Chapter 2 #3
In the distance, she spotted someone coming out of the lodge and immediately knew it was Connor.
The shaky breath was out before she could stop it, but she just kept walking.
Behind her, Jayce and Kelsey were instructing everyone on how they could help and letting them know what was packed and where.
But Lexi kept her eyes on her vehicle and silently prayed that Connor was maybe leaving for the day.
He lives here, dummy. Where is he gonna go?
At the car, she opened the door and gently nudged her son. “Jonah?” she whispered. “Hey, buddy. We’re here. It’s time to wake up.”
He was a deep sleeper, but quick to wake up. It was almost like someone flipped a switch and he went from asleep to awake in the blink of an eye.
“We’re here?” he asked as he tried to get out of his car seat. “Where’s the playground?”
Reaching in so she could help him, they worked together to get the harness off. “You can’t see it from here, but as soon as we unpack, I promise we’ll check it out, okay?”
“Okay!” Jumping from the car, Jonah hit the ground running and went right to where Jayce and everyone were unloading the truck.
Taking a moment for herself, she packed up the toys and books he’d been playing with on the long drive and put them in his backpack.
Hopefully they’d also keep him busy while they handled moving all of their stuff into the cabin.
It was great that she didn’t need any furniture right now.
All the pieces she had back in Springfield were old and secondhand.
Maybe once she could afford a place of their own, she’d also be able to afford new furniture.
Kelsey had informed her that the cabin came fully furnished, but that she had requested bunk beds for the second bedroom for Jonah.
As much as she was grateful to her and Jayce for helping her like this, she couldn’t help but feel bad about all the concessions.
Of course, once she and Jonah moved out, they could do whatever they wanted with the cabin, but she would do everything possible to keep it as pristine as she could while they were there.
When the last book was in the backpack, Lexi took a step back and shut the door.
And found herself standing face to face with Connor.
Dammit.
Her throat went dry, and her heart raced so hard that she swore she was going to pass out.
“Hey, Lexi,” he said, his voice low and gruff. “I just wanted to say hello and to promise you I’ll stay out of your way.”
“Oh, um…thank you.”
Dozens of questions raced through her head, but she couldn’t bring herself to voice any of them. Nervously, she combed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She had hoped to have a little more time before she was forced to see him.
His smile was tentative, so she knew he was just as nervous as she was, and oddly, that was a bit of a relief.
“I hear you’re going to be working with Slater,” he said as he slid his hands into his trouser pockets.
Swallowing hard, she forced herself to respond. “That’s the plan. But I think I’m going to be more on the office side of things. You know, making schedules and coordinating all the activities, not just the ones he’s handling. Walker said I’ll kind of be like a cruise director on land.”
He nodded. “Well, I uh…” Pausing, he looked toward the moving truck and then back at her.
“I’m handling all the food right now and then the restaurant when we open.
While it’s just our staff here, we’ve all been eating together up at the lodge.
I don’t want you to feel like you can’t join us just because of… well…you know…me.”
She almost laughed but refrained.
“Jonah and I have a bit of a routine, so…”
“Lexi,” he quickly countered. “You’re going to be living here, and so is your son. It would be great if he felt comfortable around us and not isolated. My daughter, Annabeth, is eight. I heard your son is…four? Is that right?”
“He’ll be five in two months,” she confirmed. “I just don’t know what time everyone eats, and since Jonah is so young, we tend to eat early. So if we don’t join you, it’s nothing personal, it’s just…life.”
Luckily, he didn’t argue. He simply nodded again. “I get that.”
Then they were both silent.
“Lexi?” Jayce called out. “We’re ready with the first haul!”
“Okay!” she replied before turning back to Connor. “I need to go. I haven’t even seen the cabin yet, so…”
“I guess I’ll see you around.”
“I guess so,” she said quietly, turning away before he could say anything else.
Hopefully no one would be able to tell how nervous and uncomfortable she was. They’d had their first run-in, and now it was over. If things went the way Walker and Kelsey and Jayce assured her it would, there wouldn’t be too many other chance meetings.
“You okay?” Kelsey asked as soon as she was back by the truck.
“Yup.”
“Are you lying to me?”
“Yup.”
Wrapping her arm around her as they walked, Kelsey said, “Oh, sweetie. It’s going to be okay. I promise. At least you got it out of the way immediately. Now you can relax.”
“I guess.” She glanced around and saw Jonah carrying a small box and walking next to Jayce. “Your fiancé is quickly becoming my son’s hero.”
Beside her, Kelsey grinned. “Yeah, Jayce is great with kids. We’re very eager to start a family.”
“You’re going to make great parents. You’re so lucky.” The sigh was out before she knew it. “I never wanted Jonah to be an only child. I always hoped we’d have another baby. You know, before I found out that Adam was a lying, cheating jackass.”
Although…she kind of knew he wasn’t the greatest guy before they got married. But she was pregnant with Jonah, and he swore he’d change.
The liar.
“Okay, not to be a cliché or anything, but…you’re still young. And now you’re here in a new state with a new job and starting a new life. You can easily meet someone, fall in love, and have another baby. Or babies.”
“Sadly, I’m more than a little jaded. There are some deep trust issues I’m not sure I’ll ever get over.” They walked along the path, and even though the conversation was a little depressing, she loved how cheery the cabins looked. “How did the guys renovate their cabins while living in them?”
“It wasn’t as hard as you might think. Walker and Axel are the only ones who’ve been here pretty much since the beginning.
So Connor, Slater, and Milo’s cabins got done while they weren’t here.
I think Axel slept on the floor up at the lodge more than once, or he’d sleep in Walker’s loft if Harlow wasn’t spending the night. ”
“Oh, that’s kind of convenient.”
“Jayce came up here a few times without me to work on our cabin, so this is the first time I’m seeing it in person.”
Lexi groaned loudly.
“What? Now what?”
“Because you should be staying here tonight, not me! Sheesh! This is a big deal! Jayce fixed this cabin up for the two of you, and now you don’t even get to stay in it. Why don’t Jonah and I see about staying up at the lodge for tonight so you two can…you know…christen the place?”
“Lex…I couldn’t…”
“Yes, you could. And I’m insisting. Although you’ll have a bunch of my crap stacked up all over the place, you’d have a night to yourselves.”
They turned a corner, and Kelsey stopped with a soft gasp.
“Oh! It’s even prettier than it looked in the pictures!
” Then she ran up ahead and caught up with Jayce, who was waiting for her with a smile.
Lexi wanted to look away because she could tell it was an intimate moment, but her son was jumping around beside them, and she wanted to get him out of the way.
Walking up to them, she took Jonah by the hand and gently guided him away.
“What do you think?” Walker asked as he came down from the front steps.
“It looks amazing, but…” She motioned for him to step aside with her, away from Jayce and Kelsey. “So I just found out that this is the first time Kelsey’s seeing the place all finished, and I feel terrible about them not getting to…you know…”
“Christen the place?” he asked with a grin.
“Exactly! I know it’s a lot to ask, but maybe Jonah and I can stay in a room up at the lodge for a night or two? It doesn’t seem right for the two of them to have to totally sacrifice the space they set up for themselves.”
“Well…”
“And I don’t expect anyone to wait on us. I’ll change all the bedding and clean the room so no one will ever know anyone slept there, I promise.”
“That’s not an issue,” he told her. “But I may have another option.”
“Great! Lay it on me.”
“Connor and Annabeth just moved out of their cabin, so it’s just sitting there unused.
Why don’t you and Jonah stay there tonight?
It’s completely furnished and has everything you could need.
We had housekeeping go in, so there are fresh linens on the beds and clean towels…
this way you have a kitchen and everything you’ll need for your son. What do you think?”
“Oh, Walker…seriously? If it were anyone else’s cabin…”
He chuckled. “I’ll admit that it might not be your ideal choice, but it’s close to Jayce and Kelsey’s cabin, so you’ll have access to your stuff, and it just seems like it might be nicer than an empty hotel. We pretty much close everything up for the night since we’re not open yet, so…”
She nodded, totally understanding what he was saying. “Don’t you think you should ask Connor first? It’s still his cabin, right? Just because he’s not living there at the moment, he might not want anyone living in his space.”
“Hang on. Let’s find out.” Pulling out his phone, he quickly tapped out a text, and now she wished she’d never said anything. After all, Jayce and Kelsey swore they were fine with her staying there, so why couldn’t she just leave it alone?
“Uh…you know what, Walker? It’s fine. I’m sure…”
“Connor’s okay with it,” he said, sliding his phone back into his pocket. “So let’s let everyone know what’s going on so we can finish unloading the truck and relax.”
She went to speak, but he immediately began addressing the group.
“Since this is Jayce and Kelsey’s first night in their newly finished cabin, Lexi and Jonah are going to be staying elsewhere for the next two nights,” he said loudly, and Lexi inwardly groaned.
“Lexi! We told you that wasn’t necessary,” Kelsey admonished, and all she could do was shrug.
“So, let’s unload everything and put it in the secondary bedroom here and then help Lexi move whatever she needs over to Connor’s cabin.”
“Connor’s?” Kelsey cried out. “Seriously, Walker?”
Holding up her hand, Lexi assured her it was fine.
Even though inwardly it totally wasn’t.
Staying in Connor’s cabin. Sleeping in Connor’s bed. Touching all the places he’d recently touched…
I’m in hell…
For the next hour, everything found its place. The secondary bedroom in Jayce and Kelsey’s cabin was cluttered with pretty much everything Lexi owned, but she pulled two suitcases out and let Jonah pick five of his favorite toys to bring with them.
“I’m gonna return the truck in town,” Jayce announced. They’d used a national company that had convenient pick-up and drop-off locations. “Who’s following to drive me back?”
“I’ll go!” Slater said, and the next thing she knew, she was following Walker and Harlow around to her new home for the next two days.
Me and my big mouth.
When they came around the bend, she spotted Connor standing out in front of one of the larger cabins in this row. He was smiling, and yet she couldn’t make herself smile back.
“Thanks for this, Con,” Walker said, shaking his hand. “Harlow and I will show Lexi and Jonah around.”
“I can do it,” he argued lightly, but Walker gave him a stern look that spoke volumes. Before stepping away, he looked at Lexi. “The place is yours for as long as you need.”
It wasn’t until he was several yards away that Harlow opened the door and said, “Ready to check it all out?”
At this point, Lexi wasn’t sure what she was ready for, but this certainly wasn’t what she was expecting.
Ever.