with. I don’t think she’s going to try to steal my briefs.
“Laundry?” she confirms.
Her tone is disbelieving. She thinks this is a trick.
I raise one brow.
She shoots to her feet. “Right, laundry. Fine. Any specifications? Cold water only? Hand-wash delicates?”
I resist the urge to ask if I look like the type of man who owns delicates.
“There’s an old washer and dryer in the back of the mess hall. If they don’t work, use a sink.”
Then she’s gone, flying out the door of my trailer like her feet are on fire.
I watch her go. I watch the sway of her hips. I watch her high ponytail swishing back and forth. I watch her walk in those new boots that actually fit her. I’m glad for that. Wait—I’m happy she has new boots? Jesus. I jerk my attention back to work and don’t look up again until lunch.
The mess hall is noisy when I walk in. I had Hudson stagger lunch breaks for the crew so there wouldn’t be a line out the door, but even still, these guys like to eat. The catering team hustles to fill plates with burgers and fries. The smell has my mouth watering, but I bypass it all and keep moving through the kitchen back into the adjoining washroom. I figure the camp used to use the washing machine in here for towels and dish rags used by the kitchen staff. Whatever the reason, I’m glad it’s here.
I hear voices before I get to the hallway, a feminine laugh followed by a deep chuckle, and my hackles go up instantaneously. What I expected to find: Taylor hunched over a washing machine, toiling away with sweat dripping down her brow, more grateful than ever that I’ve kept her on as an employee even though I should have fired her. What I actually find: Taylor taking advantage of my goodwill. She isn’t alone, which explains why a task that should have taken her an hour to complete has filled up her entire morning.
“I can’t believe you thought I was into Mark Granger.” Taylor groans with mock disgust. “He’s not my type at all.”
“Well what else would explain why you broke up with me right before the homecoming dance—”
My presence in the doorway cuts off the guy’s sentence. I don’t know his name, but I recognize him as part of the new crew. He looks like he should be on a beach with his surfer-length hair and easy smile. That’s right, he’s smiling at me.
“Get back to work,” I say, pointing him out the back door of the washroom.
His brows crinkle in confusion. I half expect him to reply with a stoned, Aw, c’mon man, we were just havin’ some fun. Instead, he hops to it and walk-runs right out the door, leaving Taylor to fend for herself. Nice guy.
She keeps her back to me and continues to pull clothes out of the dryer.
“Why was he in here?”
“You’ll have to ask him,” she replies with a cold, even tone.
“I’m asking you.”
She shrugs. “It was his lunch break. He saw me through the window and came in to say hi.”
“Friend of yours?”
The edge of her mouth tips up in a private smirk. “You could say that.”
I don’t like the jealousy creeping through me like an invasive vine.
“How many guys on this crew are ‘friends’ of yours?”
My meaning is clear, and finally, I’ve got her full attention. Her eyes cut to me and there’s so much resentment and fury there, I know she’s right on the cusp of losing her temper. Her cheeks are flooded with color. Her lips are parted. I can feel her anger. She takes a step toward me, about to say something, but then she reaches for my laundry, which is stacked neatly on the dryer, and with one clean sweep, tosses it all onto the floor.
“Your laundry is done.”
Then she does an about-face and marches right out the door.
So you could say things are mellowing out nicely between us.
I know this is mostly my fault. I know I’m behaving like an ass. I know it and yet here I am, unable to help myself. To say she gets under my skin is an understatement. It’s as if every bad character trait I possess—jealousy, anger, cruelty—is controlled by one button, and she’s not only found that button, she’s pressing down on it with her full weight and then some.
She doesn’t come back by the trailer the rest of the afternoon, and I’m grateful for the reprieve. That’s