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She walked stiffly beside Weston down Hummingbird Lane to the lodge, where they entered the office wing by the staff door. Weston tapped on the office door then walked right in. Of course, he was a Sullivan. Paisley would have waited outside until summoned.

Tate and Graham looked up from their computers, and Tate surged to his feet with a big smile. “Hey, you two. I heard a rumor you were back. How’d it go?”

“Pretty well, all things considered.” Paisley shrugged. “I won’t be quite so quick to say yes another time, though.” Because she’d mostly done it to spend time with Weston. Look how that had turned out.

“Let’s head over to the conference room, and you guys can fill me in on all the details.” Tate punched Graham’s shoulder lightly on his way past. “Don’t want to disturb Mr. Number Cruncher here.”

Grinning, Graham shook his head and adjusted his glasses. “Whatever, boss man.”

Paisley turned toward the door, only to find that Weston held it open for her. He touched her lower back as she passed by and down the short corridor, Tate bringing up the rear.

If only she could relax into his touch, but he’d been right all along. There wasn’t really any chance for anything between them.

Chapter

Thirteen

After they’d given Tate the basic rundown, he nodded. “That’s all useful information if we get other school groups looking for outings. I’ve given the Littles and all the kids feedback forms to fill out. Those will help us tweak things another time, as well.” He tapped a bit more into his laptop before snapping it shut. “Thank you.”

Beside Weston, Paisley shot to her feet. “I need to check in with Cindy and see how things went with the other activities while we were away.”

Probably she was just in a rush to get away from him. But why? This was what Weston couldn’t figure out. She’d been in his face all last season and at the beginning of this one, sending all kinds of signals that she wanted to be friends. Or possibly more than that. He wouldn’t know for sure, because he’d done his best to deflect her at every turn.

He’d smiled at her like twice, and now she was running. Which was what he’d wanted all along, right? He should be happy she’d finally received the message he’d been sending.

Weston wandered into the lodge dining room where Mom directed her crew in dinner preparations. The meal was about an hour away, but the delectable aroma of barbecue pork already filled the air. Emma was feeding cabbage through the food processor, so coleslaw was likely on the menu.

Mom glanced over. “Weston!” She wiped her hands on her apron as she hurried over then wrapped her arms around him. “You’re back! Nobody starved to death, I hope?”

He patted her back and stepped away. “No one starved. In fact, there were no complaints about the food at all. Even a compliment or two.”

Mom beamed at him. “Susanna Little stopped in a few minutes ago and thanked the girls and me for having everything so well prepared.”

“Yeah, she took over the kitchen and did great. How were things back at the resort? Anything exciting happen?”

“Thankfully, no. A couple of teenagers tipped a canoe because they were trying to get all snuggly and weren’t being careful.”

Weston huffed a laugh. “Serves them right.”

Mom laughed. “Yes, the cold water seemed to douse their ardor a little. And there was a black bear wandering around Ladybug Lane a couple of nights ago, but Tate called the conservation officer, and they trapped him and hauled him off.”

“That’s the CO’s job, for sure. Better to relocate the bear than have him get accustomed to rummaging in the garbage.”

“Yes, thankfully the Smiths had already installed all those bear-proof dumpsters before Tate understood why they were necessary.”

Yeah, Tate hadn’t grown up in bear country, but he was learning quickly.

Weston glanced into the kitchen. “Dinner smells good.”

“Are you hungry? Do you need a snack?”

“Nah, I’m good. I can wait an hour and eat with everyone else.”

Mom smacked his arm. “And here I thought you’d welcome being able to avoid the noisy dining hall.”

To Weston’s surprise, that wasn’t at the top of his list today. “Maybe I’ve had enough quiet after a few days up the mountain.”

“With a dozen tweens,” Mom reminded him.