Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
BAZ
It was Friday. Deadline day.
“Forget it, I’m shaving.” I muttered. I’d wavered back and forth for two days. Stomping around my kitchen, Thomas, the cat who wandered onto my property and decided to stay not long after I finished building my cabin, continued his grooming as I grumbled between long sips of coffee.
Staring out the back window over the kitchen sink, I caught my reflection.
Stroking my chin, I’d never thought that having a beard would make me resemble Santa.
If I had I would have remained clean shaven.
But vanity and the need to cover long-healed scars from taking IED shrapnel to the side of my face had compelled me to grow it as soon as I could after my last surgery.
And then, ever since I started turning grey a few years back, all I heard from my buddies was the endless teasing of, “Hey, here comes Hot Santa.” Sometimes they mixed it up with Sinful Santa, or Bad Santa.
Yeah, okay, the last one was slightly humorous considering the movie of the same name was kind of funny, but it was getting tiresome.
They needed some new material or to find someone else to focus their juvenile energy on.
So, decision made. “There’s no way I’m playing Santa in Josh’s Christmas play.” My full-throated declaration echoed off the walls of the kitchen and, in response, Thomas yowled and then left the room. The cat paused in the archway leading into the hall and gave me the stink eye before disappearing.
What was it with animals and their spooky as shit reactions? Dammit, the cat was right. No matter how I felt about wearing a costume or making a fool of myself in front of a room full of strangers, I’d do it. For my nephew.
Not for the curvy, full of sass teacher who seemed to enjoy yanking my chain. But I had her number too. And not just on my contact list so she could text me rehearsal times. No, I sensed she felt our undeniable connection.
I’d noticed her quickened breathing as it lifted her full breasts the other day, making me want to find out just how soft they were. How responsive her nipples would be to my attention.
Then there was the twinkle in her eyes as she teased me about wearing the damn cloak, or robe; whatever the hell it was called.
There was a banked desire just behind her sassiness.
Her neck had become slightly flushed, and the crumpled piece of paper she’d worried between her nimble fingers the entire time we spoke was very telling.
Zoe was definitely interested.
And incredibly, I was hot for teacher. The problem was the kid.
There was no way I’d make a move on her while he was in her class.
But I wasn’t looking for more than a long weekend of fun.
And Zoe? A woman like her was probably looking for the whole package.
And I only had one package I ever shared with a woman.
Snorting at my crudeness, I set my coffee cup in the sink and then headed out to my workshop.
That damn sign I’d designed for the Triple R Lodge had been giving me heartburn the past week as I’d tried to get it completed by the end of the month.
Determined to put the final touches on it and set aside the temptation Ms. Riordan posed, I cranked the tunes, donned my protective gear and lit the welding torch.
My fickle muse had appeared during my inner tirade. I now had the final vision for my project. About damn time.
The hours flew by as I polished steel. I solved the issue with the third R as I twisted recycled iron cable before welding it in place.
I lifted the visor of my protective headgear, swiped sweat off my brow with my forearm and gave myself a moment to admire the end result I’d envisioned for the welcome sign.
The moment didn’t last long.
“You finally done?” Lars, one of the men who owned the Triple R asked.
Uninvited, he strode further into my shop through the open overhead door.
Even though he and Ridge and West knew the open door wasn’t an invitation since I’d made it known no one was to interrupt me as I worked, the largest of my former Ranger brothers crossed his beefy arms. “Looks good. Damn good.”
“I didn’t ask. And you know the fucking rules, Olsen.” Turning my back on him, I began putting my tools away. Needing a shower and a beer, I had no idea what time it was. Just damn happy I was finally done. “Why are you here?”
“Shit Baz. You just finished a fucking masterpiece, can’t you at least show some emotion or maybe a hint of satisfaction at what you’ve created? C’mon, give me a smile. You know you want to.”
All he was going to get out of me was a grunt. And that’s exactly what I gave him.
Why none of them refused to follow orders without razzing my ass was probably wishful thinking, just as it had been when we were active and tracking down insurgents in Afghanistan.
I let it go over there because it was a hellhole.
But here? They knew better. Yet, I was too tired to even speak and…
dammit; it hit me why he’d broken my number one rule.
I didn’t have to wear a watch to know I was late.
Why they’d invited me to discuss Kane and Chassie’s wedding ceremony tonight, I had no clue.
Could be they wanted to soften me up by including me in the festivities.
Like I cared about weddings. Now, a wedding night would hold more appeal as a topic of discussion.
But I didn’t plan on ever having one of those, so it had to be for another reason.
I was still trying to figure out how I could balance my need for solitude with the offer I made in a weak moment to give my time and space for their client-guests to explore welding as a possible trade.
Becoming a teacher of anything was never a goal of mine, but providing encouragement and my knowledge to fellow veterans looking for a second act should be a no-brainer.
Unfortunately, my tolerance level for being around people had dropped significantly since I retired from the Army.
I wouldn’t label myself a hermit, but if I wasn’t careful, I was definitely headed toward becoming the clichéd mountain man loner.
If it weren’t for Astrid and Josh, I’d probably already be the poster boy.
“Okay, I see the light dawning. Kane is currently doing his best impression of you and pissing West and Ridge off. I need you at the lodge so there’s man-to-man coverage when those two decide to stop giving Kane a break just because he’s suffering from wedding jitters.
For a man who’s as gonzo over his woman as the rest of us were, he’s become a certifiable pain in the ass. ”
Kane was the most recent of the men willingly giving up their bachelor card. I was going to be the last single man on the mountain, unless you counted Lars’s brother Victor and Kane’s brother Ross, which rumor was both were interested in coming on board at the lodge.
Except for the fact that what either of them were experts in was still cloudy, the offer of an exchange for their time and sweat equity to become partners as well as a section of land to build their own cabins on—was too good to pass up.
Shit, now there would be six of them riding my ass, disturbing me whenever they felt like it.
If I hadn’t already bought my acreage a few miles above the lodge years before West had inherited the old hunting lodge from his uncle, it would have been quite the incentive to join them.
But I lucked out and bought mine when real estate prices in Pineville had been on the downswing.
Ten acres of a wooded buffer stood between me and the public. Now that was my idea of heaven.
Twenty minutes after I showered the sweat and grime off me, I slicked back my hair and called it good enough.
Thomas followed me out to my pride possession, a fully restored ’66 Bronco.
“You’re not welcome at the lodge, remember?
Ridge and Addy are still trying to get me to adopt the remaining offspring from your wild night with Beatrix last year.
” Thankfully, they got her fixed after my tomcat had his way with Ridge’s feline.
Why they still had one male from the litter, who was probably just like his sire, was a mystery. I suspected it was to get back at me for not having Thomas neutered. Just the thought of having the cantankerous male’s balls chopped off made me cringe.
The drive was short, and within minutes I was pulling into the drive and parking next to an early two-thousand’s SUV that had seen better days.
Patches of rust on the driver’s side rear bumper made me twitch.
Not only did I create in my workshop, but I also used my skills with metal to repair and restore any vehicle that caught my eye.
Whoever owned this SUV was going to get a lecture from me about car maintenance, whether they wanted it or not.
Taking the steps two at a time, I walked through the front door of the Triple R expecting to find the men in the great room.
“Alright, you dicks. I’m here. And no one better say a word to me about wearing a suit. ”
Instead of my military brothers, there were at least a dozen pairs of female eyes locked onto me as I skidded to a halt.
The squeak of my motorcycle boots filled the silence, and for the first time in my adult life, I felt my cheeks heat from embarrassment.
Well, hell’s bells. Lars could have given me a heads-up.
Hope the Nordic giant choked on his spit as he got a good laugh out of this.
“Ladies.” I made a beeline for the hallway. They were no doubt in the therapy room since Chassie was using the great room along with eleven of her closest friends, including the other wives. Then I embarrassed myself for a second time and did a double take.
The statuesque teacher, to whom I owed an answer, sat next to my sister. Her lips were quirked up on one side of her gorgeous face. Zoe sent me a quick nod. She wore a look that signaled I had moved to the top of her list and….
“Is that your Hot Santa, Zoe? Yum. I’d break some rules to get on his naughty list.” Whoever owned the loudly whispered voice wasn’t familiar. But it didn’t matter who said it. The idea of Zoe labeling me “hot” increased the building pressure behind my zipper.
Damn, all I could think about was being on her naughty list as I made a fast exit. And now I had to deal with getting rid of the obvious bulge in my jeans before facing the group of men who’d love nothing better than to have one more thing to razz me endlessly over.
An eruption of wine-fueled laughter chased me down the hallway.
Astrid’s laugh being the loudest, because of course it was.
Shit. I didn’t even want to know what my sister was sharing now.
I hesitated outside the closed door, willing my dick to behave and retreat.
But I caught a scent drifting over me. Even if I lived to a hundred, I’d never be able to forget to whom it belonged.
Zoe walked hesitantly toward me; determination filled her expressive eyes. My gaze drifted lower the closer she came. The buttons on her sweater strained to hold those gorgeous tits. Double shit. My almost back to normal dick bounced back larger than before.
Would she even notice? And if she did, then it would take all the men on the other side of that door to keep me from making a complete lovesick ass out of myself and kiss her.