More to Give by Osburn Terri

Author:Osburn, Terri [Osburn, Terri]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance, Contemporary Women, Contemporary, Fiction
ISBN: 9781477826041
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Published: 2014-11-11T08:00:00+00:00

Sam was relieved as he pulled into the parking lot. The front looked fresh and polished. The once-peeling shingles shining like new in the morning sun. The porch still needed attention, but that would come. There were still six weeks to go.

Before he could reach for the handle on the front door, Callie swung it open. She wore an old gray T-shirt, jeans with a small hole above the right knee, and stained tennis shoes.

His mouth went dry. Staying away from her had clearly been the right decision. The physical reaction he was having to this casual look stood as confirmation that distance was best.

But he couldn’t ignore the project completely. The hotel was his responsibility.

“Good morning,” he said, stepping inside. “I see things are going well so far.”

A chuckle that sounded more maniacal than humorous echoed around the lobby. “So far,” she said, closing the door, then retreating to the edge of the counter. “Can I get you some coffee? Or a soda?” She jerked a hand toward the area behind the counter. “We’re well stocked on sodas. Can’t let the guys go thirsty.”

For a second Sam wondered if the job was maybe too much stress for her. Her eyes were darting too much. Her movements were jerky and stilted.

“I’m good, thanks.” Sam stood his ground, afraid any sudden moves might spook her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Callie said, louder than necessary. “I’m good. I’m great. Peachy.”

“Good,” he said, more convinced that she was anything but.

“Good,” she said, crossing, then uncrossing, her arms. “Well.”

“Well?”

“Right.” The woman had gone completely over the deep end. Regardless of the progress he’d seen out front, Sam worried he’d put too much on Callie’s shoulders. He’d neglected the project for too long.

But he needed to see where they stood to determine how far he should step back in.

“A look around, then,” he said, adding a smile to appear as nonthreatening as possible.

“Oh,” Callie said, holding her place at the counter. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit in my office and talk? I could tell you about what’s going on.” Her voice trailed off a bit. “How well we’re doing.”

Sam was pretty sure he knew how well they were doing. Not well at all.

“I’d rather see it,” he said, willing to coddle her only so much.

“Of course you would.” Callie ran her hands across the counter as she turned, offering a half bow. “Have at it.”

The panic seemed to subside into forlorn surrender. Sam accepted the invitation, heading for the stairs.

“No need to go up there,” Callie said.

“The work hasn’t reached the second floor?”

She shook her head. “But, as you can probably smell, we have lots going on down here.” Callie motioned toward the hall behind her that led to the downstairs rooms. “Want to see how the green you picked looks on the walls?”

Maybe things weren’t so bad after all. Painted walls were a good sign.

“I would, yes.”

“Room nine,” she said, allowing him to lead the way.

He’d barely taken a few steps down the hall, when Sam heard “Heave!” coming from a room nearby.

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