But they didn’t drive away, or even get inside her vehicle.They skirted around his cabin and took the path toward the lake.
Paul grabbed his cell phone and cowboy hat.It was time to end this farce.He exited out the back door, which faced the lakeshore.The cabin had a wraparound porch with Adirondack chairs and a stunning view.It was a prime vacation spot, peaceful and secluded.He spotted Vanessa sitting at his private picnic table while her little girl tossed pebbles into the water.Her spine stiffened as he approached.In the full light of day, her beauty struck him like a gut punch.He scanned her features, absorbing the details.Her dark hair was gathered in a messy ponytail.There were circles of fatigue beneath her lovely brown eyes, and smudges of mascara around them.She had an oval-shaped face, honey-smooth skin, and finely arched brows.
“Morning,” he said.
“Mornin’,” she replied coolly.
He glanced at the little girl.She was cute, like her mother, with dark, curly hair.Paul guessed she was about three or four.He didn’t think she should be playing so close to the shore.He’d heard that kids could drown in a few inches of water.
“When are you leaving?”he asked.
Vanessa’s lips parted in a huff of breath.Then she closed her mouth and lifted her chin.“We’re not leaving.”
“Why not?”
“I have a reservation.I’m going to talk to the cabin’s new owner.”
Paul didn’t react to the announcement, because he’d expected it.Vanessa Nava had a stubborn streak.Last night she’d ordered him around, demanded the owner’s phone number, and cast aspersions on his work truck.She also seemed desperate.He wondered how she’d arrived at this low point.She didn’t have the run-down appearance of a woman who’d struggled for years.No, this was a new development.Her clothes, while wrinkled, were designer quality.Her dark brown hair appeared healthy and lustrous, if a bit tangled from the long night.She held her spine straight and her shoulders forward.She exuded confidence, despite her circumstances.A faint line on her ring finger hinted at a recent change in marital status, and her eyes glittered with emotions held firmly in check.
Paul had to force himself to look away.He had a soft spot for beautiful women—what red-blooded man didn’t?—but he couldn’t help her.He was basically under house arrest.He had his own problems to deal with.
“There’s a better cell phone signal if we go uphill,” he said.He pointed at a spot between the cabin and the campground.
She nodded her agreement and rose to collect her daughter.The little girl chattered on about frogs and lily pads, unaware of the tension between the two adult strangers.She didn’t try to interact with Paul, to his relief.He wasn’t in the mood to put on a happy face for a child’s benefit.He ascended the hill in silence.It was a short distance with a stair-like incline that led to a small plateau and a sheer drop-off at the water’s edge.Teenagers frequented the location to jump from a large boulder into the water below.
When they reached the summit, Vanessa walked to the edge and peered over it.The distance was about fifteen feet, with loose pebbles underfoot.He’d suggested this spot because it was private and he had to avoid public places, but their proximity to danger made him uneasy.His fingers itched with the urge to pull them back.
Vanessa held her daughter’s hand in a firm grip and studied the vast panorama.Paul had seen the view several times, and he’d felt a mild appreciation.Her enjoyment of the scene seemed more intense.Her lips curved and her eyes brightened with pleasure.The breeze ruffled her ponytail.She breathed it in, content.
He looked across the sparkling surface of the water.Lost Lake was a desert oasis and a fisherman’s delight.Surrounded by stark, rocky hills peppered with mesquite brush and barrel cactus, it reminded him of the scene of a Western movie.Big Bend National Park stretched for a hundred miles on the east side.To the south, there was only Mexico.
“What a lovely view,” she said, glancing at him.
Paul grunted in response, purposefully indifferent, and took his phone out of his pocket.He had to steel himself against her charms.He scrolled through his list of contacts, which was currently two people.He’d surrendered his old phone before he left Houston.
She finally directed the little girl away from the cliff, toward a cluster of wild flowers atop the plateau.After she gave the area a quick inspection, she pointed at the flowers.“Make a crown for Penelope.”
The girl sat down with her doll and began picking flowers.
Paul pressed the call button and put it on speaker.“The owner is Frank Wilson,” he said.“He hired me last month.”
She waited, listening to the phone ring.Frank’s voicemail picked up, with a message that indicated he was on a family trip to Jamaica and would be out of reach for the next ten days.Her hopeful expression soured.When he ended the call, she contacted Frank herself.Paul stared across the lake while she sent a text with flying thumbs.
“Did you know he was unavailable?”she asked.
“I knew he was going on vacation,” Paul replied.
She fell silent.He put his phone in his pocket.He figured that was that.Now they would walk back to the cabin and she would drive away.
Vanessa Nava wasn’t done fighting, however.She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her fingers on her forearms.The motion drew his attention to her breasts.“Let’s negotiate.”
He kept his gaze on her face, by sheer willpower.“Let’s not.”
“You have two cabins.”
“Only one is inhabitable.”
“For how long?”
