120 days... (17 page)

He was also considering the building. While it was large enough for the amount of guests they currently had, if they were going to expand, they needed something larger. But he wanted, and he was sure Sam would agree with him, to keep the charm and old-ranch feel of the place. It couldn’t be all new and shiny. The people who used this place weren’t, and it needed to reflect them too.

Shaking his head he knew he had to stop before he completely re-developed this area. He tilted his head and stared at Sam, trying to get into her head, wondering what she would say if he brought his ideas to her. There was a good chance she’d be stubborn and say that while he had some good ideas, she couldn’t afford it, and therefore, it would have to be planned out as money allowed, never letting him put any money into it. Or she’d say she’d never want this place to become an institution, because if that happened, it wouldn’t benefit the guests anymore. He knew she wouldn’t be worried about filling the place up; sadly, there were always enough guests to fill the room.

Sam clapped her hands together. “Anyone ready to play charades? Get in your teams, and guests decide which employees goes on which team.”

Soon enough everyone was grouped into their teams. Sam and Ethan were on two separate teams and were chosen to be the team captains. They sat in the middle of everyone next to each other. He smirked at her. “Are you ready to give up now?”

“Ha. Please. We’re going to wipe the floor with you.”

“You keep telling yourself that. Have you seen my team?” He gestured toward his group. “There’s no way we could lose.”

“I have a secret weapon, and you’re totally going to lose.”

“Care to place a little wager on that, Ms. Truman?”

Her eyes lit up. “Well, Mr. McGregor, I’d hate to see a grown man cry when he lost a bet.”

“Good, then we’re in agreement. What’s your wager?”

Sam tapped her finger on her lips and squinted her eyes at him. “The person who loses has to do the next run into town for supplies.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “That’s it? You must be scared of losing. Deal.” He held his hand out for her to shake.

“Not so fast, buddy. That’s just the first thing. The second is, whoever loses has to dress up like whatever the winner choses for them to wear. They have to be in costume all day while working.”

Ethan narrowed his eyes at her and wondered exactly what her secret weapon was. Deciding to go with it, he held out his hand and they shook on it. He frowned when she started laughing. “What?”

“There’s something you don’t know about me.”

“There’s a lot. That’s one thing I want to change.”

Her face blushed red. “No, it’s the fact I love Halloween. I was in theatre during high school. I love to dress up.”

“So you’re saying there is nothing that I could pick out for you that you’d be embarrassed to wear?”

“Nope.” She smiled widely at him.

“Well, if that isn’t a challenge, I don’t know what is. Let’s get this started so I can start searching for the perfect costume for you to wear when you lose.”

“You do that, meanwhile, I’ve already got your costume picked out.” She tapped the side of her head. “And it’s a good one. Feel free to dwell on it while we’re playing.”

The game was fast paced and intense, both teams going back and forth. One was in the lead, and then the other one was up, never more than two ahead at any given time. With a wager on the line, it seemed both guests and employees took the competition to a whole new level. It had gotten so bad, they had to wait until they were tied again before deciding on only nine more turns so the game would end.

Coming down to the last game, they were tied once more. Ethan was up. What Sam didn’t realize was he lived for the pressure. When millions of dollars were on the line, he had to be able to keep his head steady and focused. This game was no different. As soon as he looked at the title of the movie, a smile spread across his face. He knew exactly what he was going to do and she wouldn’t know what hit her.

He let them know it was two words and ran to the closest table. Since they hadn’t specified they couldn’t use props, he quickly cleared it, then he ran to the kitchen where he grabbed a pie and placed it in the center of the table. He took the bowl of pretzels off another table and put sixteen of them in the pie then he walked over to Sam and picked her up, ignoring her squeal. Settling her down gently on the table, he climbed up and made sure the pie was between them. Ever so slowly, he leaned over the pie, and kissed her.

Pulling away from her, he looked at his team and gestured at Sam and the pie between them and slowly pointed to each of the sixteen ‘candles’ there. He knew his time was running out and he started to panic. Quickly, he leaned over and kissed her again, and looked back at them where that sat, shrugging and shaking their heads. His heart sank. There was no way Sam’s team was going to miss this one. Last week they’d had a John Hughes movie marathon.

When her team was just as silent when it was their turn to guess, he narrowed his eyes and scanned the crowd, stopping when they landed on Edward. He sat, grinning at them. Breaking the silence, Ethan asked, “Okay, what gives?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Edward, grinning so hard his cheeks must be hurting.

“How could no one have guessed
Sixteen Candles
? We just watched that movie. You all voted on it.” Sam frowned.

“Seems like I’m a bit off my
game
.” Ethan turned toward Sam. “We’ve been played. What I haven’t figured out is why. Want to fill us in, Edward?”

“Sure, sure . . . see, if you ended up in a tie, neither one of you would win, and therefore, you’d both lose, and if you both lost, then you’d have to go to town together and wear the costumes
we
pick out for you.”

Now Ethan was worried. What kind of costumes would they put them in? He looked over at Sam and noticed she was amused by the guest’s antics, just as he was.

Day 30

Ethan–

Sam and I went into town today, just the two of us. You could tell she didn’t like ‘guests’ helping her out with the supply run. Something about how we’re here to relax and not do any chores. I sweet-talked her into taking me. You’d be proud. I told her, ‘How could spending time alone with a beautiful woman be considered a chore?’ She didn’t buy it, but let me come along anyway. It was actually nice to do something ‘normal’ for a change.

If things were different . . . but since they’re not . . . besides I think she’d be better for you. She’d kick your ass and make you open your eyes and enjoy every single moment of your life.

Evan

The next day, Sam grabbed her list and the keys to the van. She looked up at the clouds forming above her as she walked to the barn and remembered the weather said there was another storm coming in. It was unusual to have so much rain in the fall. She hoped it meant they were going to be climbing out of their drought status. She wasn’t surprised to find Ethan waiting for her when she reached the barn. They didn’t say anything to each other as she approached, yet butterflies took flight in her stomach at the sight of him. She could get lost in his gaze for days and not notice the passing of time. When he held out his hand, she easily dropped the keys into his waiting palm, knowing he’d take care of her. It felt like more than a simple trip into town for supplies. If she had to label it, she would have to say it felt more like a date. She started toward the passenger door and was surprised when he beat her there. He gave her a small bow at his waist before opening the door.

“Thank you.” Sam tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she turned her face away and climbed in, too shy to look at him.

“You’re very welcome.” He closed the door, walked around the front and climbed in. Putting the keys in the ignition, the engine roared to life.

“Wow, I don’t think the van has ever sounded this good. How much do I owe you, and when did you have time to give it a tune-up?”

He frowned at her and shook his head before putting the van in gear and backing out of the barn. “Please, I spent years working in a garage while raising Evan. The timing was off. It didn’t take much to fix it. Time or money, besides, this is what you pay me for anyway.”

“Well, thank you.”

“Yeah, I think you need to find a new mechanic.”

“But I’ve gone to this shop for years.”

“That may be, but anyone could have fixed this easily with the right equipment. Between the two vans, if both of them weren’t running perfectly, you’d be taking them back to him all the time, and he’d have a steady stream of income.”

“But . . . but . . . but that’s wrong.”

“Honey, it happens all the time. Since you take them to someone local, they don’t have a lot of business, so anything steady would be a blessing.”

“But I bring other money into the local economy here, not just the garage. And dammit, the resort is for a good cause. I’m not up here milking dying people out of their money promising cures. They know exactly what they are doing when they come here, and how much time they have left.” She pulled her phone out of her purse and started to scroll through it.

“What are you doing?”

She dropped her hands into her lap and looked at him with disbelief. “What do you think I’m going to do? I’m going to call the jerk and give him a piece of my mind.”

Reaching over, he placed his hand over hers. “No, it’s not worth it.”

“What do you mean it’s not worth it? I could be putting that money into something else for the guests instead of lining his pockets. And I could find another garage, or better yet, I could get some books and learn how to do some of this stuff myself! Yeah, that’s what I should do.”

“Samantha, really? When would you have time?”

“Don’t you start with that tone. I could find the time.” She narrowed her eyes and gave him a pointed look, hoping he got the picture not to mess with her about this.

“Sure you can.” He nodded. “Maybe get a little less sleep a night. That’ll be really good for you.” He looked over and winked at her.

She raised her chin in the air and looked down her nose at him. “I’ll have you know I get the perfect amount of sleep.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” he mocked her.

“I will. I’ve spent years figuring out exactly how much sleep I need. It’s the only way I can get everything done I need to. Luckily for me, five-to-six hours is perfect.”

“Exactly.” He grinned at her like the cat who caught the mouse. “You’re already at five-to-six hours of sleep. What are you going to cut out in order to become a master mechanic?”

She squinted her eyes at him. “No need to go all Mr. Sarcastic on me.”

“Well, someone’s got to do something; otherwise, you’ll work yourself into the grave, and then where would the resort be? Have you thought of that?”

“Haven’t you figured it out by now? This resort is what keeps me going. I don’t know what I would have done after my parents died if this idea hadn’t bloomed. And yes, I am going to die and I worry every damn day about what is going to happen to this land after I’m gone.” She looked out the window and watched as the fields went by. On a whisper, she said, “The saddest thing would be for it to die with me.”

His voice softened to match hers. “Do you have a plan in place?”

“Of course I do, but nothing is set in stone; besides, this is a huge responsibility, and I don’t know if there is anyone crazy enough to want to take on this kind of project.” She shook her head. “No, all I can do is put everything into it and hope that whenever it the time comes, I’ve built this place up big enough, that it’s a recognizable name and people will want to continue the work.” Tilting her head from one side to the other, she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “Ready to change the subject?”

“Depends, you still calling that mechanic?”

“I should.” She folded her arms across her chest, still angry someone would do such a thing to anyone, let alone a person who was trying to help people.