“Watch it,” Damien warned, his eyes narrowing.
“Just a joke, bro.” Easton replied. “Don’t worry, I’m getting back to work.” He left the kitchen with his travel mug of coffee.
Most of the time, Easton was the laidback jokester who didn’t seem to take things seriously. But occasionally, he said something that made me think he cared more than he let on that he didn’t have a bigger role at the resort like me and Damien.
At the time, he hadn’t wanted it. With Damien’s Hotel and Resort Management diploma and my diploma in Business Management and degree in accounting, he hadn’t felt the drive to follow suit since we had it covered.
Easton still had gone to college, but he took the Tourism program because it sounded fun, and he could spend a semester in Cancun. He ended up working at a resort in Cancun for a couple of years, until my parents decided to retire officially.
He handled a lot of the outside maintenance, and he was the driving force behind a lot of our outdoor recreational programs.
He’d been pushing for us to do a tree-top trekking obstacle course for a while now, but Damien and I hadn’t felt it would be worth the investment and risk. To construct it would cost us almost fifty-thousand dollars, and our insurance would go up.
Damien sighed heavily, placing his now-empty mug in the dishwasher and headed back out, presumably to check on the Sprucewood situation. James was there again, working on the plumbing, and while it was off the roster for guests, Damien had taken it upon himself to do some thorough maintenance on the cottage.
Once both my brothers were gone, I went into the front office to find Nellie returning calls that had come in over the weekend. I let her do her thing, sitting down at the computer beside her.
I opened the resort email, checking and responding to any inquiries that had come in over the weekend. Some people—far too many—went to any lengths to avoid phone conversations. I did my best to respond to the ones that didn’t leave a phone number, urging them to call to book a cottage.
“You know, a lot of places use online booking,” Nellie said after she’d finished making her calls and noticed I was still responding to email inquiries.
“Then your job would be almost obsolete,” I pointed out, sending her a smirk as I passed her a Post-It Note with an inquiry, a phone number, and a name.
“Scratch that, then,” Nellie said, taking the Post-It Note from me. Our fingers brushed, and she smiled tentatively.
“At some point today, Damien is going to come in for that chat.”
“Okay.” Nellie drew in a breath, as if stabilizing herself.
“I’m going to sit in on the meeting, if that’s okay, since we need to acknowledge we’re dating. For unofficial official HR purposes. But as for the other situation…” I scratched at my chin thoughtfully.
“What about it?” Nellie asked. She was sounding more nervous now.
“I was thinking, if you were okay with it, that I’d tell Damien I’m the father of the baby?” My throat felt impossibly dry as I waited for Nellie to say something, anything. Maybe it was presumptuous of me to assume that’d be okay, which is why I’d asked her ahead of time. But in my head and in my heart, I already considered that baby mine, like I considered Nellie mine. “I mean, he already knows we hooked up at the Witches’ Ball.”
“I think everyone in town knows that. I’m beginning to think it went out in some town-wide newsletter.,” Nellie sighed, resting her hand on her stomach absently. She chewed on her bottom lip, deliberating. “But you don’t even know yet if—”
I interrupted her by tugging her chair closer to mine.
“I know that in all the ways that matter, I’ll be a part of this baby’s life, and yours,” I cut her off. “People are going to assume anyway, since we’re together. Might as well run with it.”
“I feel like that locks you in.”
I lifted my hand to cup her chin. “I want to be locked in,” I assured her.
Nellie
* * *
Noah’s words kept playing over in my mind for the rest of the day. After lunch, he went down to his office to do some paperwork and when he left me alone, I texted Sage in a half panic, letting her know about how at any time, I’d be meeting with Damien and Noah intended on telling him he was the father of my baby.
Sage told me to roll with it, that if Noah wanted to be involved—and it really sounded like he did—to let him.
Noah’s reassurance and Sage’s encouragement settled my racing heart and thoughts a little, and I toyed with the moon-shaped pendant on my neck.
I wasn’t used to letting people in. Especially men. I’d guarded my heart up so tight, protecting myself from everyone who I felt could cause me harm. It was different with Sage. I knew I’d found a friend for life in her, my kindred spirit. It wasn’t easy to tear down the wall I’d hidden behind for years, if not decades, for a smooth-talking man with a reputation as a playboy.
The dryer chimed, and I automatically stood up to go switch the load. I was in the middle of folding a load of towels when the back door opened, and Damien walked in. His hat and winter jacket were covered in snow. He stomped the snow off his boots outside, sending me a tight smile.
