what I tell myself. I throw myself back into work and then around 4 PM, Hudson comes to get me so we can walk the site and check on progress. The stable has been completely demolished and the debris has been hauled to the dumpster. He needs me to check on the few trees that might need to be cleared before we can level the ground.
As I walk out of the trailer, I spot Taylor moving toward the construction site with a water bottle in hand. She looks determined to get somewhere fast, and I watch as she finds Robert and hands him the bottle. He nods in thanks and they start talking. I can’t hear them from where I am, but he’s pointing his hand out as if explaining something to her. They’re still together after we walk the site. Now, they’re hunched over the plans.
“What’re they doing?” I ask Hudson, nodding over to Robert and Taylor.
“Uh…shouldn’t you know? She’s your assistant.”
The glare I aim his way withers half the forest.
“I mean,” he amends quickly, changing his tone, “let me check on that right away.”
Ten minutes later, he walks into the trailer and shrugs. “Apparently she was curious about how the site runs. Now, she’s headed to clean your cabin.”
“She is?”
He narrows his eyes. “Should I tell her you want to see her?”
“No.”
Absolutely not. The laundry was enough for one day.
Chapter 14
Taylor
Well, okay, tossing laundry onto the floor was admittedly not my proudest moment. I’d rank it right after…oh, stealing Ethan’s wallet, I suppose. So, he’s had the privilege of seeing me not only at my worst, but also at my second worst. I keep coaching myself to stay calm, to put up an impenetrable force field where he’s concerned and just let everything he says go in one ear and out the other. Unfortunately, when push comes to shove, that’s easier said than done.
He deserved that little outburst. He’d be eating crow if he knew what I was up to all morning. I wasn’t just twiddling my thumbs and flirting with his crew. First of all, I spent a solid hour trying to get that ancient washing machine up and running. I even had Jeremy take a quick look at it, but it was no use. The thing was toast. Even if it wasn’t, we didn’t have the necessary parts to fix it. I ended up having to hand-wash every piece of Ethan’s clothing by hand in the sink, which shouldn’t have taken too long, but there was mud caked on his jeans and some of his workout clothes were extra dirty. I didn’t want to leave a single speck behind. No way was I going to give him ammunition against me. After I was done washing everything, I threw the stuff in the dryer, which thankfully still worked, but not well enough. It took twice as long to dry the clothes as it should have and by the time I started to fold, it was lunchtime, which was when Max came strolling by.
For the record, I didn’t invite him in. He invited himself.
He had a few minutes left of his lunch break and wanted to say hi. Apparently, he finds my company enjoyable, unlike some people. In fact, Max likes me, maybe even a little more than he should. I was spot-on in my earlier assessment that Max would want to revisit our relationship if I gave him the green light. In fact, he steered the conversation toward that topic almost immediately.
“Why didn’t you and I work out?” he asked, leaning one hip against the washing machine, watching me fold Ethan’s clothes.
I shot him an amused smile. “Oh, I don’t know. Does there have to be a reason? We were fifteen.”
“So that’s it? We were just young?”
I caught him giving me a once-over before his smiling gaze met mine again.
“And you were a flirt.”
That’s the problem with guys like Max. He soaks up attention like a sponge and doles out smiles and love to any and everyone, not at all discerning about who the recipients are. It’s a good character trait, don’t get me wrong—no one has a bad word to say about Max—but I’m just not sure I could date someone like him. I’d rather be one in a million than one of a million.
Still, a little time spent with him is good for the ego. I didn’t even mind the flirting. It felt nice to laugh and smile.