choked. “Jessica.”
“Sorry. Did I say that with a lack of proper reverence? I didn’t mean to.”
She had and they both knew it. Abby grinned. “I’m surprised Alex didn’t fire you after I left. He suspects you were the one who put the idea of a bed-and-breakfast into my head, you know.”
“But if he fires me he’ll also lose one of his best managers. Who, by the way, happens to be my loving—and very loyal—husband.”
“You’re right about that.”
Alex, for all his controlling ways, depended on Tony Benson to keep the cogs in all four hotels running smoothly. If he ever decided to leave, Abby knew that her brother would feel as if he were missing his right arm.
“Of course I am,” Jessica said smugly. “So if I can’t blame Alex, what was the challenge of the day?”
An image of Quinn’s face flashed in Abby’s mind before she could prevent it.
“I told you that Daniel Redstone won a vacation and took two weeks off, right?” Abby plucked a wooden spoon out of a ceramic crock on the counter. “His replacement showed up this morning.”
“And you don’t think he’s going to work out?”
Abby hesitated. So far, she couldn’t complain about Quinn’s work ethic. The last time she looked outside, he’d already moved to the windows on the other side of the cabin.
Out of sight but definitely not out of mind.
“I’m sure he’ll work out…fine.” Abby dumped out the contents of the bowl and a cloud of flour rose into the air. She wrinkled her nose to subdue a sneeze.
“Uh-oh.”
“What?”
“You’re making bread, aren’t you?”
Abby put her hands protectively over the mound of yeast dough, as if Jessica was looking over her shoulder. “Maybe.”
“Maybe,” Jessica repeated. “So that’s a big yes. You know you only make bread when something is bothering you.”
“That’s not true.” At least, not always. But Jessica was right. There was something very therapeutic about pummeling—kneading—bread dough.
“So, what’s this new carpenter like? What’s his name?”
“Are we playing Twenty Questions?” Abby asked. “Because I prefer I Spy. Or Scrabble.”
“Hold on a sec, Abbs.” Jessica didn’t bother to muffle her voice. “I’ll be right there, honey. I’m on the phone with Abby. She’s making bread.”
“Uh-oh.” Tony’s baritone boomed in the background.
“Okay, I’m back. Continue. New carpenter…”
“Quinn O’Halloran.” Abby punched down the dough with a little more force than necessary.
“What’s he like?”
Reserved came immediately to mind. Confident. Incredibly good looking…
Abby put the brakes on her thoughts, refusing to let them continue down that path. Too dangerous. “He works faster than Daniel, so the cabins might be ready for the grand opening.”
“Then what’s the problem…” Jessica’s voice trailed off, replaced by an audible smack as her palm connected with her forehead. “I’m sorry. Stupid question. Sometimes I forget.”
“Don’t apologize,” Abby said quietly. “I want you to forget.”
She wanted to forget.
“Does he make you uncomfortable?”
“Daniel recommended him.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
Abby hesitated. She knew what Jessica was really asking but wasn’t sure how to answer. Did Quinn make her uncomfortable? Yes. But not in the way her friend assumed.
“I’ll talk to Tony.” Jessica drew her own conclusion from the silence. “We can take a few days off. Drive up for the weekend.”
Abby was touched by the offer. “And if you looked in the rearview mirror, you’d see Alex’s Viper right behind you. We can’t let him think that I’m afraid and calling for reinforcements.”
“You’re right,” Jessica muttered. “He’d dispatch the deprogrammers and you’d be back in Illinois before sunset.”
Somehow, her friend always managed to make Abby smile. “You should get back to Tony. He must be feeling neglected.”
“It makes him appreciate me more.”
The distinctly masculine snort that followed the comment made them both giggle.
“I’m praying for you,” Jessica whispered.
“I know. I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t.”
“You give me way too much credit. You’re there because you listened to God and faced your fears.”
Listened to God, Abby hoped so. Faced her fears? That was more difficult. Especially when they kept popping up like targets in a shooting gallery.
“One step at a time, remember?” Jessica said, as if she’d read Abby’s mind. “And if this O’Halloran guy makes you nervous, you can find someone to take his place. It’s okay.”
“He doesn’t make me nervous. Not like that.” Abby had worked hard to overcome her wariness of strangers but there were times it crept back in, especially if she was in a confined space with someone she didn’t know. Or if someone turned up when she wasn’t expecting them.
With Quinn, it had been both.
The strange thing was, Abby had felt as if he’d somehow sensed her unease. There were times she could have sworn that he’d stepped away from her on purpose. Given her some space. And the few times they had been in close proximity, instead of feeling vulnerable, Abby had felt…safe.
She hadn’t experienced that before.
That was what made her nervous.
Quinn flipped over on his back and swam leisurely to shore, letting the cool water flow over the kinks in his muscles. He’d replaced the last window in the cabin as the sun began to sink into the horizon, making the trees look as if they’d been planted in liquid gold. Venus, the first planet to appear in the evening sky, winked at him through a tear in the bank of apricot clouds above his head.
After working in the hot sun all afternoon, Quinn had looked forward to cooling off in the lake with a relaxing swim. The cooling off part was successful. The relaxing part, not so much. His thoughts weren’t cooperating.
Not
