“I hope my tardiness hasn’t caused problems for you.”
Morgan shook her head, fighting her nervousness. Justin Hilliard was more handsome than in his magazine and newspaper pictures. Tall, with wide shoulders, he was dressed in jeans, boots and a coffee-colored, cable-knit sweater.
Her attention went to his steel-gray eyes. “I’d planned to spend the day with you…I mean I was scheduled to present the Silver Sky Canyon project.”
He frowned. “I apologize. I need to reschedule our meeting.” He raised a hand. “It will be at your convenience. Since I’ve brought Lauren along, I’ve decided to stay the week. I thought I would mix business with some pleasure time with her.”
It was a good sign that a busy CEO like Justin Hilliard was going to be here all week. “That’s wonderful. There is so much to see and do around here. I hope you brought some warm clothes. They’re predicting snow this week. Probably just flurries, but it’s still fun to watch.” Why was she babbling? “But then you get snow in Denver.” She finally shut her mouth when she saw his smile.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Hilliard. As you can tell I’m anxious to tell you about the project.”
“There’s no need to apologize and, please, call me Justin.”
“And I’m Morgan.” She was just happy he was here. She’d been afraid he’d changed his mind. “And yes, we definitely can reschedule our meeting.” She glanced at the little girl. “And maybe after you rest Lauren, we can have a look around town.”
With questioning eyes, Lauren glanced up at her father.
“I think we both would enjoy a trip around Destiny,” he said.
At that moment, Claire Keenan rejoined the group. “Then, let’s get you settled Mr. Hilliard. We can send sandwiches up to the suite.”
“I don’t want to be a bother.”
She waved her hand in the air. “Oh, it’s not a bother at all. We want you to feel welcome.”
Justin looked back at Morgan Keenan. “I thought that was your job.”
A delightful blush crossed her cheeks. “I’ll do my part, but my mother’s cooking is just one of the fringe benefits Destiny has to offer.”
The look in his eyes sent a strange feeling coursing through Morgan’s veins.
“I can hardly wait to discover the others,” he told her.
Morgan walked into the big kitchen, the hub of the Inn and the center of the Keenan family activates. This had been where she and her sisters, Paige and Leah, grew up.
It was the heart of the home, where family problems were discussed and triumphs were cheered, tears shed and laughter shared.
Claire Keenan turned as her daughter entered. “Are they settled in?”
“They seem fine. Thank you, Mom, for handling things.”
“It wasn’t a problem…we had the suite available.”
“I should have booked him there in the first place, but I thought he would fly in only for the day. That he’d fly home tonight.” She frowned. “And bringing his daughter with him. That was a surprise.”
Her mother smiled. “And she’s so sweet. I wonder where her mother is?”
Finding information on Justin Hilliard hadn’t been hard. Morgan had gone to her sister. Paige had lived in Denver for nearly ten years and knew all about Hilliard Industries’ CEO, both professionally and personally. “He’d been divorced for over a year and has had custody of his daughter since his ex-wife was killed in an automobile accident six months ago.”
“How sad,” Claire Keenan said. “That poor little thing. So both of them are alone.”
Morgan didn’t like her mother’s curious look. It could only mean trouble. Since Morgan had returned from college, she’d tried to fix her up with every eligible man who’d come to the Inn.
Just then her sisters, Paige and Leah, walked into the kitchen. “Is he here yet?” Leah asked.
Morgan knew who they were talking about. “Yes, he’s here,” she told them.
“Is he as handsome as his pictures?” Leah asked. The petite blonde couldn’t hide the twinkle in her brown eyes as she held out a computer printout from the Hilliard Industries’ Web site.
Morgan had to admit that she hadn’t expected a hard-driving businessman to be so good-looking. That dark, wavy hair and those gray eyes were…She quickly pushed away the thought.
“His looks have nothing to do with the man building a ski resort here.”
Leah frowned. “Now, I am worried. She doesn’t even react to a gorgeous man.”
“Why are you looking at other men anyway?” Morgan asked. “You two are married women.” She glanced pointedly down at their rounded bellies. “And pregnant.”
“We’re not dead,” Paige informed her. The brunette’s hair was perfect as was her makeup even though she was eight months pregnant. “Besides, Reed knows I love only him.”
“As does Holt,” Leah added.
Their mother joined in. “I love your father very much but Justin Hilliard even made me take an appreciative look. And that little girl of his…”
The two sisters turned back to Morgan. “He brought his daughter?” Paige asked.
“That’s impressive,” Leah added. “How old is she?”
“She’s about five and adorable,” their mother informed them. “Her name is Lauren and she’s already gotten attached to Morgan.”
Morgan covered her ears. “Stop it. None if this has anything to do with me getting the man to invest in our town. I haven’t even given my presentation.”
“You’ll ace it,” Paige said confidently. “He was interested enough to come here. It’s a good investment.”
“I still have to convince him.”
Morgan wasn’t about to tell her family that the man brought it to the surface, causing feelings in her she hadn’t felt in a long time. Since college, she’d managed to keep men at arm’s length because she wasn’t going to chance getting hurt again.
Justin Hilliard could make her change her mind. But for her own sanity, she refused to give that power to a man. Never again.
When they reached the suite, Lauren went right to sleep, which gave Justin time to catch up with correspondence from the office. He sat at the antique desk and worked on his laptop, although this wasn’t exactly the atmosphere for business. In the corner of the room there was a huge fireplace with a love seat arranged in front of it, along with a plush rug. The bedroom had a huge canopy bed, and the bathroom a large claw-foot tub.
He hadn’t originally planned on bringing Lauren along, since the business meeting wasn’t supposed to take longer than a day. Lately he made sure he was home in the evenings to be there for his daughter. In the past, he hadn’t been much of a part of Lauren’s young life, but that was all about to change.
His daughter was going to come first from now on. They were going to be a real family. But first he had to concentrate on business, but he was having trouble.
The memory of Morgan Keenan’s pretty face kept popping into his head. And he didn’t like that. He’d always prided himself on being able to stay focused on the task at hand.
After pouring a cup of coffee, he went to the window and looked out at the magnificent mountain range encircling the small town of Destiny. The once silver-rich town was thriving no more. Not since the last large mine operation had shut down ten years ago. Now, the few thousand residents remaining had to rely on tourism.
Mayor