Eliza paid for her items, McKenzie surprised her with a hug. “I’m so glad you came. I’m still keeping an eye out for a job around here. We want you to stay.”
She smiled back, gave the dog a rub on the curly scruff just above her bandana and headed out into the cold wind that blew off the lake.
A quick trip to the pharmacy and grocery store later, she was loading bags into the back of her SUV when her cell phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Eliza, darlin’, it’s Sue. Tell me you haven’t left town yet.”
“I haven’t left town yet,” she answered dutifully. “I just finished at the grocery store and was about to head back.”
“Oh, perfect! Listen, Aidan just called. His plane landed early and he needs a ride out to the ranch. We didn’t expect him until later and Jim is still in Boise buying a new part for the tractor and I’m up to my elbows in frosting. Do you mind swinging past the airport there on the west side of the lake and picking him up?”
For all of about ten seconds, she couldn’t answer. Her heart raced and her palms suddenly felt clammy.
Oh, for Pete’s sake. She had to get a grip here. Yes, the last time she had seen the man he had kissed her senseless but she was a grown-up here. That was no reason for her to panic just at the thought of seeing him again. She worked for him and lived in his house! She couldn’t avoid him forever.
“Um. Sure. I can do that.”
“Thanks, hon. There’s a sugar cookie in it for you when you get back, assuming your little girl doesn’t eat all eight dozen of them first.”
She heard a giggle in the background that warmed her heart.
“Everything going okay?” she asked
“We’re having a great time and don’t need you back anytime soon. If Aidan hadn’t called, I would have told you to go see a movie or something.”
“Thanks. Give her a hug from me.”
“You bet. You can find Aidan at hangar twelve in the airport. It’s the newest and biggest one, on the north end of the back row of buildings.”
“Okay.”
She blew out a breath. She could handle this. Yes, she had been ridiculously obsessed with that kiss. Just because he had left town shortly after—as if he couldn’t wait to get away from her—didn’t mean things had to be awkward between them. Right?
She sighed and backed out of the parking space, then headed in the direction Sue had indicated, trying to keep her suddenly clammy palms from slipping on the steering wheel.
The airport—really only a cluster of metal hangars and one taller concrete building that must serve as the air traffic control center—was located on a wide stretch of land just below the foothills with broad views of the lake and the surrounding mountains.
She found the newest hangar easily and had just pulled up in front when Aidan walked out wearing a tailored peacoat with a worn tan leather laptop bag strung over his shoulder and carrying a small duffel. He looked distracted and tired and rumpled, his hair tousled with deceptive casualness that still managed to hide any trace of his scar.
And he looked sexy, she added silently.
Very, very sexy.
His eyes widened when he spotted her and she thought she saw a quick flash of something else in his expression, a heat that made those dancing butterflies in her stomach take to the floor again.
No, she was probably imagining it, she told herself as he lifted a hand in greeting and headed to the passenger side of the SUV.
When he slid inside, the air seemed to shiver with the luxurious scents of leather and the black pepper and sandalwood of his soap—she knew it was his soap because she had discovered it in his shower a few days earlier when she was checking the towel supply there.
She hadn’t meant to snoop but just walking into the en suite bathroom of the master bedroom at Snow Angel Cove had been an intoxicating sensory experience.
Now, having that familiar scent in the enclosed space of her vehicle sent all her pheromones into ecstasy until she sternly ordered them to cut it out.
“Hi,” he said as he settled his duffel and briefcase behind the passenger seat. “I guess you’re my ride.”
“Sue just called and asked me to pick you up,” she said quickly. “Apparently Jim is tied up out of town and since I was in Haven Point running errands, anyway, I told her I didn’t mind.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it. Sorry if I made you go out of your way, coming out to this side of town.”
“You’re paying for my time,” she was compelled to remind him. “If you want a dozen doughnuts from my favorite shop in Boise, individually hand-delivered in twelve separate trips, it wouldn’t make a difference to me.”
He didn’t quite smile but she thought some of the exhaustion seemed to seep out of his features. “I like maple bars. For future reference.”
“Good to know. I’ll keep that in mind.”
For the next few moments, she concentrated on driving around the hangars toward the exit.
“How was California?” she finally asked when she pulled onto the main road that would lead them back to the lodge.
“Rainy, when I left. How have things been here?”
“It’s been beautiful weather since you left. Today was even above freezing. A little of the snow is even melting, though I understand we’re supposed to have a small storm Sunday. It should clear out before your family’s travel day on Tuesday.”
“That’s good.”
“Sue has been cooking up a storm. Your family is going to eat very, very well, I can promise you that. Maddie and I have almost finished preparing all the bedrooms. We’ve only got a few more things to do and should wrap up tomorrow.”
“You work fast.”
“It’s a beautiful house. Making it a little more comfortable for your guests has been a joy.”
“Good.”
He seemed to settle farther in the seat and even closed his eyes for a moment. Did he have another headache? She wanted to ask but didn’t want to bring up any reminders of that fateful night.
“You’ve been running errands, you said,” he finally said after a moment.
“Yes. I ordered a couple of lamps for one of the guest rooms that didn’t have them and then Sue asked me to pick up a few things at the grocery store.”
“It seems like shopping opportunities are few and far between in town. The town must close up in the winter, not like my hometown. Winter is the busiest time of year back home, though high summer is beginning to draw as many visitors.”
“I’ve
