A Summer of Secrets Page 7

  Dodged a bullet on this one. For sure. For certain. He was lucky to find out everything before…

  Suddenly he needed to escape. Far, far away from this woman. This woman and her son. The son she hadn’t mentioned. “I better go, it’s getting late.”

  “I thought you needed to talk to Jason or Nora.” Cece motioned toward the door into the lodge.

  “It can wait until tomorrow.” He turned and clambered down the steps and scurried—yes, that same ridiculous word—off to his truck. He climbed inside and couldn’t help but glance back toward the lodge. Cece and Pete were nowhere to be seen. Which was a good thing, right?

  He leaned his forehead on the steering wheel.

  This had not been the day he’d thought he would have when he first woke up this morning all cheerful and full of hope.

  Goes to show what can happen when a person has too much hope…

  Cece led Petey into the lodge and they went to the dining hall. “Come on, let’s get you fed. I was just sitting with a whole group of us at the family and friends table.”

  Bree looked up and waved. “Hey, Pete. Didn’t expect you until tomorrow.”

  “My Friday class was canceled because we had a test in the class Wednesday night.”

  “Well, sit down and let me run to the kitchen and get you some food.” Bree started to stand.

  Jason jumped up and put his hand on her shoulder. “No, you stay. I’ll get something. Fried chicken okay with you?”

  “Sounds great.” Petey took a seat next to Bree.

  Jason’s sister Beth sat next to her husband, Mac, finishing up their meals. Cece sat back in the seat she’d vacated just five minutes ago when she planned to head back to the cabin. Now she plopped down, grateful for the diversion of having Pete here.

  “I hear Nora put you in charge of getting things ready on the inside of the new building.” Mac leaned back in his chair, his arm lightly resting around the back of Beth’s chair.

  “She did. I’m getting most of it sorted out. I still have to work out the arbor though. I could order one, but I kind of have a plan in mind. It will be portable, painted white, with trellises up the side.” She’d meant to ask Zach to build it, but now she wasn’t sure. Maybe she should just order one online. She could probably put it together herself if it came as a package. Not as special as she planned, but it would keep her from having to ask Zach for help.

  “I could build it for you,” Mac offered.

  “He’s great with stuff like that.” Beth smiled at Mac.

  Cece envied the easy way they were with each other. The happy glow of being newlyweds hadn’t worn off yet.

  “You sure you wouldn’t mind?”

  “Not at all. I’d love to contribute something to this new addition.”

  “I’ll take you up on the offer, then.”

  Mac rubbed his chin then leaned forward. “I could stop by tomorrow afternoon and we could sketch out what you had in mind so I could get supplies.”

  “I’d really appreciate that.”

  “Then it’s all settled.”

  And just like that, she found a way to avoid Zach. Avoid his cold voice and hard eyes. She didn’t know what had flipped in him, but he’d made it perfectly clear when she’d asked if they could talk that he wasn’t interested.

  Fine. She wasn’t interested either.

  She wasn’t upset. Wasn’t hurt. Wasn’t mad. Wasn’t—

  “Mom?”

  “What?”

  “I asked if it would be okay if Cody and I went hiking tomorrow morning. We’ll be back in the afternoon to help with anything Aunt Bree needs.”

  “It’s okay with me if it’s okay with Bree.”

  “It’s fine. It’s supposed to be a nice day. Saturday though? I hope the bride won’t mind moving into the lodge. I think it’s going to be too stormy to have the wedding outside.”

  “Always a chance with outside weddings.”

  “Mom will be so glad when the addition is finished and she’ll have that area to offer up if the weather is bad.” Beth yawned. “I better go get the boys and we should head home. It’s getting late. Mom has probably fed them enough cookies and ice cream that it will be a struggle to get them to settle down.”

  Mac and Beth got up. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Thanks.” Cece watched them walk away toward the kitchen, hand in hand. For the first time in a long time, she felt envy. For both of them. They’d found true love and they obviously enjoyed each other’s company. She might never find that.

  Not that she wasn’t happy with her life. She was. Eric had given her a good scare, and she was annoyed at Zach right now, but, all in all, her life was good.

  And she realized she was switching over to being mad and annoyed instead of hurt. That was a good sign. She’d be fine.

  She would.

  Chapter 12

  Nora poked her head into Cece’s office again the next day. Cece held her breath, hoping it was better news than yesterday’s surprise visit from Eric.

  “I was wondering if you’d mind bringing this lunch over to Zach? I also have the choice picked out for new doors. He found a solution to our way-too-backordered doors we originally ordered.”

  She couldn’t really turn down Nora’s request, but she really, really didn’t want to go over to the worksite.

  “Something wrong?” Nora stepped further into the room and set the basket on the table. “I thought that you and Zach… I heard you’d gone out. Thought you might like a little break to go see him.” She offered an encouraging nod of her head.

  “We… we’re not really going out. I don’t know what is wrong, actually. He just turned… cold. And he’s made it clear he doesn’t have time for me.”

  “Men. They sometimes don’t know what they want. That’s okay. I’ll run this over to him myself.”

  Cece pushed her chair back from the desk and stood. It was ridiculous to be chased away by Zach. She had every right to be over at the worksite. And besides, she needed to take another darn measurement that she’d been putting off getting so she could avoid him. “No, I’ll bring it over. I have work I need to do over there anyway.”

  “You sure?”

  “I’m positive. Besides, it’s gorgeous out and a walk will do me good. Help me clear my mind.”

  “I don’t mean to step in… but maybe you could talk to him? Find out what’s wrong?”

  “That’s the sensible thing to do, but he just brushed me off when I tried to talk to him last night, then Pete showed up and Zach ran off.”

  “Maybe you could try again.”

  Cece got the impression it was more than a suggestion. Nora probably wanted them to get along so it didn’t mess up anything with having the chalet ready on time. She reached for the basket. “I’ll try. But I can’t make him listen to me.”

  Nora grabbed Cece’s shoulders, spun her around, and pushed her gently toward the door. “You’ll find a way.”

  Cece stood outside on the front steps, trying to get up her courage to go confront Zach.

  She sucked in a deep breath, clasped the basket tighter, and headed out to the path to the worksite. She didn’t hurry on her way. It seemed like every little thing caught her attention. A cardinal singing in a tree. The way the sunlight glinted off the lake. A pair of ducks drifting along the water’s edge. Even the puffy clouds above the mountains in the distance. She stopped to admire each sight and sound. Unfortunately, all too soon, she reached the building.

  “Zach around?” she asked a young worker sawing some boards beside the building.

  “He’s inside, but I warn you, enter at your own risk. He’s in some mood.”

  She straightened her shoulders and walked into the building. The sound of her steps echoed across the room. She paused at the doorway to the kitchen area, where Zach sat, his head bent over some paperwork.

  She composed her face in her best version of I-don’t-care and stepped resolutely into the room.

  He looked up at her
and there was not a hint of a welcoming smile, crushing any tentative optimism that yesterday she’d just been imagining things.

  “Nora asked me to bring you lunch and her decision on the doors.”

  He nodded his head toward the end of the makeshift table.

  And that silence with a dismissive nod was her undoing. “Seriously? You aren’t even going to talk to me now? Do you want to tell me what it is that I did? We went out. I thought we got along. I enjoyed your company. I didn’t know you were really such an—”

  “Seriously, you’re going to ask me what’s wrong?” He stood quickly, knocking the stool over, and swiveled to face her.

  “Yes, that’s what I’m asking.” She stood her ground, her heart pounding.

  His face hardened into a mask that made him nearly unrecognizable as the Zach she knew. “How about the fact you have a boyfriend? You have to know how I feel about cheaters after what happened with my ex and my partner.”

  She lowered the basket on the ground. “I don’t have a boyfriend. I told you that when you asked if there was someone special.”

  “So, someone special and a boyfriend are different things to you?” His eyes flashed.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her forehead wrinkled as she tried to sort out what he was saying.

  “I saw you yesterday. At the lodge. On the porch. You were talking and then he pulled you into his arms to kiss you.”

  What the heck? She drew herself up to her full five foot three and squared off with him. So that’s what this was about. “So… did you think to ask me about it? You just saw me with some guy and jumped to conclusions.”

  “I saw him pull you into his arms.”

  Anger pulsed through her, and every fiber of her body throbbed with fury. She yanked up the sleeves of her shirt and thrust out her wrists. The angry red marks of yesterday had turned a nasty purple. “No, this is what you saw.”

  Zach grabbed hold of the edge of the table as he stared at the bruised welts on Cece’s arms. “I don’t—” He could barely choke out the words.

  “Eric. You saw Eric. I did use to hang out with him in Denver. Nothing serious. I broke it off with him before I even came here. But—”

  He watched her draw in a long, slow breath, but her eyes still flashed in fury.

  “He came here to tell me we could do the distance thing. He’d come here on weekends. But I told him no. Again. He wasn’t very happy with me. He grabbed me and…”

  “He hurt you.” His voice was low, and he tried to control his rising anger.

  “I admit, he scared me some. But he’s gone now.” She started to roll down her sleeves to cover the bruises.

  He took a quick step forward and took her hands in his, staring down at the bruises. “I’m so sorry. Sorry you were hurt. Sorry he frightened you. And I’m so, so sorry that I didn’t just talk to you.” He gently brushed a finger over one of the bruises with a whisper of a touch. He swore he could feel her pain and her fear from yesterday. He should have been there to protect her. He could have been there and none of this would have happened.

  But, no, he’d hidden in the bushes. “I’m an idiot. I jumped to conclusions because of what happened with Felicity.”

  “I’m not Felicity.”

  “No, you’re not.” He brushed back a lock of her hair and tucked it behind her ear, looking right into her eyes. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I was seeing what I thought was happening… and then… well, I didn’t know you had a son, and that was quite a surprise, too.”

  “You didn’t know about Pete?” A frown wrinkled her forehead. “I thought you knew about him. He’s here a lot hanging out with Cody. Serving at the weddings. I just assumed you’d met him.”

  “So you weren’t hiding him from me?”

  She shook her head slowly. “No, I wasn’t hiding him from you. I’d never do that. He’s a big part of my life, even now that he’s grown and away at college.”

  “I’m just so sorry…”

  “So you’ve said.” She tilted her head.

  “I want to make it up to you. Can we start over?”

  She stood there staring at him, and he was pretty certain she was going to toss him out of her life. He couldn’t blame her.

  “Under three conditions.” She held up one finger. “One, no more jumping to conclusions.”

  He nodded.

  She held up a second finger. “Two— talk to me if you have a question or you don’t know what’s going on. Trust me.”

  “And three?”

  “Come over to the cabin tonight and I’ll cook dinner for you.”

  Relief surged through him. “How about I cook for you instead? I owe you that much.”

  “I guess you do.” She nodded slowly, then the corners of her mouth teased up in a grin.

  “I’ll pick you up at five?”

  “I could drive over.”

  “Nah, I’ll pick you up. My place is a little hard to find the first time.”

  “Five it is.” She turned to leave. “You should eat that lunch Nora made.”

  “I should.” Suddenly his appetite was back and he no longer felt the urge to sit and break pencils.

  “Bye.” She slipped out of the room.

  His heart lifted at the second chance he’d been given with Cece, and he swore he wasn’t going to make another mistake with her.

  Chapter 13

  Zach left the worksite mid-afternoon—which he never did. He left Billy in charge and just hoped nothing came up to drag him back. He needed to shop for food and clean up his cabin.

  He grabbed groceries and headed home. One road twisted into the next and he squeezed his truck through two boulders that really should be taken out, but no one on the road had really complained. There were only four cabins up here on this part of the mountain, and his was the last one at the end of the road.

  He stepped out of the truck and grabbed the bags, pausing to look at the gathering clouds hovering over the peaks in the distance. They promised a heavy spring storm later this evening.

  But he didn’t care. Nothing could deflate his mood. He whistled as he entered the cabin and set the bags on a table by the door.

  Okay, maybe this could deflate his mood a bit. He eyed the room.

  Stacks of paperwork were scattered around. At least three jackets were thrown over the backs of chairs. A stack of unopened mail mocked him, and there had to be dishes from at least three meals piled on the coffee table—and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten at home. And not at the kitchen sink, for that matter.

  He sighed and tackled the job.

  An hour and a half later the place was picked up and cleaned. He’d started an easy soup from his mother’s favorite recipe and made up a salad. Okay, it was a bag salad from the market, but still. It counted. He’d bought a loaf of bread and some ice cream. Nothing fancy, but a decent meal. He opened a bottle of red wine to breathe.

  Then he looked down at himself, covered in dust and grime. Yes, he’d have to fix that too. He took the world’s fastest shower and pulled on clean jeans and a chambray shirt.

  With one last look around the place, he pulled the door shut and headed to the truck. Thunder rumbled in the distance and he glanced at the sky. He’d better hurry and get Cece and get back here before the rains came in.

  Cece paced back and forth, waiting for Zach. Bree, Cody, and Pete had headed to the lodge for dinner. She wished they were here for a distraction if nothing else. How many times had she paced this floor?

  She could see the storm drifting in across the mountains. Looked like they were in for one of their famous spring downpours. She heard him pull into the drive, grabbed her jacket, and headed out to the truck.

  He was just rounding the vehicle when he saw her. A wide smile spread across his face. That was more like it. She’d been almost afraid she’d see that cold, unwelcoming look again. She wasn’t yet confident of her footing with him.

  “I was coming to get you.” He
walked up to her.

  “I figured we needed to hurry to beat the storm.” Her words came out in a breathless rush of nerves.

  He held the door open and she climbed in, acutely aware of how close he stood to her. He walked around and climbed into the truck. They headed out of town and into the mountains. “My place is on this side of Enchanted Peak. It’s kind of isolated. Killer view though.”

  Silence dropped around them and she ignored—pointedly—how close he was to her, within arm’s length. If she only had the nerve to reach out and touch him. She turned away and watched the scenery out the window. It never ceased to amaze her, the beauty of this area. So close to Denver and smog and the city life. But so very different.

  They drove along in silence as he wound his way up the mountain. “You’re right. I would have had a hard time finding you.”

  “Right, left, left then the left, right, left.” His lips curved up in an impish smile. “I had to memorize that chant when I first bought the place so I’d know which forks in the road to take.

  Cece thought this was maybe the fourth or fifth road they’d taken, splitting left, then right, then… well, she couldn’t exactly remember. Maybe he could leave breadcrumbs for her if she ever drove herself.

  “You’re fitting through there?” Her eyes widened at two huge boulders sitting on each side of the road.

  “Yep.” He pulled through it like it was no big deal and plunged down the other side when the road swung down into a glen before heading back up the mountainside.

  He finally pulled in front of a good-sized log cabin with a huge porch wrapping around it.

  A flash of lightning followed by a loud crack of thunder reverberated through the truck.

  “We better hurry before it dumps on us.” Zach jumped out and came around to help her out.

  She slipped down and stood for a moment in his arms. Her breath caught and Zach didn’t move. She tilted her head up toward him as he leaned closer.

  A loud explosion of thunder made her jump, and a yelp escaped her lips. She bumped her head on his chin.