hoping that Grant wouldn’t make promises to Toby and not bother to keep them. She had always tried never to break a promise to her son.
“Come on, Mom,” Grant and Homer echoed in unison, silly grins plastered on both men’s faces to make her feel like an ogre.
Toby bent over in a fit of giggles. Jami felt a blush burn her cheeks and hurried forward to where the lumberjack bellboy had opened a door and stood stacking their luggage inside.
She stepped into the spacious suite and was greeted by the fragrance of roses and wild violets. She found her gaze drawn to the king-size four-poster bed covered by a star-pattern, red, white, and blue hand-tied quilt. Jami refused to acknowledge the mental flash of a tantalizing image of Grant in that bed. She didn’t even know the man!
The “bellboy” now stood just outside the doorway, probably accepting a tip from Grant, so she completed her visual survey. The massive pine furniture gave the room an early American atmosphere, accented by the loosely woven draperies and a looped rug that matched the quilt. A chunky pine telephone stand with a black push-button phone flanked the doorway. Jami dropped her handbag onto the table by the phone.
She noticed two doors on her left and one stood open to offer a glimpse of a double bed with a patchwork quilt in the patriotic color scheme. Jami decided she and Toby could take that smaller bedroom and leave this huge main room to Grant. She did flick a longing glance at the fireplace in the northwest corner, but she didn’t care about the wet-bar or entertainment center along the right-hand side of the room opposite the big bed.
“Not bad.” Grant entered, with Toby on his heels.
“It’s cool,” Toby agreed, causing Jami concern about her son’s obvious adoration of the man whose company they must “enjoy” for the next week. “What’s that ring gizmo with the feathers and teeth?” the boy added, staring above the bed’s headboard to a Native American craft hanging on the wall.
“That’s a dream-catcher. Haven’t you seen one before?” Grant said, crossing the room to remove it from the nail. He handed the feather, bead, and leather loop to Toby. “It’s blessed with magical powers to chase away evil spirits and nightmares, letting only good dreams through.”
“Wow! Did Indians make it?”
“Native Americans,” Jami corrected as Grant said, “Yes.”
Toby’s brown eyes squinted in thought. “So I won’t have bad dreams if I sleep with this by my bed?”
“That’s the way it’s supposed to work.” Grant smiled down at Toby, flashing even white teeth.
Toby fiddled with an animal tooth, then handed the dream-catcher back to Grant. “Will you hang it back up, so it can guard my dreams?”
“We aren’t sleeping in that bed,” Jami gasped, meeting Grant’s amused midnight blue gaze.
“Why not?” Toby objected with a child’s innocence as he hopped on one foot and then the other. “There’s plenty of room for all three of us.”
Grant’s smile grew with his amusement. “Plenty of room,” he echoed in a velvet undertone that sent all kinds of forbidden messages to Jami.
Feeling a hot blush stain her cheeks, Jami hoped she didn’t go fire engine red. Her coloring lent itself to extreme blushes, a fact she had always hated. She took Toby’s hand and led him to the open door of the smaller room. “We’ll sleep in this bedroom, and Mr. Carrington can have the big bed.”
A disappointed pout pushed Toby’s bottom lip forward. “There’s no dream-catcher above that bed.”
“I saw a purple dream-catcher in the gift shop here the last time I visited the lodge. Maybe they still have it,” Grant suggested, squatting down to drop eye to eye with the boy.
“It may be expensive,” Jami protested, hoping not to spend any more than absolutely necessary on their vacation.
“My treat,” Grant replied in a tone that brooked no argument.
“We can’t let you do that.”
“Yes we can!” Toby wailed, freckles standing out starkly on his face and his hands balling into fists.
“Then take the king-size bed and the main room. I’ll sleep in the double bed.” Grant stood up, emphasizing his tall, lanky frame and powerful build.
He was taller and more broad-shouldered than Sierra’s husband, Ty. Also, Jami reluctantly admitted to herself, though it had no bearing on the current issue, Grant was even more handsome than Ty. “No, you need the king-size bed. Toby and I are much shorter, and the double will be comfortable for us.” She refused to meet his taunting gaze.