Chapter 4
4
CHAZ
A vehicle was coming. I heard it between squeezes of the chainsaw throttle.
I bit my tongue to keep from uttering a profanity. It wouldn’t do any good. My boss had no doubt sent someone out to help me, and I couldn’t blame him, but the whole reason I volunteered for this particular task was that I liked to work alone.
Hoping if I ignored it, the vehicle would go away, I fired up the chainsaw again and started working. The noise drowned out all sound around me, insulating me from the world outside.
I was only fooling myself. I knew that. But it was my way of procrastinating.
A few minutes passed, and no one tapped me on the shoulder or stepped up to stand next to me. I stopped the chainsaw anyway and turned, curiosity getting the better of me. I had to know who had joined me.
Instead of my boss, Boone, or one of my crew members, I found myself staring at the woman from this morning—the frustrated baker. She stood in front of a black SUV, wearing the same coat and boots she’d had on that morning.
Now she wore sunglasses, though, and I was surprised at how disappointed I was over that. I wanted to see her eyes.
“Hi,” she said. “I was kicked out of the competition for sucking.”
I nearly choked in response. Of all the things I would’ve expected her to say, that would have been the last.
“How did you get up here?” I asked.
“The woman at the front desk gave me directions. She thought it was weird, but I explained to her I was looking for a guy I met this morning. She seemed to like that.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of that. Was it a matchmaker sort of thing? And why was this woman looking for me in the first place?
I didn’t want to get my hopes up that I’d made a good impression on her, but I had to admit, she’d been on my mind all day. I even thought about sneaking into the tent to see her again, and I had full plans to grab dinner at the restaurant in the ski lodge after work. Even the slight chance I might run into her had me thinking about rearranging my entire schedule for the next few days.
I picked up my water bottle and uncapped it as I walked toward her. I was probably sweaty from working so hard, so I didn’t want to get too close. Okay, so I wanted to get close, but I didn’t want to scare her away.
“I’m Chaz, by the way,” I said, extending my hand.
She stepped forward, sliding her smaller hand into my larger one. I forgot I was still wearing my thick work gloves, but she wore gloves too. Still, shaking hands did something to me.
“I’m Dakota,” she said, releasing my hand and slipping both hands into her coat pockets.
“Was it the cake from this morning?” I asked.
Guilt stabbed at me. Had I completely ruined this woman’s chance of achieving her dreams? Did she even want to be a baker? I wasn’t sure, based on our conversation. But if it had been my fault, I’d drive down there and tell the judges I was the one who screwed things up and they should give her another chance.
“No.” She shook her head. “I mean, they obviously weren’t impressed with my presentation, but I screwed up everything I did today. I guess they identified me as somebody who wasn’t competition material.”
“Their loss. I can tell just looking at you that you’re all that and more.”
She tilted her head slightly. “What about me tells you that?”
I winced. Had I just stuck my foot in my mouth? Probably.
“You seem like somebody who should be running your own business,” I said. “You have ambition. You’re going places. You just have to figure out how to get there.”
“It’s not going to be baking,” she said. She took a deep breath and looked around. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to interrupt your work. What are you doing for dinner?”
She shifted her face back toward me, and I wished more than anything I could see her eyes. My heart was racing and adrenaline rushed through my body, even as tired as I was.
She wanted to know what I was doing for dinner. Was she asking me on a date? I was supposed to be the one to ask her out. But hell if I’d turn her down.
“I was going to stop by the bar and grill inside the ski lodge and see if I could happen to run into you,” I said.
Honesty. That was the best policy. But this sure felt like flirting, and it had been a long time since I’d flirted with a woman. I missed it. I normally didn’t have time for that sort of thing, but this woman was well worth making time for.
“Can we go somewhere else?” she asked. “Anywhere but the restaurant in the ski lodge. I kind of want to get away from all the bakers.”
I smiled. “I like the way you think.”
I told her to meet me in front of the lodge at six, then watched as she hopped in her SUV and headed back toward the lodge. Once she was gone, I had second thoughts. What the hell was I doing? I’d already said I wasn’t going to get involved with someone who was leaving town in a matter of days. Yet here I was, getting involved.
Maybe it was already too late, though. Maybe the second I’d seen her, standing outside that tent—hands on hips, fury in her eyes—I’d been a goner. I’d just have to find a way to pick up the pieces of my broken heart once she was gone.