Taming His Montana Heart(11)
Want and need were two very different things. He wanted to put the past behind him, had to. He needed a job.
His four-wheel drive truck took him from the main resort to the snowmobile operation, which was about a mile away. The road hadn’t iced over, but if the weather report was right, the temperature would drop well below freezing tonight. Summer at Lake Serene was highlighted by long, warm, and almost perfect days. Winter, he was fast learning, could mean hostile weather, frozen water pipes, and sliding or stuck vehicles, to say nothing of dangerous walking conditions and the hassle of moving building supplies over and around ever-deepening snow.
Seeing Rey Bowen’s dirty three-quarter ton crew cab parked near where the snowmobiles were housed lifted some of the load of responsibility Shaw carried. Rey’s past involving a questionable partner, a bankruptcy, and a lawsuit back when he had his own construction company had initially concerned Shaw, but he was glad he’d taken a chance on the man.
He hadn’t been surprised that Rey and Echo had fallen in love. What he had been was envious. However, neither Rey nor Echo had done what he had. They weren’t damaged. Not ready for a romantic relationship.
“She’s right,” Rey said when Shaw joined him and Haley. “It’s groaning. Hopefully the roof will last until I can make some permanent repairs but for the rest of this winter I’m going to make keeping as much snow as possible off it a priority.”
Haley had been talking to Rey when he pulled up but she’d given Shaw her full attention as he exited his vehicle. He might be wrong, heck, he probably was, but maybe she was glad to see him.
What he needed to do was keep a handle on his emotions, something he’d had too much experience doing.
“I’m trying to convince Rey to let me and only me get on the roof,” she said. “I don’t weigh as much and—”
“No way,” he interrupted. “I’m not going to risk you getting hurt.”
Her expression firmed. “Anyone who goes up there is at risk. Look, I alerted you two to a possible problem. Now that it’s been verified, I have the solution that makes the most sense.”
Maybe she was right. The less additional weight on the roof, which he couldn’t see beneath several feet of snow, the better.
“I’m concerned we don’t have much time,” Rey said. “I can’t just pull a crew off what they’re doing and get them over here.”
“See.” Haley looked as if she’d just won a race. “You have to depend on me.” She turned serious. “I’ll be careful. If I hear or feel anything that makes me nervous, I’ll jump.” She indicated the snow around the building. “Believe me, I don’t want to die.”
He opened his mouth to voice his concerns, but her tone stopped him. She hadn’t just thrown out words about not wanting to die. There’d been nothing flippant about her response. Unless he was wrong, and he was certain he wasn’t, death had touched her.
For a moment he considered telling her he understood. Then the wall he’d labored to erect around himself returned, and he asked Rey how he intended to get anyone onto the roof. Rey pointed at an extension ladder strapped to his vehicle.
“What about shovels?”
Rey indicated the bed of his truck. “There are several in there in addition to what’s here.”
When Shaw had reluctantly agreed to oversee his uncle’s ambitious project, he’d assumed he’d be spending as much of his time tending to the details of the work that needed to be done as he would promoting Lake Serene. Before signing the contract Uncle Robert insisted on, Shaw had repeatedly asked his relative if he knew what he was doing.
“Absolutely,” Uncle Robert had responded. “You aren’t afraid to make decisions, and you can read people. No one’s going to push you around, even me. You’re the only one I trust with the kind of money I’ll be putting out. Besides, you need this. Don’t tell me you don’t.”
By way of agreeing, he’d picked up the ink pen and signed away the next few years of his life. Hiring Rey had relieved Shaw of much of the actual construction responsibility. He’d be a fool to let concern for Haley’s welfare get in the way of trusting his contractor so why wasn’t he letting her get started? Haley was simply an employee, no different from the others.
Right.
His phone rang as Rey and Haley were heading toward Rey’s truck. He could either answer it or he could help the pair. He opted for what would keep him near her. Even though she wore a bibbed snowsuit over a thick Henley shirt, he easily keyed into the feminine form underneath.
After helping them find stable footing for the ladder, he grabbed one of the snow shovels. “What are you doing?” Haley demanded.
“I’m about to shovel snow.”
When she shrugged, he waited until Rey was heading up the ladder then indicated Haley could go next. She planted a boot on the first step. The shovel had her off-balance, but he knew better than try to tell her to let him carry the tool. Besides, he had his work cut out for him holding onto his shovel with one hand and gripping the ladder with his other.
There was also the matter of watching her slim, athletic body above him.
“The snow could break loose at any moment,” Rey pointed out once they were all on the roof but not standing close together. “I suggest we start by digging down until we find solid footing.”