Oregon Outback (21 page)

Customers were just beginning to fill the lobby—some renting and others needing parts or repair.

Ricky looked up from the computer screen and smiled when he saw her. “So, today’s your first day.”

Avery slid behind the counter to stand next to him. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.” After all, she’d spent three years working full-time for an accounting firm.

A man about Ricky’s age, wearing shorts and a dirty T-shirt, scowled. “Can you get me this part or what? I need it fixed today.”

Avery left Ricky to make the customer happy, glad she didn’t have to stand at the counter and face demanding people all day. Though she’d left the stress and chaos of her job in Portland, wanting to take time for herself, at least for a couple of months, she knew she’d go crazy if she gave up work completely. Part-time was perfect for now. She’d have time to fix up her grandmother’s house and ultimately, decide if she wanted to stay or not. She hadn’t shared that information with Lucas, but in the end, she might decide to stay.

Even though she wanted peace and quiet, and to simplify her life, the slower-paced community would still take getting used to.

She meandered down the hall to Lucas’s office. His door stood open but he wasn’t there. Avery dropped her bag in one of the chairs, looking forward to having her own office. She came prepared to set that up, wearing jeans and a T-shirt like he suggested.

A motor revved along with shouts from somewhere in the back. Avery continued down the hallway and opened a door to what appeared to be an ATV repair shop. The air smelled like exhaust. Bright sunlight filtered in from the opened garage door, and it was a minute before her eyes adjusted. Lucas stood with another man—the mechanic?—pointing at something on a four-wheeler. They were shouting over the noise as the mechanic revved the motor again.

Lucas appeared grimy and sweaty. Did he also work on the ATVs? She made her way down the concrete steps, hoping he hadn’t forgotten he’d hired her.

She stood right next to him before he noticed her. He did a double take like he actually
had
forgotten. His smile made up for it.

“You forgot about me, didn’t you?” she asked, teasing.

Deep furrows grew between his brows. “No, of course not.” But something in his exaggerated manner told her otherwise. “As far as I’m concerned, right now, you are the most wanted woman on the planet.”

At his words, her heart skipped a half beat, but she knew what he meant and recovered. “You must be hurting for an accountant more than I thought.” What had she gotten herself into?

Lucas weaved his arm around her without touching her and gestured toward the mechanic. “Avery Summers, I’d like you to meet Mark Thompson. He repairs the ATVs, our rentals and the out-of-towners who brought their own to ride the dunes.”

“Nice to meet you.” Mark wiped his hands, black with grease, on a rag without much effect.

She hoped he didn’t want to shake her hand. If her friends and associates in Portland could see her now, they’d think she’d lost her mind to take a job like this instead of holding out for something at a distinguished accounting firm. But her time here wasn’t about the job.

She smiled. “And you, Mark.”

“I’ll see you later. I’ve got to get Avery set up on the computer.” Lucas motioned for her to walk ahead of him.

She walked to the steps that led back inside.

“Did you have a good weekend?” he asked.

She turned to answer, but he was already in front of her, opening the door, his ocean blue eyes bright today.

“Yes. Thanks for asking.” She walked through the door he held, her skin tingling at his nearness. What was the matter with her?

Something about him—his virility and exuberance, she wasn’t sure—excited her. The guy was a flirt and a charmer. Was that what Katy didn’t like about him? Avery reminded herself she wasn’t sixteen.

Lucas led her into his office. “I’ve decided you can have my office.”

“What? But where will you work?”

His gaze flicked over her so quickly she almost didn’t see. “You wore jeans like I asked. You can wear that every day if you want. The only room I could put you in is filled with parts and supplies. I’m sorry I didn’t work on that this weekend, but that would take days. Besides, you’re only here half the day. My office is fine.”

“But …” Avery wasn’t sure how to react. She wouldn’t have her own space to put pictures, to store her things. “You’re the boss.”

“I hate working in an office anyway. With you doing the work that kept me here, that’ll free me up for other things. You don’t mind sharing, at least for a while, do you?”

“No, not at all, but …” Avery hesitated.

“Say what you’re thinking. I promise it won’t hurt my feelings.” His charm-loaded grin tickled her insides.

She laughed. “Well, would you mind showing me the room where you thought to put me? Maybe I can work on it in my spare time.”

“Sure. I’ll show you. But I don’t want you moving things by yourself. No offense, but you’re a little puny.” He chuckled. “You could get hurt.”

She smiled, wanting to gift him with a friendly smack, but refrained. Lucas strolled out of the office, and Avery followed. He entered a door down the hall to the left. The room was stacked with boxes of motor parts, but he crossed the space to another door.

He cracked it and slipped through. When Avery followed, she shoved the door completely open, disturbing a box crammed on a shelf.

“This is it,” he said. “I bought this business from a guy who’d had it for years. You can see he got behind. I haven’t had the time either.”

“This is where you planned to put me?” Another room filled with boxes and parts. Disheveled couldn’t describe it. If it took her a thousand years, she couldn’t get it clean. “How does anyone find what they need in here?”

Suddenly, the box above the door shifted and tumbled from the shelf.

“Watch out.” At lightning speed, Lucas moved her out of harm’s way, pressing her against the wall. Parts tumbled across the floor.

Breathless, Avery stood in his protective hold and looked into his eyes. Though he’d thrust her out of the box’s path, he hadn’t manhandled her. His hands gripped her arms, but gently.

“See what I mean?” His face near hers, his voice was tender. Lucas’s gaze brushed over Avery’s face, lingering on her lips.

For a split second, she could swear he was going to kiss her. For a millisecond of that, she wanted him to.

A slight frown morphed over his expression. He stepped back. “Avery, I love the outdoors. I spend every minute I can living for adventure. For fun.”

“I get it. You’re addicted to thrills.”

Lucas leaned his hand against the wall. “You understand me then. That’s good.”

“You don’t have time for anything else like organizing your business, or … dating.”

Avery hoped her smile hid the cringe inside. She wasn’t flirting, but it sounded that way. Why, oh why had she blurted that?

Six thirty Friday afternoon couldn’t have come soon enough for Lucas.

Jerry Seymour stood at the entrance to the garage, holding the keys to his ATV. He grinned, despite his frustration. “Glad I was at least able to rent one while you fixed this, but I don’t get why it took you so long. I’m leaving to head home to the coast today. That’s cutting it close.”

Lucas left Mark to explain and assist Jerry in driving the ATV onto his trailer, and he headed back inside. He thought hiring Avery would free up his time. Instead he’d never been so busy—but maybe he’d taken care of a few things that were long overdue.

In the restroom, he washed his hands and face. He’d left her on her own earlier in the week—her first day to be exact—to face what he considered an accounting nightmare. But with her experience it should be a no-brainer. He’d made good on his decision not to give Avery a second look because once he’d tucked her in his office, he hadn’t seen her except a few times when she had a question.

Unfortunately, he’d struggled with not giving her a second thought. She was
all
he’d thought about throughout the week ever since that moment in the back office. A box weighed down with carburetor parts had almost fallen on her. He’d prevented that, but he hadn’t prevented her cute smile from driving through the sandbags around his heart. Hopefully he would recover—repair the damage and divert his attention back to important things like having fun. Planning what he’d do on his next day off.

He exited the restroom and walked around the corner to his office to lock things up and there sat Avery, staring at his computer. What was she still doing here?

She worked a half day in the mornings, didn’t she? He wasn’t sure when she came and left, but he trusted her.

Lucas leaned against the doorframe, crossing his feet at his ankles and studied her, figuring she’d notice him. Her hair was loosely pinned on top of her head, a few thick sections hanging down willy-nilly, mingling with her butterfly earrings. It was an untamed look for her, but contrasted by the dark-rimmed glasses she wore, and the pencil she’d tucked in her ear.

Beautiful
. Lucas sighed.
Why are you here when I’ve avoided you all week?

“Avery,” he said, when she didn’t notice him. “Avery …” a little louder this time.

Nothing. Wow, she’d become engrossed in her work. Lucas crept around the desk and leaned in, his head next to hers, and hovered just above her shoulders.

“Avery!”

She screamed and jumped, whirling the chair around to face him.

Lucas burst out laughing. The look on her face told him she didn’t find it funny.

“I couldn’t help it. I stood there forever watching you. Even called your name. You never budged.”

She blew out a breath, ruffling the blond strand that hung over her face. “Really?” She had the sweetest voice.

“Really.” Lucas had avoided her this week, he realized, for good reason. He liked her. A lot.

“I’m sorry. I just …”

“You’re only supposed to work part-time. What are you doing here?”

“Your books are such a mess that I’m stressed. I can’t relax until I fix things.” She said it all matter-of-factly and stood to stretch.

Lucas noticed her slim figure—what he’d called puny earlier. Her jeans hugged her and her button-down collared shirt, rather than a T-shirt, which everyone around here normally wore, accented her slight form.

He averted his gaze. “Have you got plans tomorrow?”

Dude. What are you doing?

Her big baby blues—innocent and clear—searched his. “I … uh … probably.”

He snorted a laugh. “Probably? Do you want to go hang gliding?”

“Are you crazy?”

“No. You look like you could use some sun. You’re pretty pale. Did you know that?” Good way to encourage the new employee.

She pressed her hand to her cheek. “I am?”

“What I mean is that fresh air and sunshine would be good for you. My guess is that you’ve been inside all week.”

“I’d planned to work tomorrow. I can’t stand this”—she gestured at the computer screen—“this drives me nuts. And besides …”

Lucas realized that he stood too close, cornering her behind his desk. He quickly put space between them, strolling around the desk, and dropped into one of the chairs across the room. Plenty of space. Was it for her, or for him?

Avery appeared to breathe easier. He was such a moron. Katy was probably right about him.

“You were saying?” he asked.

“I like you, Lucas. But you’re my boss. Aside from the occasional dinner with mutual friends, I don’t want to … get involved. I’m not an action-adventure girl. I like to garden and sew and bake bread. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to live in my grandmother’s house, well, now my house. It reminds me of who I was, who I lost. I want all that back.”

“And instead you’re stressed because of my terrible accounting practices.” Lucas injected a smile, hoping to deflect her serious tone, even though her rejection had stung a little.

“Don’t worry. I’ll have things repaired in no time. Then I’ll have time for fun. Only I have a different definition than you do.” She looked down at the desk, pink coloring her fair skin. Finally, she glanced back at him, her gaze soft and tender, making this even harder for him. “Are we good?”

Lucas grinned, willing it to reach his eyes. “We’re good.”

Though he stood his ground, a few grains of sand slid away from the wall around his heart.

A
very stood at her kitchen sink, preparing to boil pasta while her olive bread baked in the oven.

Another Saturday. She’d worked for Lucas for three weeks now. What crazy adventure or extreme sport had he done today? After she’d explained she wasn’t interested in thrill-seeking and had drawn the line regarding their relationship, he hadn’t invited her again. Nor had he said much to her that included his dimple-faced, broad grin.

Avery missed that.

The truth was he’d planted a small seed in her for adventure. Part of her wanted to do something risky for a change. Feel the vibrant passion for life burn inside her that she saw in Lucas. He made her realize she had a certain fear of living. She was tired of that.

But keeping him at a distance was for the best, wasn’t it? Besides, focusing on her job was difficult when Lucas was near.