Chapter 1

There had been a light dusting of snow overnight, and as Benjamin Tanner watched the sunrise, he realized how this scene never got old. This was where he was meant to be—to live and breathe—in the mountains of Washington.

That didn’t mean he didn’t want to travel or see some of the rest of the world, but this was always going to be where he called home. His brothers had both moved away once they’d finished college, and while it meant he didn’t see them very much, Ben understood the need to forge your own path.

The forests, the mountains, and working with wood had never appealed to either Jack or Henry. For as long as Ben could remember, his brothers had been athletes and intellectuals—and neither had any interest in anything remotely artistic that required working with their hands. And he was fine with it. Really. Growing up, it had meant Ben got to spend a lot of quality time with his grandfather that his brothers never got to experience. It meant that all of his grandfather’s hard work had led to something—to leaving a legacy that was now Ben’s to pass on someday.

Some. Day.

Maybe.

If he didn’t start getting his priorities in order, there wouldn’t be anyone to leave this legacy to, and that made him sad. Turning away from the window, Ben looked at the open floor plan of the home’s main floor. At one time, this had been a simple three-room cabin his grandfather had built. Over the years, he’d expanded, and when Ben’s grandparents died and left the house to him, he always knew he’d make improvements on it. And he had. Some were out of necessity, and others were… well…everyone should live in a space they enjoyed.

The property was magnificent, and his grandfather’s workshop was still standing. There was a lot of new equipment and upgrades out there too, but for the most part, Ben preferred working with the same tools his grandfather had used. Of course, over the years, so many of them had needed to be replaced, but he did his best to stick to the basics and stay away from the newer power tools.

Anyone could work with those.

It took time and patience and skill to do it all by hand.

Speaking of…He took a minute and flexed his left hand. It still hurt like a son of a bitch, and he knew it would continue to feel that way for a couple of days—not enough to make him stop working, but it was going to slow him down. And right now that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. There was nothing worse than the sting of a sharp metal blade cutting through skin—no matter how many times it happened.

Looking over at the kitchen table, he saw the letter that had turned his perfectly peaceful world upside down. He’d committed to doing a book on his artwork and he was supposed to do a fair amount of writing—including a very lengthy foreword and introduction—and he hadn’t done jack shit to get it done.

And now he was out of time.

As much as it pained him to admit it, he needed help. Fast. He needed to find someone who was organized and had a basic knowledge and appreciation for art—specifically the kind of art that he did. On top of that, they needed to be able to write about it in a way that would make readers both intrigued and excited about his work. There was only one person he could think of to fit the bill and that had been Savannah Daly—well, Savannah Shaughnessy now. She’d interviewed him about three years ago, and even though he’d been vehemently against it at the time, she’d been fairly easy to work with—not intrusive, and she didn’t waste time. She came and got on with the interview and was gone without it being too incredibly awkward. And in the end, she’d done a kick-ass article on him that had garnered him enough new clients to keep him working well into the next decade.

She’d kept in touch since then, sending him cards or notes when she’d seen or read something about his work. Honestly, if he had to have someone in his house for a couple of days to get this whole book thing off his plate, he couldn’t think of anyone else he’d want to do it. He considered her a friend.

And he didn’t consider many people that.

So he’d called her, and after talking to Savannah, he had reluctantly agreed to her version of helping him out. She couldn’t come personally, but she was sending someone to him—someone she trusted and assured him would be an asset. Right now he wasn’t so sure. It was no different from his publisher sending someone, but at least this way he had a personal reference from a friend.

Darcy Shaughnessy. Over the last several years, Ben had heard Savannah mention her sister-in-law, but he’d never had the opportunity to meet her himself. Now he was going to. Soon. But he still wasn’t sure she was going to be of much help to him. After all, she wasn’t a writer like Savannah, and that was what Ben had wanted. Ultimately he had accepted the offer because Savannah had assured him that Darcy had brilliant office skills and a creative mind—all of the things combined she swore would help him finish this project.

With a stretch, he walked into the kitchen and poured himself a second cup of coffee and contemplated his day. There wasn’t any reason to be up this early—it was just the way his internal body clock worked. And with his hand still throbbing, he knew going to the workshop right now wasn’t wise.

“Looks like a paperwork day,” he murmured and then realized the paperwork was everywhere. A muttered curse was his first reaction and then a more vicious one when he raked his bad hand through his hair and rubbed it the wrong way.

“Okay, so clearly it’s going to be that kind of day. Great.”

Yeah. Things weren’t looking too good for him to make much progress on anything right now. Darcy was due to arrive this evening, and he’d already invited her to join him for dinner, so he was going to have to attempt to clean up. Not that the house was dirty, but there was stuff everywhere. Like paperwork. Newspapers. Tool catalogs. The first thing to do would be to do a quick sweep of it all and throw away the junk he didn’t need.

It took over two hours because there were a lot of tool catalogs he’d forgotten about and now he had a list of items he wanted to order for some projects he wanted to do in the spring.

“Still progress,” he told himself as he began—in earnest again—to weed through the junk mail and minimize the piles.

By the time lunch time rolled around, Ben was beginning to wonder if maybe he should have offered to go to LA and work with Savannah there. It probably would have been a whole lot less stressful and aggravating than this nightmare. But on the upside, the living area looked good. Small piles of magazines and catalogs were fanned out on the coffee table and he could totally live with that. He dusted off the newly uncovered surfaces and then ran the vacuum and felt a sense of accomplishment.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all…

* * *

Six hours later, the steaks were ready to go on the grill.

The salad just needed to be dressed.

The potatoes au gratin were in the oven.

And there was a platter of assorted cheeses and crackers on the counter along with a bottle of wine and glasses. He might not entertain much, but he hadn’t forgotten how to be a good host.

Off in the distance, he heard a car door close and smiled. It seemed weird that he was actually looking forward to this night. It was possible that Darcy would want to wait until morning to get started, but hopefully—with a few strategically placed hints—she’d see there was no time like the present. After all, the sooner they got started, the sooner they’d be done. And if she felt half as awkward about this unconventional situation as he did, she’d see his thinking was right.

He opened the front door and was heading down the steps and about to call out a greeting, but words simply escaped him.

Dark chestnut hair that seemed to caress her shoulders. Fair, flawless skin that had a hint of rose from the cold. And wide green eyes that seemed to sparkle as she looked over at him with a smile. Ben noticed how she moved with grace and ease and confidence. Medium build with trim legs encased in well-worn denim and…He had a feeling he was staring and forced himself to stop.

Stepping forward, he closed the distance between them and held out his hand. “Darcy? Hi, I’m Ben.”

Darcy smiled brightly at him as she shook his hand. “Hi! It’s a pleasure to meet you. Savannah’s told me a lot about you.”

Ben took her hand and forced himself to keep his eyes on hers and not to look as shaken as he felt. She had a firm handshake—one that in a professional meeting he’d appreciate—but right now he found it hard to ignore how small her hand felt in his or how soft her skin was. He noticed the odd expression on her face and realized he hadn’t responded to her.

Part of him wanted to ask if it was good or bad stuff she’d heard, but he figured it would sound too corny. “Likewise,” he said instead. “How was the trip?”

“My flight was great, but I had a little trouble getting here from the airport,” she said, but it didn’t come off like a complaint. “You’re certainly not close to any major cities. I was beginning to think I’d never get here.”

He chuckled. “Sorry. I guess I should have warned you.”

She laughed with him. “Savannah mentioned it, but I thought she was exaggerating.” She paused. “The scenery was amazing. Seriously, with the little bit of snow on the trees, it felt like I was driving into a Christmas card scene or something.”

They stood there for a moment and Ben realized he still had her hand in his. It would seem weird just to drop it so he kind of casually slid his palm against hers until he could simply put his own hand in his pocket.

“Thank you so much for doing this,” he said as they pulled apart. “I don’t know how much you know about this project. Savannah said you were there visiting and on vacation so…”

“Well, you caught me at a good time. I think I would have gone broke if I stayed much longer.”

“Broke?”

“Savannah and I did a lot of shopping,” she said. “With Halloween coming up, I bought Aislynn a couple of costumes…”

“Does she need more than one? She’s a baby, right?” he asked with mild amusement.

She nodded. “She is, but all the more reason for her to need multiple. Babies are messy.”

“Makes sense.”

“Then I started Christmas shopping…”

“It’s October,” he stated, figuring she might need the reminder.

“I know. But the stores already had Christmas stuff out—I swear it gets earlier and earlier every year—and that got me all excited because it’s Aislynn’s first Christmas.”

“Do babies know it’s Christmas?”

She giggled, and just the sound of it made him smile.

“She may not, but I bought her the cutest little elf costume.” She stopped and blushed. “Sorry. Here we are standing out in the cold and I’m yammering on about my niece.”

“It’s quite all right,” he said, enjoying the color in her cheeks. “But now I kind of feel worse about taking you away from all of that. It sounds like you were having a great time.”

“It was a lot of fun, but this work you need help with intrigued me. I’ll admit it seemed like an odd request when Riley told me—”

“Riley?”

Darcy nodded. “He was the one who initially told me.” Ben was about to ask why but she was one step ahead of him. “I had been teasing him earlier in the day and I guess he thought it would be funny to throw me out.”

Ben’s eyes went wide. “Throw you out? That seems a little harsh…”

She shook her head and laughed. “Trust me, that’s not it at all. Like I said, this all sort of hit at a good time. I’ve been job hunting for what seems like forever. I’d love to work at an art gallery or an art magazine, but those jobs are few and far between. My job back home is only a temporary one, so I’m kind of looking at other options. So really, I should be thanking you,” Darcy said with a smile.

“What can I help you with?” Ben asked, looking over at the car. “Can I carry anything?”

She shook her head. “Savannah mentioned that you offered to let me stay here but…” She shrugged. “It’s nothing personal but I’m more comfortable staying at a hotel.”

“I understand,” he said and took another step back because he felt himself wanting to move in closer just to be near her. He knew he was going to have to be careful if he was already feeling this drawn to her.

“I promise it won’t interfere with our work time. I’m not a super-early riser but if that’s what you need from me, then that’s what I’ll be,” she said with a wink.