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“Let’s see,” she said, shuffling some papers and a couple of folders. “I know you got in just before dinner last night, and I don’t think your boys left you alone for five seconds.” She smiled, and it lit up her green eyes. “I’m so glad you’re back, if only because Nate’s glad.”
“Thank you,” Luke said.
“Of course, I know what you can do, and I’m not sure if you saw the construction down the road.” Her eyebrows went up.
“Briefly,” Luke said, his fingers curling into fists.
“Because of Jill’s amazing holiday festival, our horseback riding lesson enrollment has increased by fifty percent.”
“Wow,” Luke said, smiling because he hadn’t seen a ton of Jill’s festival, but what he had looked fun.
“Yeah.” Ginger sighed as she smiled. “It’s great, but we don’t have the horses or facilities for that. So we’re building a new stable, and we’ve got the animals. They need to be trained, and I need you on both.”
“Both the construction and the horse training?”
“That’s right.” She extended a folder toward him, and Luke wondered what it could possibly hold. “Hannah is the overseer of the project, and…” She kept talking, but Luke’s ears misfired at the wordsHannah is the overseer of the project.
“I’ll be working for Hannah?” he blurted out.
Ginger paused, her eyes widening. “No, you work for me,” she said slowly. “Hannah is overseeing this particular project, and she knows every moving piece. I met with her last night, and we went over your strengths.” She glanced behind him. “Here she is.”
“Sorry,” Hannah said, and Luke whipped around, standing as Hannah Otto entered the room. He felt incapable of staying seated in her presence, and foolishness rushed through him. “Marc called, and he’s got a flat tire. I told him I’d send someone to help, and I grabbed Collin as he arrived.”
“Is Marc okay?” Ginger asked as Hannah slid into the chair next to Luke’s.
She cut a glance at him, a small smile curving her lips. “Yeah, he’s fine. Almost went off the road, but he’d just left his house, so he had a wide shoulder.”
“Not like out here by the river.”
“Right.”
Ginger glanced at Luke. “I was just telling Luke that we met last night and reviewed his skills, so that you’ll put him on tasks he’ll excel at.”
Hannah nodded, and Luke could barely hold still.
Ginger focused on him again. “Hannah will let you know what you’re working on and when, and you’ll pass things off with her.”
Luke nodded, his throat so dry.
“Great,” Ginger said brightly. “I’ll leave you two to it.” She nodded with a very final look on her face, and Luke stood.
“Can I talk to you for a sec, Ginger?” Hannah asked, and Luke hesitated too. Then he told himself that Hannah obviously wanted to talk to her friend alone, and he kept moving. The result had him stumbling toward the doorframe. He caught himself, humiliation burning through him, and he escaped the office before he could make a bigger fool of himself.
