6. Pretty Tidy

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The more thingsI could find to not like about Wyoming, the better. His choice in reading material, for example. It left a foul taste in my mouth. I shudder, thinking about what he's reading in that biography of Heath Arnault.

What would happen when he read to the chapter about Heath Arnault's family and see the photos there? I was older now, and I'd changed hair color and style, wore no makeup, and even wore colored contacts, but was it enough?

How long could I realistically keep this up? A life constantly peering over my shoulder wasn't how I envisioned things going for me.

I graduated from an Ivy League university, for Christ's sake. I'd risen to the top of Dad's company. Only now, most of my friends were settling down, attaching themselves to a man with means and status, trading in their work life for mommy life.

Would there ever be an end to this? When I escaped, I didn't think that far ahead, simply trying to keep something really horrible from happening. Without a plan, my life floundered, losing hope I'd ever get out of this.

With a heavy sigh, I pulled my wagon of supplies across the way to the cabins for cleaning day. Not my favorite chore around here, but I had to keep up appearances as part of my job. Putting it off wasn't an option.

Wyoming enjoyed going hiking in the mornings, I noticed. Not that I sat glued in front of the monitor watching him on the cameras. Okay, maybe a little. He was out exploring, so maybe I'd finish his cabin quickly before he returned.

I ignored the part of me that admired his interest in the outdoors. At one point, I was all about the fast track and making my mark in New York City. Hell, the world. My only exposure to the outdoors came from the video playing while spinning away on my Peloton.

When I first arrived in Steele Valley, I had to force myself to embrace life at the campground in the forest. The only thing grounding me was knowing how my mother lived this life all those years ago before she met my father. Sometimes, in a quiet moment on the dock, I could feel her spirit all around me.

Not expecting to see him, I closed in on Wyoming's cabin, and jerked to a stop when he suddenly appeared, taking up one of the two chairs on his porch. Shirtless and sweaty, in only cargo shorts and hiking boots, his skin bathed in the bright sun, golden-hued, with his dark hair glistening and his eyes brighter blue than ever.

"Morning. I just returned from a hike. Join me for a coffee break?" There were two mugs on the railing, sitting there like a pair of lovebirds, meant to be, like he knew I was coming.

"Who drinks hot coffee in this weather?" I snapped back. Why did he have to smile at me so sexily like that, and could I ask him to put a dang shirt on?

"It's not so much the drink, as the moment to enjoy the morning sun rising over the lake together."

"Well, I don't have time for a break. I haven't even started cleaning," I grumbled, ignoring him and instead turning toward the next cabin.

"Then hold off for a few minutes, Eve. Come on. Trust me. Life has been going way too fast for me lately. That's why I'm here, to slow down for a minute. And this beautiful day is something to be admired."

I glanced sharply at him. Those words were similar to the ones Mom said to me, some of the last before she passed away. Slow down, honey. You move too fast. She didn't understand I had a sense of urgency.

Everything I worked on was for her, but I was too late.

The weight of the past crashed down on my shoulders and before I knew what I was doing, I sat in the seat next to him, brushing his arm with mine. The electric sparks on my skin almost made me drop the mug he handed me. Our eyes met and danced, as if he felt it, too.

He leaned back, taking a sip of his, then looked out across the lake. "Ah. See, this is nice. This view invigorates my soul. I wish I could transport it to my windows in San Francisco. I'd love waking up to this daily."

I finally tore my eyes away from him and stared out the same way he did, and admitted, yes, great view. With a deep sigh, I relaxed into the chair, a slight breeze blowing across my shoulders. "Is that where you're from?"

"Where I live, yeah. I work as a scientist there. But I'd love to own a place here someday. My brother, Joe, has a gorgeous home here, and I visit every summer. I've trekked around a lot of this lake over the years, but this has to be the prettiest site here."

I had to agree with him. "It is."

"I wonder if you realize how lucky you are to be here?"

Was I? I brought my necklace to my lips and turned my head away so he wouldn't see me blinking away the wetness in the corner of my eyes.

"If this place ever comes up for sale, I'd love to buy it," he continued. "I'd knock these cabins down and build a beautiful home here. A few stories high, maybe with a rooftop porch to take in the view above the trees. What do you think?"

I never thought of this place as being anything more than a campground, and a home might be lovely. But no, he couldn't... "As far as I know, the family that owns it has had it for generations. I doubt it'll ever sell. Besides, it'd cost you a small fortune, the way real estate prices are around here."

"That's a shame. I noticed five more old foundations for cabins in the forest. Must have been a pretty popular spot long ago."

"It takes a lot of upkeep. When the cabins were neglected for some time, they fell into disrepair and they tore them down. The family only had enough money to fix these few."

"Hm. You seem to know a lot about them. Can you put me in touch? Maybe I could make the family an offer they can't refuse."

Shoot. I told him way too much and now he's interested. All the other guests that came and went since I'd arrived here were entirely unappealing to me, so why did Wyoming get under my skin and stay there?

"You're serious about having a place here?" I asked.

"Absolutely. My brother and his kids are here. If I'm going to settle down someday, I'd like to be close to them."

Now he's talking about forever? I was here to escape my life, not to get all kinds of wrapped up with someone new. I didn't have the luxury to think about the rest of my life right now. "Actually, I should get back to work. The honeymooners left yesterday, and I'm sure their place is a mess."

"That explains why I hardly saw them. Guess they were busy." He winked at me.

"I suppose."

"I wonder if they got into the lake and fucked?" His brows wiggled. "My brother calls this the Lake of Mysterious Waters. He says anytime he and Molly go in it?—"

"Okay, that's probably too much information. I really need to get to work."

"I'm pretty tidy myself." He tipped his cup up and finished. "You can start with my place, if you like."

"But I can't clean with you here watching me."

"Why not?" He almost seemed offended.

"I'm too self conscious to be working with you right here, thinking that you might be checking me out."

A grin marched across his face. "Are you kidding? I've already done that, and I like the view of you, too." He chuckled and put down his coffee cup on the table next to mine.

Fire rose to my cheeks. How would I have reacted if I ran into him in my old life? Would I have given him a second glance? Or had I been so stuck up I wouldn't have noticed him?

Out here, with money and status stripped away, we're simply two souls enjoying coffee and cute banter by a beautiful lake. Undeniably attracted to him, I was pretty sure he knew it, not that any of it mattered.

He saw me as a poor woman, cleaning cabins for a living, but there was still the person I used to be lurking in the shadows. I saw him as a cute guy, and mildly attracted to him, nothing more.

Wyoming backtracked, taking me out of my thoughts. "Okay, fine. I'll go for a swim to give you time to clean alone, but I've already done a pretty good sweep of the place. There's little you'll need to do."

He kicked off his hiking boots, stripped his socks, then attacked his fly, stepping from his shorts so fast my breath caught in my throat until I realized he wore swim trunks underneath.

Finally leaving me be, he stalked down towards the dock. There was something I'd only glimpsed before, now in stark relief against the gold skin on his back—a huge rose with the letters M-O-M across it.

Great, not only is he pleasing to look at with a nice personality, he's also a mama's boy. Could I just find something not to like about this guy already?