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NICK
I was going to kill Reese if he was the one pounding on the door and ruining my perfect moment with Mandy. Other than my brother and sister, she was the only one who visited my cabin. Since she was curled up next to me in my bed, I could eliminate her from the list. The cell phone in the pocket of my discarded pants had rung with Reese’s familiar tone at least three times in the last five minutes, leading me to believe it was him.
It was the second afternoon this week that I’d been able to coax Mandy to stop work early and spend some time in my bed. Judging by the amount of light filtering through the blind on the window, it was midafternoon and we hadn’t been napping long. “Mandy.” I brushed some loose curls off her face, loving the soft noise she made. “We need to get up. Someone’s at the door.”
“Crap.” She must have finally heard the banging, because she widened her eyes. “Who do you think it is?”
“It’s probably Reese. He’s been calling.” Panic blossomed on her face, and I immediately wished I hadn’t said anything. Tension and the overwhelming need to protect her pulsed from my wolf, letting me know he wasn’t happy about it either. I remembered Mandy’s voiced concerns about losing her job and wanted to reassure her. “Hey, don’t worry.”
“But...”
“I told you everything will be okay.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “We don’t have anything to hide, and we’ll deal with it together.”
“Okay.” She rolled from my arms and off the bed, then reached for her clothes.
Another bang on the door had me doing the same. I tugged on my pants and grabbed my shirt on the way out of the room.
“You better have a damned good reason for bothering me,” I grumbled and pulled the shirt over my head. I yanked the door open and stared through the screen in surprise at the stranger standing on my porch. He was an older man, early fifties maybe, with sandy-brown hair and blue eyes a shade darker than Mandy’s. He was dressed in khaki shorts and a short-sleeved cotton shirt with an orange-and-yellow patterned print. If it wasn’t for the bulky black ankle boot protecting some type of injury, I’d have thought he was headed for a Hawaiian vacation.
“I didn’t mean to bother you.” The man smiled brightly, forming dimples. “I was told up at the lodge that I might find my daughter here.”
“Your daughter?” It took me a moment to realize why his features seemed oddly familiar. He was Roy Jenson, Mandy’s father. Before I had a chance to say anything, Mandy was at my side, smoothing her mussed hair.
One glance at our visitor and the color drained from her face. “D-Dad,” she stammered. “What are you doing here?”
“I tried calling, but you weren’t answering your phone.” Roy glanced at me, taking a longer look this time, giving me a thorough perusal. Not that I blamed him. The man had found me with his daughter, and it didn’t take a lot of intelligence to figure out what we’d been doing. I wasn’t ashamed of being caught and, if given the choice, would take her to my bed all over again. I was more concerned about Mandy’s reaction. Would she think I was good enough to acknowledge, or would she pretend our close connection didn’t exist?
I swallowed back the lump of rejection building in my throat and glanced at Mandy, unsure how to proceed.
“Do you suppose I could come in?” Roy asked.
“Sure.” I pushed open the screen for him, glad he was still smiling. Bear had remained under the bench the whole time and finally decided to make his presence known. He scurried inside with Roy slowly limping behind him.
I turned and glared at Bear, who’d found a spot near my feet and was happily sitting on his rear and swishing his tail. “Some guard dog you are.”
“Hey, there, boy.” Roy gripped the arm of the nearby sofa and bent forward to scratch the dog’s head. “You must be the little guy Mandy told me about.” Once he was standing again, Roy directed his attention at his daughter. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“I’m sorry.” Mandy gave her father a quick hug, then returned to my side. “Dad, this is Nick. He’s Berkley’s brother.”
Roy held out his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you. My girl here speaks rather highly of you.”
“She does?” I was surprised and exhilarated by the news.
Roy nodded, giving me another one of his perusals. “I see why she likes you.”
“Dad,” Mandy interrupted, her warning insistent. “What happened to your cast?”
“The doc took it off, says it’s healing nicely.”
“Did he give you permission to drive with that thing on your foot?” She pointed at the cumbersome boot.
“I didn’t drive.” Roy glanced through the screen at the metallic silver car parked on the graveled drive next to my truck. “Barb brought me.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re here.” Mandy gave her father an admonishing look.
“Oh, right. As you already know, I’ve been going a little stir-crazy. When Barb mentioned that she’d never been up here, I suggested we make the trip.” Roy grinned more at me than at his daughter. “I was curious to see what you’ve been doing.” He held up his hand. “Before you go getting all suspicious about your old man’s motives, I had another reason for coming out here.”
“Yeah, and what would that be?” Mandy slapped her hands on her hips.
“Remember the order you placed for the replacement vanity?”
“Yes, why?” she asked.
“The company delivered it to the house. The driver was a young kid, and he seemed confused when I told him how to get here. I thought it would be easier to bring it out here myself. This way, I get to spend some extra time with you and get to know Nick a little better.” Roy glanced at me and winked. “Mind if I take a look around?”
“Help yourself.” I waved toward the living room, stepping aside so Roy could hobble past me.
Mandy gave me an apologetic smile and mouthed the word sorry. I pressed a kiss to her forehead, letting her know I was okay with her father’s visit.
Roy’s attention immediately went to the table I’d handcrafted. He glanced at me over his shoulder. “Mandy said you were talented, but this...” He ran his hand across the wooden surface. “This is amazing work. Do you ever sell anything you make?”
“No, I’ve never considered it.” I’d started the hobby to relieve stress, not to supplement my income.
“Well, if you ever do, let me know.” Roy scratched his chin. “There are quite a few people in the area who’d be interested.”
“I will, thanks.”
Roy gave me a brief nod, then turned to Mandy. “Why don’t you show me what you’ve been working on?”
“This way.” She released my hand and led her father down the hall. I was glad the bedroom was at the opposite end of the cabin and Roy wouldn’t be able to see the rumpled state of my bed. It wouldn’t bother me, but I had a feeling it would upset Mandy.
Once Roy had inspected the plumbing underneath the sink and given her a proud-fatherly compliment, we headed out to the car so I could unload the new vanity. Shortly after introducing me to Barb, her sister called with an emergency, putting an end to their outing.
“I guess we’ll be going, then.” Roy’s disappointment over having to leave was evident in the way he dropped his head and slumped his shoulders.
Surprisingly, I was enjoying the older man’s company and wanted to spend more time with him. “Why don’t you and Mandy stay, have dinner with us up at the lodge?”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose,” Roy replied enthusiastically, already moving away from Barb’s car.
“Berkley’s been experimenting with new dishes for the restaurant and will be thrilled to have more people to do some taste testing.”
“I have to admit, I wouldn’t mind not having to cook when I get home,” Mandy offered.
Roy wrung his hands in anticipation. “Well then, it sounds like we’ll be staying.”
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MANDY
After my father practically invaded Nick’s home, an invitation to dinner was the last thing I’d expected. Once we arrived at the lodge and my father was headed toward the kitchen, I pulled Nick aside. I’d been thinking about our afternoons together, his challenging dares, his playful kisses, and the way he’d manipulated my body into passionate pleasure.
I was worried Nick might be feeling guilty about what had happened between us, especially after the way he’d met my father. It was bad enough that my father had shown up at Nick’s cabin unannounced. What would have happened if he’d caught us together in his bed? “I’m really sorry about my dad. You didn’t need to ask us to stay.” I lowered my gaze, afraid of having my fears confirmed. “I know you like your privacy and...”
“I wanted to do this.” Nick touched my chin, gently lifting it until our gazes met. “Mandy, you’re important to me. You’re my...” He paused to ponder his words. “What I mean is, I don’t scare easily. Roy seems like a great guy, and I’d like to get to know him better, unless you’d rather I didn’t.”
Relieved, I smiled. “Don’t be silly. If you’re comfortable with having him around, then it’s okay with me.”
“Good.” He grabbed my hand. “Let’s go. I had quite a workout this afternoon, and I’m starving.”
I groaned and let him lead me down the hall. I knew he was referring to our lovemaking session and didn’t need a mirror to see the bright red blossoming on my cheeks. Again. I wondered if Nick would ever grow tired of purposely making me blush.
Nick had called ahead to let Berkley know he was bringing guests. When we entered in the dining area of the restaurant, she was already placing bowls and platters of food on one of the long rectangular tables.
She glanced in our direction, her gaze landing on our joined hands, and smiled. “Hey, guys, I hope you all like Italian.” She grabbed two bottles of Merlot, setting one on each end of the table. Next, she pulled back the foil on a pan of lasagna and placed it next to a large lettuce salad topped with olives, tomato slices, and croutons. She’d even draped a cloth napkin in a basket and filled it with freshly baked breadsticks.
“This looks great, sweetie.” My father gave Berkley a hug and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ve missed your visits.”
“Don’t you mean you’ve missed my cooking?” Berkley teased.
“Well, that too.” He shuffled to sit on a chair near the end where he could stretch out his booted foot.
“Come on, everyone, take a seat.” When Berkley began cutting squares in the large pan of lasagna, everyone in the room moaned at the delicious smell. It didn’t take long for everybody to get settled and begin passing the food around.
The conversation throughout the meal remained light, everyone too busy enjoying the meal. After finishing two helpings of everything, Reese pushed his plate aside and leaned back in his chair. “Roy, what do you know about Desmond Bishop?”
My father frowned, his expression sobering. “That man’s a nasty piece of work. Why?” He took a swallow of his wine. “You weren’t considering doing business with him, were you?”
“No, but we’ve been having some problems.” Reese went on to explain about our recent break-ins and Bishop’s offer to purchase the resort.
“From what I’ve heard, he has the Hanford police in his pocket, so you won’t get any help there.” My father reached for his third breadstick.
“I figured as much, which is why we’ve hired a security team to keep an eye on things.”
“You need to be careful. He’s dangerous and has run a couple other companies out of business to get what he wants.” He cast a nervous glance in my direction. “Should I be worried about my daughter’s safety?”
“I’ve got one of my guys checking on her throughout the day.”
That explained why I’d seen Bryson drive by the cabin where I was working a few times every day. Berkley had seemed overly anxious when she’d told me about the damage to the cabin, but I’d assumed it was stress related to opening the resort. I should have known she was trying to protect me. She’d taken on the role from the time we were teens.
I glanced at Reese, who was speculatively staring at the table and rubbing his chin. I’d seen that faraway look before, and uneasiness settled over me.
Finally, he returned his gaze to my father. “Maybe it would be a good idea to have someone else complete the rest of the cabins. I’ll see if I can bring in a contractor from Denver to finish.”
“No,” I snapped. “You hired us...me to do this job, and I plan to see it through to the end. I’m not about to leave you shorthanded, and I won’t let Desmond Bishop or anyone else dictate where I work.”
“Mandy, I think you should listen...”
I cut my father off by holding up my hand and giving Reese and him one of my don’t-bother glares.
“I’ll make sure nothing happens to her.” Nick draped his arm across the back of my chair and protectively gripped my shoulder.
Having him close with his warm hand pressed against my skin always made me feel safe. Heck, being with him anytime anywhere always felt right. “Hey, I’m not completely helpless,” I chided and patted his thigh. “I have some pretty good wrench-wielding ninja skills.”
Nick chuckled. “I’ll bet you do.” He nuzzled the side of my neck and whispered in my ear. “I’d love to see them the next time we’re alone.”
