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“You could have told me, so I didn’t make a fool of myself,” he chided, returning my raised brow. That was it. No judgment about my gender. Huh. Another good sign.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the desk and my arms bent up so I could rest my chin on my fists. “Did you? Because trust me, too many men come in and here immediately start posturing and treating me like a fragile snowflake, all while demanding to see the man in charge. You didn’t.”
“No. I don’t work that way.”
“So you don’t mind working with a woman.”
His brow furrowed. This guy was earning points left and right.
“It’s not the 1950s,” he scoffed.
“Well, thank God, or I’d be considered a spinster, and my parents would be desperately trying to marry me off. I mean…not that they aren’t. The second I hit thirty and was still single two years ago, they went off into a tailspin.” I waved my hand. “Probably TMI.”
I couldn’t miss the way his dark eyes studied me, pricking feelings I’d rarely experienced. “Not at all. I hit thirty-five last month, and I’m still single.” He shrugged. “Makes you start to evaluate things.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Is that why you left your old job and came here?”
“No.”
Just no. That was it? I’d thought we were starting to have a report. Of course, he’d been here less than ten minutes. I couldn’t expect anyone to be an open book in that time.
“So this weekend, we have six boys from the Hoover City group home coming to the lodge for a camping trip. They’re arriving Friday afternoon and we’ll have them until Sunday around six. Just a simple two-night trip. It will be cold, but not quite a polar bear expedition.”
“Teaching them cold weather survival?”
I nodded. “So we’ll have to get everything together before then.”
“Will they have warm enough clothes. I know sometimes… Well, it’s just the bare minimum provided.”
I nodded, appreciating his insight on things. “They will. This is one of Buttercup’s projects. She and Elvin work directly with the home. I don’t know if I’d outright call it a charity, but they make sure those boys have the things they need, as well as some extras to make them feel more like normal kids.”
Mikaly tensed. “I’m sure they’re normal.”
“I meant kids who are in families, their families.” I shook my head, feeling at a loss to word my thoughts properly. “I wasn’t implying they’re not normal. They’re regular middle school boys.”
“You’ve met them?”
“Yeah…they’re practically my unofficial Scout troop. I take them out to do stuff about once a month, though last month, there was a blizzard, and we just hung out at the lodge. They thought they wereit. It worked out anyway. Elvin was around to help oversee them.”
“You didn’t have an assistant?”
“You’re my first.” I winked at him, hiding the reaction that brought fluttering to life inside me. I was thirty-two, and he would not be my first in another way, but my feminine side sure wanted to get to know him as more than my outdoor assistant. “I’m not really thinking of you as an assistant, per se, though. More of a partner.”
Shoot, Pete, why don’t you tell him what you really want?
Mikaly settled back in his chair, studying me. His chin tipped in a single nod.
“What’s Pete short for?” he asked, taking me by surprise with the subject change. “Or did your mom and dad actually name you Pete?”
“It’s Petunia. And I swear on everything, if you call me that, I will hide your body someplace on those mountains out there where they will never find you.”
His wide smile told me he didn’t believe my threat at all. This man would test me; I just knew it.
Still, he crossed a finger over his chest. “Okay, Flower. Noted and filed away. Now, what can I do to help get ready for this outing on Friday? Point me in the right direction, and I’ll do my best.”
That gave me pause, even as I snorted at the nickname. “You’ll do your best? How much experience do you have?”
He pinched his thumb and forefinger together then moved them slightly apart.
