“We won’t be, will we?”
Maybe if they were here longer, he could figure out how to talk to her without stumbling over his words. It was unlikely, unfortunately.
“My buddy promised they’ll be able to move the slide away by noon tomorrow.”
“I’m supposed to work tomorrow. I’ll have to let Bowie Callahan know I won’t be able to make it to the office.”
He could put her mind at ease about that, at least. “I already called to tell him about the slide. He offered to send a helicopter for you as soon as the weather breaks.”
She looked momentarily hopeful, then shook her head. “That’s kind of him but unnecessary. I can take a day away from work. I suppose the research and development department won’t fall apart without me.”
“From everything I’ve heard, you’ve already made yourself indispensable.”
She looked astonished and pleased. “I don’t know about that.”
“Bowie has nothing but good to say.”
“That’s lovely to hear. Working for Caine Tech is the best job I’ve ever had.”
“Are you hungry? I’m heating some soup.”
She sat up and pushed the blanket away. He tried not to stare as she revealed a little sliver of skin below the hoodie. “I am a little hungry. How can I help?”
Heating soup in a microwave didn’t really take a committee but he sensed she needed something to keep her mind of her situation. “Would you mind setting the table?”
“Not at all.” Limping a little, she followed him into the kitchen, which was now redolent with the creamy tomato smells from the soup. He pointed to the cabinet with the dishes and they worked together for a few moments while Toby watched from the sidelines, ever hopeful that Josh would drop a morsel of food on the ground.
He ladled soup into bowls and sliced some French bread he’d bought at the grocery store in town earlier that day.
“This looks delicious,” she said. “Did you make it?”
“I wish I could say yes. I can cook but usually don’t have time. I have a personal chef service in Shelter Springs that supplies me with several meals a month for my freezer that I can cook on the fly.”
“What a good idea,” she exclaimed. She tasted the soup and gave an appreciative nod. “That’s delicious. A really good flavor. You’ll have to give me their number. I enjoy cooking but find I’m so tired at the end of the day after working that I usually choose something easy that I don’t have to think about. Sometimes I cook on the weekends and then eat leftovers all week.”
“I’ve done the same but weekends are often the times I visit my stores.”
“You have more than one?”
“Six,” he said. The number still astonished him. “And we’re hoping to expand into Utah and Wyoming within the next few years.”
“That’s impressive.”
“My goal is to make the outdoors more accessible to everybody. Quality equipment, a wide selection and competitive pricing. That’s our business model.”
“It must be working for you.”
He was immensely proud of how much Bailey Outfitters had grown over the past five years, since he had taken a small sporting goods shop and expanded it into multiple locations with a strong vision and loyal customers.
He could talk all night about it but he was far more interested in Gemma Summerhill. “So. What brings you to Haven Point?”
“I had a job offer for my dream company. I couldn’t say no.”
“Is that all there is to it? You’re not escaping a bad relationship or running from the law in England?”
She laughed. “Neither of those things. Though what would you do if I said otherwise?”
“If it was the second part, I would probably ask if you were dangerous.”
“No, except perhaps when I have a laptop in front of me.”
He smiled. “I’d better lock mine down, then, so I don’t take any chances.”
“You’re safe with me,” she said. “I’ve only used my skills for good since I was a teenager.”
“That’s a relief,” he said. He liked the implication that she might have been a bit wild in her youth. Okay, he liked everything about her.
“As for fleeing a bad relationship,” he went on, “I would probably say that anyone stupid enough to let you go deserves the loss.”
As soon as the words were out, he wished he hadn’t said them. She stared at him, for several seconds, eyes wide.
There he went, saying the wrong thing again. What was it about her?
“If you weren’t running from a relationship or the law, what other reason compelled you to take a job in a little town in Idaho? Was working for Caine Tech really that compelling?”
She appeared to give his question serious thought. “No one really compelling reason, I suppose, but a hundred little ones. I had a good job in London. I had good friends there, my family, and was on track for several big promotions over the next few years. And then one morning I woke up and realized I dreaded waking up in the morning and facing my day. I wanted something else but I wasn’t even sure what that was.”
She set down her spoon. “That very day I received an email from Aidan Caine. A few weeks earlier, we had met at a conference and he had asked for my card. I assumed he was only being polite, but apparently he had been researching some of the projects I’d worked on. Out of nowhere, really, he emailed me asking if I would consider taking a temporary job here in Idaho heading up a new project in the research and development department.”
“Wow. You must be amazing at your job, if Aidan would make that kind of ask on a short acquaintance. He’s known as a discerning kind of guy.”
She looked flattered. “It was certainly unexpected. I turned him down.”
“You what?”
“Yes. Quite firmly. I told him I would only consider if he would make the offer permanent.”
Oh,
