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Ellieand I continued to work together closely. I got better at ignoring the urge to wrap my hands around her waist or run my fingers through her hair. She got me a stack of Aspen Ridge branded polos to spare me from my suits, although I still wore dress shirts a few days a week out of a sense of duty.
And while I wouldn’t say I’d grown immune to her charms, I was definitely doing a better job of acting like it. After our tentative truce was established, she threw herself into mastering the list her father provided to prove her readiness to take over his position.
Or rather, the list I had filtered out of his rambling. He wanted her to ‘act more professionally’ and ‘be present.’ We agreed to cut down on the sundresses (as much as it killed me—I certainly had no complaints about being able to gaze at her legs all day) and she cut back her walk-abouts. Ellie agreed to attend a host of meetings she’d been ignoring because they were ‘boring’.
The result was that Ellie was far more clued in to the things her father was working on—which I suspected was the first issue that bothered him—and that she appeared more professional at work, which also made him happy.
Meanwhile, Ellie helped me learn about their preparations for the winter season. It officially began the week of Thanksgiving, but they always had a burst of activity at peak leaf season for a couple of weeks—she called it their dress rehearsal. The entire resort was busily onboarding new staff, setting up interviews and training, coordinating lodging—not to mention preparing for the Fall Fest.
And the way Ellie ran from one thing to the next, I couldn’t help being impressed. She always knew what needed to be done. The staff greeted her warmly everywhere, and she left the employees smiling in her wake. Even in long skirts or pant suits instead of the floaty sundresses that revealed far too much of her toned thighs, she was still Ellie. And yards of extra fabric did nothing to dampen my desire to touch her.
The employees were genuinely excited about the Fall Fest, always commenting on how much their kids were looking forward to it, or how fun it was last year. The signup list was full, and Ellie had dutifully dispatched the data to each work center so the employees would receive their time off to enjoy. Even the VPs—on the rare occasion I spotted one walking around the office—were buzzing with excitement about the festival. There was a magic here that Ellie tapped into, or something she created all on her own, that was truly special.
So I kept my hands to myself and did my best to keep my mind out of the gutter, despite my increasing desire to do the opposite. I thought working with Ellie would cool the heat of that first night—typically knowing a woman was off limits was enough to shut me down completely. Trysts happened in the military, but I knew better than to get involved in one, and I’d been married for my entire career. Passing flirtations aside, I’d never been unfaithful. But the more time I spent with Ellie, the more I admired her. I thought I could find things about her, working so closely, to dislike.
The problem was, there was nothing about Ellie to dislike. She accepted my criticism and my suggestions, adapted to fit better in the mold her father was looking for, and did it all with grace. She was beautiful and smart, sophisticated and down to earth, and I’d never met a woman like her.
Cheryl was the only romance I’d known, and we were kids when we got together. It was never really great, but I cared about her and we’d been happy enough for a while.
But this—this was different. There was nothing about Ellie for me to point at and say, ‘absolutely not, I can’t live with that’.
I found myself having tiny flashes of daydreams, imagining a tryst in the office, her coming over to my place after work…
And then I’d be hit with the cold reality that my kids needed all of my focus right now.
They were settling in and being near my parents definitely helped. But I’d already had a note from Ethan’s teacher that he was struggling to make friends and his temper made it difficult for him to focus on school. I had no such notes from Olivia’s teacher—she was always an exceptional student—but she remained quiet and helpful at home, not much else.
If I was going to make this a proper home for us, I needed to make sure my kids felt like they belonged here. I was absolutely certain that was the key to opening them up, and I had a feeling that the Fall Fest would be a great opportunity. They always enjoyed the family events on base, and I knew that Ellie’s care and attention to the event would make it even more special for them.
Even her promise to introduce Ethan and Olivia to her niece and nephew was an exciting prospect—with any chance they were in the same school and could actually become friends. How many schools could a town this size have, really?
So I kept pushing down my increasing attraction to Ellie, hoping the light at the end of the tunnel would come soon. Once her father signed off on her promotion and I got offered a regular job as thanks for my help, it’d be an opportunity either way: To work somewhere else and not have the daily torture of being so close to Ellie… or to finally make a move.
* * *
I keptthe Fall Fest a surprise for Ethan and Olivia right until the day of the event. As I’d hoped, they were incredibly excited to see the place I’d been working and to ride the horses. We bolted down a quick breakfast and hurried out the door to make our trail ride reservation.
Thanks to JJ’s tours, I had a pretty good idea of where the stables were located. It was shaping up to be a nice, sunny but cool day, and there were already several families milling around when we arrived.
One person I hadn’t expected to see, however, was Ellie.
She wore faded jeans that hugged her hips, a white t-shirt, and a wide-brimmed hat, with cowboy boots to finish the outfit. Ellie was standing with a slightly older man sporting a greying beard, and two kids that looked about Ethan and Olivia’s ages. If I had to wager, I’d guess this was her brother.
My suspicions were confirmed when we parked and she waved us over.
“Jake, this is my brother James and his children, Liam and Ava. Guys, this is Jake.”
James offered me a firm handshake with a small smile. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” I shook back, then addressed his kids. “Guys, this is Olivia and Ethan. This is our first time going horseback riding. Have you gone a lot?”
“We go all the time,” Ava announced proudly. “Buttercup is my favorite. She’s really smart.”
“She’s really slow,” Liam snorted. “I like to ride Duke. He’s way bigger.”
“Well, for this ride we’ll all be going the same pace,” Ellie interjected. “Olivia, do you want to try on your own? Liam and Ava do, but they have ridden quite a bit.”
Olivia glanced at Liam, then returned her determined gaze to Ellie. “Ifhecan do it, I can do it.”
