Taming His Montana Heart(16)

“I didn’t expect you to. You’re responsible.” He glanced out the window, not that he could see anything except night. Acknowledging his attempt reminded her of how isolated they were. There were dozens if not hundreds of visitors settling in for the evening at the resort but just the two of them here.

“So are you. Having so much on your shoulders must sometimes get to you.”

“I have my moments.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did. You must enjoy taking a project from concept to completion or you wouldn’t be doing it.”

“Enjoy?” He shook his head. “That isn’t what brought me here.”

What, she wanted to know, had brought him here. Maybe he’d been intent on separating himself from a woman. If so, she couldn’t relate since she’d never truly given her heart to a man.

“At least you can go snowmobiling whenever you want to and not have to pay for it,” she said.

“That I can.”

His voice lacked enthusiasm. Wondering what would bring him to life as he’d been when they were on the roof briefly silenced her. Then because it looked as if he wasn’t going to say anything, she explained how she used the peg board to keep track of the snowmobiles’ ins and outs.

“Black pegs keep showing up next to machines three, eight, and nine,” he said. “Am I to assume that isn’t good?”

“Unfortunately you’re right. Those are the oldest ones. Black indicates when I repaired them. And the two striped pegs—that’s when I had to go after dead machines.”

“Dead?”

“They’d stopped running.”

“You? Alone?”

“Yes. One time the stranded driver was with a group, and they brought him back. I used the strongest machine to retrieve what he had to abandon.”

“And the other time?”

That was more complicated. Fortunately the solitary rider had been able to reach her via his cell phone. After retrieving him and refunding his rental money, she’d returned for the disabled machine. However, before she could do that, she’d had to deal with the rest of the day’s customers. As a result, she’d worked until nearly midnight.

“That’s not right. Why didn’t you let it go until the next day?”

“Because all of the machines were scheduled to go out in the morning. It turned out to be a simple tuning issue.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You?” The longer the conversation continued, the smaller the room became. She was used to guarding her personal space but this was more than that. Shaw made her feel off-balance and alive at the same time, aware of herself as a woman. “You have more important things to concern yourself with than a single snowmobile or too much snow on a roof.”

“I don’t expect you to handle everything on your own.”

Was Shaw letting her know he didn’t believe she was equal to the job? If he did, he was wrong. She’d worked so hard and come so far from the broken teenager she’d once been. That confused girl no longer existed.

“I knew what I was getting into when I accepted the job offer.”

“You must have.” He leaned forward and planted his large hands on the table. “You know, this might be a good time for us to define our relationship. You’re right. My job description doesn’t include snow removal, but I wanted to see what you were talking about, not because I didn’t trust you to assess the situation but because I’m used to the buck stopping with me.”

“I get where you’re coming from. I’m sorry if I sounded defensive.”

“I don’t want you to feel you have to apologize. Like I said, our official relationship needs to be spelled out.”

“All right.”

He studied her. “Here’s how I try to work with the other department heads like Rey. Once they’ve proven themselves, which you’ve done, I leave them to run their operations. The only time I get involved is if it involves an expenditure or personnel.”

“Which is why you asked me about the snowmobiles.”

“Exactly. Speaking of something costing money, you need larger, more comfortable quarters. As I see it, that’s a matter of moving a wall, adding insulation, and improving the heating situation. Do you agree?”

“It would help.”

“Good answer.” He smiled. “As for personnel, you need some.”

Talking about what it took for her to be able to do her job should be easy, but even though she approved of the direction the conversation had taken, she wished it was more personal.

“Yes, I do.”

“How many?”

“I think, unless there’s an event, a single assistant will be enough. Hopefully someone who is mechanically inclined.”

“That we have. However, I’m not sure I can pull one of them off their current assignment. How do you feel about taking on someone who might not know his way around a snowmobile but is trainable?”

“I’d have to see him at work before I can say. It would help if he or she is strong enough to shovel snow.”

“Thanks for reminding me.” He frowned at the wall clock. “No wonder I’m hungry. How about we conclude this meeting? I’d ask you to join me for dinner at the restaurant but Uncle Robert has been leaving messages. I also need to answer several other calls.”