Zach guy?”
She tried to gauge his expression, but he was too good at keeping a poker face. “What do you mean?”
“You want me to be blunt?”
“Please, be blunt.” She braced herself.
“Who is he to you? Why are you here instead of at home?”
Abigail gave a studied shrug. “He found me at the side of the highway.”
“Travis told me.”
“My arm was too sore to drive a stick shift.”
“That was three days ago.”
“Zach’s going to drive me back to the ranch soon.” Truth was, it was Abigail herself who was putting off going home. She loved it here. Zach was fun and exhilarating and amazing in bed. She found the restaurant project fulfilling, and she was trying to drag it out just as long as she could.
“I can drive you back today.”
“That won’t be necess-”
“I’m going out to the ranch anyway.”
Abigail couldn’t think of a single comeback. There was absolutely no logical reason for her to stay at Craig Mountain instead of going back to the ranch with Seth. She could hardly tell her brother she was having a really great fling. And she sure couldn’t tell him she wanted to finish planning the restaurant. It could take weeks, even months. But if she left today with Seth, she wouldn’t have a chance to give Zach a proper goodbye, to maybe figure out what happened next.
She hoped something happened next. They’d done their best to stop time once again, to steal a little fantasy with each other amongst their divergent lives. And that might be all that was happening here, a longer, but equally temporary, fling. But she truly hoped it wasn’t. She liked Zach. She more than liked Zach. She didn’t know what it felt to fall head over heels for somebody, but it had to be close to this.
“Abigail?” Seth prompted.
She blinked at her brother, struggling for the words that would buy her a little more time.
Then Lisa’s voice interrupted. She came through the same entry Seth had used. “This place is amazing!” She gaped at the high ceiling. “Did you see the grounds?” she asked Seth. “Hey, Abby. How are you doing? The mayor and I are officially checking out the newest business development in the Lyndon area.”
Abigail felt a surge of relief at seeing Lisa. Maybe Lisa could help her finesse the situation. Or at least she could help Abigail stall for a bit.
“You should definitely take a tour of the grounds,” Abigail told her brother. “While you’re here, check out the new brewery construction. It’s moving along at record speed.”
“I don’t need a tour of the grounds,” he responded.
“Well, at least look outside. If you take that staircase-” she pointed to the far end of the rectangular room “- you’ll get to the mezzanine above. The bay window down at the other end gives you a view of the lake. But if you look north, you can also see most of the construction.”
“Go take a look,” Lisa prompted, grasping the back of Seth’s chair. “You should at least see the lake and the statue of Lord Ashton.”
Seth kept his gaze fixed on Abigail. “Travis doesn’t know what to think of this guy.”
Abigail met his eyes. “That’s because Travis doesn’t know him.”
“Neither do you.”
“I know enough.”
“What are you saying?”
“Seth?” Lisa intoned from behind him. “Quit giving your sister the third degree.”
“She’s needed at the ranch.” Seth still spoke directly to Abigail.
“And I’m coming back,” she assured him.
“Good.” Seth brought his hands down on his thighs.
“Go look out the window,” Lisa prompted.
“Fine.” Seth came to his feet, tone turning sarcastic. “I don’t know why I employ such a bossy woman.”
“Because I’m a smart bossy woman.” Lisa immediately slipped into the chair Seth had vacated.
He looked down at her. “You’re not coming with me?”
“I just saw the statue and the lake.”
With a roll of his eyes and a shake of his head, Seth paced for the staircase.
“What the heck is going on?” Lisa asked Abigail, leaning forward on the table. “You’re still with one-night-stand guy?”
“I guess it’s a five-night stand.”
Lisa gave a half laugh, half gasp.
“And what’s with Seth?” Abigail returned. “He’s acting so…”
“So like
Abigail supposed that was true. “Does he know anything about Zach?”
“Travis told him Zach tried to get your help with the water license.”
“But he thinks I said no, right?”
“He thinks you said no.”
“And he doesn’t know Zach blackmailed me into it?”
“No, no. Not the blackmail. And not that the two of you had a one-night stand.” Lisa grinned. “Well, five-night stand. But he does know about Zach’s initial fight with Travis. And he’s pretty ticked off about that.”
“You can’t tell him the rest,” Abigail reminded Lisa.
“I’m never going to tell him the rest.”
Seth’s footfalls sounded directly above them, and they both glanced reflexively up. Abigail leaned closer in and lowered her voice. “Can you help me out here? I’m not ready to go home yet.”
Lisa’s eyes lit up. “You falling for this guy?”
“Maybe,” Abigail admitted, her face growing warm. “Kind of. Just a little bit.”
Lisa’s grin grew. “He’s living in Lyndon now. So you never know what might happen.”
Nothing was going to happen, at least nothing that really counted. Not as long as Abigail supported her family, and not as long as Zach wanted her to let them down. “It’s all brand-new. And Travis isn’t crazy about him. Now Seth doesn’t like him.”
Lisa waved a dismissive hand. “You can’t please your entire family every minute of the day.”
“I’m not pleasing anyone at all right now.” Every day she stayed here, she was letting Travis down.
“You’re pleasing yourself.”
“That’s not exactly an admirable character trait.”
Lisa gave another shrug. “You’re human. Live with it.”
“I’ve seen the lake” came Seth’s tense voice as he made his way back down the stairs. “And the statue. Are we ready to head home now?”
Abigail’s body went stiff. Surely he didn’t mean right this second. She was in the middle of working. And Zach didn’t even know she was thinking about leaving today.
“Abby needs to say goodbye,” Lisa interjected. “Gather her things, thank Zach for his hospitality.”
“So this was a social visit?” Seth’s jaw was set, his gray eyes hard as steel.
“Come on.” Lisa grabbed Abigail’s hand, clearly intending to remove her from Seth’s line of fire. “Let’s go get your stuff.”
Abigail allowed herself to be pulled to standing. She glanced longingly from the sketches to the phone messages to the fabric samples. She wasn’t ready to leave. She was waiting on return calls. She was waiting on emails, and more samples, and there was still the south tower to explore. But Travis needed her, and Seth was tapping his foot, looking implacable. And she couldn’t come up with a single plausible reason to prolong her stay.
Zach entered the west hall, expecting to find Abigail in her usual spot, expertly juggling the hundreds of details
