Show Time (Juniper Ridge Romantic Comedies #1) - Tawna Fenske Page 0,13
“Absolutely. It’s fabulous. Really. I’ll be very happy here.” I survey the kitchen, running my hand over the simple quartz counter. “How many cabins are there, anyway?”
“Sixty right now, but we’re building more. The idea is that community members will start to pair off, and we’ll want more residences suitable for family life.”
“Wow, that’s thinking ahead.”
She smiles. “That’s Dean for you.”
I’m not surprised it all goes back to Dean. I fight to keep my expression neutral, to give nothing away as far as Lana’s big brother is concerned.
“Let’s head this way.” She leads me out onto the quaint back deck and into the warm sunshine. “This first block is still mostly vacant. Lauren and I are over there, and Mari’s place is close to the coffee shop. Gabe and his wife have a bigger one over there by the pond.”
I notice she didn’t mention Dean, and no way am I asking. But Lana gives me a sheepish look as we trudge back into the cabin. “In case you’re worried about it being weird living too close to the boss man, he specifically asked that you be placed in this section.”
“What? Oh, you mean Dean.” Of course she does; who else would she mean?
Lana just smiles, not fazed by my weirdness. “Also, he’s not your boss, for the record. But he’s way over there in that section near the trees.”
“Oh. Great.” I have no reason to feel disappointed. God knows I don’t want to live next door to my hottie boss. Colleague. Whatever.
But is it wrong to feel just a little hurt he’s so eager to put distance between us?
Lana leads me out the front door and locks it. I step around to the side, scanning the spacious back deck and the jagged, snowcapped peaks of the Cascade Mountains. I bet the sunsets are killer here. “Is this cabin spoken for already?”
“No, you like it?”
“It’s perfect.”
She smiles. “It’s one of my favorites, too. It’s all yours if you want it. I can show you some others, but—”
“No, this is it.”
Lana nods. “Decisive. I like it.”
She’s smiling, but I can’t help hearing my mother’s voice in my head. The way she used to chide me for making snap decisions.
“Honestly, Vanessa. You’re so flighty. You’ll need to find a man to take care of you. God knows you’re not cut out to be on your own.”
I have to swallow a few times to shove down the sour memories surging inside me. I smile at Lana, doing my best impression of a perfectly normal woman.
“Dean told me you might get a dog.” She says it like I’m acquiring a Ferrari and a diamond tennis bracelet, and I instantly love her for it.
“I’d like one,” I admit. “It’d have to be the right dog.”
“Absolutely. Well, let me know if you need any help. I’m kind of an animal nut.”
“Will do.” I can see myself becoming good friends with Lana, and the thought makes me smile.
As she leads me along the red dirt path, she chatters about the community. “They’re looking to get essential skills hired first. Doctors, nurses, cops, grocers, stuff like that. I know Dean plans to have you help with that, since these are key financial decisions.”
“Sounds great.”
She gives me a measured look. “Dean’s got some pretty clear ideas how he wants things done. Just—don’t be afraid to push back, okay?”
I nod, appreciating her candor. “I’ll do my best.”
“I figured you would.”
She turns and keeps walking, and I feel that bitter surge again. I like to picture myself as a strong, confident woman who’d speak up when the boss made questionable choices. I’ve tried hard to be that woman, both at work and in my personal life.
But deep down, I wonder sometimes if my mother had a point.
“You should be more like Valerie,” she said once when my twin was in the other room packing for her internship with a famous clothing designer. “Choose a ladylike career where you won’t need to go toe-to-toe with powerful men. That’s not for you, Vanessa.”
Goddammit. I hate that I recall every word of these conversations. I hate that it still bugs me.
Lana keeps walking, and I hustle to keep pace with her. We’re almost to the lodge, and she turns to face me on the cinder-lined pathway. “By the way, Dean hired an expert herpetologist to snake-proof the residence areas. They’ll be cutting back grass, moving all the dead wood away from structures, that sort of thing. You should be totally safe.”