Page 30 of Never and Always
“I’ll start by finding your brother,” Caden clipped out.
“If you do, you call me. He’s my brother and I need to sort this out with him.”
Caden gave me a chin lift, Ro nodded, and Everett gave me a long look. Then they all strode out.
I sank back in my chair, not exactly sure what had just happened.
Chapter 10
Everett
Itook advantage of a pocket of decent weather to repair a wooden panel at the front of the hotel.
Standing under the portico that covered the front entrance, I hammered in another nail. The exterior of the hotel was an attractive blend of wood and stone. But wood needed maintenance to keep it in good shape, especially with the variety of weather we got in Windward.
It was the afternoon, and a trickle of cars and SUVs were pulling up, keeping the valet drivers and bellhops busy. New guests arriving to hit the slopes.
I hammered another nail and my mind went straight to where it had been most of the day.
Piper.
I realized now that she was the classic older child. Shouldering too much responsibility, taking on way too much. Especially since she’d been raised by what sounded like a strong single mom, she now felt the need to protect her mother and grandmother.
Well, she wasn’t going to deal with her brother alone. My jaw tightened. I hated that she’d been hurt and scared last night.
I’d met with Ro and Caden after this morning. We’d decided not to involve the police at this stage, and Caden was working to track down Chance Ellis. He hadn’t messaged me yet, so I figured he was still working on it. I finished with the wood panel and nodded. The damaged part was now replaced, and it looked good. I set the hammer in my toolbox and closed it up. Still no snow today, just a piercing blue sky.
Time for a break.
After I stashed my toolbox back in the maintenance area and shrugged out of my coat, I checked my tablet for any urgent jobs or messages from my team. They were currently spread out around the hotel doing their work. I saw an email from Johnny, which included a dozen photos of his newborn son. I smiled. The kid looked like a wrinkled, little old man complete with grumpy scowl. Johnny was on leave for a few weeks.
I also saw an email from Piper. It was brusque and contained the updated plans for the pool and spa. I looked them over, before I set the tablet back on my workbench. I headed for the café near the great room. A few people still in ski gear were sipping hot drinks.
“Hey, Tamara.”
The pretty Black woman behind the counter waved at me. Her dark hair was in a mass of long braids and she was always in a good mood, no matter the time of day.
“Heya, Ev. What can I get you?”
“Can you make me an oat milk latte?”
Her eyebrows winged up. “Really? You gonna drink that?”
“Hell, no. It’s for someone else.”
Her smile widened. “Someone who wears killer skirts and sexy heels?”
“How’d you know?”
“Not many people around here ask for oat milk.” She laughed happily. “Hang tight, my man, one oat milk latte coming up.”
Leaning against the counter, my one-track brain thought about Piper again. This time, that kiss.
Oh, yeah, the city girl tasted good and had a tempting mouth.
I wanted to kiss her again.
Yes, she was a city girl who wouldn’t stay here, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t enjoy ourselves in the meantime. I suspected that despite being cool and controlled when it came to her work, the lovely Ms. Ellis could be something else entirely when she let loose.
