Chapter 4 #2
Evie: And then I don’t sleep because I get too invested in what I’m watching.
Evie: It’s a vicious cycle.
Slater: I’ve learned to sleep no matter where I am. It goes with the job. Campsites are notoriously uncomfortable, but I’ve learned to make myself sleep.
Evie: And yet you’re not using those skills now.
Slater: I’m not uncomfortable. Just restless.
Evie: Then you need to find something to take the edge off.
For a moment he could only stare. Did she realize what she was saying? Was she being coy? Flirty? So he decided to test that theory.
Slater: Any chance you’d be willing to help a friend out? I wouldn’t say no to a little more of what we started earlier today. Wink, wink…
Evie: OMG! That wasn’t what I meant! Ugh…I just thought…
Evie: Don’t mind me. I’m just hiding my face in pure embarrassment.
Okay, so she wasn’t being anything other than herself and he was the perv.
Awesome.
Slater: Stop. I was just kidding.
And more lies.
Slater: There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.
Evie: That’s easy for you to say. I swear I didn’t mean to imply anything sex-related.
Slater: To be fair, guys can make everything sound sex-related.
Evie: Really? Why don’t I know that?
Slater: Do you hang out with a lot of guys?
Evie: Obviously. And then I don’t realize that they think I’m just a friend, so…
“Damn. I walked right into that one.”
Slater: Forget I said anything. Maybe I’ll start that book you convinced me to buy today.
Evie: Ooh! Good idea! I totally forgot about my book. Reading always helps me sleep. Thanks!
Slater: Then I’ll leave you to it.
Slater: See you after lunch. Have a good night.
Evie: Sounds good. And I hope you get some sleep. Nighty-night!
He stared at that damn screen like he was seeing her face and not just her words, and it just confirmed everything he had thought earlier.
He was definitely in trouble.
When she walked down the hall toward Slater’s office, Evie felt mildly recovered from last night’s embarrassment. She’d read for an hour and then had a good night’s sleep so she felt ready to tackle whatever he had planned for them today.
She found him sitting behind one of the desks with his feet up, talking on the phone to someone about one of the hiking trails.
“Did we catch who did it on one of the security cameras?” he asked and then paused.
“And they were identified?” Another pause.
“I don’t have any hikes planned up that way until Tuesday, but I’ll head up there today with supplies and make sure everything’s cleaned up and restocked.
” He ran a hand through his hair. “I had no idea guests could be this disrespectful.” One last pause.
“Don’t worry about it. You handle things when the cops get here. Thanks.”
Tossing the phone down, he let out a frustrated breath.
“I take it something happened?”
Slater jumped slightly, like he hadn’t noticed she was even there.
“Yeah. A couple of guests went up on one of the trails and ransacked the lean-to, had themselves a picnic, graffitied the structure and some of the rocks, and then left their crap everywhere. We have a strict policy about going up on the trails after hours, and security cameras show they were up there sometime after midnight.” He shook his head. “Now I need to go and clean it all up.”
“Why you?”
“Because I’m no better than anyone else who works here. It’s not beneath me to take the shitty job sometimes.”
“I get that, but…you and Nora are the heads of this part of the resort. It just makes sense for you to send maintenance out so you could be the guy here to talk to the cops and confront the guests. It would hold more weight when it’s one of the owners pressing charges.
” She shrugged. “But that’s just the way I think about things. ”
He muttered a curse before raking his hands through his hair again. “Yeah. That makes a lot more sense. This is why I shouldn’t be the only adult in charge around here. If Lexi were here, she would have pointed that out. Or Nora. Or Axel. Or…pretty much anyone. I’m not cut out for management.”
“Don’t beat yourself up. You haven’t needed to be. I get the feeling everyone’s not usually away like this.”
“Exactly.” Another long sigh. “So…am I gonna look like a total jerk if I send a crew up to handle it?”
“Not at all. If you’d like, I can act as your assistant, and this way it will seem more official.”
“Evie…”
“What? It’s what I do for a living. Ask Milo. I get him out of all sorts of things.”
“I don’t know. I’m not even sure who you would call to take care of it. I can just do it. It’s not a big deal.”
And she knew he meant that, but it bothered her that he felt incompetent. Without a word, she walked over to Lexi’s desk and got comfortable. There was a list of numbers up on the wall next to her desk with all the department extensions and she knew that was her first stop.
Picking up the phone, she turned to Slater. “Who called you?”
“The manager of the lodge, who heard about the issue from security.”
“Got it.” She looked up the number for maintenance and dialed it.
“Maintenance. This is Will.”
“Hi, Will. This is Evie. I’m here with Mr. Slater, and there was an issue with a couple of guests up on trail…” She glanced at Slater, prompting him.
“East trail, beginner.”
“On the east beginner trail,” she said. “There’s damage to the lean-to, along with graffiti and trash. We need a crew sent up there immediately.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll send a couple of guys up there right away. Do you need us to restock the lean-to as well?”
“That would be nice. Thanks, Will! I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter. Have a great day!” She hung up and spun around in her chair with a big smile. “And that’s how you do it.”
“Damn. That was easier than I thought it would be.”
“We weren’t asking them to do anything crazy. It’s their job.”
“Still…”
“Now we should head out to the front desk and see what’s being done about the guests so you can be there to put a little fear into them.”
“I don’t know about fear…”
“Slater…” she whined. “Can you please just trust me on this?”
“Fine. But I don’t like being that guy, okay? I’m not good at it. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you. I tend to let other people handle the uncomfortable stuff.”
“Not today,” she sang. “Now let’s go do this so we can get on with our day. We already missed our morning kayaking time, but I’m really looking forward to the archery lesson you promised.”
“Okay, but if this thing with the guests and cops turns into an all-day thing…”
“It won’t.” Grabbing his hand, she nearly dragged him out of the office and out to the lobby.
But he still groaned. “This is going to be awful.”
“It will only hurt for a minute. I promise.”
“You’re doing it again.”
“What? What did I do?” she asked, still holding his hand as they walked across the lobby.
He looked mildly amused. “Nothing. Just…nothing.”
And with a shrug, she simply led him over to the front desk so they could deal with this minor inconvenience and then move on with their day.
Two hours later, Evie told herself she was fine and all of this was completely normal.
It was normal for them to sign up for an afternoon activity together. And normal for them to stand in a loose semicircle with other guests while the instructor explained stance and safety rules.
And apparently completely normal to pretend that yesterday’s kiss hadn’t happened.
Yup. Completely normal.
She adjusted her grip on the bow and very carefully did her best not to look at Slater.
He stood a few feet away from her, arms crossed, listening to the instructor with focused ease. Because archery was just another thing he was probably naturally good at.
Which made sense. He had organized and planned all the activities here at the resort and she had no doubt he excelled at all of them.
Sort of like kissing her and then not talking about it.
“Okay,” the instructor said brightly. “Pair up and help each other with form.”
Of course they’d need to pair up because why wouldn’t they?
Evie felt him beside her before she looked up. “Guess we’re a team,” Slater said, casual. Too casual.
“Guess so,” she replied, equally as light.
The instructor demonstrated the stance again. “Feet shoulder-width apart. Relax your shoulders. Don’t lock your knees.”
Evie stepped into position, lifted the bow, and immediately felt like she had too many limbs. She rolled her shoulders and tried to relax, but the whole thing just felt a little unnatural to her.
“You’re tilting,” Slater murmured.
“I’m not tilting.”
“You’re tilting.”
She risked a glance at him. That was a mistake.
His mouth twitched like he was fighting a smile, and he looked so damn good that her heart actually ached.
Why did they have to do something stupid like kiss?
She had been perfectly content just imagining what it was like, and now that she did, it made her resent their friendship and her entire stance on being uncomfortable with a fling.