then? I’ll take you to dinner.”
“I have a better idea.”
“What could be better than you, me and dinner?”
“You, me, CJ, Ryan, Jerilyn … and dinner.”
He groaned. “Dinner with the kids. Not exactly the romantic evening I had in mind.”
She chided him, “You know it’s a good idea.”
“Yeah, I suppose it is.” He planted a kiss on her sweet mouth and slid his arm out from under her. “Okay. Tuesday. Dinner with the kids—and I have to go.” He jumped from the bed and grabbed his briefs and his jeans. When he was fully dressed, he bent close to her for a final kiss. “Every summer should start this way.”
She twined her arms around his neck and lifted her mouth to his. “I couldn’t agree with you more.”
“You didn’t.” Allaire wore an expression of total disbelief. She sent a quick glance around the Tottering Teapot, clearly worried that someone might have heard what Tori had just said.
“Yeah,” Tori answered, after savoring a slow bite of her avocado and swiss sandwich with sprouts. “I did. We did. And it was wonderful.”
Allaire leaned closer across the lace tablecloth and pitched her voice barely above a whisper. “But you said yourself he admitted he’s buying out the resort—and then leaving town.”
“I like him. I like him a lot. I want to be with him, for as long as it lasts.”
A look of concern crossed Allaire’s face. “I just don’t want to see you hurt, Tori.”
“I know you don’t. And I realize that I might be hurt.”
“Might?” Allaire demanded.
Tori busted to the truth. “Okay. I guess it’s likely, in the end. But I want to be with him more than I want to protect myself against heartbreak. Sometimes you just have to go for it, you know? Go for it and not count the cost.”
Connor couldn’t stay away from Tori.
She drew him like a bee to a flower, a kid to a cookie jar. He stopped by her house that afternoon and confessed that he couldn’t bear to keep away. Tori said she understood completely, that she felt the same.
That night, he went out to the Douglas Ranch, as planned. Riley Douglas, who was Caleb and Adele’s son and Grant Clifton’s partner in running the resort, showed up, too. Riley was silent through most of the meal—silent and watchful. When Caleb and Connor discussed the resort, Riley said that he was sure he and Grant could turn things around, given time.
Caleb looked at his son and said in a weary tone, “Money’s tight. You know that. And time is the one thing I don’t have a lot of.”
“Just don’t rush into anything,” Riley warned.
“I’m not rushing,” Caleb replied, sending Connor a telling glance. “I’m considering the options, son. Considering them fully.”
When he left the Douglas Ranch, Connor went straight to Tori’s. She didn’t ask if Caleb had offered to sell him the resort—or anything about what had happened during his visit with the Douglases. He knew she didn’t want to know.
And he was more than content to say nothing of his meeting with Caleb. He only wanted to take her in his arms, to feel her soft body pressed close to his.
Tuesday morning after he took CJ and Jerilyn out to Melanie’s, he got a call from Grant Clifton. Grant wanted to speak with him alone.
Connor drove up toward the resort, stopping off at the office complex down the mountain from the main lodge. Grant led him to his private office and shut the door.
Grant was furious, Connor could see that in the tightness of his square jaw. He said he’d talked to Riley Douglas that morning.
“Riley clued me in. I get the picture now, and I don’t much like what I see. You want the resort and when you get it, people who matter to me, people who have worked hard here, are going to be without their jobs.”
“Grant, come on. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
“I liked you,” Grant said with deadly softness. “I heard you were here to be with your son, to smooth over past differences with your sister. I admired that. Yeah, I also heard the rumors that you were interested in the resort. I didn’t listen to what they said.”
“Grant, there’s no reason for—”
“You’re right.” Clifton cut him off. “Getting you here in my office and reaming you a new one isn’t a very smart thing for me to do. But I’m just pissed off enough that I don’t give a damn what’s smart. I just want you to know that I know now you’re not who I thought you were. You’re no better than a vulture, McFarlane. And I wanted to say that to your face.”
Connor said nothing. With a curt nod, he turned for the door. Grant made no move to stop him.
As he drove down the mountain, Connor tried to remind himself that he’d been called worse things than a vulture. In the past, he’d never cared. He went after what he wanted and he got it and what people said didn’t mean a thing.
Now, strangely, Grant Clifton’s harsh words rankled. And he found himself worrying about Melanie and Russ, about their reaction when they learned he had plans for the resort. Tori had warned him he’d better tell Melanie what he was up to.
So he detoured to the Hopping H. He found Melanie in the kitchen, baking cookies. The kids, she said, were out in the barn with Russ.
She took a sheet of great-smelling snickerdoodles from the oven and set them on top of the stove. And she turned to him. She frowned when she saw his face. “What? You look like somebody stole your dog.”
“I never had a dog.”
She chuckled. “Mother never would have allowed that. ‘They are so filthy, darlings.’“ She imitated their mother’s cool, aristocratic tones. “‘And the shedding.’“ She faked a delicate shudder. “‘No. Impossible.’“
He laughed—and then instantly grew serious. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
Now she looked worried. Really worried. “What? Is it about CJ? I think he’s doing much better.”
“He is. It’s not about him.”
“Well?”
He laid it on her. “I came here this summer for him. And to spend some time with you.”
“I know that, Connor. And I’m pleased that you’re here.”
“And also to buy the Thunder Canyon Resort.”
“Yes,” she replied. “What else?”
“What do you mean, what else?” he demanded grimly. “That’s it.”
“That
