High Maintenance (2 page)

After an elaborate family Christmas, her father had flown them all to Vail and the fabulous Crystal Cove Ski Resort. The weather was perfect. Having a marvelous time skiing, three days into the trip, Deidre became injured when a tree jumped out in front of her on Big Bear Slope. After much fussing and a trip to the first aid station, she landed in the local hospital where they determined she'd broken a bone in her lower leg.

Instructed to use crutches for a week, she was to see a doctor once she got home and be fitted with a walking cast. The overall prognosis was six weeks in plaster.

Deidre squirmed in her seat. What a way to end her vacation! It had been such fun too. Several cute guys
skied
the slopes; she had drinks with one of them the night before she'd broken her leg. They'd even discussed attending the New Year's Eve party at the lodge together.

Now she'd be stuck with the television for company. She sighed. Another New Year’s Eve spent watching the party instead of participating.

"How we doing out here?" Winnie stepped in front of her.

"I'm fine." She put on a brave face, tried to hide her growing depression.

"Get you anything?
More cocoa?"

"No thanks. It was great, though."

"Okay, if you're sure. I'll check back with you later."

"Thanks, Winnie." She watched the waitress go.
Such a nice woman—but seven kids?
Deidre shivered at the thought. She might like to have one. Possibly two, if she could keep them from bickering the way she and her sister did. Chuckling at the thought, she decided it might first help to find a man. She closed her eyes and dreamed of the possibilities.

* * * *

"Aunt Deidre." Someone tugged at her sweater sleeve.

She opened her eyes to see a small, blonde-haired girl, complete with wind-chilled red nose and cheeks, watching her. "Hello, Riley. What are you doing here?" She glanced around, not seeing anyone else. "Where's your Mommy?"

"She's skiing with Grandma and Grandpa. Daddy brought me in for a nap."

Looking around again, she still didn’t see anyone. "Where's Daddy, then?"

"We're getting popcorn." She held up a bowl, spilling some onto the floor.

"Ah." She remembered somewhere behind her chair there stood a table with complimentary snacks. The large bowl of popcorn always attracted her three-year-old niece.

"Riley, come back here," Dean Conner muttered, apparently following the child and a trail of popcorn.
"Hey, Deidre.
Sorry to wake you."

"I wasn't asleep." She yawned.

"You were snoring.
Drooling, even."
He made a show of wiping his chin.

Her hand flew to her face, just in case, but it was dry. "You're evil." She glared at him, only half teasing.

He grinned. "No, just worn out. I'm not as much of a skier as your sister and I've been chasing this one all over the place. We're going to take naps. Not sure if she'll sleep, but I know I will. See you later!"

"Later." She shook her head. Riley had tracked popcorn from one end of the lobby to the next, and Dean seemed totally oblivious.

The elevator doors closed behind them, and she peered around the room. "Clean up on aisle six," she called jokingly.

The desk clerk wasn't behind the counter. After watching him sweep up small messes all morning, she knew where his broom and dustpan were. Maybe she could handle this herself. Her family had caused it, after all.

She stood and leaned on her crutches. Hobbling to the restroom was difficult
enough,
sweeping was going to be a challenge. Determined to give it a try, she limped behind the counter, where she found the broom and dustpan.

Clutching a tool in each hand, with a tenuous grip on her crutches, she carefully made her way to the popcorn spill. She had almost all the kernels swept into a pile when a voice came from behind her.

"What are you doing?"

Deidre jumped, dropping the broom and losing one crutch. Before she could fall, someone grabbed her by the arms.

"I didn't mean to startle you. I just asked what you were doing. It's my job to sweep in here." The voice boomed deep and masculine.

She gazed over her shoulder at the man who towered several inches above her. He had the ruddy complexion of someone who spent lots of time outdoors. Thick, shaggy, dark hair curled around his face, overlapping the collar of his flannel shirt. He was handsome, but at the moment, appeared irritated.

She forced herself to speak. "I'm sorry. My niece made a mess, and I was trying to clean it up."

"Not
necessary,
and not very sensible."

Deidre realized she leaned against him, and pulled away.
"Like I said, sorry.
I only wanted to help."

He released her arms, bent down for the fallen crutch, and handed it to her. A smile hinted at the corners of his mouth. "No need to get defensive. I meant that I'd rather not see you break your other leg. Let me help you to a chair."

"I'm fine."

He stared at her, and she relented. "I was sitting over there."

"I know. I saw you when I came in. My name's Rick, by the way."

"Hi." She watched his face as he helped her back to the chair. He'd surprised her, and her initial reaction had been gruff. Now he seemed kinder, his dark brown eyes showed concern, and there were tiny wrinkles around their edges.

Settling her into the chair, he pointed to the ottoman. "Want your leg up?"

"Sure."

He lifted it with care and looked at her. "That okay?"

"Yeah."
She thought her voice sounded breathless, and the one-word answers made her come across as goofy. "That's good," she added.

"All right, then." He
straightened,
his body tall and stocky. Not overweight—solid—and masculine. She couldn't ignore that, any more than she could his tantalizing aftershave. It overwhelmed her, causing her to feel giddy, like a school girl. It'd been ages since she'd felt that way.

She cleared her throat, trying to regain some semblance of control. "Are you the maintenance man here?"

"You might say that. Actually, I'm a Jack of all Trades. Right now I'm the desk clerk, until the five o'clock shift shows up."

She glanced at the counter. "So you don't have to rush off?"

He looked around the empty lobby. "Not particularly. I should finish sweeping up this popcorn, though."

She smiled sheepishly. "I'm really sorry about that."

Shrugging, he returned to the spill and scooped it into the dustpan. "No big deal. You did a pretty good job, uh—"

She gazed dreamily into his eyes then realized he was waiting for her name. "Oh!
Deidre.
Deidre North."

"Deidre," he repeated and smiled.

He had a gorgeous mouth. When it curved upward, her heart melted. She watched him move about the lobby, sweeping tidbits here and there, before he finally set the broom down. He straightened some magazines on another table, leaning down to pick up an insert card that had fallen out. "I hate these things."

"Me too," she murmured, staring at the perfect view of his ass in tight denim jeans. She thought about knocking a card from one of her magazines, just so he'd have to bend over again.

He moved in front of her, his crotch at her eye level. Flustered, she glanced up quickly and said, "I'm not much of a magazine reader myself."

"Really?"
He eyed the stack on the table next to her.

"My sister," she explained. "Everyone wanted to do something when I broke my leg. She thought she was being helpful."

"It was all the talk around here. We hate it when guests and trees collide."

"The owner was very kind. He sent flowers and stopped by to visit me yesterday."

"Yeah, he's a real peach." Rick rolled his eyes. "So, you decided not to leave? Most guests go home after an accident like yours."

She shrugged. "My family's been looking forward to this vacation. I hated to ruin it. We're only staying until the second of January. I figured I could hang out until then."

His eyes twinkled. "January second, huh? So you'll be here for the New Year's Eve bash. It's always a lot of fun."

She looked at her cast. "Yep, I'm sure it'll be a blast. I was looking forward to it before this happened. Now I'll probably watch TV in my room."

"No way!"
He folded his arms across his chest. "You've got to come to the party. I guarantee you'll have a great time."

She was skeptical, certain her hopes for a fun evening were ruined.

The front door opened, announced by a bell jingling. He glanced at the family making their way to the check-in counter. "Let me take care of these folks. In fact, if you don’t have other plans, maybe we could have dinner tonight."

"Only plan I have is to sit right here." She watched him stride to the front desk.

"We'll see about that." He looked over his shoulder and winked.

His action shot through her like a spark, sending a tingle down her spine to points south. She couldn't believe her physical reaction to him—that never happened to her.
Almost never.

He glanced her way every so often, as if making sure she was still watching. Was he checking her out? Deidre squeezed the arms of her chair, trying to get a grip on herself. She'd heard about love at first sight. Was there such a thing as lust at first sight?

He glanced up one more time and grinned.

She looked away, embarrassed. Lust at first sight—yeah, there was definitely such a thing, and she had it, big time.

Chapter Two

They talked until the evening desk clerk came on duty.

"Do you feel like getting out of here?" Rick handed Deidre her crutches. "Our restaurant is good, but I know a nice, quiet place I'd like to take you."

"I'm not sure." She hadn't ventured outside without her father to lean on since the accident.

"It's close. I'll help you, I promise." His eyes did the sparkle-twinkle thing she was beginning to recognize and enjoy.

She couldn't resist; the idea of dinner with him appealed much more than an evening with her family. "I should probably go change."

"You look fine. Jeans are perfect for this place."

"Okay." She ran a hand through her hair. She definitely needed to hit the restroom and check her appearance. "That sounds good. I just need to—"

"Deidre!
How are you doing?" Her father entered the lobby, looking windblown but happy.

"Hey, Daddy, I'm fine. How was skiing?"

"Great. Your mother and sister tore up the slopes. I couldn't get them to come in."

"Wow," she replied wistfully. She loved skiing, but didn't feel quite as bad about missing it as she had earlier.

"Are you ready to go up? I'll give you a hand."

"Actually, if you could take this to my room, I'd be grateful." She shoved her book and magazines into a tote bag. "I'm not going up right away. I've been invited out to dinner."

"Really?"
Her father shouldered the bag and looked at Rick. "David North." He extended his hand.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. North.
I'm Rick." They shook hands.

"Hello, Rick. You work here?"

"Yes, sir."

"Maintenance man?"

"Rick does all kinds of things, Daddy," Deidre interjected. She loved her father, but hated the look on his face at that moment. He wasn't as judgmental as her mother, but came close, and it was irritating as hell. "He saw how bored I was and offered to take me out."

"We'd have been happy to take you out," her dad said. She pouted, and he smiled. "All right, just be careful. We don’t need you to get in any more trouble."

"I will." She leaned in and kissed his cheek.

He squeezed her shoulders, nodded to the younger man, and walked to the elevator.

"Let's get out of here before your mother appears," Rick muttered under his breath.

She chuckled. "Sorry about that. My parents are good people, but—"

"They're snobs, Dee. Face it. That's
okay,
I've dealt with my share of people like them before.
My parents, for example."

She gazed up into his face. No one had ever called her 'Dee', and she liked it.

"You're looking at me like, 'What do your parents have to be snobbish about?' aren't you?" His voice sounded snide.

"What?" She focused on him again. "No! I was thinking about your calling me Dee. I liked it."

"Oh." His face flushed pink. "Sorry."

"Forget it. Listen, I need to use the restroom before we go. Do you mind?"

"Go ahead." He brushed back his hair, gathering his composure, and smiled. "Need any help?"