Page 312 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“I just need a few more days to straighten everything out,” Bailey promised me. “A few more days and then everything will be back to normal.” She sighed and shook her head. “I really wanted Ian to stick around through Christmas, but to be honest, if this is the kind of shit that he’s going to try to pull if I let him stick around, then I’m not so sure that I even want that. Things were going really well before he showed up.”
I stared at her for a moment. There was so much that I could say in response to that. Did she want to talk about that kiss that she and I had shared? Had that been ‘going well’? But I didn’t have the guts to bring that up right now. What would I do if she told me that she wanted to be with me but that I could no longer continue working for Brooks Mountain? It would kill me, but I needed a job, and I couldn’t tie myself down to Park City without work.
“Maybe you should just listen to Ian,” I finally said, even though I hated to do so. I shook my head. “Look, Bailey, this job has been my whole life forever. But I don’t want to wreck things between you and your brother. And we all knew there were bound to be some changes with a new owner.” Of course, I had been more sure than anyone that my job was secure, just because it was such specialized work. But that was neither here nor there.
Bailey looked taken aback. “Adam, what do you want?” she asked. “Because what I want is to have you keep working for us.” She said it matter-of-factly enough that I could believe it was true. Almost.
I shook my head, though. “Bailey, what do you want?” I asked her, and I hoped she knew I wasn’t just asking about my job at the mountain.
Bailey laid both her palms flat on the table, a challenge in her eyes. “We’re not going to find a better maintenance man than you,” she said. “Not least of which because you’ve been working on these same lifts for years now, and that’s something that no one else if going to have.” She paused and then shrugged. “I need you, Adam. And I’m sorry that Ian seems to think that you’re replaceable or whatever, but I know what you’re worth to the resort, and I know that, that I need you.”
I heard that briefest of pauses in the middle of that last sentence, ‘I need you’, and I wondered if she was talking about more than just the resort. But I didn’t want to push things now. I was already on shaky enough ground because of one kiss. If I wanted to keep this job, I needed to make sure that things stayed strictly professional between the two of us.
Bailey might be willing to go up against Ian over the maintenance company, but that didn’t mean that my job wasn’t still at risk in the future. If I continued things with Bailey, who knew what Ian might do. I didn’t want to find out.
But then again, if I didn’t continue things with Bailey…
There was definitely a part of me that had missed her. A part of me that so appreciated having lunch with her right now. I wished that the afternoon could just continue for longer. That I could stay here with her, shoot the shit, hear all the latest happenings at the resort. It was one of the busiest weeks, the start of the holiday season, and I was sure there had been plenty of laughable happenings on the mountain in the days that I had been gone.
But I didn’t know how to ask her about any of that, and I didn’t know how to steer things around to us again.
Bailey, to my surprise, suddenly reached out and caught my hand, stroking her thumb over my knuckles. “We’ll figure it out,” she promised me, looking seriously into my eyes.
I didn’t know what to say in response to that, but I found myself nodding at her.
“How’s Ethan, anyway?” Bailey asked, changing the subject. “I’m sure he loves having you home more right now.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Actually, he’s been asking about you,” I said. “You told him that we’d go skiing together, and now that’s all that he can talk about. He can’t wait to see you again. Apparently, you made quite the impression on him.”
Bailey laughed. “Should I be sorry about that?” she asked.
I grinned and shook my head. “Nah,” I said, “it’s cute.” I paused. “But actually, he’s starting his winter break as of tomorrow, so if you wanted to go skiing at some point and that’s still on the table… Or well, maybe going skiing isn’t the best option since Ian is still at the mountain.” I fell silent, feeling silly for even suggesting it. I should have just told her that Ethan was fine, that he was looking forward to his break from school, and left it at that.
But Bailey was smiling at me. “Well, tomorrow’s Wednesday, right? That’s a slow day for the mountain anyway, even this close to Christmas. You should see our ski school logs for tomorrow; looks like hardly any guests.” She paused. “So why don’t I come over? See you and see Ethan, let you know how things are going, that sort of thing?” I could hear the hope in her voice, and I tried not to be surprised by it.
“That sounds like a plan,” I said, nodding at her. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
CHAPTER 29
BAILEY
I was really glad that Adam didn’t seem upset about the news that Ian had hired a new maintenance team for the mountain. He just took it all in stride, even going so far as to ask me if that was what I might want. It wasn’t, it definitely wasn’t. But I was glad to hear him be so forgiving about the whole situation.
Not that I had really expected anything else from Adam. He was nothing if not kind and understanding. And the whole lunch had just made me want him more.
I wondered if Ian realized that the more he did to frustrate me, the more he was just pushing me right into Adam’s waiting arms. Ian had always been my best friend, my biggest help in business, and my role model. But since he had come back to Park City and basically tried to take over my business, there had been more and more space between the two of us. I just couldn’t handle him being there any longer, and I could tell that he was starting to realize that. There was a distance there that hadn’t been there before.
And the more I realized that he wasn’t my friend, at least not in this venture, the more I ached to have someone else fill the void of friendship that he had left. If that was Adam, well, Ian couldn’t exactly blame me. I knew that part of it was Adam just looking out for his job. And for the resort that he had worked for for so long. But there was a part of it that made me sure he was also looking out for me, that he was being friendly specifically to me.
I remembered just how cold and closed off he had been when I had first come back to Park City. He just wasn’t like that anymore. Maybe I had forced him to change. Maybe I had found a way to get Adam to open up to me. That was definitely the way it felt.
So when he told me during lunch that Ethan had been asking about when he and I could see one another again, I realized that I would do whatever it took to get to see him. I didn’t think that skiing was the best idea. What would Ian have to say to that? But I could go over to Adam’s house, since Ethan was on break from school and Adam didn’t have anything to do with the mountain at the moment.
Now that I was here, though, driving up the long driveway towards the wooden house, I couldn’t help feeling nervous.
I had wanted to talk to Adam about more during lunch the previous day. To tell him that even though I knew he probably regretted kissing me, since it meant that he had lost a whole week’s worth of work, basically, I didn’t regret it at all. In fact, I was more resolved than ever that I wanted things to work out between us somehow.
I wasn’t quite sure what that would look like yet. I knew that he was still Ian’s friend, or at least that he and Ian still had some things to resolve. And I also knew, more than ever, that things were likely to get complicated between us.
