Suddenly Last Summer (23 page)

“Yeah, you’re probably right. And talking of causing Tyler hassle, about this camping trip—” Sean bent and brushed dust from his shoe. “I’ll do it.”

“You?” Jackson looked at him in astonishment. “You’ll be in Boston.”

“I was planning to come home next weekend, anyway. Just to check on Gramps.” The six weeks away from Snow Crystal he’d been planning suddenly felt like too long. “I’ll be here so I’ll do it.”

“So not only are you planning on coming home again, you want to go camping?” Jackson didn’t even bother to try and hide the smile. “Has someone suddenly invented a five-star tent with private facilities that I don’t know about?”

“I was brought up here, same as you. I know those trails as well as you. My wilderness survival techniques are as good as yours.”

“Since when did wilderness survival equipment include walking in handmade Italian shoes?” Jackson’s gaze slid from his shirt to his feet. “They’re going to look good after a day hiking on the trail. Is that your idea of dressing casually? Because you wouldn’t look out of place in a box at the opera.”

“That shows how many times you’ve taken a box at the opera. And for your information I just took Gramps to the hospital.”

“Right. That explains why your mood is so cozy and warm. That hike is tough. That’s why we’ve chosen it.”

“I can do tough. Try standing on your feet for twelve hours operating and then get up in the night for an emergency, then you’ll know tough.”

“You want to give up two days of your time to nursemaid a load of quarreling businessmen?”

“No. Tyler can do that part. I want to do the practice session.”

Jackson swatted a fly. “You’re really willing to go to these lengths just so Tyler doesn’t get to spend a night in a tent with Élise?”

“It’s got nothing to do with Élise. I’m doing my bit to help with the family business. It will get Gramps off my back. I just thought I could help out, that’s all. Visitor numbers are up. You can’t employ more staff until the numbers are healthier so I’m guessing you’re all stretched to the limit.”

“We are. But we’ve been stretched to the limit before and I didn’t see you throwing down your scalpel and running to our rescue. Which is fine, because you’re doing what you’re trained to do and we’re all proud of you.” Jackson’s gaze was steady. “So do us both a favor, cut the bullshit and tell me what the hell is going on.”

“Like I said, I’m helping out.”

Jackson sighed. “Fine, do it. As you say, we’re short of staff. It will free up Tyler to take that family on a mountain bike trip. But you do anything to Élise, you bring even one tiny tear to her eye, and I’ll be the one breaking your bones, not Tyler.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

É
LISE
BURIED
HERSELF
in work in the hope that it would stop her thinking about Sean.

She knew he’d taken Walter to the hospital. The fact that he hadn’t stopped by to see her bothered her more than it should have.

And now he was back in Boston, getting on with his life and she was getting on with hers.

Which was exactly the way it should be.

She cooked every night in the Inn serving award-winning food in elegant surroundings and spent the rest of the time supervising and working in the new Boathouse Café. She experimented with menus, removed dishes that didn’t seem popular, and added a few others. It pleased her to see the newly completed deck crowded with families, old and young alike.

And in the few spare hours she had, she designed a menu for the team-building event Kayla had arranged. The food had to be light to carry and easy to cook.

Tyler had given her the little outdoor stove they’d be using and she reproduced all the dishes using only the equipment she’d have on the trail.

On the morning of the trek, she met him at the Outdoor Center.

“For goodness’ sake take bug repellent.” Tyler handed her a bag. “And wear long sleeves and long pants the whole time. It’s the middle of summer so there are a whole load of biting bugs out there. Luckily you’ve mostly missed blackfly season. That’s a real joy.”

“You can walk ahead of me.” Élise pushed the food into her backpack. “That way they can take a mouthful of you and maybe they won’t be so hungry.”

“I’m not going.” He helped her with the backpack. “Family of six want to explore the mountain bike trails and I’m their guide. We can’t turn down that sort of money.”

“No, of course you can’t. So is Jackson going to—?”

“Sean.” Tyler pulled the backpack closed and fastened it. “Shocking though it may sound, my lightweight, city-loving brother is going to do it.”

Her mouth dried. “Sean?”

Tyler gave her a sympathetic look. “Scary, I know, but believe it or not he used to know this trail really well. And look at it this way—if he can’t save you from being attacked by a bear because he’s worried about protecting his shoes and his suit, he can at least put you back together afterward. Don’t look so terrified.” He misinterpreted the look on her face. “You’re not likely to see a bear. They’re pretty nervous of humans, although once they get a whiff of your cooking that might change. Just kidding.”

Sean was coming with her?

She hadn’t seen him since that night when she’d fallen asleep on the sofa and woken to find he’d carried her upstairs.

“I thought he was in Boston.”

“According to Jackson he’s suddenly been filled with a brotherly urge to help out.” Tyler shrugged. “We’re pretty busy around here so none of us are about to argue. You two are going to check the route, cook that food, camp overnight and then let me know if we need to make any changes to the plan before these soft city folk arrive here.”

“I gather two of them are women.”

“That’s right.” Tyler grinned. “I’m planning to arrange a bear encounter so they decide to snuggle in my tent.”

Despite the feelings churning around inside her, Élise laughed. “Is Brenna going with you?”

“She is.” Tyler reached out and adjusted the straps on her backpack. “It’s important that the weight is in the right place or you’ll be uncomfortable. And if it gets too heavy give it to my big brother to carry, it will do him good.”

“So you’ll be sleeping with the women, which means that Brenna will be sleeping with the men? And one of them owns the company, no? So he is probably very rich.” The humor in Tyler’s face faded.

“Brenna will be in her own tent.”

“Aren’t you worried she’ll be afraid of the bears?”

“Brenna isn’t afraid of anything. You should have seen her as a kid. She climbed everything we climbed, skied everything we skied. Wherever we were, she was right there, too.”

And still is,
Élise thought.
But you don’t notice her.

She wondered if the camping trip would change that.

But she didn’t have time to dwell on that idea because she saw a flash of red and heard the throaty roar of the engine, announcing Sean’s arrival.

Tyler put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “Are you all right with this plan?”

She was touched that he’d asked.

Touched that he cared.

It was yet another reason to love this place and the people in it.

“I’m fine with it. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because my brother has his eyes on your sexy ass. If he tries anything, just punch him. He’s a soft city boy. No muscle or backbone.”

She knew that wasn’t true. She’d seen those muscles.

It wasn’t nerves that fluttered in her stomach, it was something else altogether.

But what was she afraid of?

Just because he’d carried her to bed, tucked her in and left her didn’t change the way she felt about him. She was attracted, that was true, but it didn’t go deeper than that.

She didn’t want that and neither did he.

“I need to go. I’m already late for a meeting with a rep from a ski company. Good luck. If you need anything, call me.”

He lifted a hand to Sean and strode off toward the outdoor store attached to the Center.

Sean parked the car and strode over to her carrying a large backpack.

“Hey, Dr. O’Neil—” Sam Stephens was circling on his new bike and Sean paused to talk to him, a smile on his face.

“Hey, yourself. Is that the birthday bike?”

“Sure is. I got the red one.” He beamed with pride and rode it closer to Sean, who duly admired it.

“How’s your vacation?”

“Awesome. Except we only have two days left. Today my dad and I are cycling on the forest trail. Mom is staying here with my baby sister.”

“Sounds good. You be careful. Keep that helmet on. If you come off that bike you don’t want to bang your head.”

“I saw your car. Did you just come from Boston? Did you save any lives today, Dr. O’Neil?” The boy’s eyes were big, round and full of admiration.

“Not yet.” Smiling, Sean fastened the backpack. “But the day is young. Who knows what will happen.”

Élise felt her throat close

He was so good with the child.

Sam pushed his bike closer to his hero. “Did you know he saved a man’s life, Élise?”

“No.” She was relieved her voice sounded normal. “No, I didn’t know that, Sam. But he’s a doctor, so I suppose that’s his job.”

“This wasn’t his job. It didn’t happen at the hospital. It happened on the mountains up there—” Sam waved an arm and the bike wobbled. “A man fell skiing. Broke every bone in his body.” The boy described it with a ghoulish delight that made Élise wince.

“It wasn’t quite every bone,” Sean said mildly, but there was no deflecting Sam who was determined to tell Élise the whole story with as much embellishment as possible.

“There was blood all over the snow and people were screaming. The man was screaming. My dad was nearby and he saw it all. He said Dr. O’Neil skied over, cool as a Popsicle and he just took over. And he fixed him.” Drunk on hero worship, Sam let his concentration lapse and his bike wobbled again. With lightning reflexes, Sean shot out a hand and steadied him before the boy could crash into the dirt.

“I didn’t exactly ‘fix’ him. I stabilized him enough to get him down the mountain to hospital so the doctors there could fix him.”

“But if you hadn’t done that, he would have died. Right there on the mountain.”

“Maybe. Now put your feet down before you fall over.” Sean was patient. “That’s it. And be careful on that trail. It’s rough in places.”

“I’m fine.” But the boy put his feet down. “What’s the French word for blood, Élise?”

“Sang,”
she said. “But I hope you don’t ever need that word.”

“I might. When I grow up I’m going to be a surgeon like Dr. O’Neil. I’m going to save people. That would be really cool.”

Checking that the boy was steady, Sean let go of the bike. “You’ll be a great doctor, but that’s enough talk of blood for one day. You’re making my stomach turn.”

Sam hovered, unwilling to let his hero go. “You see blood all the time.”

“Just one more reason why I don’t want to see it on my day off. You have a good day, Sam. Say hi to your mom and dad for me.”

Sam cycled off, wobbling a little while Sean watched.

“I hope they’re careful on that trail. He isn’t that stable.”

“He’s adorable. And he adores you.”

“He’s been coming here for years and he’s easily impressed. Are you okay with your backpack or is it too heavy?” He swung his own backpack onto his broad shoulders and secured the straps. Élise watched those muscles flex and ripple under his shirt.

For a moment she felt a little of Sam’s admiration and then pushed it away. Physically Sean O’Neil was as close to masculine perfection as it was possible to get. That was a fact. It wasn’t something to get emotional about.

And then she met his gaze and saw the heat in his eyes.

Raw chemistry slammed into her and she steadied herself, telling herself it was the backpack that was making her legs unstable.

“I’m fine. Let’s walk.”

“Tyler gave me the route he’s planning to take. We’ll follow it exactly and break where they are going to break.”

“
Bien.
It sounds good to me.”

“So did you ever do this in France? Hiking?”

“
Oui,
of course. In the mountains, with my mother.” The memory squeezed her heart. “She used to cook in the winter for skiers. Occasionally we would go to Chamonix in the summer and she would cook for hikers and climbers. Chamonix has some of the best climbing and skiing in the Alps.”

Sean led the way onto the trail that led from Snow Crystal up onto the Long Trail.

“We walked here all the time when we were kids. Gramps used to take us out camping and then leave us to find our own way home.”

“That didn’t worry your mother?”

“Probably. She worried about Tyler. He was the daredevil, always breaking something, so there was more reason to worry. Jackson and I looked out for each other. But Mom didn’t have much say in it. Gramps ruled. Still does.”

“He is looking much better. I hear the hospital appointment went well?”

“Yes.”

“So did you clear the air? Did you have that conversation?”

“Not yet.”

She felt a rush of frustration. “Why do you keep putting it off?”

“I was going to, but then he started going on about—”

“About what?”

“Nothing. Shit.” He swore fluently as he sank ankle-deep in mud. “How the hell did I miss that?” They were in the heart of Vermont’s backwoods, surrounded by tall trees and the scent of the forest. And they had the trail to themselves.

“City boy.” Smiling, Élise stepped past him, sprang over the mud and landed on solid ground.

“You’ve been talking to Tyler.” Still muttering, Sean scraped the worst of the mud off his boots. “Great. You’re going to love sharing a tent with me tonight.”

“We have two tents.”

“One tent. Two people. Two tents is unnecessary weight.”

“I thought there were two tents.”

“Just the one. Is that a problem?”

“I prefer my own space.”

“You can have your own space. The left-hand side of the tent is yours. Right-hand side is mine.” The corner of his mouth flickered into a smile. “Relax. We’re not moving in together. This is strictly a temporary arrangement.”