Page 277 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“Anything that you need done on the lifts, I’m your man,” Adam explained. “But I also make sure that the plumbing and lighting in the condos works, plus the lodge, and all of that.”
“Shouldn’t there be, like, ten people doing all that stuff?” I asked, shocked to hear that he handled all of that. I could only imagine the kind of work that he had to do.
But again, Adam took offense to the blunt way that my words came out. “If you have any doubts about my abilities, I can show you my licenses,” he said.
“That’s not what I meant,” I said lamely. “It just seems like a lot of work.”
Adam stared at me for another moment and then turned to Ian. “Sorry, but I really have to get back to that lift. We’re trying to have it running like normal by tomorrow morning, and I’ve only got so many hours of daylight left.”
“Right,” Ian said, and I could tell that he was amused by something. He clapped Adam on the shoulder. “I’ll see you around.”
“Yeah,” Adam said. He waved a hand and walked briskly across the snow to the old four-person lift that started from the base area.
I groaned. “What a first impression,” I said, and Ian laughed.
“It’s not exactly a first impression,” he reminded me.
“Doesn’t make it any better,” I sighed. I glanced over to where Adam was standing next to the lift, starting the thing and then stopping it again. Then, I forced myself to turn away. Married. Not interested.
One of my brother’s best friends.
Ian glanced at his watch. “I was thinking I might go for a few laps while we’re here. You want to join me?”
I laughed. “I would have thought you would still be getting used to the cold,” I teased.
Ian grimaced. “I am,” he said. “That’s why I think a few laps would be good. I can’t do any more of this standing around and chatting or else I’m going to turn into a popsicle.”
I grinned. “Well, I wish I could join you, but I’m supposed to chat with my new employees,” I said. “But I’ll catch you for dinner tonight.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Ian said, heading off to the rental shop while I went back inside.
“Did you find your brother?” Kayla asked as I came back inside.
“Yup,” I said. “He’s already found Adam, of course.”
Kayla peered at me for a moment. Then, she shook her head. “Oh no,” she said. “Don’t go wasting your time on Adam. He is a lost cause.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I told her, even though I knew that somehow, she had read me only too well. But because I said that, and so defensively as well, I knew that I had lost my chance to ask her anything more about him.
Adam was a lost cause? What exactly did she mean by that? Because he worked at the resort? But Kayla worked at the resort as well, and I couldn’t see that being the root of why she had warned me away from him. Whatever it was, though, I didn’t have time to ponder it now. I had a meeting to hold.
CHAPTER 7
ADAM
Thursday rolled around, and I finally had the day off work. Of course, with the way that I had been busting my ass that week, it was more of a recovery day than anything else. And a chance for me to get my errands run. As much as I would have liked to laze around in bed for half the day, I had to get up and get Ethan off to school. He wouldn’t be skiing after school that day either, and he was bummed about that.
And then, as much as I would have liked to come right back home after dropping him off, and head back to bed, I knew that the grocery shopping needed doing, plus there were a dozen other things on my agenda for the day.
Work or not, the tasks never seemed to end.
I ran around all morning, trying to get as much done as I could. Finally, it was time to pick Ethan up. “Can we go skiing?” was the first thing that he asked.
I winced internally. “Not today, buddy,” I told him, strapping him into the car.
Ethan frowned. “But Dad, I want to ski with you,” he said, and I had to grin.
“I know,” I said. “And I want to ski with you too. I want to see all those tricks that you’ve been learning. But today, I have to work.”
