High Maintenance Read online

  HIGH MAINTENANCE

  By

  Jamie Hill

  ISBN: 978-1-926965-01-7

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Books We Love

  (Electronic Book Publishers)

  192 Lakeside Greens Drive

  Chestermere, Alberta, T1X 1C2

  Canada

  http://bookswelove.net

  Copyright 2010 by Jamie Hill

  Cover art by Sheri McGathy Copyright 2010

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  Chapter One

  "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one," the bandleader counted down. "Happy New Year!" The room full of people joined in, cheering.

  Deidre North raised her glass of champagne to toast. She tapped the crystal against that of the man next to her and, even in the noisy room, she heard the light tinkling sound. Sipping, she watched him over the rim of her glass.

  He removed the stemware from her hand, setting it next to his on the table. "Happy New Year." Leaning in, he placed a light kiss on her lips. "Let's dance."

  "Are you joking?" She glanced down at the plaster cast which covered her left leg, knee to toes.

  "I'm very serious. Lean your crutches against the table." He took them from under her arms, setting them aside.

  "I can't stand by myself." She held the table for support.

  "You don't have to. Lean on me. Put your arms around my neck."

  Uncertain if that was a good idea, she hesitated.

  "Like this." He smiled, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Hang on." Clutching her around the waist, he lifted her effortlessly, carrying her to the edge of the dance floor.

  Deidre had no choice but to latch on to his neck. "You're crazy!"

  "Crazy about you." He set her down on her good foot, but kept a tight grip. "I was really just trying to get you into my arms."

  "You're a naughty, naughty man."

  He chuckled. "I could be naughtier, if you'd give me the chance." He pressed his body against hers.

  The hard ridge of his erection dug into her, sending a thrill down her spine, at the same time making her a little nervous. "I'm flattered."

  "Where will flattery get me?" he whispered. "Because I can come up with some more."

  "You're awful," she teased, her face buried in the crook of his neck. He smelled heavenly. She breathed in deeply. The intoxicating aroma was Calvin Klein’s Obsession, always one of her favorites.

  "I'm a nice guy. You bring out the animal in me." He pressed his hips into her again. "Let's go to my suite. I don't want to wait any longer."

  She pulled back, batting her eyelashes. "We barely know each other."

  "Time alone will remedy that."

  "I'm leaving the day after tomorrow."

  "Then we'd best get started."

  She smiled, but shook her head. She'd never been much of a flirt, but teasing him was too much fun. "I'm just not sure."

  He stared into her eyes. "I'm very sure. Besides, you're about to get thrown out of here, anyway. You're making all the other women look bad."

  It was the cheesiest pickup line she'd ever heard.

  * * * *

  One day earlier

  "You should be in bed."

  "Mother, please." Deidre rolled her eyes. "I spent yesterday in bed. I'll go crazy if I have to stay there any longer." She settled into the big chair, adjusting her left leg in its bulky cast on the ottoman.

  "Someone needs to be here with you. I'll stay." Her mother shoved a pillow behind her back.

  Then I'll truly go crazy. "Mom, no. You and Dad want to ski. We only have a couple more days of vacation. You lost a day because of me already. Please, go." She glanced around the comfortable lobby of the lodge. A wall of windows surrounded a crackling fireplace. It offered a panoramic view of the mountains, complete with lifts and skiers. She had a stack of magazines and the latest crime thriller novel. The desk clerk was in sight, and the restaurant just around the corner. "I have everything I could possibly need, right here."

  As she spoke, an older black woman in a uniform came from the restaurant. "I heard we had a casualty out here. How are you?"

  "I'm fine." Deidre smiled at her. "Trying to convince my mother to go skiing."

  "Of course you should go." She turned to Jana North. "My name's Winnie. I'll keep your girl fixed with whatever she needs. You run along, honey." Looking back to Deidre, she asked, "What can I bring you?"

  "Hot chocolate?"

  "You bet. Whipped cream?"

  "Sure." She smiled appreciatively.

  "Make it low fat," Jana told Winnie.

  "Mother!"

  "Your sister told me the outfit she bought you for Christmas was a size fourteen."

  "So?"

  Jana rolled her eyes and looked at the waitress. "Willie, can you add her food to our bill?"

  "Of course, ma'am." She didn't bat an eyelash, simply turned and left.

  "Her name is Winnie."

  "Whatever." Jana waved a hand. "I think you need to watch your diet. You've gained weight."

  "Only a few pounds! I have a stressful job."

  "Your sister's job is stressful, yet she's the same size she was in high school, even after having a child."

  "She's a flight attendant! I wouldn't compare passing out peanuts with being a social worker. Besides, they weigh her all the time. She has to stay a certain weight."

  "You should be so lucky." Her mother patted her good knee. "Get some rest. We'll check in with you later."

  "Have fun, Mom. Don't worry about me."

  Jana waved and boarded the elevator to her room.

  Deidre sighed, leaning her head back against the chair. The pillow her mother had shoved behind her was uncomfortable. She jerked it out, tossed it aside.

  "Here you go." Winnie returned with a steaming mug of cocoa, piled high with whipped cream.

  "Is it low fat?" Deidre made a face.

  "Heavens, no." Winnie set the cup on the table next to Deidre. "We make a wonderful French onion soup too. Think about that for lunch. It's rich and thick, with cheese melted on top."

  "Will you adopt me?" She blinked, looking longingly at the waitress.

  "I've got seven kids already. One more won't even be noticed." They laughed as she continued, "Something tells me your mother would miss you. She seems very…doting."

  "That's a nice way of saying controlling. She has to do everything herself. When she gets like that, I'm afraid she doesn’t listen very well. Sorry."

  Winnie waved a hand in the air. "No problem. It takes more than that to bother me. As much as I'd like to stay and chat, I'm needed in the kitchen. I'll check on you as often as I can. If you need anything, give a shout."

  "You're very kind. Thank you."

  The woman smiled. "Enjoy. See you later." She disappeared around the corner.

  Deidre sipped the cocoa. Though too hot to drink, she could already tell it tasted wonderful. The food at the lodge was delicious. She couldn't remember the last time her mother had prepared such fare. The past several years, they'd eaten healthy.

  Her father, David, worked as a busy bank executive. When Deidre was a junior in high school, he'd suffered a mild heart attack. It threw the family, especially her mother, into a tailspin. The stay-at-home homemaker immediately embraced a heart conscious, doctor-recommended diet, much to the chagrin of her family.

  Deidre loved to eat. She'd been a good student, but didn’t
have an active social life. She had babysat for money and spent the rest of the time with a book in one hand and a snack in the other.

  Her sister Renee had been a senior and a cheerleader at the time. Deidre's polar opposite, she barely ate anything, but managed to complain about everything. She hadn't appreciated the bland diet any more than her sister or their reluctant father.

  In college, on her own for the first time, Deidre's weight ballooned. She told her mother a few pounds, but knew it was closer to forty. She'd climbed from a size ten to a sixteen in no time.

  After graduation she had been hired as a social worker for the Denver Department of Children and Families. It was a stressful job. She dealt with domestic abuse and violence on a weekly basis. Somehow she managed to get her eating under control, losing enough to raise her self-esteem and lower her dress size to fourteen.

  According to her doctor, she was fit, save a few excess pounds. She exercised when it accommodated her busy schedule and loved to dance at nightclubs on weekends. She considered herself full-figured and felt comfortable in her own skin. Her mother wasn’t as easy to please.

  "See you later!" Jana called across the lobby. Dressed in the latest trendy skiwear, she appeared ready to hit the slopes.

  "Have fun!" Deidre called back and waved to her father.

  He smiled at her, rolling his eyes at Jana. He'd always been the more laid back one of the pair, never quite as concerned with appearances as his high society wife. Both her parents had dark hair, looked fit and trim, more forty-ish than the fifties they truly were. They made a handsome couple.

  She watched them leave before picking up the crime novel they'd given her. She realized, almost instantly, she couldn't concentrate on it. Setting it aside, she leafed through the magazines her sister had picked out. None of them particularly interested her. She was on vacation! It was almost New Year’s. She felt antsy, wanting to do something besides sit.

  After an elaborate family Christmas, her father had flown them all to Vail and the fabulous Crystal Cove Ski Resort. The weather was perfect. Having a marvelous time skiing, three days into the trip, Deidre became injured when a tree jumped out in front of her on Big Bear Slope. After much fussing and a trip to the first aid station, she landed in the local hospital where they determined she'd broken a bone in her lower leg.

  Instructed to use crutches for a week, she was to see a doctor once she got home and be fitted with a walking cast. The overall prognosis was six weeks in plaster.

  Deidre squirmed in her seat. What a way to end her vacation! It had been such fun too. Several cute guys skied the slopes; she had drinks with one of them the night before she'd broken her leg. They'd even discussed attending the New Year's Eve party at the lodge together.

  Now she'd be stuck with the television for company. She sighed. Another New Year’s Eve spent watching the party instead of participating.

  "How we doing out here?" Winnie stepped in front of her.

  "I'm fine." She put on a brave face, tried to hide her growing depression.

  "Get you anything? More cocoa?"

  "No thanks. It was great, though."

  "Okay, if you're sure. I'll check back with you later."

  "Thanks, Winnie." She watched the waitress go. Such a nice woman—but seven kids? Deidre shivered at the thought. She might like to have one. Possibly two, if she could keep them from bickering the way she and her sister did. Chuckling at the thought, she decided it might first help to find a man. She closed her eyes and dreamed of the possibilities.

  * * * *

  "Aunt Deidre." Someone tugged at her sweater sleeve.

  She opened her eyes to see a small, blonde-haired girl, complete with wind-chilled red nose and cheeks, watching her. "Hello, Riley. What are you doing here?" She glanced around, not seeing anyone else. "Where's your Mommy?"

  "She's skiing with Grandma and Grandpa. Daddy brought me in for a nap."

  Looking around again, she still didn’t see anyone. "Where's Daddy, then?"

  "We're getting popcorn." She held up a bowl, spilling some onto the floor.

  "Ah." She remembered somewhere behind her chair there stood a table with complimentary snacks. The large bowl of popcorn always attracted her three-year-old niece.

  "Riley, come back here," Dean Conner muttered, apparently following the child and a trail of popcorn. "Hey, Deidre. Sorry to wake you."

  "I wasn't asleep." She yawned.

  "You were snoring. Drooling, even." He made a show of wiping his chin.

  Her hand flew to her face, just in case, but it was dry. "You're evil." She glared at him, only half teasing.

  He grinned. "No, just worn out. I'm not as much of a skier as your sister and I've been chasing this one all over the place. We're going to take naps. Not sure if she'll sleep, but I know I will. See you later!"

  "Later." She shook her head. Riley had tracked popcorn from one end of the lobby to the next, and Dean seemed totally oblivious.

  The elevator doors closed behind them, and she peered around the room. "Clean up on aisle six," she called jokingly.

  The desk clerk wasn't behind the counter. After watching him sweep up small messes all morning, she knew where his broom and dustpan were. Maybe she could handle this herself. Her family had caused it, after all.

  She stood and leaned on her crutches. Hobbling to the restroom was difficult enough, sweeping was going to be a challenge. Determined to give it a try, she limped behind the counter, where she found the broom and dustpan.

  Clutching a tool in each hand, with a tenuous grip on her crutches, she carefully made her way to the popcorn spill. She had almost all the kernels swept into a pile when a voice came from behind her.

  "What are you doing?"

  Deidre jumped, dropping the broom and losing one crutch. Before she could fall, someone grabbed her by the arms.

  "I didn't mean to startle you. I just asked what you were doing. It's my job to sweep in here." The voice boomed deep and masculine.

  She gazed over her shoulder at the man who towered several inches above her. He had the ruddy complexion of someone who spent lots of time outdoors. Thick, shaggy, dark hair curled around his face, overlapping the collar of his flannel shirt. He was handsome, but at the moment, appeared irritated.

  She forced herself to speak. "I'm sorry. My niece made a mess, and I was trying to clean it up."

  "Not necessary, and not very sensible."

  Deidre realized she leaned against him, and pulled away. "Like I said, sorry. I only wanted to help."

  He released her arms, bent down for the fallen crutch, and handed it to her. A smile hinted at the corners of his mouth. "No need to get defensive. I meant that I'd rather not see you break your other leg. Let me help you to a chair."

  "I'm fine."

  He stared at her, and she relented. "I was sitting over there."

  "I know. I saw you when I came in. My name's Rick, by the way."

  "Hi." She watched his face as he helped her back to the chair. He'd surprised her, and her initial reaction had been gruff. Now he seemed kinder, his dark brown eyes showed concern, and there were tiny wrinkles around their edges.

  Settling her into the chair, he pointed to the ottoman. "Want your leg up?"

  "Sure."

  He lifted it with care and looked at her. "That okay?"

  "Yeah." She thought her voice sounded breathless, and the one-word answers made her come across as goofy. "That's good," she added.

  "All right, then." He straightened, his body tall and stocky. Not overweight—solid—and masculine. She couldn't ignore that, any more than she could his tantalizing aftershave. It overwhelmed her, causing her to feel giddy, like a school girl. It'd been ages since she'd felt that way.

  She cleared her throat, trying to regain some semblance of control. "Are you the maintenance man here?"

  "You might say that. Actually, I'm a Jack of all Trades. Right now I'm the desk clerk, until the five o'clock shift shows up."

  She glance
d at the counter. "So you don't have to rush off?"

  He looked around the empty lobby. "Not particularly. I should finish sweeping up this popcorn, though."

  She smiled sheepishly. "I'm really sorry about that."

  Shrugging, he returned to the spill and scooped it into the dustpan. "No big deal. You did a pretty good job, uh—"

  She gazed dreamily into his eyes then realized he was waiting for her name. "Oh! Deidre. Deidre North."

  "Deidre," he repeated and smiled.

  He had a gorgeous mouth. When it curved upward, her heart melted. She watched him move about the lobby, sweeping tidbits here and there, before he finally set the broom down. He straightened some magazines on another table, leaning down to pick up an insert card that had fallen out. "I hate these things."

  "Me too," she murmured, staring at the perfect view of his ass in tight denim jeans. She thought about knocking a card from one of her magazines, just so he'd have to bend over again.

  He moved in front of her, his crotch at her eye level. Flustered, she glanced up quickly and said, "I'm not much of a magazine reader myself."

  "Really?" He eyed the stack on the table next to her.

  "My sister," she explained. "Everyone wanted to do something when I broke my leg. She thought she was being helpful."

  "It was all the talk around here. We hate it when guests and trees collide."

  "The owner was very kind. He sent flowers and stopped by to visit me yesterday."

  "Yeah, he's a real peach." Rick rolled his eyes. "So, you decided not to leave? Most guests go home after an accident like yours."

  She shrugged. "My family's been looking forward to this vacation. I hated to ruin it. We're only staying until the second of January. I figured I could hang out until then."

  His eyes twinkled. "January second, huh? So you'll be here for the New Year's Eve bash. It's always a lot of fun."

  She looked at her cast. "Yep, I'm sure it'll be a blast. I was looking forward to it before this happened. Now I'll probably watch TV in my room."