Page 3 of Close to Heaven

Stop noticing her hair, he scolded himself as she straightened up and looked at him again.

“It’s nice to see you again,” she said smoothly.

“You too,” he replied. He wondered if she really meant it or had said it to improve her chances of getting the job.

“I bet you’re sorry to see Mary go,” she said conversationally.

He realized he’d better take control of this interview before she got too personal.

“She’s been with us a long time.”

“I know.”

It struck him that Avery probably knew a lot more about him and his family than he knew about her. She and Dakota had become friends in college when they’d roomed together. After graduating, they’d moved into an apartment together and had been living and working in Knoxville ever since.

Dakota had brought Avery to the resort a few times, but Jax had barely paid attention to her. He’d been too busy taking care of the people and property he was responsible for to really notice her. He noticed her today, though, and it was almost like he was seeing her for the first time.

Initially, he hadn’t wanted to hire her because she was his sister’s friend. Now he had a whole host of other reasons not to.

“Look, Jax. I’m not sure what Dakota told you, but let me explain why I’m here.”

“Please do.”

“My dad lives just up the road from here, and he was recently diagnosed with dementia.”

“Oh.” He wondered why Dakota hadn’t mentioned that.

“He lives alone, and I’m worried about him. I’ve been driving back and forth from Knoxville to check on him, but the drive is wearing on me. When Dakota mentioned you were looking for someone to replace Mary, I thought it might be the perfect solution. I could help you out, and you could help me.”

“How so?” he asked, although he had a feeling he knew where this was going.

“My dad insists that he’s okay, and he doesn’t want me to move back here to babysit him. However, if I have a job and someplace to stay, it’ll be harder for him to argue.”

“Someplace to stay?”

“Dakota mentioned there’s a cabin on the property that I might be able to rent.”

He tried not to grimace, but he must have, because she said, “Was she wrong about that?”

“No, she wasn’t wrong.”

Avery’s lips curled into a smile and drew his attention to her mouth, which was just as pretty as her hair. As a single young man with a fully functioning libido, he could easily go down a bad path from looking at that mouth.

Instead, he averted his eyes to her resume. “It looks like you have a pretty good job as the assistant director of human resources for an automotive company.”

She nodded.

“Yet you’d be willing to give that up to work here, at a resort?” He felt compelled to ask because it seemed backward somehow. “Have you considered moving your dad to Knoxville instead?”

“Believe me, I’ve suggested it, but he won’t budge. This is his home, Jax. He was born and raised in these mountains, and in his words, ‘I want to die here.’”

He flinched at that and immediately regretted asking.

“I work in human resources, and I’m good with people. I’m a hard worker, and I’ll do anything you ask. If you hire me, I promise you won’t regret it.”

He made the mistake of looking directly into her eyes, which were big, bright, and hopeful, a lethal combination. Add in her pretty brown hair, full lips, rockin’ body (yes, he’d noticed that too), and he was a goner.

He was already regretting it as he said, “Don’t you want to know what the job entails?”