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Adeline gave him a quick wink and a reassuring nod before she and her husband began traversing the rope bridge, letting him know they’d leave him to suss out what was eating Hilly.
Once they were out of earshot…
“You want to talk about it?” Cisco asked, while at the same time making sure the safety line was secure before nodding his head toward the direction in which the couple traveled. “We need to head to the next station to make sure they’re clipped in again.”
Hilly headed down first, with Cisco right behind. She hadn’t answered him, but Cisco figured the descent might give her time to find her words.
She huffed and scrunched up her face as Cisco alighted onto the ground next to her.
“Bailey was…difficult,” she began, walking slowly toward their destination. “She denies throwing around the superior attitude that the other counselors have told me about. She also refutes having anything to do with Lance; positive or negative. She says he’s not on her radar in any way, and that several of the girls are just jealous of her, and how well she gets along with the guys.”
“What does your gut say?” Cisco asked, as they reached the next ladder. Hilly didn’t look convinced.
“That she’s not exactly a team player, and that she has an awful lot of excuses at the ready.” Hilly sighed again. “I told her she’s on notice, and that if I get any more negative reports where she’s concerned, I’ll have to relieve her of her duties.”
“How did that go?”
“She cried a little, although… Damn, this is hard to say, but… I think it was fake. Crocodile tears, at best.”
Cisco couldn’t help himself. He pulled Hilly into a warm hug. “It will all work out. She knows you have eyes glued to her now, so it’s on her, what happens next.”
“I know. I just…hate conflict.”
Cisco kissed the top of her head. “Try to let it go,” he soothed. “Worst case scenario? She acts out and you send her home. Best case? She behaves for the rest of the summer—even if she is a bit of a snob—and you don’t hire her back again for next year.”
“You’re right. I’m probably overthinking things,” Hilly agreed, then began climbing the second ladder. Cisco tried not to get distracted by her very fine ass which was only inches from his hands on the rungs.
“Don’t worry, Hilly. I’ll have your back,” he managed to assure her, raptly following her vanilla scent.
He wasn’t about to mess up this time.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Lying in bed a few nights after her second confrontation with Bailey, Hilly couldn’t turn her brain off. The summer certainly wasn’t going like she’d imagined. A lot of it was turning out to be better, but some of it was a whole bunch worse.
Which, negative or positive, however, outweighed the other?
Okay. Hilly would make a list. Maybe it would work like counting sheep.
The good stuff, first.
Number one, her best friend Buffy was here, killing it as the newest member of her staff. Even before her buddy had gotten her degree in psychotherapy, Buffy had always been able to talk Hilly down off the ledge, and so far this season Buff had continuously lent her ear to Hilly, keeping her focused.
Number two. She had a stellar chef in Mrs. S. Unlike her previous two years, Hilly didn’t have to give food a second thought. The woman was not only talented, she was organized and never needed hand-holding. A definite bonus.
Third on her list? She’d met and enjoyed Alvero’s company, along with his help improving her ropes course, and now that he’d left, she’d made some amazing new friends. Crash and Adeline—as well as Coco. They were a bonus to have on site. She could tell, by the end of the summer, she and Adeline would be friends for life, despite the distance of an entire country between them.
Of course, the fourth positive was by far the most exhilarating. The important person who’d come into her life this season. Cisco. As much as he frustrated her with how slowly he was moving to take their relationship deeper, he’d somehow made incredible inroads into seeing that Hilly understood she really was a person of interest to him.
And that was saying something.
Her insecurities ran deep, but with the way Cisco spoke to her, looked at her, and touched her at every opportunity, those head-demons from her early years were, one by one, being put to rest.
Now, if she could just get the frustrating man to stop holding back; to up his game so she could see if he was still keen on her once they had their clothes off. She’d feel a lot better…in a whole bunch of different ways if she knew he wouldn’t back away.
A shiver ran up her spine.
Mmm… Cisco naked…