this was his reward?
Why would God lead him right into home territory of the president of his college “fan club”—the club he wasn’t supposed to know anything about? He’d thought its existence funny back then, in a somewhat embarrassing way. He’d taken a lot of ribbing from the other guys at the church, what with the girls trying to catch his graduate-student eye. Home-baked cookies on his doorstep. Cards and gifts in his mailbox. How many inspirationally-worded bookmarks, plaques and key chains did a guy need?
Yeah, it was flattering back then. Ego-stroking. Amusing at times.
But it was none of the above now.
He shoved the last of the containers onto the shelf and turned to the box he’d brought in first. Sliced it open. Emptied its contents.
What was he going to do?
He couldn’t pack up and walk out, leaving Paul and Rosa in a lurch. They were depending on him. They’d given him a vote of confidence early in the game by heading out for rest and relaxation before the mountain country summer visitor season was even over. He couldn’t afford to let them down now.
Olivia said they’d be seeing each other in the coming days. How many days? Maybe she wouldn’t stay long, be here only for the holiday weekend. He could deal with that, right? Could easily manage to avoid her. He hadn’t been joking when he’d said he had more than enough to do around here. He planned to have this place running noticeably smoother by the time his employers returned and to have the requested development plan mapped out for their approval. He had a lot riding on this job. Everything, in fact. And not much over a month to prove himself indispensable, make it permanent.
Olivia obviously thought her parents would be here. Had a job to get back to—Mississippi, was it? His heart rate slowed as he clutched at that scrap of hope.
Regardless of whether or not she was a shadow from his past, he couldn’t afford to get distracted by a woman like her. Petite, with curves tucked into figure-skimming denim shorts, her glossy black hair tumbling around her shoulders to frame the warm Hispanic skin tones of a delicate face. Brown eyes danced with mischief.
Carefree and captivating. Exactly like Cassie.
He took a ragged breath.
If there was one thing he knew about a woman who came packaged like Olivia Diaz, it was that she’d be a diversion he couldn’t afford to indulge in.
Never again.
Chapter Two
Don’t take this the wrong way?
“Well, Mr. Robert Thomas McGuire,” Olivia mouthed aloud as she dug in the pantry for something to call breakfast, “how else am I supposed to take it?”
She hadn’t missed her sister’s smirk when he delivered that put-down, either. Where was she, anyway? Twenty minutes later, the minivan was still outside. Surely she wouldn’t miss an opportunity to further interrogate her little sister on her out-of-the-blue appearance in Canyon Springs.
But no way was she talking about that with Paulette. Maybe with one of her other sisters. Maybe.
She pulled out a cardboard canister of instant oatmeal and stared at the label. Milk or water required. She preferred milk. Looked like she’d be making a run to the grocery store today. With a sigh, she returned the canister to the shelf.
What was it with Rob, anyway? It wasn’t her fault she’d been front and center when Gretchen dumped him at the church’s commencement reception those many years ago. For crying out loud, what kind of dope proposes in front of a roomful of people unless he’s one-hundred-percent sure—and then some—that the answer will be Y-E-S? But maybe, like her, he’d never dreamed any woman in her right mind would turn him down.
Of course, it wasn’t as if Gretchen hadn’t cranked up the charm to grab his attention from the moment Olivia introduced them, so why would he have thought otherwise?
Maybe he blamed her for that, too?
She closed the pantry door harder than intended. Gave it a soft kick for good measure.
“Take it easy, Liv.” Paulette’s voice intruded into her thoughts as she swept into the kitchen to plunk a box of assorted staples on the table, her handbag skidding across the surface where she’d tossed it. Then folding her arms, she leaned against the work island and—not unexpectedly—got right down to business.
“So, if you and Rob knew each other in college, why don’t I remember hearing you talk about him?”
Olivia moved to the table to inspect the box’s contents, determined not to let her sister fluster her.
“No reason to, I guess.”
Even back then she knew better than to bare her soul to her sister’s scrutiny. She removed two containers of peanut butter from the box and deposited them in the pantry.
“You expect me to believe that?” The tone of Paulette’s query was reminiscent of the probing Olivia recalled from her childhood. Big sister who acted more like her mother than her mother did.
She shrugged. “We didn’t know each other that well.”
“I got the impression from that exchange that there are coals still smoldering. He made it clear he’s not into digging up old bones.”
“Actually,” Olivia speculated, determined to put a positive twist on his response to their reunion, “it sounded to me as if he’s overwhelmed with Singing Rock management at the moment. No time to spare.”
Paulette’s expression clearly stated she wasn’t buying it. “You were in classes together? He’s older than you, isn’t he?”
“He was a grad student my freshman year and helping with the church’s college outreach program. We played together on their co-ed volleyball team that winter, Bible study, mission trips, things like that. I didn’t even cross his radar.”
Sad, but true.
“That’s it?” Paulette’s tone still echoed disbelief. “No ill-fated fling with you dumping and running?”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” she said with a clear conscience as she continued to unpack the box. “So how’d he end up as Singing Rock’s manager? He put himself through school working for a property management business, but I didn’t think that was his ultimate goal. And certainly not in a dinky town like this.”
Paulette shifted her weight. “You missed the wedding last spring, but he’s our cousin Joe’s new in-law. His wife, Meg’s, brother. Guess he recently had a run-in with armed drug dealers in Vegas. A close call.”
Olivia winced. Did that account for the bruises and scrapes? “That’s scary.”
“He hightailed it out of the city, looking for an out-of-the-way place to land. Can’t get much more out of the way than Canyon Springs. Joe says he doesn’t like to talk about the incident, so don’t say anything to him, okay? Don’t want him to think people are gossiping about him.”
“I won’t.”
