Page 36 of A Marriage Pact for the Cowboy

And then Eryn realized Maxwell was watching her again. She smiled at him pensively. Why couldn’t she just relax and enjoy the attention while she had it? The sooner he figured out what a wallflower she was, the sooner he’d turn his attention elsewhere. Then she could go back to stitching quilts and listening to audiobooks and not dreaming at all of romance.

“Deep in thought?” he asked quietly.

“I guess so. Sorry I’m such poor company.”

“People don’t have to talk incessantly to be good company. In fact, that might ensure they’re not.”

She felt that way herself, but then, he seemed to be so much more outgoing than she was. She was nearly always afraid she’d say the wrong thing, and someone would make fun of her. Not Dad so much. Other people.

“So, you’re starting in the kitchen tomorrow?”

Eryn nodded. “Yes. I’ll be prepping in the morning. Does she really do it all herself?”

“No, she has a casual part-timer besides you, and help on weekends we’re booked. You’ll meet them over the next few days.”

“Then… does she really need me?”

Maxwell grinned. “She was happy to have you join the team.”

That wasn’t the same thing as being needed.

“Have you been giving more thought to the gift shop? I’ll show you what there is when we get back to the lodge if you like. It might be inspiring.” He grimaced. “Or it might not be. No pressure, either way.”

“I have thought a bit about it.” She wasn’t about to tell him that had mostly been during the sermon. “I’d like a tour, thank you.” And more time with Maxwell was also welcome, especially if the focus wasn’t on her.

“Perfect. We’ll do that.”

“Tell me more about what you do at the ranch.”

“I’d given my crew a couple of weeks off over the reunion, and they’ve been trickling back over the weekend. We get back to work in the morning. Several cottages are nearing completion.”

“I’d like to see that sometime.”

“Deal. Maybe a bit later in the week, once we’re back in the groove. There will almost certainly be a lot of little things needing my attention over the first few days as we get back to speed.”

He’d brushed her off. But not completely. What he said made sense.

“We’ve got another set of cottages to work on over the winter, but we’re also nearing finality on the plans for eight treehouses to be built in spring.” His grin reached his eyes. “Grandfather is calling the new road Eagles’ Nest Lane to go along with the theme.”

“Treehouses? For tourists?” Eryn’s eyes widened.

“Yep. They’re a thing, and we have a grove of larger trees north of the lake. We’ve been working on the environmental impact plans, and we’ve cleared every hurdle so far. Just a few more assessments to go before we can start laying out services to the area.”

“Electricity?”

“And plumbing. They’ll each have a bathroom up there.”

“Wow. I didn’t know that was possible.”

“I’ve been working with an architect for the past few months now. It’s all coming together.” He grinned. “I thrive on making the impossible possible.”

This guy. Was there any project he couldn’t envision, pursue, and bring to completion?

Maxwell unlocked the door to the gift shop and flipped on the light switch before ushering Eryn inside. What would she think? The room wasn’t large, but it had a bank of windows facing the deck along the front of the lodge, plus a smaller one beside the door to the foyer, which had been obscured with corrugated plastic for the winter.

He studied her as she turned slowly, taking in the shelves displaying trinkets, the rack on the back wall with a few books of local cowboy lore, and several empty tables.

Also, someone should periodically dust in here, even in the offseason. He’d mention it to Kaci, the head housekeeper.

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