Holiday Hideout: The Thanksgiving Fix / The Christmas Set-Up / The New Year's Deal

Now to solve the mystery…

CHAPTER TWO

INVITING THE HANDYMAN TO STAY for a glass of wine hadn’t been part of Beth’s game plan. But Mac McFarland was serious eye candy, a fact she hadn’t been able to ignore, especially after he took off his coat and started to inspect the pipe. Between the faded jeans that showcased his tight buns and a blue chambray shirt that required no padding to emphasize his broad shoulders, he was outfitted like a certified hunk.

His dark, wavy hair brushed the back of his collar in a most attractive way, and his eyes were the kind of startling blue that won guys modeling and movie contracts. On top of all that, he smelled good. From the moment he’d come through the door, she’d breathed in a heady combination of pine boughs and wood smoke.

Even though she was concentrating on the joys of singlehood this weekend, that didn’t mean she couldn’t invite a guy for a drink.

She wasn’t exactly dressed for company, though. It was too late to apply makeup, but at least she’d spritzed a little of her favorite spice body mist on after her bath.

Maybe she’d share a drink with Mac and then he’d go on about his business. But if not, and his arresting blue eyes continued to fascinate her, she might try out the new ground rules she’d devised for her sex life and see what his reaction might be. Assuming he was interested in her and didn’t have some sweetie in the wings, that was.

Once he’d joined her on the couch, she picked up her wineglass and searched for an icebreaker.

He took a sip of the wine. “Good stuff. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. So…did you decide in kindergarten that you wanted to be a handyman and that was the end of that?”

He laughed. “No, I wanted to be a superhero, but sadly my superpowers never developed, so I had to settle for household maintenance instead.”

She could imagine him in spandex and a rippling cape. He had the classic square-jawed superhero look about him. “I’ll bet your customers think you’re heroic. A good maintenance man is hard to find.” As she knew from her experience as a hotel manager.

“That, as a matter of fact, is true. Just about anyone can hang out a shingle. But I learned from an expert—my dad. I worked for him all through high school and college.” He reached for a cracker and put a piece of cheese on top of it.

“But now you don’t.”

“Nope. I developed an independent streak. But at least by working on this side of the mountain, I’m not in direct competition with him.” He popped the cheese and cracker into his mouth and began to chew.

“So he’s in Reno?”

He finished chewing and swallowed. “My folks live there.” He picked up his wineglass and gestured in her direction. “Your turn.”

“I manage the High Sierras Hotel.”

He nodded. “I can see you doing that.”

“You can?” She glanced down at her sweats. “I don’t look much like a hotel manager at the moment.”

“No, but you act like someone who makes plans and carries them out, which would make for a good manager.”

She gazed at him, intrigued. “How can you tell?”

“The fire, the wine, whatever you were writing when I got here. That looked like part of a plan to me.”

“It was.” She was impressed that he was so observant and wondered what he’d think of the manifesto she was creating.

But she didn’t know him well enough to talk about it, at least not yet. When she didn’t offer to tell him her purpose in coming here, he didn’t ask. She took that as a promising sign that he respected boundaries.

He swallowed another sip of his wine. “I’d think this would be a busy week for you at the hotel.”

“It is, but my assistant is excellent and he has my cell number in case anything unexpected crops up. I can get back there fairly fast if necessary.”

Mac glanced out the window where snow continued to come down. “Or not.”

“Or not.” She smiled. “To tell the truth, I wouldn’t mind being snowed in. I’m a bit of a workaholic, and a heavy snow would force me to stay away from the hotel for the whole weekend.” She swirled her wine in the glass. “I love my work, but I have a tendency to obsess over it.”

“At least you have an assistant.” He helped himself to another cracker and piece of cheese. “I’m the whole show, and sometimes that means working 24/7. Well, not quite, but it can feel that way.”

“So why don’t you have an assistant?” She had an idea of the answer, but was curious as to whether she was right.

“Damned if I know. I should hire one, but…”

“A good maintenance man is hard to find?”

“I just think I can do the job better than anyone else. I have a bit of an ego, I guess.” He grinned at her.

Her heart rate picked up. That smile of his was killer. “So I’m lucky that you’re not rushing off to repair someone’s broken pipes or faulty light fixture tonight.”

“It could still happen. I’ve notified all my customers that I’ll be in Reno tomorrow at my folks’ house for Thanksgiving dinner, but I’ll be here until morning, and my people know that.” There was a note of pride in his voice.

She thought of his childhood ambition of becoming a superhero. He hadn’t strayed all that far from his dream, after all. “Which is why Jillian Vickers called you.”

He nodded and swallowed a mouthful of wine. “About that.” He glanced over at her. “You should probably know that Jillian loosened that fitting on purpose.”

Beth stared at him. “On purpose? But why would she… Oh, my God.” She started to laugh. “Oh, my God.” She put her wineglass on the end table so she wouldn’t spill on the couch, a real danger because she was shaking with laughter. “That’s hysterical!”

“Care to tell me why?” He sounded a little miffed.

“Because…” She gasped for breath and realized her hilarity might have offended him. “I’m sorry. It’s not hysterical that she’d try to fix me up with you. You’re gorgeous.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say—”

“It’s just that the reason I stayed away from my family’s Thanksgiving celebration in Sacramento is because I knew they’d have a blind date for me there. Then Jillian pulls this trick.” She threw both hands in the air. “I can’t get away from people trying to find me a man!”

He frowned. “And you prefer women?”

“Heavens, no!” She suppressed another fit of giggles. “I like men just fine. But I’m sick of my family trying to marry me off, which is what these blind dates are all about. My three siblings are married, and I, the eldest, am not. Apparently that bugs them.” She wiped her eyes and gazed at him. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to lose it like that.”

“No need to apologize. Actually, we’re in the same boat.”

She cleared her throat. “How’s that?”

“My mom is determined to find me a wife. In fact, she’s invited someone named Stephanie to dinner tomorrow.”

“Oh, dear. I know exactly how awkward that can be. You have my sympathies. And on top of that, Jillian’s trying to play matchmaker.” She looked at him. “You don’t have to stay, you know. I mean, first I’m dumped on you, and then tomorrow you’ll be dealing with Stephanie. I’ll bet you’d rather spend the night on your own.”

“Actually, it’s comforting to be with somebody who’s stuck with the same problem.” He polished off his wine.