worry had her guessing exactly who he was.
“That’s my partner, Jackson Witt.” Jeff smiled wryly. “His bark is worse than his bite. He’ll come around.”
“I gave up my job, my apartment, and put almost everything I own into storage to come to this job,” Mandy said, that hint of trepidation she’d felt earlier expanding, engulfing her. She’d been thrilled to get the position, especially because it was so far from Denver. So thrilled, she’d lost no time in rearranging her life and burning her bridges behind her. If she lost the position before she began, what would she do?
She needed this job!
Jeff rose. “Don’t worry about a thing. Jackson’ll come around. You’re staying. This’ll be your desk.” He indicated the one near the window—piled with stacks of folders, unopened mail and rolled-up blueprints. Some of the clutter spilled over onto the chair, the wide windowsill behind it and the floor. Had anything been done since the former secretary left? Exactly how long had she—no, undoubtedly he—been gone?
“Jackson was right about one thing, though, we need to get going with this paper mess to make sure we stay on target. Pete left us in the lurch when he took off unexpectedly like he did.” Jeff looked at her sharply. “I know we discussed timing—two months minimum—but we need to make sure you plan to stay until we shut down for the winter. We need all the paperwork caught up.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Mandy said, walking over to the desk to look at the different stacks. She was curious about Jackson Witt, longed to ask some questions about the other partner. How much weight did he carry? Would he try to run her off? Was Jeff able to guarantee she could stay?
Was there more to Jackson Witt’s dislike of her than the fact that she was female? Surely Jeff would have taken that into consideration before offering her the job.
And get real—who was going to try to make time with a woman six months pregnant? His workers’ concentration was safe!
She wasn’t scheduled to start work until tomorrow. Not that she would let that stop her. But first…
“I’d like to put away my groceries. I have some things that need to go into the refrigerator,” Mandy said, turning away from the desk. “Then I can begin.”
“Tomorrow’s soon enough,” Jeff said easily.
Mandy studied him a moment. The contrast between the two men was extensive. But she’d better err on the side of caution. “I think it best if I get going today. Sort things out if nothing else.” And dig in, hoping to make a place for herself so Mr. Get-Rid-of-Her had to eat his words!
He nodded. “Don’t take Jackson’s comment to heart. He’s a hard man. But as long as you do the job, he’ll come around. Come on, I’ll show you the trailer. It’s the third one in line, next to mine.”
When they reached Mandy’s car, Jeff nodded toward the row of trailers and campers. “Most of the men stay on-site. A few drive back and forth to town each night. You can park on the far side of the silver trailer.”
He crossed the road while she started her car and drove slowly to the trailer indicated. She looked down the long row, wondering how much the command Jackson Witt had issued should concern her. While she couldn’t help anyone else’s behavior, Jackson Witt had nothing to worry about from her end. She would not encourage flirting. The last thing she wanted was any involvement with another man. Or anyone else, for that matter. She had few friends, but that was by choice. If she didn’t let people get close, then she wouldn’t be hurt when they deserted her.
She’d been such a fool to trust Marc. Getting involved with him had broken one of her staunchest rules—never date co-workers. But she’d learned that lesson well. Never again!
“One would think,” she said aloud, “that after twenty-seven years of being abandoned, let down and disappointed, one would learn. But oh, no, I had to fall for Marc’s blue eyes and fancy compliments. Let that be a lesson to you, babykins.”
The baby kicked and Mandy smiled, rubbing her stomach gently, her heart swelling with love. “It’s you and me, kid. But we’ll do great!”
Mandy looked on the new job as a positive sign. She’d been miserable the last four months at her job in Denver, in the building department where Marc worked as an inspector. Running into each other from time to time was unavoidable. He had totally ignored her since she’d refused to get an abortion. In fact, he seemed to make more of a point to flirt with other women when she was around.
She hadn’t been able to turn off her feelings as easily as he had, though by the end of the third week of his rejection, she had grown contemptuous and then angry. Had he had any genuine feelings for her to begin with? She’d once thought he hung the moon. How quickly that illusion had been shattered.
She tried to shake off the feelings of inadequacy that plagued her whenever she thought of that last scene with Marc. He hadn’t wanted anything to do with her or their baby. A wife and child had no place in his plans for life.
Had that been how her own father had felt? Was it a man’s instinctive reaction to being tied down, to being responsible for another life? Her parents had never been married. Once her father discovered a baby was on the way, he’d taken off fast enough. Mandy could still vaguely remember her mother complaining, before she herself dumped Mandy with social services one day and took off. Mandy had been about five, but still remembered how lost she felt, and how scared.
Yet she saw families all the time—happy families. Fathers who seemed to love their wives and children. Who laughed and smiled during shopping trips to the mall or outings in the park. Even at the building department, some men kept pictures of their families on their desks, had love shining on their faces as they joked about babies teething or waking them in the night.
But the happy family scene seemed to escape Mandy. She’d never mastered it when she was a child, nor found it as an adult. Now she planned a new direction.
The prospect of a good, well-paying job on a site two hundred miles from Denver had given her new hope for the future—a future she planned to build for herself and her child. No more ventures into romance; no more trying to fit in with other people’s plans and goals. She would depend on no one but herself! Would make her own decisions and be independent.
The salary offered proved to be much higher than what she’d been earning—higher than usual to attract and hold good workers, the employment agency had told her.
There weren’t a lot of amenities. The nearest town was thirty miles away. Nonetheless, the job had seemed heaven-sent, to Mandy. She would mind her own business, keep to herself and save her money like crazy.
As she parked her car, she vowed she’d prove herself to Jeff—and Jackson Witt. They didn’t have to worry about their fifty-three other employees. She was here to work and get on with her life, not be a distraction.
Jackson glared at Moose Higgins. The man was one talented crane operator—except when he stopped paying attention. “That’s the fourth time I’ve told you to watch the edge of the cleared space. You just missed whacking those trees. I can’t afford to have that crane go out of commission. We’re already almost a week behind.”
“Hey, boss, lighten up. I didn’t hit anything. Came close, but close only counts in horseshoes.”
Jackson wasn’t appeased. “Don’t
