Chapter Twelve #2
Paul nodded sagely. “Must have been the lemon pirates.”
Her face scrunched up. “The lemon pirates?”
“They steal lemons at every opportunity. From trees, from kitchens, even from the refrigerator. No lemons are safe.”
“Penelope was eating lemons last night.”
“That explains it. She got lemon-snatched.”
Emily brightened at this explanation. Vanessa rose from the picnic table and walked toward a nearby tree. She plucked a bedraggled doll from its branches.
The little girl clasped her hands together in delight. “Penelope!”
Paul reassessed the incident from the previous afternoon. Vanessa hadn’t panicked about the snake sighting for good reason. Emily had a vivid imagination, and her stories about Penelope couldn’t be trusted.
“It’s time to go,” Vanessa said to Emily.
“Where are you going?” Paul asked.
“Last Chance,” Vanessa said, sounding weary. “Why?”
“You haven’t heard from Wilson,” Paul said.
“No.”
Paul chose his words carefully. He’d opened up to her about his injury last night, and apologized for his rude behavior. She’d remained unmoved. It was awkward to stand before her and eat crow again. “I just talked to him. He extends his regrets about the reservation mix-up. Number 8 is all yours.”
She gaped at him in disbelief for several seconds before understanding dawned. “My father called him.”
“Yes.”
Her brow furrowed with distress. He’d expected her to be elated. Instead, she looked close to tears again. He realized that she’d cried more than once this afternoon. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her nose pink.
Emily tugged on her mother’s dress. “Are we staying here, Mommy?”
Vanessa took a deep breath and didn’t answer.
Paul was puzzled by her reticence. “What’s wrong? You don’t want the cabin?”
“I want it, but I resent my father’s interference.”
“Are we staying?” Emily asked again.
“Go play with Penelope,” Vanessa said. “Adults are talking.”
Emily complied by running around in a wide loop with Penelope in one hand. The doll’s leaf-strewn braids flew high in the air.
Paul hazarded another glance at Vanessa. He wasn’t thrilled about being ousted from the cabin, but he liked being near her. He liked looking at her, even if he couldn’t touch. He liked listening to her husky voice.
“Where will you go?” Vanessa asked.
He shrugged. “Next door.”
“I thought it was uninhabitable.”
“I’ll manage.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Are you?”
“I’m not sorry to get the cabin I paid for, but I’m sorry to put you out. You need a comfortable place to stay while you recover from your injury.”
Paul shrugged again. “It is what it is,” he said, borrowing one of Kyle’s most annoying phrases.
“How does your shoulder feel today?”
“Great,” he lied.
She made a skeptical sound. The fact that she saw right through him didn’t speak well for his deception skills. The funny thing was, he’d always had a strong poker face. He was as expressionless as stone.
She scanned his face, his torso, and the breadth of his shoulders.
She didn’t find him lacking on a physical level.
He could tell when a woman wanted him. The way she’d responded to his kiss proved the attraction between them wasn’t one-sided.
But that didn’t mean she would let him get close to her again.
They weren’t destined for a passionate summer fling, and that was a damned shame, because she was the only thing he’d cared about in months.
She made him feel alive. He wanted to channel that feeling, to put his arms around her and savor every moment in her presence.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have much to offer. He didn’t even have a bed. Now who was the vagrant?
He choked back a sardonic laugh and removed the key from his pocket. She held out her palm to accept it. Their eyes met during the exchange, and a stupid thrill traveled through him, as if they’d just arranged a secret rendezvous.
Paul dragged his gaze away.
“Do you want some time to gather your things?” she asked.
“I have one bag,” he said. “It’s already packed.”
“Are you trying to guilt-trip me?”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Good, because you’ve had no qualms about letting us rough it out here.”
Paul didn’t argue, though he’d had plenty of qualms, and she’d roughed it by choice. “The Wi-Fi code is next to the coffeemaker.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What?”
“The code—”
“You lied about not having Wi-Fi?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. You are unbelievable.”
“I’ll be around if you need anything else.”
“I won’t,” she said in a scathing tone.
He gave her a jaunty salute and strolled away. He heard Emily chattering to her mother about Penelope’s adventures with the lemon pirates. Vanessa probably didn’t appreciate him filling her daughter’s head with more nonsense. The little girl was fanciful enough without encouragement from strangers.
Paul smiled to himself as he returned to his truck. His chest ached pleasantly, and it wasn’t from muscle tenderness or healing tissue. It was affection.
Making a sound of disbelief, he wrenched open the door and slid into the driver’s seat.
Instead of starting the engine, he rested his forearms on the wheel and hung his head.
He couldn’t torture himself by imagining a future with Vanessa.
He was in limbo, personally and professionally.
It wasn’t a good time to develop a schoolboy crush.
And yet, here he was, getting all tied up in knots over a single mom with a sassy mouth and a ton of baggage.
Kyle had told him to stop torturing himself. Easier said than done.
The next few weeks were going to be hell. She would probably wear that skimpy bikini all day, every day. She’d swim and sunbathe and eat hot dogs without a hint of self-consciousness.
Paul lifted his head, sighing. He’d survived worse trials than wanting a woman he couldn’t have. So what if she flaunted her beautiful body? He would enjoy the view, as Kyle had instructed.
His brother’s good news had positive repercussions.
The threat from Houston was greatly reduced now that one of the victims was expected to live.
This meant the suspect could avoid a murder charge, and would be less inclined to eliminate witnesses—like Paul.
He wasn’t going to move back to the city yet, but things were looking up.
He wouldn’t be stuck in this limbo forever. Just for the summer.
Instead of moping around the cabin, he fired up his truck and headed toward Lost Lake. He needed to buy some supplies for the cabin. There were a number of shopping centers downtown. He pulled into the parking lot at the nearest mega-mart and tugged his cowboy hat low on his forehead.
Kyle was coming to visit him in a few days.
They would both have to sleep on the unfinished floor in Cabin 7, so he went in search of bedding.
He found camping mats, pillows and light blankets.
While he was there, he selected a set of new sheets for Cabin 8.
Then he moved on to the sporting goods section, where he loaded up on fishing gear.
He’d bought a boat for a reason. He had a vast lake to explore and an entire summer to do it.
He didn’t need to stay near the cabin, mooning over Vanessa Nava or telling stories to her kid.
Why hang out with a couple of females who turned every moment into high drama?
He would cruise the lake and enjoy his solitude.