Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
The next day, Slater was leading a group of guests down from an intermediate hike. They had all been great and there were no issues, and it left him in a great mood. When they were on the path that led to his shed office, he turned and stopped them.
“You guys have been awesome, and I appreciate you taking the time to hike with me today. If you head up to the lodge, Lexi will meet you and take you for refreshments. Enjoy the rest of your stay here at the Lakeview Harbor Resort!” And with a smile and a wave, he watched them all continue up the path.
It would have been easy to go up with them, but he was kind of looking forward to having a little time to himself.
It was just after two in the afternoon, and he had nothing else on the agenda.
Evie wasn’t going to be back until six, so having some quiet time to rest after not getting much sleep was mildly appealing.
Slater wasn’t stupid. He knew there was something on her mind last night when they got back to the cabin.
But in typical Evie fashion, she kept it to herself because she was afraid to give voice to her own thoughts and needs.
She was starting to let herself fade into the background, just like she used to do before she came to Harbortown.
Before them.
That was just one thing that was bothering him about the whole situation. Obviously, he hated the thought of her reverting to the shy and quiet woman she had been. He loved seeing her come out of her shell and taking what she wanted and being unapologetic about it.
Although the thought of her being that free and outgoing with another guy really didn’t sit well with him either.
So there was that. And every time he thought of her leaving and going back to Seattle, it made him…uncomfortable. Thinking of her with someone else made him even more uncomfortable. And knowing he’d probably only ever see her a handful of times ever again made it hard for him to breathe.
Stepping into his office, he dropped onto his chair with a weary sigh.
“I am so fucked,” he murmured, dragging a hand over his face.
This was foreign territory for him. He’d never been the jealous type or the guy who was looking for anything beyond a good time. And the thought of wanting to stay in one place with one woman had never once entered his mind.
Until now.
Until Evie.
Leaning back in his chair, he got comfortable with his feet up on the desk and hands clasped behind his head.
The only thing missing was maybe a hot cup of coffee and one of Connor’s cinnamon rolls.
The thought stopped him long enough that he actually considered trudging up to the lodge, but he just didn’t have the energy.
Time alone with his thoughts is what he needed more than anything.
Leaning back a little more, he closed his eyes and let out a long breath.
“Knock, knock!”
Slater opened his eyes to see Nora walking in and knew his quiet time was over. “Hey. I thought you had a hike starting in a few minutes.”
“They canceled.” She pulled the chair out from behind her desk and slid it closer to his. “Do you have a few minutes? I kind of need to talk to you about something.”
He wanted to be annoyed, but Nora rarely came to him with nonsense, so he knew whatever she wanted to talk about had to be important. “Sure. What’s up?”
She shifted in her seat for a moment, trying to get comfortable, but when she faced him, her expression was almost somber.
“What are you doing?” she asked carefully.
“You’re gonna need to be a little more specific, Nora. I mean, right now I’m just coming in after a hike and was enjoying a little quiet time. If you’re asking about life in general…” He shrugged. “I’m doing what I’ve always done.”
“Okay, you’re right. That was too vague. I want to know what you’re doing with Evie.”
He did his best to keep his expression neutral and was pretty sure he had failed. “That’s not really any of your business.”
Nora sat up a little straighter. “Um, yes, it is. Evie’s a friend, and I’m just concerned about what’s going to happen when she leaves next week.”
Slowly he lowered his feet to the ground and then clasped his hands on the desk. “That’s funny, because I thought you and I were friends too.”
“We are, and I’m worried about both of you.”
“Why? You never worried about this sort of thing before.”
“That’s because you never were in a relationship like this before!
” she said with exasperation. “Come on, Slater, you and I both know your MO was to hook up with women you met on hikes and tours—they were on vacation and you weren’t going to see them again.
You had to know it wasn’t going to be that way with her.
Evie’s not the one-night stand kind of girl.
Hell, she’s got future soccer mom and suburbia written all over her. ”
Raking a hand through his hair, he wanted to be angry, but he couldn’t.
“I kind of thought the same thing about you and Milo,” he said after a moment. “I couldn’t understand what you saw in him because he was the complete opposite of everything you ever went after.”
“Yeah, well, I kept some secrets,” she admitted. “That whole last year before I met him, I knew I didn’t want to keep living like I had been. I wanted a home and a husband and kids.”
He looked at the ring on her finger, twinkling in the sunlight. “You’re almost there,” he said with a small smile. “And I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks.” She paused as if collecting her thoughts.
“What about you, Slater? Is this really what you want to keep doing? Are you going to be okay moving on from here and working at another adventure tour company and then moving on to something else a year or two later? Because…it’s okay if that’s changed.
You don’t have to stay locked into some decision you made at eighteen. ”
The mirthless laugh was out before he could stop it. “That decision was essentially made for me.”
“No, it wasn’t,” she said firmly, leaning forward almost menacingly. “Here’s the thing: everyone is capable of change. That old saying, ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks,’ is total bullshit. You can change your trajectory, Slater. You don’t have to be like either of your parents.”
“Nora…”
“I’m serious! It’s not easy; I know it’s not going to be easy. But you deserve to be happy, and you can’t tell me you were actually happy before you and Evie got involved.”
He shrugged. “I was just fine. Working here with the guys has been a blast. Rebuilding the resort was so much more than I thought it would be. I was…fulfilled.”
“That’s not the same as being happy,” she countered. “I see the way you are with her, and it’s killing me how you’re going to just let her go.”
“She hasn’t asked me to go with her,” he said miserably, and immediately wished he could take it back. It made him sound needy and vulnerable; two things he hated.
“The two of you need to sit down and have a conversation. Soon. Now,” she said with a small laugh. “We talked about this at girls’ night last night, and I am typically not the person who goes around meddling, but the two of you desperately need someone to meddle.”
“Why…?”
“She has feelings for you, Slater. You have to know that. And from what I can tell, you have them too. Don’t let her leave because of some weird notion in your head that you can’t commit to anyone.”
“I never have.”
“Maybe because the right woman hadn’t come around yet.” She smiled softly. “And now I think she has.”
He thought that too.
“But you have to get your head out of your ass and do something, or she’ll leave here thinking she’s doing the right thing and then you’ll both be miserable.”
“I know,” he murmured. “I just…I don’t know how to change how I think, Nora. It’s not like there’s a switch I can just turn off. I’ve known my whole life that I took after my father and that meant being shitty to women. The more they care, the more I’ll screw up.”
For a moment she simply stared at him. Until…
“Wow. I always thought of you as brave and intelligent. I never realized how utterly wrong I was.”
His eyes went wide. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” Shaking her head, she looked at him like he smelled bad. “For a guy who makes a living doing extreme sports and taking risks, I can’t believe you’re actually afraid of taking one that would seriously make your life better.”
“Nora, spare me the dramatics, okay? I’ll admit that I have feelings for Evie, the kind that I’ve never had before. But that doesn’t mean things are going to work out and we’re going to live in some damn fairytale. It doesn’t happen like that.”
The snort was super loud and, he thought, overly dramatic.
“Look around you, dude! Look at all of your friends! Hell, look at me! No one’s path has been easy in relationships.
Jayce and Kelsey hadn’t seen each other in fifteen freaking years and they’re making it work.
Walker and Harlow were enemies fighting over this very resort.
Axel grew up with nothing and ended up falling in love with a freaking heiress, and they’re like sickeningly in love.
Connor and Lexi each dealt with failed marriages and his snooty-ass family, and yet now they’re married and having a baby.
” She was practically breathless, but managed one last obvious example.
“And then there’s me and Milo. So opposite that it doesn’t even make sense.
Opposite sides of the country. Opposite ways of looking at life.
” She shrugged. “We’re making it work. Do you know why? ”
Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, he asked, “Love?”
“No, dummy,” she huffed. “Well, sort of. There is definitely love, but it’s work, Slater. We’re all putting in the work. Love doesn’t make everything easy; it just makes all the hard stuff worth it.”
Honestly, he had no response to that. He wasn’t even sure there was one that wouldn’t have her verbally attacking him again.