Chapter Four #2
She fell silent. He put his phone in his pocket. He figured that was that. Now they would walk back to the cabin and she would drive away.
Vanessa Nava wasn’t done fighting, however. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her fingers on her forearms. The motion drew his attention to her breasts. “Let’s negotiate.”
He kept his gaze on her face, by sheer willpower. “Let’s not.”
“You have two cabins.”
“Only one is inhabitable.”
“For how long?”
“Two months. I’m going to remodel both.”
“You can stay in the cabin you’re fixing up.”
“No, I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Have you ever slept in a room with wet paint or freshly glued pipe fittings? Maybe you’ve breathed in a cloud of tile dust or grout mix?”
Her mouth pursed tight. “No.”
“It’s not safe for anyone to stay in the cabin while it’s being remodeled.”
“Then you can go somewhere else.”
He arched a brow at this bold claim. “If I walk off the job site, I don’t get paid.”
“My reservation nullifies your work agreement.”
Paul squinted at her.
“In legal terms, that means—”
“I know what it means,” he said, cutting her off. “I’m sorry about your reservation, but it doesn’t nullify anything, and I’m not leaving. Maybe you’ve heard this legal term: possession is nine-tenths of the law.”
She scanned his tall form with trepidation.
Although she was five feet, five inches at best, she stood toe to toe with him.
He realized that he was towering over her, too close for comfort.
He retreated a step to give her some breathing room and glanced at the little girl.
She was singing to her doll while she tried to lace dandelions together.
She was calm right now, but he remembered the screaming fit she’d thrown last night.
Paul’s hand drifted to his left shoulder to massage the ache.
He’d worked too hard on the demolition yesterday, and he was paying the price today.
“What happened to your shoulder?” Vanessa asked.
He stopped massaging. “Nothing.”
“Come on. I know you’re injured. You smell like Icy Hot.”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m getting my physical therapy license. Let me take a look at it.”
“Absolutely not,” he said in a clipped tone. He couldn’t allow this woman to see him shirtless, let alone touch him. This discussion was over. He was supposed to be watching his back, not getting felt up by a sexy brunette.
“Please,” she said, placing her hand on his upper arm. A thrill raced through him at the deliberate contact. “I paid a non-refundable deposit to reserve that cabin. I can’t afford to lose it all.”
Paul didn’t know what to tell her, because he couldn’t give her the cabin.
She’d taken a risk by paying up front, which he supposed was typical for a summer rental.
When he retreated another step, her hand dropped to her side and her eyes filled with tears.
She was one of those women who cried beautifully.
She probably looked cute blowing her nose.
He didn’t look away, though the sight of her distress bothered him.
He wondered if the emotional display was genuine or an attempt to play on his sympathies.
“Don’t you have somewhere else to go?” he asked. “A hotel?”
She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “There’s no availability in Lost Lake. A lot of people come here for the summer.”
“What about Eagle Pass, or Last Chance? Surely they have hotels with open rooms.”
“I came to visit my brother. I want to stay here.”
“Where does he live?”
“In town.”
“Go to his place,” Paul said.
There. It was settled.
Instead of agreeing to this reasonable plan, she sank to her knees by her daughter. The little girl put the crown of yellow flowers on her mother’s head. It perched there in a golden half-circle, stems tangled, already falling apart.
“Cheer up, Mommy,” the girl said. “You can’t cry if you’re the flower queen.”
Vanessa smiled through her tears.
The girl looked up at Paul. “Are you mean or nice?”
He didn’t answer.
“My daddy was mean, so Mommy sent him away.”
Vanessa took the flowers off her head and held them.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Paul said.
“We lived in a castle and now we live in the car.”
“Emily, hush,” Vanessa said. “We don’t live in the car.”
“I hate the car,” Emily said, and snatched the crown from her mother’s hand. She attempted to crush the flowers in her tiny fist. “So does Penelope.”
Paul frowned at the exchange. He needed to get out of here before he gave her the wrong impression. He couldn’t let her think he cared about her situation or felt obligated to help. She triggered his protective instincts, among other things. “I should go.”
Vanessa didn’t glance his direction as he tipped his hat. Memories of another mother and child assailed him and his pulse jackknifed. He hadn’t dreamed about them lately, but he could still hear the echoes of their screams.
He strode down the path, his heart jackhammering inside his chest. In his haste to escape, he tripped on an exposed tree root and almost tumbled down the side of the hill. He regained his footing with a wince.