Take a Chance on Me(11)

No. Wait. Ivy didn’t want a man who was going to leave her for some lost-treasure dream.

What was she thinking? She wasn’t in the market for any kind of man. Or any kind of relationship that would inevitably end and break her heart.

She edged toward the door, but not fast enough to tune out the little boy’s scream. Ivy turned and saw Darek hovering over his son, holding his hand, speaking softly to him as the doctor applied a long needle to the wound, probably to numb it. The child howled.

This was where Ivy checked out.

Besides, Darek had long forgotten her.

It was probably for the best, really. But for the first time since meeting him, she hoped that he wouldn’t.





Darek only had to blink and his son seemed to grow another inch. He drew the quilt up around Tiger’s shoulders, the child’s golden hair like a halo around his head. He looked like a cherub when sleep took him—and it had dropped him hard on the way home from the ER. Darek had removed the child seat from his Jeep in case his mother needed it, so she’d driven Tiger home in her Caravan, Darek following, and Casper behind him riding Darek’s old motorcycle.

He’d briefly looked for Ivy as they’d exited the ER, but true to her word, she could take care of herself. He didn’t want to think about the crazy hour he’d spent with her, not sure why he couldn’t take his eyes off her, nor why it made him feel so miserable.

She wasn’t so beautiful that it should knock him over. Nor particularly witty, or even flirty, like Felicity. Just . . . Direct might be the word. No games with her. Probably the lawyer in her—although most lawyers he knew hid something.

Still, something about her . . . the way she didn’t pity him. Oh, wait, she had—that’s why she purchased him in the first place.

Nice.

He probably owed her the five hundred dollars she’d paid, but if he got lucky, she’d chalk the entire experience up to a bad decision and forget him.

At least until he called her office to check on Jensen’s hours, with the wild hope that the man might go to jail. Darek would be on his best behavior then.

He had put Ivy out of his mind as he pulled in behind his mother, retrieved his sleeping son, and hiked through the resort to his tiny A-frame cabin tucked on the far edge of the property.

The twelve guest cabins that dotted the lakeshore stood lonely and dark, not a soul occupying them, although a young family was scheduled to arrive on Wednesday for a week. They’d have the run of the place, what with the dismal winter tourist season extending into June.

The lack of snow this year had killed the influx of snowmobilers, snowshoers—even the dogsled mushers had to cancel. Worse, the early spring had dried out the land, turning the forest tinder crisp. Already, the forest service had issued a warning, outlawing campfires in the northern canoe areas. So much for the nostalgia of the north woods that might draw tourists to Evergreen’s shores. Thankfully, the forest service still allowed campfires at the resort areas. For now.

Darek had had a powwow with his dad this evening, just before Owen’s phone call. He’d unrolled the plans for a sauna, a hot tub, and even a play area for kids. Maybe turn the resort into more of a camp atmosphere for the next generation. And if they could convince Gibs next door to sell his overgrown property, they’d have the only sandy beach on the lake.

But the old man wasn’t budging, and they didn’t have a single fishing trip on the docket for this month, so even if Gibs had a lightning-bolt-from-heaven change of heart, they couldn’t afford to give him anything but a handshake and hope.

After a century of running Evergreen Resort, they just might have to close their doors.

Ivy’s words hung briefly in his mind. Carrying on the family business, huh? He’d never aspired to taking over the family resort, but God hadn’t asked him what he wanted. And now he had no choices left.

He still hadn’t made peace with the Almighty over his losses—or his future. Maybe he never would.

Darek never locked the cabin and now pushed the door open to the soaring ceiling of the family room. It collected the shadows of the night, the furry branches of pines imprinted on the walls. He’d built the place for Felicity, thinking she’d like the view of the lake and access to Claire’s grandfather’s place, but he hadn’t counted on how the lights of the Atwood family mansion nearly flooded his front room, turning them blind. Nor how it would make her feel so alone, so remote.

No wonder she hadn’t been able to ignore Jensen Atwood. Darek practically pushed her into his arms.

Tiger snuggled closer to him, and for a moment, he debated putting the tyke in his bed with him. But then he’d have to climb into the loft, and he didn’t allow Tiger up there anyway. He’d simply sleep on the couch, listening for a whimper.