Page 68 of Forbidden Love

“Well, you are. I think this is going to be the beginning of more successful builds in the community.”

He grinned at me. “I think so too.”

He stayed by my side as I finished the corner and then helped me stand it up on the concrete and connect it to the support beam. At least I think that’s what he’d called it. He was a strong and steady support system, and the more I worked alongside him, the more confident I felt.

He was right to get me to join in. I felt more accomplished as the boards started going up. I wasn’t just the fundraiser person; I could contribute in this way too. I was vaguely aware that a reporter was walking around and taking pictures.

But I didn’t worry about what we looked like or whether the pictures were newsworthy; my heart was too full.

Our plan was to finish the build in one day and paint the second. By the time we finished, the sun was setting, and the reporter was long gone. She’d left her number, telling us to send the final pictures so they could be included in the paper this week.

I wasn’t expecting a spot in the coveted Sunday edition, but anything online would be amazing.

“I can’t believe we did it,” I said to Tyler as the kids were eating the pizzas his dad ordered. Everyone was tired and hungry, so the food was devoured in minutes. One by one, the families thanked us and left.

“You did it.”

“I can’t take the credit. I couldn’t have done any of this without you and your family.”

“We did it together,” Mac said as we focused on cleaning up the trash from dinner and tools used in the build.

I loved that about his family. They did a lot of things together, and they genuinely enjoyed each other’s company.

Had I always been an outsider at my family’s resort, or was I responsible for the chasm between me and my family? Had I been a little standoffish in high school, assuming there was nothing for me to do at the lodge? Had I jumped to conclusions?

Tyler kissed me, then said he’d meet me at home. He had a few things to take care of first. As I drove to the rental cabin, I felt satisfied that we’d completed what we’d set out to do. We’d built one dugout. We had something to show for our efforts, and hopefully, my parents would be pleased with the results.

We planned to build more dugouts over the next few weekends, but then the project would be established enough that Tyler could run it on his own. He wouldn’t need me. It was probably time to figure out my next step. Maybe send some résumés to other hotels in Paris, where my previous work history meant something.

I just hoped Brad’s dad hadn’t badmouthed me to others in the hospitality industry. I could work for a hotel in Colorado, but there wasn’t anything comparable in Telluride. The Rigby family ran a lodge, but it catered to those who wanted to plan adventures. Then there were numerous boutique hotels and B&Bs closer to town.

Outside of town, there were chain hotels, but I wasn’t interested in working in one of those. I wasn’t sure I wanted to work at the lodge, but maybe I should spend more time there and figure out if it was something I’d want to do.

When Dad mentioned the event coordinator position, I wanted to prove I could do it. I’d risen to the challenge, not even sure I wanted it. Did I want the ultimate prize, a place at Wilde Ski Resort?

By the time Tyler joined me at home, I was exhausted from the stress of the day and the manual labor. We fell into bed, and he clicked on the TV, surfing channels while I tried to keep my eyes open.

Hanging out with Tyler was comfortable. The sex was off the charts, but I still didn’t know if I belonged in Telluride with him. It was one thing to fit in with his family, but shouldn’t I fit in with mine if I was going to stay?

CHAPTER 19

TYLER

After we built the first dugout, I couldn’t help but feel accomplished that we’d done what we’d set out to do. But I had this niggling feeling in my gut that it was the beginning of the end for me and Kylie.

I felt her pulling away even as we ate dinner before we went our separate ways on the way home. She was tired, and I couldn’t blame her for falling asleep before we had a chance to talk about the day, but I was worried about where her head was at.

I figured she was overthinking things, assuming there wasn’t a place for her here in Telluride. Was I not enough for her? I was irritated with her family, especially her brothers, for never including her. It might not have been intentional, but when they excluded her from hanging out with them, it reinforced her belief that she didn’t fit in and that there wasn’t a spot for her in Telluride.

I hated that for her. I didn’t want her to feel that way, but how could I even broach the subject with her brothers without letting them know how I felt about her? I needed to have the conversation with them too.

On Sunday, my brothers helped Kylie and me paint the new dugout. We painted it white with black trim. The fence would be installed later that week, and then it would be ready to go. We’d do the visitor side dugout next week.

As the first field to be completed, it would be the one we took pictures of and used in our promotional advertisements to raise money for additional dugouts. We wanted it to look classic and clean.

Sam and Mac were measuring and building the concrete block foundation for the visitor’s side dugout, so it was just me and Kylie painting this one. Maggie was using a small roller to get the bottom of the wall, and Delaney was supervising her, which seemed to consist mainly of praising her, even when more paint got on Maggie than on the wall.

“What do you think about offering an option to paint the mascots on future dugouts?” Kylie asked as she used the roller on the back side of the dugout.

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