AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He gave an irritated sigh. "We went over this the other night. Even if Colleen were interested, which I'm pretty damn sure she's not, she works for me now. I have to keep things professional."
Paulina guffawed. "Oh please, like that ever stopped you in the past."
True, when he was in his early twenties he'd hooked up with some of the seasonal employees and even a guest or two. "That was before I was in charge of things and could get hit with a sexual harassment charge."
"Trust me, based on the way Colleen was just checking you out, I don't think any of your advances would be unwelcome."
"Really?" he asked, then immediately cringed at how pathetically eager he sounded.
"Well, she was staring at the back of your Levis like she was hoping the force of her stare would melt them off you."
"You're full of it."
"Admit it. The only reason you hired her is because you want to get in her pants."
"I hired her because we need another person who actually knows how to mix drinks so Sharon can have more time off, and Colleen needs to earn some extra money. It's mutually beneficial."
"You know what else is mutually beneficial?" Paulina made a circle with the thumb and forefinger of her left hand then poked the index of her right finger through the hole.
"Jesus Paulina, you're my sister. That's just creepy."
"My money is it happens inside of a week."
"What happens?" His attention jerked to Colleen, who had returned from the bathroom. Christ, had she heard any of their conversation? "Nothing. Paulina was just leaving to show the Robinsons to their cabin." He leveled his sister with a hard stare.
He turned back to Colleen, whose expression thankfully gave no indication that she'd overheard any of his sister's ridiculousness.
"Looks like I've got my first customer," she said, gesturing over his shoulder with her chin. He turned and saw Martin and Susan Weisel, a couple from Chicago who had been coming to the Lazy Creek with their two kids for over a decade.
"Well I'll leave you to it," he said. "I'll be back to check on you later, but you can text me in the meantime if you need anything."
She gave him a quick smile before turning her attention on her customers.
Colleen poured a vodka and tonic into a glass marked with the Lazy Creek's logo and served it to a woman in her fifties who had arrived with her family the day before. She bent to get the woman's husband his requested beer out of the refrigerator, trying not to wince as the movement sent a spark of pain through her low back.
She made a mental note to add some more core work into her exercise routine. After a week and a half working at the hospital, and bartending almost every evening at either Adele's or the Lazy Creek, being on her feet so many hours of the day was beginning to take its toll.
Even though it was tiring, she was enjoying the work, especially the bartending. She loved being a nurse, but it was nice to interact with people who weren't in the midst of some medical crisis. People on vacation tended to be in much better moods than people in the emergency room.
Well, with a few exceptions, she thought as she saw Sandy Carmichael with a scowl on his face as he approached the bar, carrying his drink, barely touched.
"Ah Christ, he's coming to bitch about his drink," muttered Charlie, JT's cousin who was helping her at the ranch's weekly hosted cocktail party.
Colleen gave a mental eye roll. In the week that she'd been working here, she'd been warned that Carmichael could—and would—complain about anything and everything. The first time he'd ordered a drink from Colleen he'd sent it back three times.
She was pretty sure the ranch staff was going to open champagne when he and his family left in the morning.
Shoving the pain in her back out of her head, she continued filling drink orders while Carmichael shoved his way to the front of the line to give Charlie an earful.
Even with Charlie's help, it was hard to keep up with all the orders of nearly one hundred people eager to get their free drinks. Fortunately, unlike Carmichael, none of the other guests seemed to mind, as they were too busy getting to know each other and talking to the members of the ranch family. And, of course, enjoying the aforementioned free drinks.
Some of the family members took to the semi-forced socialization better than others. While JT's Aunt Wendy was engaged in a lively conversation with a couple from Chicago, her husband, JT's Uncle Jack, stood stiffly by her side sipping on his scotch and soda, offering up only the occasional nod.
Then there was JT. She tried not to let her gaze linger too long, but it was hard when his blue plaid pearl snap shirt so perfectly outlined his broad shoulders. And the way those jeans clung to the muscles of his lower body...
The phrase "cowboy butts make me nuts" didn't come out of nowhere.
But it wasn't just his gorgeous body that had her riveted. There was something about him—a natural charisma that came through as he greeted every guest with a sincere smile. He had an easy, natural confidence about him.
