In fact, the place was pristine. It even smelled like pine. All of my shopping bags and pillows from Bethany’s were piled on the small bed, which had what appeared to be a newish quilt on top.
“This is much nicer than I expected.”
He grinned ruefully. “It’s still not the greatest, but it is warm and private. There’s no bathroom, but you can get to ours from the back door. I’ve tamped down a path for you. I’m in charge of meals, so you won’t have to worry about that.”
“Full service.” I grinned. “How nice.”
A small table, just large enough for my laptop, a notebook, and a pen, stood off to the side. Beneath it lay a surge protector. The walls were the same wood as the exterior, but chinks in between the logs had been filled in with something like glue.
“Are you comfortable maintaining the fire for warmth?” he asked. “I plan to come out at the end of your work day and start it to get things warm for you. There’s an extinguisher behind the bed if you need it.” He cracked a smile. “We both know you can use that.”
I managed a laugh but felt pained at the reminder. “Thanks. That’s very thoughtful.”
Scratching sounded at the door. JJ pulled it open, and a black dog bounded inside, floppy pink tongue flying wild. I laughed as he swept up to me, nudging my hand.
“Hello.”
“This is Atticus.” JJ pounded him affectionately on the back. “Justin’s dog. He’s our resident mountain lion watcher.”
I swallowed hard. Mountain lions. Hadn’t thought of that. I crouched down, laughing when a wet tongue got the best of my ear. Another pair of shoulders appeared in the doorway.
“Hey, man.”
I glanced into the striking blue eyes of a man with short brown hair. JJ motioned to me with a tilt of his head.
“Justin, this is Lizbeth.”
“Ah.” Understanding flooded his features. “The brave soul who’s taking on Mark’s paper project. I’m Justin. I’m their resident maintenance guy and the one who’s dating their sister. Atticus, down.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said with a little laugh as I straightened away from the dog.
Justin tilted his head back to study the rafters. “Thanks for getting in here today, JJ. Sorry I didn’t make it. Place looks the best I’ve ever seen it. Roof is holding okay, looks like. Lizbeth, let me know if you need anything. We’re all on the same radio channel, so you just need to speak. I take the radio with me everywhere, and it works up to a half mile away in this part of the canyon.”
He gestured to a black thing sitting on the floor in the corner. A small light blinked an intermittent green.
“Thanks.”
JJ answered a few more questions about some quick repairs he’d done this morning in the kitchen. I ran a finger along a dustless shelf next to the bed, just right for my collection of library books.
So all the cleanliness was thanks to JJ. How very thoughtful and detailed of him. My fingers itched to note it in the love binder—which I’d managed to save with the cash—that waited in my backpack. A clean place to sleep? Now that was romantic.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad here after all.
14 JJ
Lizbeth hummed while she worked.
As she sorted through paperwork and muttered curses to Mark under her breath, she intermittently slipped into different tunes. Most of them I didn’t recognize, but some were clear classics. Vivaldi’s Les Quatre Saisons among them. She tended to prefer spring, like she was humming a wedding march.
Knowing her, she probably was.
Her second day was far less frazzled than her first. She’d eased into the paperwork, found a way to categorize most of it, and waded through the first half of what Mark had ready for her. I watched her out of the corner of my eye as I sipped my morning coffee, utterly intrigued by the way she pushed her lips to one side of her face when she was deep in thought.
Overall, no rampant fatigue showed on her face. She hadn’t used the radio last night, so she must not have needed anything. Hopefully she’d slept okay. It had taken me an hour and a half to dig the best cot and mattress out of a storage cabin nearly buried by snow.
“Lizbeth, I need my desk,” Mark said as he descended the ladder minutes before lunch was ready.
“Too bad,” she replied.
He stopped, then blinked. “What?”
“I said too bad.”
“But I need to work.”
“Then work in the attic.” She shuffled through a few more papers without looking up. “I have been working nonstop on this ridiculous pile of papers all day, and am about to finish. I will not stop.”
I cracked a grin. Mark stumped by a beautiful woman—delightful.
“But I need to work,” he said.
She finally looked at him. “Why?”
“Because my computer is there.”
She used a folder to gesture to the folding table. “You can work there.”
His eyes almost bugged out. “You’re kidding.”
Her less-than-amused stare suggested otherwise. I bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing. Maybe love was real. Watching her defeat Mark in a verbal battle—this was positively twitterpation.
“But . . .”
“You contracted me to do a job, and you initiated that job by putting all this paperwork right here. If you didn’t want me to work here, you shouldn’t have put it here. Because you gave me no other expectations, timelines, or milestones, I took over the job, created the rubric, and am proceeding as I see fit. That means you will defer to me. If you need your computer, I will happily reassemble it for you.” She jabbed a finger at the folding desk. “Over there.”
Mark blinked. I snorted burning-hot coffee, then hacked as it scalded my throat. Neither of them looked at me. Finally, Mark held up two hands.
“Right. Got it. I can probably figure it out later in the attic.”
Her megawatt smile returned in a flash. “Great! I should be finished with
