Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Reality came crashing back sooner than Axel was prepared for.
The sun was barely even up the next morning when he could hear the sound of trucks driving onto the property. Without getting up, he could count about four of them, which meant the road was clear and life was returning to normal.
Yesterday, he and Maisie had talked about her plans if the road got cleared, and she told him she was heading back to town. It made sense, but now that it was actually happening, he wasn’t ready for it.
The reality was they were still going to see each other. Obviously. She clearly lived in Harbortown, and she was going to be working for the resort. If she didn’t feel comfortable spending the night here when the guys got back, then he’d go to her place.
Although…now that he thought about it, she never really confirmed where exactly she lived.
Or anything personal about her life.
Beside him, she started to stir, rolling toward him and tangling her legs with his.
It was crazy how much he loved when she did that.
Kissing his chest, Maisie snuggled closer, humming softly. Axel knew he should get up and see what’s going on outside, but he was reluctant to leave this cozy little cocoon they had going on.
Unfortunately, a loud knock on his door told him he was getting out of bed whether he wanted to or not.
Maisie let out a small whine of protest as he untangled himself from her and rolled out of the bed. Grabbing the jeans he’d thrown off last night, he quickly slipped them on and walked out shirtless to answer the door.
Yanking it open, he found their foreperson, Reece Barrett, standing there.
“Hey, Axel!” he said, sounding far too chipper for this time of the morning. “I saw your truck in the parking lot and figured you’d want to know that the road’s open again and everyone’s here to work on the cleanup. You know, if there is any.”
Raking a hand through his hair, he yawned as he nodded. “Lots of downed trees. I’ve got them all documented, but that’s not for your crew. I thought you were still waiting on permits?”
“Yeah, we are, but this storm did a real number on the town, and I’ve talked to the grounds crew and let them know we’d handle the stuff here as best we could until they can get here.
I’m hoping to hear about the permits by tomorrow.
So if you’re cool with us being here and starting to clear debris, we’re here to work. ”
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Reece to take his guys and leave, but…work needed to be done and he knew it would be completely irresponsible of him to send them away.
“I appreciate it,” he said instead. “If you give me like…fifteen minutes, I’ll come out and go over everything with you. Like I said, I documented it all on my phone.”
“Take your time. There’s some obvious stuff up around the lodge, so we’ll start there. Just meet us up there when you’re ready.”
“Thanks, Reece.” They shook hands before Axel shut the door. When he turned around, Maisie was standing in the doorway, fully dressed.
“Good morning,” she said softly. “I um…I made the bed and I was about to make some coffee. Would you like a cup?”
No. What he wanted was to go back to bed, and he was prepared to pout to get his way. He thought about going over and kissing her and maybe seducing her into a morning quickie before he had to go out and join the crew, but her words stopped him.
“I heard your crews outside, so the roads have to be clear,” she began as she made her way around the kitchen.
“You have no idea how much I appreciate you giving me a place to stay during the storm. And for the second chance with the interview.” She paused with her back to him.
“You gave me Walker’s email, and I’m going to reach out to him later with the contract information. ”
“O-kay…”
Now she faced him but would not quite meet his gaze at first. And when she did, he saw sadness in her eyes.
“From this point on, it’s very important to me that we remain…I mean…that we just have a professional relationship.”
Axel stared at her hard but didn’t say a word.
“We both know that it wouldn’t look right if everyone knew we were sleeping together. That’s not a reputation I want to have. So…while this was all wonderful, and I think you’re amazing, we need to chalk this up for what it was.”
“And what was it?” he asked stiffly.
“A fling,” she said quietly. “A wonderful, wonderful fling.”
“What if I want it to be more?” The words were out before he could stop them, and he wanted to curse his weakness.
Maisie’s shoulders sagged. “It can’t be. I’m sorry.”
There was a part of him that knew he should be relieved. After all, he wasn’t looking for a serious relationship, but…normally he was the one who made that decision. And now he had no idea how to respond.
She made their coffee before walking over and handing him his mug.
“These last several days were like a break in time,” she reasoned, her voice soft, but he could hear the slight tremble.
“Today it’s back to the real world. We both have jobs to do, and I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize my position here. ”
“That wouldn’t happen,” he firmly stated, hating that she even thought such a thing was possible. “I wouldn’t allow it. We all know that you completely nailed what we’re looking for. What you do in your personal time is no one’s business.”
Her shoulders sagged. “It just wouldn’t work, Axel.” Pausing, she shook her head. “My life is a mess right now. It’s all very complicated.”
“I get that, but…”
She surprised him by reaching up and cupping his jaw with her free hand. “These were the best four days of my life. You might not believe it, but it’s true. And getting this job is going to go a long way in making things better for me. That’s why I can’t do anything to risk it.”
“But…”
“I know you think it won’t,” she quickly interrupted.
“But it will. Trust me.” Then she stepped away, her hand slowly caressing him before she completely pulled back.
After taking a sip of her coffee, she moved to put it down again.
“I’m going to pack up my stuff and get going.
It sounds like you’ve got a crew here ready to work. ”
He wanted to say they could wait, but what would be the point? He wasn’t going to beg her to reconsider. It was clear that she’d made up her mind. He’d spent a lifetime begging for people to give a damn about him, and he swore he’d never do it again. Not for anyone.
Not even Maisie.
A fling.
This had only been a fling.
Oh, wait…correction. A wonderful fling.
That didn’t cushion the blow, but he wasn’t going to focus on it. She wanted things just to be about business? Fine. He could do that. Hell, he could make sure they didn’t have to be around each other whenever she came around to handle the decorating. He’d let Walker or Connor deal with her.
“I’ll give you a hand,” he forced himself to say before taking a sip of his own coffee. “And then I’ll help you carry it all up to your truck. Plus, we need to make sure your truck even starts. It’s been a few days, and you've already had issues.”
“Damn, I forgot about that,” she murmured.
“It won’t be a problem. We have plenty of people here, and I’m sure there won’t be a shortage of jumper cables.”
Her brows furrowed, but she didn’t say anything.
Axel walked around and began slowly gathering her belongings.
He didn’t want it to look like he was too eager to get rid of her, but…
now he was. It was crazy how it was hitting him—how he hated feeling vulnerable.
It was like he was suddenly overwhelmed with feelings of PTSD thanks to his shitty childhood, and he wanted to hate her for making her feel this way.
In a matter of minutes, he had everything by the door and ready to go. “Give me five minutes to get dressed, and we’ll head out,” he said before walking into his bedroom and shutting the door.
Which was really a dumb thing to do considering how much of their time together had been spent naked.
Still, he stripped off his jeans so he could actually put on underwear.
No need to be walking around all commando…
Underwear, jeans, socks, T-shirt, sweatshirt, and boots…
raking his hands through his hair, he decided he didn’t give a fuck about how it looked.
Stepping out of the bedroom, he went and quickly brushed his teeth.
When he walked out, he spotted Maisie out on the porch and dreaded having to go out there and say goodbye.
“I should be used to this shit by now,” he murmured before letting out a long breath. Grabbing his sunglasses, he grabbed all of her bags and stepped out onto the porch. “You ready?”
Her eyes went wide when she turned to face him. “I can take some of that.”
But Axel was already shaking his head. “I’ve got it. Come on, let’s make sure your truck’s gonna start.”
“Don’t worry,” she said with just a hint of heat. “I’ll take care of it if it doesn’t.”
“Maisie…”
“No,” she snapped. “I get it. You want me gone. You’re pissed at me and you want me gone. Well, I’m working on it. And if the truck won’t start, I’ll call the mechanic in town or see if one of the workers can help me out. Don’t worry. I won’t be a burden, okay?”
Axel stopped in his tracks. “Are you serious right now?” he demanded.
“I never once accused you of being a burden, Maisie. Not once. I’m just trying to make this as quick as possible rather than drag things out.
You were right; we both have jobs to do and obviously there’s a lot to be taken care of around here.
Plus, the guys are waiting for me up by the lodge, so… ”
“Oh.”
They walked the rest of the way in total silence.
When they reached her truck, Axel stood back and waited for her to climb in to see if it would start.
It did.
He felt so relieved.
Maisie climbed back out and then worked with him to load her bags in. When there was nothing left to do, she slowly turned and faced him.