Page 1 of Arctic Panda's Secret Mate
1
TRISTAN
“Have I got an opportunity for you!”
Tristan looked up in alarm from the trim he was cutting. Sometimes, when Travis said things like that, Tristan ended up elbow-deep in a gross plumbing problem, and sometimes it meant replacing a ceiling light bulb in a cottage shared by a bunch of horny old ladies. If there was one thing that Tristan had learned since coming to Shifting Sands Resort, it was to be very cautious aboutopportunities.
Tristan checked his measurement again and brought the miter saw down through the trim with a shriek. “I’m listening,” he said skeptically, as the machine wound down.
“Conall is taking Gizelle to Alaska for Christmas because she wants to see snow.”
Tristan knew Conall — he was one of the richest and most famous residents of the island — but only a little. He knew Gizelle better, because she often lurked around the worksite asking odd questions and jumping at loud noises. He wasn’t sure what their travel had to do with him, and he checked the fit of the final board. Perfect! He lived anddied bymeasure twice, cut once, and he took pride in neat finish work and perfect joints.
That wasn’t actually hard here, where they’d been building everything up from scratch with what appeared to be an unlimited budget. Everything started with square corners and quality materials, so he wasn’t having to constantly figure out how to cover crooked edges and sagging ceiling joints. He wasn’t ever pressured to use recycled wood or try to reclaim old slate tiles that required hours of power washing. If he wanted a particular brand of paint, all he had to do wassuggestit, and he’d have a pallet of the correct color delivered in a matter of days.
It was almosttooeasy, and Tristan wasn’t sure how much longer he would be able to endure the monotony. All the cottages were the same, though he knew that the decorator staff would be making each one artistically individual. All the bathrooms had the same sensible configuration, every room was exactly the same size. Tristan still measured for every piece of trim out of ingrained habit, but everything was so precisely built that he already knew what the tape would read each time.
“I’ve never seen snow,” Tristan said thoughtfully. The idea of it was honestly a little alarming. “Do you want me to do some work in their cottage while they are away?” Had something settled? Was there a tricky cosmetic repair to make? Tristan felt weirdly hopeful for what most contractors would dread.
“Conall’s renting a place called Mountain Crown Chalet,” Travis said, inspecting the work that Tristan had already finished. He would only find perfect joints. “It’s got seven bedrooms and he’s invited a bunch of the staff to go with him. Charter flight included, all expenses paid.”
Tristan whistled. “Must be nice to be rich,” he saidwithout jealousy. It also sounded about as boring as making three dozen identical houses.
“Wrench is going, sort of a last babymoon before Lydia pops, Alice and Graham, Magnolia and Chef, Breck and Darla, and Saina and Bastian.”
Tristan looked up suspiciously from his measurement of the next trim piece. “And you and Jenny?” He could do math; there was a room left over.
“Jenny’s got a case coming up, and we’re starting a septic install that I really want to be here for,” Travis said with a grin. “I nominated you to take our place.”
“You want me to go toAlaska?!” Tristan was so surprised that he let go of the end of the measuring tape and snapped himself on the finger when it retracted. “Ouch!”
“You were my first choice,” Travis said, looking pleased with himself. “This is the last cottage that needs to be finished and you’ve been running yourself ragged. You’re always first on the jobsite and last to leave. Your work is always flawless. You deserve a vacation, and you said yourself that you’d never seen snow.”
“Thisisa vacation,” Tristan said, not sure how he could possibly accept. “I mean, the work isn’t that hard. The weather is always nice. Free food that isn’t mess hall slop! This is paradise in every sense of the word!”
Friends, his panda bear offered.
Tristan had worked for resorts before, and he knew how hospitality and support were usually treated, so he’d worried that the close quarters and isolation of the island would be miserable. But, it was more like being part of a family, here, rather than part of a lowly labor pool to be slowly drained. He never felt disposable or disregarded. Everyone herelovedbeing here, and there wasn’t even a fraction of the usual back-stabbing and jostling for status.Tristan hated treating a jobsite like a competition; he wanted to do the best job against himself, and this was the first place he wasn’t regarded suspiciously for trying to excel.
“I could find someone else…” Travis said reluctantly, and Tristan realized that he might be insulting the man by refusing and had a stab of guilt. “I mean, I was really hoping that you would go, as afavorto me, but if you don’t want to?—”
“Laying it on a bit thick now,” Tristan said pointedly. He’d worked with Travis long enough to be frank with him. “I’ll go, if Ihaveto.”
“Good man!”
His steps echoing in the bare room, Travis left Tristan alone to pack up the tools and sweep up the sawdust.
Once everything was cleaned to his satisfaction, Tristan paused and frowned around the room. The last cottage. Now what? They were still expanding the little bay community that would serve as the company town for the resort, so he supposed he had plenty of work before him, but the idea of it seemed empty somehow. His first love was restoration, and there was nothing torestorehere. It was all new, all fresh and perfect and…boring.
Friends?his bear suggested.
Pandas were solitary bears, but Tristan cherished being part of the Shifting Sands team.Friends,he agreed.
He had friends here, and he could build another two dozen cottages for the bay residents. Eventually, the new construction would wind to an end, and he could figure out what to do then. He would take that Christmas vacation in Alaska and come back refreshed and ready to go again. It would be perfect.
2
HAISLEY
