Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Sheridan
It was Sunday morning, and my head continued to spin about how I had started the weekend. First, I had brought a six-pack to Jasper’s room. No, it hadn’t been his bedroom, and it hadn’t been a guest room that was in use, but it was a room with a bed, and we’d been in it together.
Waking up against that unyielding yet comforting body of his…I exhaled a wistful sigh. A girl could get used to that. What would it have been like under the covers—naked?
I gave myself a shake and continued digging through a box.
I found one of my favorite wax melts—fresh linen in sunshine—and set it on the table.
The warmer wasn’t a picture. It didn’t require me taking down one of Mom’s frames only to replace it with something of mine.
Something that would look out of place where Mom’s orderly things once were.
Emotion clogged my chest, and I let the wave of grief roll through me. Tears welled and spilled and repeated. Then I blew out a breath and wiped my eyes. Okay. What next? Jasper was picking me up to go to the beach soon.
The warmer wasn’t on, but I caught the smell. It was like the cabin was going through a slow metamorphosis. Perhaps I should put up one of my pictures.
I located one of my favorite signs I’d made. There were no words on it, but it had a painted wagon with a small jar attached that could hold real or fake flowers. Since I hadn’t wanted maintenance, I had put fake sunflowers in it.
I replaced one of Mom’s store-bought watercolor pictures with it. More items I should bring into the house came to mind, along with a plan to fill some boxes.
How did Jasper have the answer to so much? He’d given me a simple idea that I hadn’t come up with myself. Doubt continued to follow me around every corner. Between the house and the resort, I had no idea how I would do any of it.
Now it was beach time. After packing a few drinks and snacks for the afternoon, I went outside and paced the porch, wringing my hands. If anyone saw me at the beach with my employee, I could tell them I was doing research. Getting a ground-level look at what beachgoers would want.
Yeah, I wouldn’t buy that either. Yet I couldn’t cancel. I needed this. I needed to do something besides work, and so far, Jasper was the only one who could get me off the resort.
Jasper’s pickup rolled down the drive. I smoothed my hands over the black-and-pink athletic shorts and tugged down the shirt I’d thrown on over my bathing suit. My fingers shook with the tiniest tremble. I’d slept over with the man twice. Why was I nervous about a trip to the public beach?
Yet, from the scruff on his jaw and the smile that was visible through the windshield to the way he drove with his window down and his arm resting in the opening, he was nothing if not approachable. I’d never met someone so handsome who also wasn’t intimidating.
I had been intimidated by most men, to be honest—by a lot of people. Firing Constance had been my first step in learning how to keep some steel in my spine.
I waved at Jasper like I had no shame about the other morning, and I sort of didn’t. When would I get a whole man pillow like him again? Picking up the tote I’d packed with picnic supplies, I jogged down the porch steps and met him before he got out.
“Morning, boss,” he said as I climbed into the passenger seat.
Awareness tickled down my spine. The way he said boss was more like an endearment than a reminder of who I really was to him. “Morning. I packed some food.”
He adopted a lopsided grin as he pulled away. “Got a six-pack hidden in there?”
“No. Lemonade only.” Otherwise, I might end up naked on the beach.
He was about to roll up his window when he turned onto the road, but I put mine down.
It was only a half-mile drive to the dock and the beach was next to that.
The wind kicked through the cab, filling it with the smell of the wildflowers in the pastures and the metallic tang of the lake.
The smell of my childhood. A scent so ingrained in me, I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I got it back.
When he turned toward the dock, trees crowded the road. A pickup hauling a fishing boat could be seen backing into the water. Two more waited behind him, and other pickups with empty trailers lined the parking lot. Jasper drove past them to the smaller lot only yards from an open beach.
How had I not been here since I arrived? There was a narrow but well-worn path from the resort to the water. It was the best we could offer guests, and they used it. I had quit morning walks or even just time off unless Jasper gave me an excuse to cut loose.
I needed to do that on my own.
We hopped out of the pickup. To our left, a grassy hill gently rolled upward toward the resort. Small copses of trees interspersed the space between here and there, but there was one break in them that would be perfect for a walking path. Only none of that land was the resort’s.
He retrieved a backpack from the back seat. Then he took the tote from me, and it gave me a second to get over my shock.
“You’re in shorts.” I stated the obvious, but it was so un-Jasperlike that I couldn’t help it.
He’d been sitting, and I’d been so focused on my own foray into the bay I’d grown up in that his attire hadn’t registered.
No jeans. No boots. He had a ball cap in his hand, and he flopped it on his head.
His legs were muscular, tan, and lightly dusted with hair.
I thought he looked good in jeans, but in shorts, he was sporty hot instead of rugged hot.
“I’m a chameleon.”
Laughing, I followed him off the gravel of the parking lot to a few big boulders that remained on the beach for people to sit on, just feet from the waterline.
Rocky sand filled generous square footage from the rolling hills around the bay to the glittering blue water. Waves gently kissed the shore.
My relaxation was instant. “You’re telling me you didn’t wear boots at your computer job?”
“You’d be surprised what I wore in the office.” He winked. “I worked from home a lot, and sometimes, I just threw on a shirt for an online meeting.”
A pantsless Jasper. My heart skipped a beat. “I can’t get away with that.”
His grin was unrepentant. “I wouldn’t complain if you tried.” He set the tote on the flattest part of the rock. There were a few cigarette butts on the ground, so he brushed sand over them with his shoe. “Want to eat first?”
“Sure.”
He had brought big beach blankets. There wasn’t enough space on the rocks, so he picked a clean part of the sand next to them and spread a blanket out.
I sat down and placed my container of sandwiches and chips in the middle.
I might be spending much of the day with Jasper, but I didn’t need to be in his lap.
What would a day like that be like? Curled up on a couch or in a bed, with nothing to do but whatever we wanted. We could linger in bed in the morning and then move to the couch and watch a movie. Take a walk hand in hand. Cook a meal together.
It was unattainable for the near future.
The far future? I had no idea where I’d be or if I could afford to stay in Coal Haven.
But I’d take a few hours of domestic bliss.
What I’d experienced with him was already robbing me of all good sense.
I could not allow myself to consider a hypothetical life with Jasper.
I knew what waking up to him was like, and that was enough temptation.
I might sacrifice the resort for more time with Jasper.
Then, if he proved to be just another deadbeat with no ambition, I would have nothing but an expired real estate license.
The wind fluttered the ends of the towel.
He positioned himself opposite the food and grabbed a sandwich.
We faced the water and ate, the soft sounds of the waves and the birds providing ambience.
There was a tension emanating from Jasper that I couldn’t identify.
He’d been so relaxed behind the wheel, but the drive from the cabin to the beach was short.
“I have a confession,” he said, dusting his fingers off.
“Oh?”
“Landon caught us yesterday.”
I choked and coughed on a crumb. Jasper opened a lemonade and handed it to me.
“He did?” I croaked out before guzzling the sweet juice. He saw? A kid? Saw me in bed with Jasper? What was he going to say to the rest of the staff?
“Yep, but I didn’t want you to panic any more than I knew you would. I talked to him.”
I chewed the inside of my cheek. My half-eaten sandwich was abandoned on the towel. “What’d you say?”
“I told him that you felt bad that I was working late and came to help, but we got to talking—and only talking.” His smile somewhat calmed my nerves. “I used it as a ‘don’t drink and drive’ lesson. You kept me company while I waited out my blood alcohol level, but we fell asleep.”
We hadn’t just fallen asleep. That would’ve looked bad enough. I had practically burrowed into his skin and become one with him.
“At least we were dressed,” I muttered. If anyone asked, I could explain that we’d taken a breather repairing the room and we’d both passed out. Totally believable... Ugh. It’d have to do.
“I think that’s what sold it the most.”
I giggled, disbelief filling me. “When I took over, my biggest concern was mean girl behavior and the bottom line. Now it’s teen employees thinking I’m messing around on the job.”
“Eh, it happens.”
“Does it really?” I asked dryly.
“If that new place gets built, it’ll happen there too. More rooms, more messing around.”
Instead of bringing the worry back, his comment lightened my already sunny mood. The group that sounded like they wanted to conquer the bay’s shoreline would face obstacles too. “Thanks for telling me.”
“No problem.”
I would’ve rather known in the moment, but then I might’ve rambled and not at all convinced Landon that nothing had happened. I would’ve sounded as guilty as I had felt. Only it had been a well-intentioned, if unprofessional, mistake.