Page 125 of Challenged by the Single Dad

His closemouthed smile was sweet. “Yes. But there’s a massive storm right now. And as much as I know you are absolutely capable, I still worry. If the power goes out … or a tree falls. Are you going to feel safe here?” Concern swam in his amber eyes. Even though Chloe wasn’t really into the big, bulky jock-types, she certainly had a soft spot for Hawke. He was a teddy bear in the body of a killing machine.

Nodding, she opened the coat closet behind him and dug out a spare jacket she hoped would fit him. They had spareeverything. Some of it was lost and found items left behind, but a lot of it was just articles guests often complained about forgetting, so they made a point of having spares. That was one of Chloe’s ideas when she first arrived, and a poor guest forgot their raincoat. So she went to the thrift shop down in the harbor, and bought a bunch of secondhand jackets, sweaters, hats, gloves, and even some boots.

She held it out for Hawke and he slid his arms into the sleeves. “How’s that feel?” she asked.

He stretched and moved his arms. “A little snug. But I just need it to get to my truck. I’ve got gear at the station. “Thanks.” He shot her a wink, then took off out the front door.

Blowing out a long, slow breath from puffed cheeks, Chloe grabbed the vacuum from the closet and did a thorough pass over the foyer since Hawke tracked in a bunch of needles, leaves, and dirt.

That only occupied five minutes of her time before she was sitting on the couch staring out the window watching the tall evergreens across the road sway like their trunks were made of bamboo.

She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, but jumped nearly clean out of her skin when the front door burst open. That’s when she realized she’d closed her eyes and dozed off, because she definitely should have seen the person walk up the steps to the front door.

Blinking a bunch and giving her head a shake, she stood up from the couch. “Hey, Azzy,” she greeted.

Azalea, or Azzy—as she preferred to be called—was a young Australian woman working and traveling the states for a year on a visa. She smiled and removed her hood from her head, exposing her rosy, wet face. “Hey, Chloe.” Before walking too far into the hostel, she peeled out of her ankle-high black rubber boots and ditched her coat. “Is there like a radiator or something I can put this on to dry it?” Her golden-brown eyes darted around the lobby in search of a heater or vent.

“Oh, I’ll just throw it in the dryer.” Chloe held out her hand. “Give it here.”

Azzy’s grin grew bigger. “Thank you.” She passed off her jacket and Chloe went to the laundry room again, pulling Hawke’s dry clothes out and tossing in Azalea’s jacket.

“I’m surprised you worked this long,” Chloe said, returning to the lobby. “Surely it wasn’t safe for Fitz to have you guys out on the boat in this weather.” Azzy worked for Fitz Plamondon, the local salmon fisherman. He supplied all the restaurants on the island—as well as several on the mainland—with their salmon.

“Oh no, we weren’t on the boats. He had us cleaning the warehouse, defrosting the freezers, running inventory on supplies. All shit that we normally don’t have time for. So now that we can’t be on the water, we suddenly have time. But after the power kept flicking off and on, he sent us home.” She rolled her eyes but smiled. “Beats being on the water, I suppose.”

Like a lot of the backpackers, Azzy rode her pedal bike everywhere. It was no shock that she was soaked to the bone and probably freezing.

“Anybody else around?” she asked.

“You’re the first I’ve seen or heard.”

“I’m going to go take a long, hot shower then. It’s bloody freezing out there. Nearly got blown off my bike a few times.” Then with a cheery salute, she took off upstairs in her bare feet.

Chloe glanced at her phone to check the time. It was only eleven.

Crap.

She was supposed to be there until three.

Ugh.

With the clock moving at a snail’s pace—or possibly even backward—she decided to do a deep clean of the kitchen, including the fridge, cupboards, and pantry. Then she moved onto the bathrooms, and the common areas. But that only took her to one o’clock.

She was sitting at the front desk eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when the front door opened again, bringing with it a wild gust of icy wind, and a fresh batch of wet leaves and needles.

Was it wrong that she was actually a little happy about having to vacuum again?

“Hey, Chloe!” Kit and Dex greeted, seeing Azalea’s boots and deciding to ditch theirs there too. Now that Willy Reilly’s sons were back at college, Willy had to hire more help on the crab boats. And since that Orrin dipshit who snuck into Chloe’s bathroom was gone, Willy hired Kit and his cousin Dex, backpackers on a gap year from Scotland, for help. And from everything Chloe had heard, Willy was really happy with them.

“Azzy here?” Dex asked, glancing upstairs.

“She is. I’m guessing since it’s too windy for the fishing boats to go out, it’s the same for the crab boats?”

Dex nodded as he swept his dark-blond hair off his forehead. “Yeah. Willy just had us doin’ some cleanin’ and inventory and stuff for a wee bit. Then the power went out, so he sent us home.” It was easy to see that Dex had a crush on Azzy. His eyes kept darting upstairs. And the way he looked at the young Australian when they were in the same room was innocent and sweet. “I’m gonna jump in the shower.” He took off, taking the stairs two at a time.

Kit was slower to peel out of his wet clothes. They also rode their pedal bikes everywhere and clearly couldn’t ride faster than the raindrops.

“I’ve got Azzy’s jacket in the dryer if you want me to do the same for you,” Chloe offered, getting up from her seat and walking around the desk to help Kit out of his soaking wet jacket.

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