Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Jasper
A week had gone by, and while Sheridan insisted I didn’t have to work weekends, there was plenty to do while the weather cooperated. I had reinforced the roof of the shed and then found some clearance shingles to replace the tattered ones.
The days after that task were the first in months that I had woken up pleasantly stiff and sore. Finally, some real work to do.
Today, I was in a guest room, changing out the faucet.
It had rusted. All of the faucets were in rough shape, and it showed in the performance and in the reviews.
Rural water had been piped in several years ago, but the damage from the hard water before then had been done.
Sheridan’s mom had likely wanted them all replaced, but the shed roof wasn’t the only thing that had needed something new.
Three years ago, a bad storm came through and hailed out the roof of the resort.
That cost was what had likely put Bishop’s Landing behind.
“Hello, Jasper,” Constance crooned from behind me. I bit back a groan. She was like my shadow when I worked indoors. It didn’t matter what room I popped into, she was there. Did she have a secret panel of cameras to monitor my movements?
Other than feeling like I was being stalked, each interaction with Constance reminded me of the time one of my mom’s friends used to hit on me and Alder when we were in high school. Mom kicked the friend to the curb when she caught an innuendo for the first time.
Sheridan should do the same to Constance.
“What’s up?” I asked, focused on putting the knobs in place.
“A toilet is leaking in Josh’s room.”
It took me a minute to register which room she was talking about.
Why would I know which room was Josh’s? But she meant the Josh Duhamel room.
For marketing a few years ago, Sheridan had explained her mom had followed the trend of naming rooms after famous people from the state: Sakakawea was the most notable, especially to the area.
Then Angie Dickinson, Lawrence Welk, Wiz Khalifa, and Louis L’Amour, among others. I was in the Virgil Hill room.
“That’s the one in the corner?”
“Yes,” she purred and leaned against the frame. “I told Sherry she needed to get new insides for all the toilets. It’s just Whac-A-Mole at this point.”
“Who’s Sherry?” I knew what game she was playing, but I refused to join in. Sheridan cared about this place. Constance cared about herself.
She smiled like she was abashed. “Sheridan. Sherry.”
I continued my work. “After I’m done here, I’ll head to Josh’s room, Connie.”
“Constance.”
“Sorry.” I used the same tone she had, and she stiffened. She left, and I grinned to myself.
When I was done, I fixed the toilet. Constance was a pain, and she thought she was the owner of this place, but she was right. All the toilets needed new insides, and in the Alan Ritchson room, the whole toilet should be replaced. I put it on my list.
When I was leaving with my tools, Sheridan was turning into the Sitting Bull conference hall. Other than the day we met, I hadn’t seen her outside of her resort attire, and today was the same. Same long legs on display. Same square shoulders. Same no-nonsense walk.
I morphed into a moth, and she was my own personal flame. I followed her right in.
She had her hair pulled back and it formed a puffball in the back of her head. She took a rag hanging from the back pocket of her slacks and dusted the artwork in the room. Constance likely ignored this room since it looked clean enough.
Sheridan glanced over. “Oh, hey.”
“Hi yourself.” That might’ve been too flirty. I was out of practice, but I wasn’t here to build a relationship.
I liked this space the most. Set up like a conference room had a baby with a mini museum, the walls were full of the region’s native history and the different peoples who had been part of the land.
I stopped at a map of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara earth lodges, looking over it, but kept her in my vision.
“My parents loved state history. They wanted everything about this place to pay homage to the land.” She chewed on the inside of her cheek. “I hate that money is my main worry.”
“Land and money are usually a complicated relationship. Add in a business and trying to support people with it, and it’s not easy. It’s why I didn’t throw a fit when Eliot told me that the Knights were selling everything along with Knight’s Cattle Company.”
Her eyes lit. “KCC. That’s what was on your shirt.”
“Yep.” How pleased was I that she’d noticed a detail like that? “The doors of the resort are still open. One day at a time, Sheridan.”
“And Paola said there’s a large group reservation tonight. Like fifteen people.” She stuffed her hands into her pockets. “I really hope they don’t cancel.”
“They won’t.” When she raised her brows at my confidence, I smirked. “It’s my family.”
Her eyes went wide. “All of them?”
“Most of them. Surprisingly, my parents didn’t come down. But my siblings are helplessly nosy, and as soon as they heard I was working out here, they assembled and planned a night.” I shrugged. “At least I get a free meal out of it. They’re covering it.”
Her eyes went liquid. “That’s so sweet. Nosy isn’t always bad. If it’s to be critical, then yes, but your family sounds sweet.”
“They’re something all right.” My phone buzzed. “In fact, this is probably them.”
I walked away to answer Violet’s call. “You here?”
“We’re seated too,” she said, “but don’t rush. We’re going to order apps.”
“Cheese sticks?” Willa’s voice came through the line.
“Yeah, sweetie,” Violet answered. “Lots of cheese sticks.”
“Tell her to save me some,” I said.
Violet snorted. “You take on that fight with her. But seriously, take your time.”
“Gotcha.” I disconnected. Sheridan was dusting another informative plaque. “If you don’t have anything else, I’ll take off. But not far.” I wiggled the phone. “They’re already here.”
Her expression brightened. A fifteen-count table would be a nice boost for the week, and my family didn’t eat like birds when they went out. “Anything else can wait. Have fun.”
“I gotta get a new toilet tomorrow. I’ll install that and then do some work on the back deck.
I noticed one support doesn’t reach the ground anymore.
” I started for the door, then stopped. Leaving her alone in here while I went to enjoy my sometimes suffocating family didn’t feel right. She was alone. “You wanna meet them?”
She sucked in a breath, and her gaze darted from wall to wall. “I’d love to.”
I barked out a laugh. “You don’t lie well, Sherry.”
Her gasp echoed through the room. She pressed her fingers to her lips, like she’d shocked herself.
I grinned. Getting a reaction like that from her could become addicting. “Don’t worry. I called her Connie when she did that.”
She snickered. “I owe you.”
“You don’t owe me a thing, and you don’t need to come with me. See you tomorrow.”
“I can go,” she blurted out. “And meet them. It’s the least I can do. Even with the twenty percent off employee discount, it’s going to help us out a lot.”
“Nah.” My family wasn’t going above and beyond. We loved a reason to gather and eat good food. “I’m not buying. So no discount.” I winked when she opened her mouth, likely to argue. “And since they’re buying, I’m going to order dessert.”
“Okay.” She nodded and squared her shoulders. No, this woman wasn’t a hot mess who got by only because others helped. She was determined and ambitious. She worked all damn day and probably long after I went home. “Let’s go.”
Sheridan
A knot formed right between my shoulder blades the closer I got to the restaurant.
Before the door even opened, I could hear the laughter from inside.
A pang of longing trailed through me. My family was never like this.
My brothers argued with each other, with our parents, and when possible, with me.
Each time one of them graduated, they left home and rarely came back.
But Jasper’s siblings were all here, and all because they were curious about where he worked.
Would they be underwhelmed? Rattler’s had a rowdy but family-friendly atmosphere. It had a rustic western aesthetic using timber beams and wooden flooring. We were quiet, and there was a canoe mounted on one wall. My stomach flipped over like it capsized.
Jasper held the door open, and the drone of voices grew louder.
My steps faltered as I passed by him. The noise died down.
A couple in the corner watched us. Another regular was in his usual booth, having his smothered beef sandwich.
The other half of the restaurant was filled with tables pushed together.
Mostly adults filled the seats, but there were some kids.
The way their faces lit up when Jasper arrived stabbed me right through my ribs. From the adults to the kids, they were all happy to see him. Smiles surrounded the tables, and there was such a casual and welcoming atmosphere, I was filled with the most amount of envy one person could handle.
Jasper stood from the end. “Here’s the boss.”
I didn’t look like the boss. No one could tell I managed my own makeup routine—I wasn’t wearing more than mascara.
So technically, I had that down. One of the part-time staff had taken to calling me boss, thanks to hearing Jasper do it.
I didn’t need the moniker, but it was nice to be acknowledged when I’d had people quit or actively disdain me.
Someday, I’d feel like I was an authority figure. “Hello, Duke family.”
“One’s a Barron,” Jasper said and pointed to a woman with curly dark hair and bright eyes. She waved, and I smiled back. “That’s Violet. She married Evander Barron.”
Evander was a lot older than me, but the Barrons were a big family.
“And a Knight.” He pointed to a woman who looked vaguely familiar.
“Hey, Sheridan,” she said. “It’s been a while, huh?”
“Lily!” My nerves from earlier decreased. My hands quit trembling. She was a quiet girl back then, so was I, and then her family had moved. “Nice to see you again.”
Jasper went around the table naming everyone. “Lily’s husband is Eliot, and they didn’t bring their whole brood. His family’s in town, so they have a lot of babysitters. Evander’s the pumpkin dealer in the area.”
An idea came to mind. Pumpkins would be a cheap decoration for the fall. “I’ve heard about the pumpkin patch. Is it too late to put an order in?”
Evander shook his head. My first impression of him was a hard man, but he put an arm across the back of Violet’s chair. “Not at all. I usually have trailers of pumpkins that need a home. Jasper can give you my info. Tell me what you need, and I’ll get ’em here.”
Look at me, planning for the future instead of surviving each day. “Thank you.”
Jasper finished introductions. The little girl by Evander and Violet was their daughter.
Then Daisy and Alder, a young girl named Laila, and a little boy, Lee.
Poppy and Clover were sitting next to each other with their husbands on either side.
I remembered Jensen. He’d always been running around with Poppy and some other kids.
Clover’s partner, Van, was newer to town and seemed like the quiet type.
Jasper ruffled the hair of the boy next to him. “And this soccer stud is Auggie.”
The kid who belonged to Poppy and Jensen groaned. “Uncle Jasper. Don’t say that.”
Jasper grinned, an unrepentant uncle. “So that’s everyone, but as soon as our parents hear that we’ve done this, they’re going to want to get in on the action.”
“You’re all welcome here,” I assured him. “Anytime.”
“Can we buy you dinner?” Violet asked. “It’s Alder’s treat.”
The offer was tempting. I would love to sit with a big group like this and just be part of it, but I couldn’t impose. What would it look like? I hired Jasper and almost immediately ingratiated myself into his family? “Oh no—”
“Here ya go.” Jasper pulled a chair out on the other side of him. “I heard they have good apps here.”
I looked from him to the chair. I shouldn’t. This big, happy family wasn’t mine. Yet Jasper was inviting me. The temptation was overriding my logical brain. I took a step.
“Hey, Sherry,” Constance called from the doorway. “I’ve got an issue.”
My heart dropped like a stone in a puddle. The tiny splash was my hopes shattering. So much for that.
Jasper aimed a flinty gaze at Constance. “There’s no Sherry here.”
Constance’s cheeks flushed and her laugh came out thready. “Right. Sheridan. A moment? It’s a bridezilla.”
My gut twisted. Did she have to do that in front of everyone? This time, I didn’t think she did it on purpose. It was just Constance. And that was an issue. I gave the big group a wave, hiding my disappointment where relief should’ve been. “Thank you for the offer, but I’d better go handle this.”
“See you tomorrow? Boss?” Jasper asked.
For a heartbeat, I wished I was in another world. One where I hadn’t embarrassed myself as a first impression to this man. One where he was asking me out instead of telling me he’d be showing up for work again. At the moment, not quitting on me was more than enough. “See you tomorrow, Jasper.”