Page 8 of Grumpy Bear

Jim wolf-whistled and clapped loudly overhead. “Yes! Hell yes.” He continued to slap his big paws together even as the others spotted me and the smiles slid off their faces.

The room fell quiet.

Jim was in the middle of requesting a Loretta Lynn song when he realized everybody was looking at something behind him and finally turned around. “Oh! Sawyer. There you are. I was about to radio you again. You’re missing this.”

“Oh yeah?” I looked past Jim to the singer. “And what is this exactly?”

Levi and Bailey slipped out of the room, retreating to the relative safety of the kitchen.

Jim gave me a look that said You’re scowling again, but he refrained from nagging me in front of strangers. “Well, this is Luke Cody. He’s a friend of Austin’s. He’s here for a work weekend.” He smiled at each of them and then turned it back on me. “Luke, this is Coleman Sawyer, the owner of Bear Mountain Lodge.”

Luke.

He stood quickly to come shake my hand. It took him forever to cross the space to meet me, both of us holding our hands out prematurely. His was firm and warm, a little moist from playing. His skinny forearms were ropy with veins. Up close, his eyes were hazel. They stayed carefully on mine, which somehow made me self-conscious. I was shirtless, but that had little to do with the mortification I felt about how I must smell.

I nodded to Luke and made a point not to hang on to his hand too long. I turned to Jim. “Can I speak to you in the office?”

I said it with as much civility and warmth as I could muster, but Jim’s smile soured into a polite mask. “Give us just a minute, guys. Thanks.”

Luke smiled. “Of course.”

I followed Jim to his desk behind the counter, ignoring Karen Walker’s judgmental huff. Unfortunately, we were still entirely in view of Austin and his friend, so I faced them, not trusting Jim to maintain neutral facial expressions.

Surfer Cowboy was doing his best not to watch us, and of course I was looking right at him when he glanced up. He immediately went digging for something in the backpack at his feet.

I crossed my arms. “Please tell me you did not just offer him a job.”

“Sawyer.” Jim’s voice was surprisingly calm and low. “I cannot tell you that.”

I willed myself to keep from frowning. “Why not?”

“Because I just offered him a job.”

“What the fuck?” I bared my teeth in what I hoped would pass for a smile from a distance. “You already hired Danny and Marco. We don’t need any more live entertainment.”

Jim put his hand on my elbow like I needed to be physically soothed. “I know that. This wasn’t an audition. He had the guitar case, I asked him what he played, we started talking about classic country—you know that’s my weakness—and one thing led to another. Did you hear the Shania Twain?”

My expression could not have been any stonier. Zero fucks.

Jim sighed. “He’s just here for a work weekend.”

“We’ve already got six extra seasonal employees.”

“Honey, this morning you were having a hissy fit about the creek being in the pool and stressing about getting everything open on time. And now you’re telling me we can’t use an extra pair of hands? I thought he was a godsend.”

Before I could say anything else, Jim pulled me unnecessarily close, looming over me, pushing his face close to mine. “Remember my vibes? He’s the vibe.” He stared at me meaningfully.

I groaned.

“I swear to you, the minute that young man walked in with Austin, the second I laid eyes on him, I knew.”

“Knew?” I waited impatiently for him to go on. “Knew what?”

“Something about him. I don’t know. Something important.”

“So, you knew something about him, but you don’t know what.”

Jim’s eyes flashed. “Exactly.”