What—shoo the kid off?
Or…
Damn, there was something else going on here—something Chet could barely admit. He was acting as if Mina had been getting ready to betray him, just as his own mom had betrayed Abe.
Chet leaned back in his leather chair, raking a hand through his hair. What did he expect—for Mina to become a nun after their one night together, after he’d made it perfectly clear that they didn’t have a romantic future?
As he’d done before when life seemed to be piling up on him, he turned his attention to work. He worked until night covered the sky, until he knew that the softball game had to be over and Mina was back in her cabin.
Trying not to think about how much he hoped she was alone, Chet went back to his own cabin but had a hell of a time getting to sleep.
Fortunately, in the morning he was busy while the staff charged around, getting ready for the locals preview day that they were holding so that they could start establishing a reputation in the community. Hopefully, the resort could whip up some early enthusiasm and end up establishing regular customers besides their visiting clientele.
When Chet emerged from his cabin after an on-the-fly breakfast from his cabin kitchen, he found the property bustling with the staff setting up their tents and tables and a local band bringing their equipment to the pavilion. The resort’s restaurant crew was preparing an area that would feature their food while, nearby, the spa and activities staff would be offering mini-massages, product samples and short hikes on the fringes of the common area, now that the weather was cooling off near the end of the day.
Somehow, he and Mina didn’t see each other the whole time, although Chet heard her voice over the walkie-talkies that the staff carried. And every time he did, his blood caught on fire, heating him to distraction.
When he finally saw Mina, it was early evening in the food area, where a bunch of linen-covered tables boasted samples from the restaurant. There was already a casually dressed crowd, sipping wine, enjoying themselves.
Mina was schmoozing with some local politicians and businessmen, and she looked so fresh and beautiful in her prairie skirt, boots and white peasant top that she took Chet’s breath away, leaving him standing there like a dolt.
When was he going to get over this?
Knowing he would have to start the process, he went over to join her group.
She saw him before he even arrived, and he recognized the same posture he’d spied in her last night, when she’d been in left field and he’d been standing by the bleachers.
Widened eyes. The obvious flare of attraction in her gaze.
She had to feel the same way he did, and it scared him to death, because he didn’t know what the hell to do about it.
“Chet,” Mina said when he arrived on the fringes of her social circle. She’d recovered nicely from their moment, going on to introduce everyone.
He shook hands all around, knowing that he would be wining and dining these people before he left to check on other Group projects later tomorrow; in fact, he would be having a lunch with several locals before going to the airport.
“Thanks for coming,” he said to them. “Is there anything I can get for anyone?”
The mayor, a man with a handlebar mustache and a certain Wild West air, held up his glass of red wine. “I think you’ve provided nicely, Mr. Barron.”
“Chet. It’s Chet.”
He and Mina traded a smile, and it had the power to let him know that things were going to be okay, that this resort was going to flourish.
But the crackling awareness between them didn’t go anywhere.
He made it through the rest of the night, remembering her smile, remembering the way Mina’s skirt fell over her hips, the way her hair rested on her shoulders and caught the last of the sun as it set.
In the end, when the visitors had left and the area was cleaned up, he found her on a bench in front of the administration building, exhausted, her skirt spread around her, her eyes closed.
A beat of concern seized his heart, but when she seemed to sense him, then opened her eyes and grinned, he knew that she was undergoing a good kind of exhaustion. The kind he’d grown used to over the years, after a decent day’s work that bolstered the spirit.
“We did it,” she said.
Chet pushed back the brim of his hat. “You did it. I just looked over your plans and gave my okay, that’s all.”
“You put your everything into this place. Give yourself some credit.”
She was rubbing her arms, and for the first time tonight, he noticed a coolness in the air. Fall was definitely descending in the desert, and fast.
“Tonight might be a good time for a fire,” he said. “What do you say I light up that pit on my cabin deck while we debrief?”