girls have already set up the dining room, and guests are being seated.
“What took you so long?” Hailey asks. “I thought you were going to look at the cabins.”
I recount the story of the linens in the bathtub, and she looks disgusted. “That’s the Tall Boys,” she tells me, and we peek into the dining room to study a table of five extremely large (both tall and wide) men. Their size gives no indication as to why they’d put bedding in the tub, but I suppose it’s nice to put a face to a minor act of vandalism.
“Has anyone checked on Lisa?” I ask, garnishing plates while Hailey fills a tray with drinks.
“I was up there a little while ago,” she replies. “She’ll be fine. She’s bruised, but as long as we keep telling her she’s pretty, I think she’ll recover emotionally.”
I can’t help but smile. “That’s good.”
“Do you really think her nose will be okay? That was a lot of blood.”
“She’ll be as good as new in a couple of weeks,” I say. I learned this the hard way approximately six months ago, but don’t elaborate.
“Sorry to break up the gabfest,” Alec interrupts, “but we’ve got food to go out.”
Hailey and I sigh in unison as we stare at the familiar stack of plates. “Why can’t they come in and eat?” she demands. “Why do we cater to them like they’re special?”
Alec shrugs but obviously couldn’t care less, since he has to make the food either way. “Beats the hell out of me,” he says. “It’s been like that since I got here.”
I sigh again and grunt as I pick up the stack. “I’ll be back.”
My shoulder throbs on the way to the barn, and I think I might have to insist on this being a two-person job in the future. If the road weren’t so uneven we could put this stuff in a wagon. If the barn were farther we could drive. As it stands, this is the least-bad option, though my shoulder would disagree.
It takes a second for my eyes to adjust when I enter the barn, but I immediately sense Shane. The weight bench is off to the right, and I can see two men standing on either side of it while one does bench presses. What does it say that I can locate the man merely by the sound of his grunting?
Brandon is the only one at the desks, and he helps me steady the stack as I set the plates down. “Thanks, Kate,” he says. He smiles, and I have to say, the man is pretty damn beautiful: clear blue eyes, sharp cheekbones, a chiseled jaw that makes the prettiness masculine. If he hadn’t blown off my friend, I might have smiled back, but instead I nod curtly. “You’re welcome.”
A low whistle comes from the corner. “You did it, Shane. You upset her.”
“What’s wrong, Bat Girl? Bad day?”
This is from the other two men whose names I have yet to learn. At this moment, I’m not sure I want to learn them. I turn on my heel and stride out, waiting until I’m away from the barn to stretch my shoulder. We’re definitely implementing a two-person delivery plan from now on, both for delivery and moral support.
“You pissed?”
I pause at the sound of Shane’s voice. After a second I turn around. He’s leaning against the side of the barn, next to the door, out of sight of his friends.
“No.” I start to turn back, but he speaks again.
“What’s wrong with your shoulder?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit.”
I glance at him. “What do you care?”
“You’re spending the summer in the mountains. It’s only going to get worse if you don’t get it looked at.”
“What would you know?”
He shrugs. “I know.”
“Maybe I’ll see a doctor.”
“Come here.”
“Absolutely not.”
I hear him chuckle, and every instinct tells me to run, but even as I hear the dull thud of his work boots approach, I stand still. He stops when he’s next to me, close enough that I can hear his breathing.
“You mind?”
I look at him out the corner of my eye. “Mind what?”
He raises his hand, and it hovers above my shoulder for a split
“What took you so long?” Hailey asks. “I thought you were going to look at the cabins.”
I recount the story of the linens in the bathtub, and she looks disgusted. “That’s the Tall Boys,” she tells me, and we peek into the dining room to study a table of five extremely large (both tall and wide) men. Their size gives no indication as to why they’d put bedding in the tub, but I suppose it’s nice to put a face to a minor act of vandalism.
“Has anyone checked on Lisa?” I ask, garnishing plates while Hailey fills a tray with drinks.
“I was up there a little while ago,” she replies. “She’ll be fine. She’s bruised, but as long as we keep telling her she’s pretty, I think she’ll recover emotionally.”
I can’t help but smile. “That’s good.”
“Do you really think her nose will be okay? That was a lot of blood.”
“She’ll be as good as new in a couple of weeks,” I say. I learned this the hard way approximately six months ago, but don’t elaborate.
“Sorry to break up the gabfest,” Alec interrupts, “but we’ve got food to go out.”
Hailey and I sigh in unison as we stare at the familiar stack of plates. “Why can’t they come in and eat?” she demands. “Why do we cater to them like they’re special?”
Alec shrugs but obviously couldn’t care less, since he has to make the food either way. “Beats the hell out of me,” he says. “It’s been like that since I got here.”
I sigh again and grunt as I pick up the stack. “I’ll be back.”
My shoulder throbs on the way to the barn, and I think I might have to insist on this being a two-person job in the future. If the road weren’t so uneven we could put this stuff in a wagon. If the barn were farther we could drive. As it stands, this is the least-bad option, though my shoulder would disagree.
It takes a second for my eyes to adjust when I enter the barn, but I immediately sense Shane. The weight bench is off to the right, and I can see two men standing on either side of it while one does bench presses. What does it say that I can locate the man merely by the sound of his grunting?
Brandon is the only one at the desks, and he helps me steady the stack as I set the plates down. “Thanks, Kate,” he says. He smiles, and I have to say, the man is pretty damn beautiful: clear blue eyes, sharp cheekbones, a chiseled jaw that makes the prettiness masculine. If he hadn’t blown off my friend, I might have smiled back, but instead I nod curtly. “You’re welcome.”
A low whistle comes from the corner. “You did it, Shane. You upset her.”
“What’s wrong, Bat Girl? Bad day?”
This is from the other two men whose names I have yet to learn. At this moment, I’m not sure I want to learn them. I turn on my heel and stride out, waiting until I’m away from the barn to stretch my shoulder. We’re definitely implementing a two-person delivery plan from now on, both for delivery and moral support.
“You pissed?”
I pause at the sound of Shane’s voice. After a second I turn around. He’s leaning against the side of the barn, next to the door, out of sight of his friends.
“No.” I start to turn back, but he speaks again.
“What’s wrong with your shoulder?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit.”
I glance at him. “What do you care?”
“You’re spending the summer in the mountains. It’s only going to get worse if you don’t get it looked at.”
“What would you know?”
He shrugs. “I know.”
“Maybe I’ll see a doctor.”
“Come here.”
“Absolutely not.”
I hear him chuckle, and every instinct tells me to run, but even as I hear the dull thud of his work boots approach, I stand still. He stops when he’s next to me, close enough that I can hear his breathing.
“You mind?”
I look at him out the corner of my eye. “Mind what?”
He raises his hand, and it hovers above my shoulder for a split
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