---

Backpacking in Costa Rica. Cliché.

Accepted to a master’s program. Good luck with that.

Engaged. Ring is way too…

---

“Gorgeous,” Chelsea McCormick admitted to her empty room. “And I’ve never seen her look so friggin’ happy.”

She groaned and quickly typed out a response to her friend’s Facebook engagement announcement before she resumed her mind-numbing scroll through the social media site. For the life of her, Chelsea could not figure out why she kept doing it to herself. But looking through Facebook and Instagram and whatever the social media site of the moment was, was an increasingly painful pastime. Yet, despite that…she kept clicking onto the sites and torturing herself.

She needed to try harder to stay away.

What she was trying to do, nestled into the bed that used to belong to her older half-brother Mitch, with her laptop propped up on her lap by a stack of pillows, was hide from the reality of what was on the other side of the bedroom door.

The reality of nothingness.

At least that’s how she’d started to dramatically think of her life. It’s not as if her life was actually nothing, but according to social media, compared to all of her friends from high school and her old life in the city, it might as well be.

With a deep sigh, Chelsea flopped backward and dropped her head on the pillow behind her with an exaggerated sigh. The feeling of complete and total inadequacy was only getting worse now that summer had drawn to a close. It had been easy to convince herself that she was just taking the summer off or having some fun in the sun while she found herself and figured out what was next. The problem was, all of those excuses were just that: excuses.

At twenty-two, Chelsea was the youngest of all of the McCormick siblings. And at twenty-two, it wasn’t completely unusual that she didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life. After all, many people would argue that she was still a kid and she had plenty of time to figure out what to do. Logically, she believed that too.

Mostly.

She also believed that even if she didn’t have everything figured out, she should at least have the next few months sorted. It was just that every time Chelsea decided to open the computer to research her options, she somehow found herself on Facebook, scrolling through all of her old friend’s achievements, travel photos, and relationship status updates. Instead of inspiring her to get off her butt and do something different, all it did was make her want to bury her head under the covers and take a long nap.

“Hey, Chels.” A sharp knock on the door rid her of the increasingly enticing idea of doing just that.

She popped up, slammed the laptop closed and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. It was only as she opened the door to her oldest brother, Ian, that she remembered she was still in her pajamas and had yet to have a shower. And it was almost two in the afternoon.

To his credit, Ian didn’t say a word about her appearance. He didn’t have to. His raised eyebrows said it all.

She put her hand on her hip and held the door open with the other. “What?”

Despite the fact that she’d been crashing with him for the last few months, and their relationship had gone from completely nonexistent to one that she really did cherish, there were still times when Chelsea couldn’t help but slide back into the obnoxious girl she’d been at the beginning of the summer. “Sorry.” She caught herself. “You just caught me in the middle of something. What’s going on?”

Ian relaxed with her change in tone and shook his head with a small laugh. “I just wanted to see if you were working Saturday?”

Chelsea shook her head. Now that summer was over, the Grizzly Paw, the local pub where she waitressed, wasn’t nearly as busy and her shifts had been reduced significantly. The owner, Samantha, assured her that things would pick up again in the winter when ski season started, but the shoulder season between tourist influxes was always tough. Of course Sam assumed Chelsea would still be there when the snow started to fly. And why wouldn’t she? Chelsea hadn’t said otherwise.

Because she still didn’t know.

Even though her stay in Cedar Springs was meant to have been temporary.

“I’m free Saturday,” she said. “Why?”

“Cal’s having a little house-warming party. He wanted to make sure you were coming,” Ian explained. “He said he’d texted you about it, but he hadn’t heard back.”

She pressed her hand to her temple and shook her head. “I totally forgot to get back to him.” She attempted a smile. “I’ve been so busy.”

Ian raised his eyebrows again, but once again, didn’t say anything. Particularly because it was more than a little unusual that Chelsea wouldn’t return her brother Cal’s text. The closest in age, they’d always had a special bond.

When they were teenagers, their lives had been changed forever when Chelsea learned that her father really had another family. A family he’d had first. As it turned out, Chelsea and her older sister Amber had four half-brothers. To say it had been a shock was a gross understatement and all of the McCormick siblings reacted very differently to their new situation.

Over the following years, Chelsea and Amber grew to be close with Cal and Declan, the youngest of the four brothers, but it wasn’t until very recently that Chelsea had forged a relationship with Ian and Mitch as well.

“I’ll text him back,” she said. “But yes, of course I can make it.” It’s not like I have a life or anything, she stopped herself from adding.

Ian smiled, satisfied with her answer. “Did you have a late shift last night?” His gaze snuck past her into the room with the blinds drawn to create the dark, dungeon-like environment she preferred when she’d worked a late shift. But when she turned around and saw what he saw, she also took in the stack of plates on the bedside table and the empty wine glass that sat next to them. Fortunately, he couldn’t see the empty wine bottle in the trash basket. But even if he had, it’s not as if she’d drank it all in one night.

She shrugged, not wanting to tell him she’d only worked until ten. The only reason Chelsea had for sleeping away most of her day was the same reason she’d had for the last few weeks: she didn’t want to face anything else. If she didn’t know better, she would think she was depressed. But she did know better—she’d seen depression in her mother too many times. And this wasn’t depression so much as total and complete avoidance.

“Chels?” Ian crossed his arms and stared at her expectantly.

“I know, I know.” She dropped her head. “I should be up doing something, but I—” She was going to say that she didn’t know what to do. Instead, she said, “I just wanted a lazy day.”

“Well, it looks like you got it.” Ian laughed. “And a lazy day isn’t a totally bad thing. I know summer was crazy with your long shifts and the marina business really picking up. Never mind everything else.”

Chelsea nodded along as if that were the real reason she wanted to be lazy. The truth was, she’d loved the long, busy shifts at the Grizzly Paw. She loved the customers, the fun, the excitement of meeting new people every day. Ian’s new marina, the Dockside, had been fun to help out with as well, for all of the same reasons. When she’d been busy, she didn’t have any of these other feelings creeping in that she was wasting her life and had no direction when it came to what she should do next.

But instead of telling him any of that, she nodded along. “True. Sometimes we just deserve a little break.” He gave her a look but she smiled sweetly. “What are you doing home, anyway? Shouldn’t you be doing…something?”

“Declan’s watching the marina for me for a few hours so I can get to a meeting with Gwen. Not that there’s much to watch,” he added. “The beginning of October is definitely much slower around here. Besides a few canoe and kayak rentals, there’s not much going on at all.”

“Well, I think we should be thankful for the gorgeous weather. I don’t know why, but somehow I expected it to start snowing the second the tourists left for the summer.”

“Seriously?”

She shrugged. “I mean, not really. But all anyone ever talks about around here is summer at the lake or winter on the ski hill. There doesn’t seem to be much in between.”

Ian nodded. “You’re probably right. At least from a tourist or summer person perspective. But now that we’re locals, we should probably think about it differently.”

We? Locals? Chelsea didn’t want to ask him what he meant by lumping her into that we. She was supposed to be leaving. At least that’s what the original plan had been. Come to Cedar Springs for the summer, get her life together and move on. Simple.

If you knew where to move on to.

She didn’t.

“So, what are you doing today? Don’t tell me you’re spending the entire day in this room.”

“Okay, I won’t tell you that.”

“Chelsea.” He tilted his head in that obnoxious big brother way. “If you have nothing to do, why don’t you go hang out at the marina? Maybe you could take a kayak out. It’s actually really nice at this time of year.”

“I’m sure it is.” Chelsea shifted her weight from foot to foot. “But I actually have plans.”

“You do?”

“I do.” She was totally and completely lying, but hoped Ian wouldn’t pick up on it. “I actually should get moving because I planned on heading into town to grab a bite at Scott’s Stop and then—”

“Scott’s?”

The second she heard the tone of Ian’s voice change, Chelsea regretted her lie. Why couldn’t she have said she was going to the Paw? Or Dream Puffs? Not that it mattered, not really. But her siblings all seemed to think that Scott Harding, who’d only recently moved to town and opened up a café, was perfect for her. Whatever that meant. And it wasn’t that she didn’t find him to be super attractive, funny, and all the things she should probably be looking for in a boyfriend. It was just that she wasn’t looking.

At least she didn’t think she was. She’d been way too busy all summer to even think about men. But maybe now that things had slowed down…

“Yes,” she said with a sly smile, instantly changing her attitude. “I’m heading over to Scott’s.”

After all, it wasn’t summer anymore. And she certainly wasn’t very busy. And he was pretty cute.

At the very least, the fresh air would do her good and get her away from her laptop.

And that was reason enough to follow through on her lie.

---

---

Everyone else in town was ready to see the summer crowd trickle off for the much quieter fall season, but as far as Scott Harding was concerned, he would have been much happier to have summer go on forever. After all, the best thing for a brand-new café was a steady stream of customers. The quieter months were a little bit concerning. But he wasn’t going to get worked up about it.

Not yet.

After all, it had only been a few weeks since the summer people had gone back to the city. Besides, it’s not as if there were no customers. Far from it. With the popular new show Mr. Summer being filmed in Cedar Springs, there was a handful of cast and crew who’d more or less moved in. And although nothing was official, Scott’s Stop had become the “official-unofficial” caterer for the set. He’d be much happier if it was official, though, which was why he planned to spend some of his down time working out a deal with the producer to provide regular catering to the set.

Maybe a slower pace for a few months wouldn’t be too bad after all.

He smiled to himself as he let his mind wander to all of the ways he could spend his free time for the next few months. At the very top of his list was Chelsea McCormick. He’d been so busy getting settled into town and getting the Stop up and running, he hadn’t had the time to properly get to know Chelsea. But what he did know was that she was sweet, funny, and had a smile that lit up something inside him that he didn’t even know could be illuminated.

Yes. He definitely wanted to get to know her better. A lot better.

The chime of his timer shook him out of his daydream and alerted him that his roasted chickens were done. He liked to keep the menu fresh, and make as much homemade as he could. Tomorrow’s lunch special was going to be a roasted chicken, avocado, and tomato wrap with salad greens. Paninis had been his best seller, but he was having a lot of fun experimenting and trying new things.

“Something smells delicious, Scott,” his new friend and local police officer, Rhys Anderson, called from the door. “Tell me whatever it is, it’s ready. I’m starving.”

“Not quite.” Scott lifted the trays to the counter and pulled the chickens off to rest. “This is for tomorrow. I have a delicious roast beef and—”

“Sold.”

Scott laughed, left the chickens to cool and set about making Rhys some lunch. “A little late today, aren’t you?” The two had become easy and fast friends over Rhys’s daily lunch visits to the Stop. Besides the fact that it was never a bad idea for a small business owner to be friendly with local law enforcement, Scott also didn’t know anyone when he moved to town, and Rhys’s friendship had been more than welcome.

“It was a busy morning.” Rhys ran his hands through his hair and took a seat at the counter. “And before you think you’re being funny, no, I wasn’t out writing parking tickets all morning.”

Scott held up his hands in innocence, but his laugh gave him away. “Okay, so what’s up? Really? Everything okay?”

“Growing pains,” Rhys said with another shake of his head. “Some people are really excited to see the town grow, and others…not so much.”

“I can imagine.” Cedar Springs was a small, tight-knit community. It was one of the main reasons Scott had chosen it for a business location, along with the fact that it was quickly becoming a hot tourist destination in both the summer because of the beautiful mountain lake, but thanks to the revitalization of the ski hill, Stone Summit, also in the winter. Never mind the high-end hotel and spa that had opened up a little farther up the mountain. Cedar Springs had a whole lot going for it. “What happened? Anything specific?”

“Oh yeah. It’s specific all right.” Rhys accepted the glass of iced tea Scott put in front of him and took a long sip. “It’s that new development. Cedar View Heights. Turns out the site they’ve planned to build on is some sort of nesting ground for mallard ducks and there is an environmental group in town that is not happy about it.”

“I didn’t know there was an environmental group in town.”

“Neither did I until a few days ago.”

Scott laughed, but something told him it wasn’t all that funny.

“And it turns out they’re borderline activists. Well, not all of them. But some definitely are. I got a call this morning from Lucas Lee, the general contractor over there, that the site had been tampered with. Some of the survey sticks had been pulled out and tossed into a pile. And I might have been able to ignore that, but the bulldozer he had parked on site was spray painted as well.”

“No way.” Scott turned from the counter where he was assembling his friend’s sandwich, his mouth dropped in disbelief. It just didn’t seem as if anyone he’d met in Cedar Springs would be capable of vandalism. But when things got heated, there really was no way to know how someone would react.

Rhys nodded. “I know—it’s hard to believe. But I guess that’s what happens when the town starts to grow. The worst part is, it’s probably someone I know. Deanna Gordon is pretty involved with the Friends of the Lake Society that’s been protesting. I guess I’ll be paying her a visit later.”

“Deanna, the doctor, Deanna? You don’t think she—”

“There’s no way Dee did it,” Rhys said quickly. “At least I sure hope not. But maybe she’ll be able to give me some information.” He shook his head again but brightened visibly when Scott put the sandwich on the counter. “This looks delicious. Thank you.”

Scott gave him a few minutes to eat in peace while he went to his laptop and did a quick Google search for the Friends of the Lake Society. He couldn’t find much, just a basic webpage. But it was clear that the group wasn’t happy about the location of the new condo development project. The reasons, namely the birds, were listed, along with photos of the site in the spring, complete with nests and what looked like to be baby ducks. The information stated that the group didn’t believe in violent protests, simply educating the public about their local environment and the options that were available to them.

Nothing he read made Scott think that they could be a group that would do any harm to the site. In fact, if anything, Scott was interested in their cause and wanted to know more.

He returned to the counter as Rhys was shoving the last bite into his mouth. “That was great,” he said. “As usual. I love Kari, but she definitely doesn’t make a sandwich like you.”

“I’ll be sure not to tell her you said that.” Scott laughed. “Hey, I just did a quick search on that group you were just talking about, and it seems kind of out of character for them to spray paint something. Not that I can really tell from a website, but…it’s just a feeling, you know? They actually seem like they might be a good group of people.”

“Don’t tell me you want to play detective now?” Rhys shot him a look. “But I do agree with you. Since this started, I’ve done some investigating, the group has been around for a bit, but they’ve never done anything remotely negative like this. Something doesn’t seem right.”

Scott shook his head and started to wipe down the counter. “Don’t worry. I definitely have no interest in taking your job from you.” He looked past Rhys, out the window to the street, where he caught a glimpse of Chelsea McCormick walking down the sidewalk. “I have more than enough to keep me busy without taking on something like that.”

Rhys followed his gaze and didn’t even bother hiding his chuckle. “I see.”

“You don’t see—”

“Oh, I think I do.” Rhys tossed down a ten dollar bill and stood. “You have fun with that, buddy. Maybe we could double date sometime.”

“I think that’s probably putting the cart before the horse,” Scott protested. But secretly he thought the idea sounded great.

“We’ll see.”

Rhys pushed open the door to the café right as Chelsea appeared. “Good day, Chelsea.” He grinned and winked over her head in Scott’s direction. “Scott, we’ll discuss that double date more later, okay?”

Scott could feel his ears burn and the desire to throw something hard in Rhys’s direction was overwhelming. The only thing that stopped him was the sweet smile on Chelsea’s face.

“I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

---

---

The minute she walked into the café, Chelsea had the distinct impression she’d interrupted something. She glanced between the two men in an effort to figure out what she’d missed.

“I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

“Not at all,” Scott called from behind the counter. “Officer Anderson was just leaving.” He shot his buddy a look. “Weren’t you.”

Rhys laughed. Chelsea didn’t know him very well, but he seemed like a really good guy and his girlfriend seemed super sweet the few times they’d chatted. “I guess I was,” he said more to Chelsea than Scott. “It was nice to see you. I was just saying that maybe now that the summer craziness is over, we can get to know you better.” He shifted his gaze to Scott. “Like in a double date situation.”

The realization of what exactly she’d interrupted hit her and although her first instinct was to turn around and walk out in order to avoid getting caught up in any drama, she knew that would be an overreaction. Besides, the mouthwatering aroma of roasted chicken was motivation enough to keep her rooted to the spot.

She laughed off the comment and purposefully ignored the implication. “I’d love to get to know you and Kari better. Let’s make it happen.”

Rhys left with a wave, a smile and a promise to be in touch. The second the door shut behind him, Scott came around the counter.

“I’m so sorry about that.”

“About what?” She shrugged casually, determined to play it off as nothing.

For a moment, Scott looked as if he were going to say something. Maybe ask her out. To her surprise, Chelsea found she wouldn’t be totally opposed to the idea. After all, just because she hadn’t been looking for a relationship or even someone to date, it didn’t mean she was blind. With his sandy-blond hair and warm brown eyes, he had that boy-next-door thing going on for him. But paired with strong, broad shoulders and thick biceps that gave away his dedication to working out, it was an enticing mix. Despite herself, Chelsea couldn’t help but imagine what it would feel like to have those strong arms wrapped around her.

She had to admit, the idea of it was nice. Really nice.

“Never mind,” he said, obviously eager to let it go. “So, what brings you in today?” Chelsea turned, following his progress back behind the counter. He hesitated a moment and shook his head, more to himself than anything else. “I mean,” he continued. “That was a dumb question.”

She grinned at him, taking care to hide the bubble of laughter that threatened to escape her lips when she noticed his ears flushing a rather bright shade of red. “I was hoping you might be able to make me a sandwich. I know it’s a little late for lunch, but I got kind of a late start today.”

“Of course. What can I get you?”

She ordered the special, and she had to admit she was a little disappointed when she realized it wasn’t the yummy-smelling roast chicken. But she knew whatever it was, it would be delicious. One thing was certain: Scott definitely knew how to cook.

While he prepared the sandwich, Chelsea settled into a stool at the counter. She studied him while he worked. It was clear that he took pride in everything that he did. Which was evidenced by the fact that his little café had been extremely successful since he’d opened earlier that summer. He was new to town, with no family or friends that anyone knew of—at least, that had been the gossip around the Grizzly Paw. And there had been plenty of it. When a new, single, and hot guy came to town, it was a guarantee that people were going to talk.

She largely liked to avoid gossip, but Chelsea couldn’t help but wonder what Scott’s story was. “Why did you choose Cedar Springs?” She blurted out the question before she had time to stop herself. “Sorry,” she added. “I didn’t mean to sound blunt. I was just wondering. I mean, why choose Cedar Springs when you could have picked anywhere?”

“It’s a good question,” he said. “And I don’t mind.” He moved around the kitchen area with a smooth grace that was mesmerizing to watch. “Quite honestly, I’ve always wanted to live in a small town. Being born and raised in Vancouver made me crave a slower pace.”

She laughed. “I could see that, I guess. You either thrive in a busy city or wither.”

“Did you?” He stopped, the bread knife in his hand, and stared at her. “Thrive? Or wither?”

Something about the way he asked her the question stopped her. She didn’t immediately know the answer. “A little bit of both, I suppose,” she said after a moment. “But I was asking you.” She kept her voice light and flirty, gently steering the conversation back to him. “But seriously, why Cedar Springs? There’s lots of little towns. Had you ever been here?”

He shook his head. “It seemed like a town with a lot of potential with tourism and growth. But also small enough where maybe I could settle in and build a life.”

She nodded as if that made sense to her when, in reality, she’d never thought about it that way at all. The idea of building a life anywhere, let alone in Cedar Springs, seemed so foreign to her. For the last year or so, she’d been too busy trying to survive and figure out what she wanted to do with her life. Her summer at the lake was supposed to help with that, as well as giving her a place to go after finally breaking up with Jake, the boyfriend who’d completely dominated her life.

She’d been able to finally get over him, and the toxic hold he had on her, but she was no closer to anything else, especially deciding what she wanted to do.

“Does that sound crazy?”

She shook her head. “No. In fact, I think it’s great. I don’t know what I want to do next week, let alone for the rest of my life.”

“That can’t be true.” He slid the sandwich in front of her. “Here you go. I hope you enjoy.”

She took a bite and closed her eyes while she enjoyed the tender beef combined with the sharp zing of a horseradish sauce. It was as close to perfect as a sandwich could get. “This is delicious, Scott. Really.”

“I’m glad you like it.” He leaned his elbows on the counter. “Now tell me, since you don’t know what you’re doing next week, how about I change that? At least a little bit.”

She tried not to act surprised as she chewed her bite of sandwich.

“Let me take you to dinner at the Springs. Next week?”

A warm sensation flowed through her as she looked into his eyes. One dinner couldn’t hurt. In fact, it would be nice to have something to do besides sit alone in her room, staring at her computer screen. It didn’t have to be anything more if she didn’t want it to and it couldn’t hurt to have a little fun. Could it?

“There looks like a lot is going on behind those beautiful eyes,” he said. “You don’t have to—”

“No.” She cut him off. “It’s not like that. It’s just….well, yes. Of course. Dinner would be nice.”

He jumped up and clapped his hands together. “Great. I’ll—”

The chiming of the bells over the door caught his attention, distracting him from whatever he was going to say next.

It was subtle and not everyone would catch it, but Chelsea was looking right at Scott’s face as his bright smile dimmed, just a little. The adjustment when the new customer walked in was barely perceptible, but it was there. Curiosity got the best of her; she turned and almost choked on her sandwich.

Lucas Lee.

He was the general contractor for the new condo development going up in Cedar Springs, and although they hadn’t spent much time together, the time they had spent chatting over an easy drink at the premiere party of Mr. Summer a few weeks ago was definitely memorable. Mostly because the electric feeling she got in her gut that night was the same one she had when she turned around and locked eyes with him.

---

---

Running into Chelsea McCormick in town was always a pleasant surprise for Lucas Lee. He hadn’t planned on staying to eat, but he quickly recalculated his plans upon seeing her. Plans that were once again swiftly readjusted when she smiled and said, “Hi, Lucas. Nice to see you again. I was just getting ready to leave.” She turned back to the café owner, Scott. He watched while she smiled and promised to connect with him later before she moved toward the door and him.

“You don’t have to leave on my account.” He knew his smile said more than his words did. Especially when she returned a smile to him and there was a flash of something more in her eyes.

“Trust me,” she said. Was that a hint of flirtation in her voice? “It’s not you.” It wouldn’t be unusual if it was. Lucas had never had a hard time attracting women. His older brother used to tell him it was the Lee legacy. A lady-killer, is what his mother liked to say. Although she always said it with a hint of regret, as if what she really wanted was Lucas to settle down, just the way his brother had finally done.

But that was the last thing he wanted, a thought that meant even more when he was faced with such an intriguing beauty as Chelsea McCormick. Intriguing, because despite his best moves, the few times he’d managed to get her alone to chat her up, there was always a distance between them, as if she were holding back. It was a wall he was determined to scale. Because one thing Lucas Lee liked was a challenge.

“Let me buy you a coffee then.” It wasn’t a question, so he was surprised when she refused.

“I really do have to get going,” she said. “We’ll talk soon, Scott.”

“Absolutely,” the other man said. “I’ll call you about that date.”

Date? It definitely wasn’t Lucas’s imagination that he heard a certain emphasis placed on that word either. He raised his eyebrows, but didn’t say anything except, “Another time then.” He moved to the side, but only a little so she still had to squeeze past him. Her body came very close to his as she moved to the door he held open for her. “I hope to see you soon, Chelsea.” His voice was low, but she heard him and, to his satisfaction, offered him a private smile before she disappeared out to the street.

Lucas waited a minute, watching her while she walked down the street in the direction of the lake, before he turned to deal with the task at hand.

“Scott, is it?” He approached the counter and extended his hand to the man. “I assume you are the owner of this establishment. I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced yet.”

“You assume correctly.” Scott didn’t immediately take his proffered hand, a move Lucas noted with interest. Maybe he hadn’t been the only one who’d noticed Chelsea’s flirting? He shrugged slightly and was about to rethink the proposition he’d come in to make when the other man put the rag he’d been using down and took his hand in a firm shake. “Nice to meet you…”

“Lucas,” he said. “Lucas Lee. I’m in town working on the Cedar View Heights development.”

“Right.” Scott nodded and resumed wiping his work space. “I’ve heard of it.”

“I’m sure you have.” Lucas took a seat. “I don’t want to take up much of your time, but I wanted to talk to you about catering the occasional lunch for my crew. Is that something you can handle?”

“Oh, I can handle it.” Scott’s chest puffed up, but Lucas pretended not to notice. He wasn’t remotely interested in getting into any kind of pissing match with this guy. He needed some sandwiches, that was it. “But I’m pretty busy these days.”

Lucas raised his eyebrow and looked around the empty café. “Yes,” he said, not bothering to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. “I can see that.” He pushed up from his seat and dusted his hands together. “If you’re too busy, don’t worry about it. I’ll find somewhere else. I don’t want to—”

“No.” Scott stopped him the way Lucas knew he would. “I’m sure I can fit it in. Let me get you my price sheet.”

Lucas took his seat once more and waited for Scott to return. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and immediately regretted it. His screen lit up with unread emails, text messages, and missed phone calls.

“Shit.” He mumbled to himself and then, against his better judgment, scrolled thorough the messages.

Every job had its own challenges and he’d been naive to hope that the Cedar View project, his biggest project yet, would be free from all of that. At the very least, he could have hoped for some of the usual challenges, like hiring competent crew who showed up on time or managing the tradesmen who over-scheduled themselves and didn’t deliver when they promised. Those things he could handle.

Not that he couldn’t handle the situation at the Cedar Springs site. He could. And he would. But when he’d arrived at the job that morning, he knew that this particular challenge was different than any he’d faced before. Very different. One of his earth movers, the largest of the bulldozers, had been vandalized overnight with the words bird killer scrawled in spray paint across the side.

As far as vandalism went, it wasn’t terrible and it definitely could have been worse, but it was less about the actual act than the fact that there had been an act at all that concerned Lucas. It was a serious matter and he’d definitely treated it as such with a prompt phone call to the local police station.

To their credit, they’d sent someone out right away, and Officer Anderson appeared to be treating the situation as seriously as he was. Which was reassuring and helped Lucas, at least a little bit, not feel like his father’s company had stuck him in a backwater small town, when that was in fact exactly what they’d done.

Not that it mattered. It was a test and he knew it.

Cedar View Heights was still a big project. The biggest of his career and if he executed on budget and on time, it would mean certain advancement for him. More money, more prestige, and more opportunities. Especially the ones overseas. And ultimately, that’s all Lucas cared about.

Which was why the last thing he needed was a vandal or any other type of objections to his project running around uncensored.

He scrolled through the messages again but it didn’t look like there was anything urgently pertaining to the apprehension of a suspect, which was what he was after, so he stuck his phone back in his pocket just as Scott returned with a price list.

“This is the basic pricing for catering,” he explained as he handed over the paper. “It includes sandwiches, wraps, and buns. Different pricing and lead times depending on what you need. I have a few other standard catering agreements on the schedule, so let me know what you’re looking at as soon as you know and I’ll make sure it gets into the schedule.”

“Great.” It was a simple thing, but Lucas had discovered that if he could provide his crew with a few free lunches, it increased morale overall, which always increased productivity. Besides, the guys worked hard and he was aware that he wasn’t always the easiest guy to work for. He demanded a lot from them. The least he could do was give back. “Let’s work some dates into the schedule.”

They spent the next few minutes planning dates and picking some basic menus. By the time Lucas handed over his credit card to leave a deposit, his initial opinion of Scott had changed. He actually seemed more like a hard-working businessman than the dim-witted townie he might have mistaken him for before even meeting him.

“It was good doing business with you, Lucas.” Scott handed him the credit card along with the slip to sign and offered him his hand to shake.

Lucas didn’t hesitate. He quickly scrawled his signature, pocketed the card and shook Scott’s hand, this time with a newfound respect.

“And welcome to town,” Scott said. “I’m pretty new myself, but I think I can speak for most of Cedar Springs when I say that.”

Lucas laughed.

“I was sorry to hear about your trouble at the construction site today,” Scott added.

“Word travels fast.” Not that he should be surprised.

“I’m friends with Rhys Anderson,” Scott explained with a shrug. “But that kind of thing doesn’t sound like something that’s very normal for this town.”

Lucas slapped his hands together and moved to leave. “Well, normal or not, I plan on putting a stop to it one way or another. I can’t have that kind of thing going on. Anyway, I should get back. Never good to be away for too long.”

He moved to the door, but with his hand on the door, turned back to Scott before he opened it. “Just one more thing,” he said. “How well do you know Chelsea McCormick?”

Scott’s face twisted into a frown, but only briefly before he responded. “Not all that well,” he said. “At least not yet. She’s a new friend.”

“So you’re not dating?”

Lucas could tell the other man wanted to say something, but he swallowed hard and finally shook his head. “No,” he said. “We’re not dating.”

“That’s all I needed to hear.”

Before Scott could add anything else, Lucas pushed out the door and into the warm October afternoon with a grin on his face. As far as Lucas was concerned, it was just easier if Scott and Chelsea weren’t dating. Because as much as he didn’t usually care about trivial details like that, it did make things easier if he didn’t have to worry about pissing people off.

He grabbed his cell phone again as it beeped with an update on the graffiti situation.

No, he thought. It was definitely better if he didn’t have to worry about making enemies. Because as it turned out, he already had one.