Her Cowboy Prince, page 14
part #1 of Once Upon A Western Series
“That’s a good idea.” But it also led him to think about how the event was just more work for the staff. He was already asking extra work of them to prep for the Old-Fashioned Christmas events. But what if he switched things up this year? Maybe he could hire out the catering and staffing for the night, give his employees an opportunity to go to a special event.
And what if he got up the nerve to ask Melody to go with him? What if this time she said yes?
As they ate, they fell into talking about places in Livingston she might like to visit—art galleries and the Yellowstone Gateway Museum among them, what she’d have to go all the way to Bozeman to find, and the lowdown on various Logan Springs residents and establishments. Despite always feeling a bit off-kilter around her, she was easy to talk to. As their meal progressed, she seemed to relax a bit and thus he did as well. So he didn’t say anything about her going to the ball. He needed to take care of several details before he took that step. Before he decided for sure if it was even wise to take it.
“I have a question for you now,” she said.
“Okay.”
“What’s the process for getting products stocked in the resort’s gift shop?”
“Nadine handles the initial inquiries. Anything she thinks might be a good fit, she passes on to me for consideration. Why? You have another secret talent?”
“It’s for Lynn. She works in housekeeping, too.”
“Yeah, I know her.” Could Melody think that whole swaths of his employees were nameless to him? Yet another reason to change the guest list to this year’s holiday ball.
“She makes beautiful handcrafted cards and recently set up an online shop for them. I just heard from her a while ago that she got her first big order. Thought it would be nice if the place she works stocked them.”
“Have her give some samples to Nadine and we’ll give them a look.”
“Thanks.”
“So, you her talent agent now?”
She smiled. “No, just helping out a friend.”
“You do that a lot, I hear.”
She gave him a questioning look. “I heard you got your neighbor a job with Lottie, not to mention helping me out.”
“You’re paying me.”
“I wasn’t paying you to do what you did for my dad.”
“Is he still doing okay?”
“Yeah. I can’t say we won’t still have some rough spots, but things changed after the night you talked to him.” His dad still went to his regular poker game, but at least since his accident he appeared to have stopped combining the outings with drinking and had figured out when to stop betting. Baby steps. “And I’ll admit I let him have it on our way home that night.”
She gave a little smile, as if she totally understood. “Grief is a strange thing. It affects people differently. And sometimes it literally changes day to day.”
“Maybe, but whatever you said to him seemed to have an impact. You ever want yet another job, you could hire yourself out to give those ‘Come-to-Jesus’ talks. You’d make a fortune off the parents of teenagers alone.”
She chuckled. “I think I have enough jobs already.”
“You’re not too overloaded, are you?”
“No, not at all.”
“Maybe you should follow Lynn’s lead and launch your own business.”
“Cleaning more toilets than I already do? I think I’ll give that a hard pass.”
“No. I don’t know, something that taps into your ability to manage a lot of moving parts and think creatively.”
She twirled her fork through what was left of her mashed potatoes as if thinking seriously about what he’d just said. “Honestly, I’ve been thinking about something. I’ve gotten into refurbishing old furniture, upcycling. I never imagined myself doing something like that, but I just sort of stumbled across the idea.”
“That’s a possibility. I’m sure there are plenty of places where you could consign some pieces.”
She smiled at him. “You haven’t even seen the work. It could be dreadful.”
“I doubt that. You’re a smart woman. I don’t think you’d even consider selling anything unless it was quality work.”
Melody shifted in her seat, and he hoped he hadn’t made her uncomfortable with the praise. She looked toward the front of the restaurant as if she might flee. He wondered why she did that sometimes—during a perfectly normal conversation suddenly acting as if she’d just remembered some reason why she shouldn’t be having the conversation at all.
“I appreciate the compliment.”
When the waitress came with their tickets, he quickly grabbed Melody’s before she could.
She extended her hand. “I’m going to need that.”
“I’ve got it.”
“No, this isn’t a work lunch or a date, so I pay my own way.”
He grinned. “You willing to argue about it in the middle of a crowded restaurant?”
She lifted a brow. “You might be surprised.”
“Can we just call it one friend treating another to lunch?”
She continued to stare at him, seeming to think about it. “Only if I can repay the favor sometime.”
“Deal.” Because, of course, that meant they’d have to have another meal together. He wondered what she’d think if he asked to cash in the IOU for the holiday ball.
As she moved to leave, she paused after scooting back her chair. “That’s your theme for the ball. Friends, Old and New. You can actually loosely tie it into the Old-Fashioned Christmas theme.”
“I like it. Nadine may try to push me out and install you as the new head of Peak View. Though I’d caution against accepting it. Being the Head Cheese in Charge isn’t something you can just turn off when you go home.”
She smiled, but it looked shaky. It was one of those moments when he got the feeling she was thinking about something far away and wondered how in the world it could be related to what he’d said.
“I’ll see you at work,” she said. “Thanks for lunch.” And then she made quick work of leaving the café.
Justin watched her go, wondering how one woman had him feeling as if he was high on life one minute and going completely bonkers the next.
*
Melody had just clocked in for another shift when she turned around and came face to face with Lynn.
“Hey,” Melody said. “Sneak up on people often?”
“Sorry. Did you say something to Nadine about my cards?”
“No, I told Justin about them, and he must have mentioned it to Nadine. Did you not want them to know?”
“It’s not that. I’m just sort of freaked out. What if they put them in the shop and they just sit there, unsold and unloved, like a dead fish on the riverbank?”
“I seriously doubt that will happen, but what if it does? They’re not going to fire you.”
“No, but I’ll have to look at my failure every time I pass by the shop.”
Melody took hold of Lynn’s upper arms. “Stop worrying. I have faith in you. I know talent when I see it.”
Lynn looked at her as if she was trying to figure out a tough bit of calculus. “I feel as if there is a whole other you hiding behind what you show people.”
Melody did her best not to react, but she wasn’t sure how well she’d succeeded. “I watch a lot of Shark Tank.”
“You know you can talk to me, right? We’re friends.”
“I know. We talk.”
Lynn pressed her lips together in what looked like frustration.
“I need to get to work since I’m on the clock so I’m not the one who gets fired.”
Lynn huffed a little laugh. “Like that’s going to happen.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, just that Justin McQueen has the hots for you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” A part of her thought Lynn might be right. After all, he had asked her out. But while she liked that idea, she had to find a way to make sure any feelings didn’t build.
Didn’t she? She wasn’t as sure as she’d once been.
She realized that each day she spent working alongside Justin, listening to his deep voice, watching how effortlessly he talked to other people—employees, customers, vendors, members of the community—always coming across as if he cared not only about what they were saying but also them as a person, because she truly believed he did, how he held his family and business together through sheer force of will, her resistance to admitting her feelings to him waned more and more. But it was precisely because of those feelings that she couldn’t subject him to a possible relationship built on lies. Especially not after what she’d heard about his ex-girlfriend. He deserved someone who not only loved him but who could be totally honest and open with him too. She wasn’t that person.
“I don’t know why you’re resisting what is an obvious mutual attraction, but I hope you can figure it out before you miss an opportunity to be happy.”
And then to Melody’s surprise, Lynn pulled her into a hug that had unexpected tears pooling in her eyes.
Despite what she’d said about needing to get to work, Melody waited a few minutes after Lynn left, the time necessary to get her emotions under control, before she exited the room with her cart.
A few minutes later, she was cleaning the mirrors in the executive wing bathroom when Nadine came in.
“You’re here late,” Melody said. Nadine was more likely to come in early than stay late.
“Playing catch-up on the holiday ball since Justin was so late getting me the info I needed. I hear we have you to thank for the theme—again. You sure you won’t just officially apply for the events coordinator position and make my life easier?” Nadine pressed her palms together prayerfully and gave Melody a pretty-please smile.
She felt the pull to make the leap, to officially be in a position that could more fully utilize her experience, but she couldn’t help wondering if it would be a mistake. A more visible profile could be dangerous, even if the events coordinator position at a Montana resort was a world away from big pharma in Atlanta.
“At least say you’ll think about it,” Nadine said.
“I’ll think about it.” She’d be unable to prevent doing so. While she was coming to terms with her new life, she couldn’t help wanting to recapture some elements of her old one.
“Great. I think you’d be a perfect fit. Natural talent is better than degrees in my book. And literally everything you’ve come up with has taken the resort in positive new directions. Even the changes to the ball.”
“Changes?”
“Opening up the guest list to include employees. It’s a great way to pay employees back for a year of hard, dedicated work. A night of partying instead of working.”
“I can’t take credit for that. I had no idea about the guest list.”
“Really? Hmm, wonder why Justin made the change.” Nadine smiled as if she might already know the answer.
Sudden butterflies started fluttering in Melody’s stomach. She’d been in some truly high-stress situations in her life, so why did the mere idea that Justin might have changed policy so she could attend a dance make her feel so jittery?
Maybe because despite all the wealthy, successful, handsome men she’d met during her life, Justin was the first one who felt real to her. She didn’t have to be concerned that he was as interested in her position and money as he was her—or more so. But now that she thought about it, she found it amazing that Justin would have any interest in her because of his experience with his ex. He’d suffered the exact thing she’d always had at the back of her mind every time she’d gone out on a date. And yet he was willing to take another chance?
Maybe she should take a page out of his book and do the same—and figure out how to deal with the consequences, if there were any, later.
*
When Justin walked into the lodge’s lobby, he was surprised to see Melody walking into The Pinnacle in her uniform. Evidently she’d picked up someone else’s shift again because she was supposed to be off work for the next four days for the long Thanksgiving weekend. Perhaps one of the other housekeepers was already traveling to visit family. He suddenly wondered what she was doing for the holiday. He hated the idea that she might be spending it alone in her little apartment.
If he invited her to spend the holiday with his family, would she accept? Or was that too much? But she had seemed to warm toward him recently, smiling more and, if he wasn’t mistaken, even flirting a little bit. Nothing big, but definitely enough that he’d begun to hope she’d changed her mind, that she wouldn’t see it as harassment if he asked her out again. Maybe she’d feel more comfortable if he asked her to something personal that wasn’t really a date, an event with other people around.
Before he lost his nerve, he followed her into the restaurant. He reached the hostess stand in time to see her accept two takeout containers. Not one. Two. Maybe they were both for her, a different meal for different days.
Or maybe there was someone in her life he didn’t know about. She’d said it wasn’t her neighbor, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t someone else. If so, he was about to feel like a fool.
“Hungry?” he asked as she noticed him.
She lifted the containers. “For tomorrow.”
“Not traveling then?”
She lowered her gaze, but not before he saw some sadness in her eyes. Why had he asked such a stupid question? He already knew she didn’t have any family.
“Sorry,” he said. “I was wondering if you might like to join our family for Thanksgiving.”
She looked up, the sadness replaced by surprise. “You should spend the holiday with your dad and brothers, especially since you all seem to always be going in different directions.”
“Are you kidding? We’ll be tired of each other before we get the turkey on the table. Plus, by you sharing the meal, you’d be helping to keep us from eating ourselves right into a food coma.”
She looked hesitant, shifted from one foot to another. “Why are you asking me and not anyone else?”
He considered the best way to answer, but what came out was, “I think you know.” He glanced at her takeout containers again. “Unless there’s someone else.”
She lifted the foam boxes a bit. “I was going to share this with someone, but how would you feel about having two guests instead of one?”
She wanted to bring a date after what he’d confessed. Well, he hadn’t said the words, but he was fairly certain she knew what he meant.
“You remember Marty, my neighbor?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have anywhere to go or anyone to spend the holiday with, so I was going to invite him over. But I think a family Thanksgiving might be just what the kid needs.”
Okay, if she was calling Marty a kid, that indicated she didn’t think of him in any sort of romantic way, right? It hit him that this was just Melody being kind to a friend, the way she’d helped Lynn to launch her card-making business, how she’d brought Marty and Lottie together in a working relationship that helped them both. How she’d breathed new life not only into the upcoming Christmas season but also his dad, who, based on his increasing enthusiasm for the Christmas village he was helping to construct, actually seemed to be looking forward to a holiday for the first time since Justin’s mom had died.
“Sure, bring him along. Though you’re going to be severely outnumbered.”
She shrugged. “A little testosterone doesn’t worry me.”
After they set a time for her and Marty to arrive and he’d assured her that she didn’t need to bring anything, she headed out of the lodge. As he watched her go, suddenly not caring who might see, he realized that his dad wasn’t the only McQueen looking forward to the holidays.
Chapter Twelve
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.” Marty fidgeted in the passenger seat of Melody’s car.
“I had to have someone to feel awkward with, and you were handy.” No way was she going to tell Marty that the idea of him sitting alone in his nearly empty apartment on a holiday meant to be spent with family made her heart literally ache.
Marty snorted. “Why are you going to your boss’ house for Thanksgiving anyway?”
She glanced over at him. “Free food that I don’t have to cook.”
“Yeah, right. The way I hear things, your boss likes you—and not just as an employee.”
Melody gripped the steering wheel harder and slowly turned her gaze to her grinning passenger. “Let me guess. Lottie is keeping up the great Southern tradition of gossiping.”
“I don’t think it’s just Southern,” he said. “Seems more like a nosy small-town thing.”
He might be right about that.
“We’ve just been working together, that’s all.”
“How often do co-workers go to each other’s houses for Thanksgiving?”
“I’ll have you know this is not the first time I’ve done this. I once spent quite a nice Thanksgiving at a co-worker’s house.” Granted, that co-worker had been her best friend Lorna and she’d been there on Thanksgiving only because bad weather had kept her dad from arriving home from an overseas trip in time for the holiday, but Marty didn’t have to know that particular set of facts.
But as she made the turn into the McQueens’ driveway, she wondered if she’d lost her mind. If everyone in town was already speculating about her and Justin, how much sense did it make to add fuel to the gossip fire by spending the holiday here with not only him but also his family? While she truly did want to give Marty a nice place to spend the day, she had to admit she was using him as a barrier, too. She didn’t need more curious gazes turned her way, not when she needed to stay as invisible as possible. If people somehow figured out who she was, she’d have to start over again. And as she saw Justin step out onto his porch, that was the last thing she wanted, wise or not.
“Do you know you have a silly grin on your face?” Marty asked.
Melody adjusted her expression on instinct before thinking how doing so just proved everything Marty had heard was true. She sighed.
