Julianna Morris - Undercover In Glimmer Creek

“It’s just one of those things. How did it go with Gabe?”

“Fine, as far as I know. I showed him around and left him at Maintenance. Later I saw him working on the lawns around the Mayfair Mansion and Calaveras House. Everything was spotless.”

Tessa decided not to mention Gabe’s attempt to uproot a foxglove plant; her father didn’t need anything else to upset him.

“Good. He seems nice.”

Nice?

Maybe she’d missed something.

Tessa knew that two of her worst faults were a quick temper...and a bad habit of making snap decisions about people. Sometimes she was right, sometimes she wasn’t. But there was no denying that her first impressions of Gabe McKinley weren’t positive.

“What do you know about him?” Tessa asked.

“The usual sort of things from his application. Twenty years in the navy, but no job since getting out. He listed his skills as general mechanic, heavy machinery operation, scuba diving and underwater rescue.”

“Scuba diving and underwater rescue? There’s so much call for that at Poppy Gold,” she muttered wryly. “How about KP or maintenance experience? I thought all servicemen and women had that sort of thing under their belts.”

Liam waved his hand. “People don’t always like claiming they worked in the mess or scrubbed the officers’ head. Gabe didn’t list any prior duty assignments, but he has a spotless record—not even a speeding ticket. Do you think there’s a problem?”

“Of course not,” Tessa said hastily. “I’m just curious. He isn’t that personable.”

“Give him a chance,” Liam urged. “Life is structured in the military. It may take him a while to get accustomed to how we do things.”

“I know, Pop. It’s just that our guests expect everyone to be friendly and he’s rather...poker-faced.” Grim and forbidding was a better description, but she didn’t want to sound too negative.

“I’ll remind him to smile more.”

“Is he one of your referrals from Admiral Webster’s office?” Over time they’d become acquainted with a high-ranking officer in each of the military branches who now made referrals to Poppy Gold. Sometimes it was for a job, sometimes it was a request to provide a few days at Poppy Gold to service members or their families as a respite from stress or other problems. It had started with one of her father’s old army pals who was now a general.

“No referral. Gabe just applied. We ended up talking all afternoon last Saturday. Well, I’d better get over to Maintenance. The nursery got the red astrachan apples we wanted. We should have enough ground prepared in a few days to plant them.”

“Shouldn’t apples be planted in very early spring or late fall?”

“Yes, but the nursery promised to replace any that don’t thrive. Apparently their supplier has trouble getting organic astrachans. Anyhow, I also got a big load of organic fertilizer. I’ll unload everything and come over after I clean up.”

“Move the truck into the garage and have one of your guys take care of it tomorrow,” Tessa urged, frowning. She didn’t like her father lifting heavy items by himself. He rarely paid attention to what he was doing—five months ago he’d pulled a hamstring and had suffered minor injuries in other mishaps.

“I’ll be fine. When do you want me for dinner?”

“Seven thirty is fine.”

“I’ll see you then.”

Tessa sat for a minute after he left, then jumped up. She headed for Maintenance, stopping only to change into jeans and leave Aunt Emma’s peach pie at her apartment in the Victorian Cat. Fortunately she had a separate entrance, so she wasn’t delayed by guests wanting to chat.

“Pop?” she called, walking around the end of the main maintenance building. She froze. His antique heavy-duty truck was parked by one of the storage sheds, but instead of one man, she saw two—her father and Gabe McKinley. They were chatting and even chuckled together at one point.

Interesting.

“What are you doing here, Tessajinks?”

Gabe had just hoisted a bag of fertilizer onto his shoulder, but he paused and looked up. “Tessajinks?”

Tessa smiled along with her father, though she was surprised that he’d used her childhood nickname in front of a stranger. “It’s from when I was little. You know...jinks, from high jinks.”

“My daughter was a carefree, fun-loving toddler,” Liam explained, “but very well behaved, of course.”

“That’s right, I was a perfect angel,” Tessa added, relieved that he didn’t seem saddened by the recollection from a happier time.

“Yes, it’s now that she’s a handful.” Liam shook a finger at her. “She loved to play hide-and-seek, but she would get so excited, she giggled when anyone got near her hiding place. I could tell you stories—”

“But he won’t, because you’d just be bored,” Tessa interrupted, becoming uncomfortable. She was an only child and knew her fate in life was to be the subject of all of her father’s “gab and brag” tales, but her instincts told her to keep revelations at a minimum around Gabe McKinley. Even revelations that were twenty-seven years old.

“To be frank, I’m not a kid person,” Gabe said. He barely seemed to notice the heavy load balanced on his shoulder.

“You’ll change your mind when you have a family of your own,” Liam assured him.

“I’m not going to have a family,” Gabe replied. His tone and expression suggested it was a carefully considered decision, rather than a casual bachelor’s attitude.

Liam shook his head. “That’ll change when you meet the right woman. It did for me.”

“I’m also not planning to get married.” Gabe carried the fertilizer to the shed and set it on a pile of other sacks. He immediately went to the truck and grabbed another bag.

Pop seemed at a loss, and Tessa was annoyed. Her father sometimes offered opinions better kept to himself—she thought of it as small-townitis—but Gabe didn’t even seem to realize how curt he’d been. And after all, he was the one who’d volunteered he wasn’t a “kid person.” But kid person or not, he’d better be nice to the children who visited Poppy Gold.

Eyes narrowed, she went to help, but Gabe let out a sharp “I’ll do it” as soon as she reached for one of the bags.

“I may be little, but I’m tough,” she informed him, “and I’m sure your shift ended a couple of hours ago.”

Liam lifted the bag she’d intended to unload. “That’s what I said, but he insisted.”

Gabe shrugged. “I’m new to Glimmer Creek, so I don’t have much else to do.”

“We’ll still pay for the extra time,” Tessa asserted. Pop sometimes hinted that she was too stubborn. He might be right, but she had to be stubborn on fair employment practices.

* * *

GABE DIDN’T CARE about a few extra dollars in his paycheck; for that matter, he wasn’t comfortable about taking any pay since his actions had ulterior motives. As for helping to unload supplies, he’d hoped it would provide another one-on-one opportunity to talk with his new “boss.” The Connor name and the family’s connection to San Francisco had been bothering him. Later he would research it on the internet and see if anything came up, but he’d hoped to learn something in passing from Liam.

“We don’t have much nightlife,” Liam said, “but the library is open most evenings, along with several cafés and a country bar. The Gold Shanty is quite popular with our guests.”

“Actually, I’m going to check out the weight machines at the staff fitness center. It’s available twenty-four-seven, right?”

“Yes. Access it using your employee code,” Tessa replied, giving him a cool look. Maybe she thought he was trying to impress her by mentioning working out.