“And we loved having you here,” I said with a grin.
“So, what all is there to do around here?” she asked. “Besides the horseback riding and the swimming area.”
“Ah, so you’ve been to the stables. That’s the main feature here. But there’s also a spa on one of the lower levels, a gym, and the restaurant connected to the resort with some of the finest views of the property.”
“Anywhere for us to walk?” she asked.
“Only the entire grounds area.”
“Katie? Is that you?”
Wyatt stepped out of his office and met us head-on. The two of us were heading for the back doors so I could take her on a scenic walk, but now Wyatt was standing in our way. He seemed surprised to see Katie like I was, but when he looked over at me, he had this look in his eye. I wasn’t really sure what it was, but the only way I could describe it was protective.
Then he looked down at Katie, and his features softened.
I looked down to Katie and saw her smiling back up at Wyatt. Her eyes were twinkling, and her body naturally gravitated away from mine and toward him. She hugged him tightly, telling him she couldn't stay away from the beauty of the resort.
But their arms lingered on one another a little too long.
“Katie here’s lookin’ for somethin’ to do,” I said.
“Oh, well there’s plenty of that,” Wyatt said. “The spa. The gym. The restaurant.”
“So Caleb’s told me,” Katie said. “But I’m looking for something a little more head-clearing.”
The two of them exchanged another look, and I felt myself bristling. Why did they keep looking at one another like that? What was going on between the two of them?
“How’d the talk with the landlord go?” Wyatt asked.
“You know ‘bout that?” I asked.
“Yeah, I talked with Wyatt about it on our horseback ride,” Katie said.
I nodded, trying to keep my raging personal emotions out of the picture. I hadn’t had time to sift through them or figure out why in the world I was feeling them. So, the last thing I needed to do was go unleashing them when it wasn’t necessary.
“And it went well, Wyatt. Thanks for asking. I’m not getting that exact apartment back because he’s already got someone committed to moving into it. But there’s a similar apartment in that complex I can move into. He’s drawing up all the paperwork for it now and I’ll probably sign in a few days.”
“How are the girls?” Wyatt asked. “Did Whitney and Lizzie get home okay?”
“Lizzie’s fine. She always is. Whitney’s flight landed, and I told her to let me know when she got back to her apartment. But, knowing how sidetracked she gets sometimes, it’ll take her hours before she truly gets home,” she said.
I didn’t like Whitney. She seemed to be too controlling of Katie. The way she was looking at her in the hot tub when Katie was drinking those beers didn’t sit right with me. It was like she was shaming Katie for getting back to her roots. That rubbed me the wrong way, and once Whitney started draping herself over all the guys, that was the last straw for me.
But I wasn’t going to tell Katie that.
“When do you start your job?” Wyatt asked. “The one you were talkin’ ‘bout that you wouldn’t like?”
Apparently, the two of them had done a lot of talking lately. I felt like a damn accessory on her arm compared to Wyatt’s presence.
And I didn’t like it.
“Well, that’s a story for another day. They had to push back my start date at the firm, and that's never a good sign. A business can make any excuse it wants, but when someone starts pushing back start dates like that, it usually means the business doesn’t have the capital to hire the new person. So, I’m considering myself in between jobs at the moment.”
“When did that happen?” I asked.
“Got the call this morning, right after I checked out. Went to the meeting with my landlord with it on my mind.”
“Did you tell your landlord about it?” Wyatt asked.