up to par for any kind of guest.

  “They also have a service-dog program,” Lisa offered, tapping her pen against her clipboard. “I think those clients were the guests to whom Avery was referring.”