Chapter 2
The lights popping on startled me enough that I dropped everything I’d just collected in my hands and lifted my bloody palm to cover my pounding heart. I stepped over the scattered mess and rushed from the kitchen out onto the massive deck that hung over the dark drop-off below. I put my hands on the railing and blinked against the rain as I peered down at the river that I could hear but not see clearly.
The storm seemed to be on the edge of clearing up. There was no more thunder or lightning, and the ominous cloud coverage had started to lift. The rain was still steady, but no longer falling in sheets that soaked everything in seconds.
I was on the verge of convincing myself I was making something out of nothing when a heavy hand fell on my shoulder and tugged me away from the slippery railing. I shouted in surprise and whirled around, ready to fight. The side of my balled-up fist landed dead center on a strong, wide chest covered in slightly damp flannel. A warm hand wrapped around the ineffective weapon and let it drop between us in a thoroughly humiliating manner.
I had no clue where Declan Risk had come from before I found him wandering along the pass that led to the lodge, his thumb stuck out like an old-fashioned hitchhiker. I’d initially stopped to tell him that no one would pick him up in the offseason, and to warn him about the unpredictable weather. I still wasn’t certain how my good deed had ended up with me bringing the handsome man home and offering him a job. Especially when it became glaringly obvious he’d never had to repair anything or maintain the basics of a home.
He mostly kept to himself, was quick with a grin, and put in the work to come off low-key and unbothered. He happily took refuge in one of the cabins that was empty for the season, and only sought me out when he needed to ask what I wanted him to take care of for the day—or when he had to admit he had no idea how to fix whatever was broken. He definitely had the man portion of his job title covered. It was too bad the handy part wasn’t even close.
I flexed the fingers of my dropped fist and narrowed my eyes as we stared at each other. He might look like a local on the surface in the worn flannel and faded jeans, both of which were wet and muddy. But there was something about him being dressed so casually that made it seem like he was wearing a costume. If I had to guess, I would bet money that whatever he wore in his real life differed greatly from his current wardrobe.
I thought the same thing about his face.
The man who had told me to call him Risky was distractingly handsome. He had a face that made me think of naughty things. It was the sort of face that made the few guests who crossed paths with him do a double take. It was the type of face one could easily imagine on a big screen or gracing the pages of a magazine. His features were a mix of strength and softness in perfect proportions. His jaw was chiseled and looked extra fine, covered with dark stubble. His nose was sharp and straight, giving him an almost-regal appearance. But his eyes were bright and warm. They were the color of weak tea mixed with honey. It felt like they were lit from within and glowed with an unnatural light. He also had nice eyebrows. They looked well-groomed and shaped to specifically fit his face. They made him appear less intimidating—since the rest of his features were exactly that.
I secretly thought he made it a point to appear approachable. And the more time I spent with him, the clearer it became that he was putting up a facade. He wasn’t as happy-go-lucky as he tried to appear.
I didn’t know if he was a savior or a serial killer. If my luck stayed true to form, it was the latter.
I pounded on my chest and grumbled, “You scared the shit out of me.”
He stepped back and ran his eyes over me, stopping on the blood smeared across my skin and clothing. “I called your name.”
I should’ve heard him. Because I always flinched or cringed when someone said my name out loud, let alone called it loudly through the building. It never failed to amuse me that while I loathed my silly first name, he’d willingly given himself a similarly ridiculous nickname. Lucky and Risky. We sounded like two labrador retrievers that some lenient parents had allowed their kids to name.
I gulped and looked back toward the darkened valley. “Sorry. I was distracted.” I cleared my throat and moved to clean myself up. “Good job with the generator. I didn’t think you were going to get it running without help.”
It had taken longer than it should have, but it was the first task he’d completed without my assistance.
Asking where he had come from and what he really did for a living always hovered on the tip of my tongue. I never let the questions pass my lips.
They said ignorance was bliss, and in this instance, it was true. Something in my gut told me the less I knew about the man standing across from me, the better off we’d both be. If it wasn’t within the basic background check I had run when I hired him, or something that popped up with a quick internet search, I preferred it to stay none of my business.
I knew he was thirty-three and a Leo. He had been born in the Midwest and moved around a lot, if his credit report was to be believed. The last address he had listed was in California. However, he didn’t give off sun-and-fun vibes at all, even though he tried. All his listed employers were companies and corporations I’d never heard of, but the only reference he had given was a woman named Karsen Booker. She spoke glowingly of my new employee but offered little personal insight. She said he was capable and wouldn’t rest until whatever job he was working on was complete. I’d felt like I had the basics covered and my guests wouldn’t have to worry a criminal was pretending to fix the place up.
Risky’s broad shoulders lifted in a lazy shrug. “I found the instruction manual.”
The generator was new. It was a top priority to update when I came back, but this was the first time I’d had to use it. Chances were, I would’ve needed to bust out the manual to get it going as well.
Realizing he’d had to walk across the property from the large garage where the generator was—as well as where my grandfather’s old tractor, the Bobcat, and my truck were parked—I lurched forward and grabbed his rock-solid forearm while demanding, “Did you see someone down by the river just now?” I felt his muscles flex under my fingers.
He gently shook me off of him, his unusual-colored eyes narrowing as he grunted, “No.”
He didn’t elaborate. He never did. Usually, I appreciated not having to entertain him or force any type of false camaraderie. Tonight, I found it annoying as hell.
“I thought I saw someone. It looked like two people.” I shook my head. “Probably just my imagination.”
Risky turned his head and looked to where I had just been leaning over the railing. “It’s pitch-black out here. How could you see anything?”
I hummed in agreement, silently telling myself that opening one of the expensive bottles of wine wouldn’t hurt anything. I felt like I’d earned it after wearing my customer-service smile all night and working overtime to convince myself I wasn’t seeing things in the dark.
I waved Risky off when he offered to help clean the kitchen now that there was light. I wanted to jokingly ask him if he had ever mopped before, but if he answered no in his careless and unserious way, I didn’t think I’d be able to keep my curiosity at bay.
My sense of self-preservation wasn’t as strong as it normally was because my mind was occupied by other things.
I told him I would text him a list of what he needed to work on tomorrow, and we bid each other a stiff good night as he headed toward the foyer that served as the lobby. Common pleasantries always felt so awkward with him. It was like he was a golden retriever pretending to be a human and really sucking at it. I got the sense his goofy, incompetent attitude was a smoke screen for his real personality, which he kept firmly on lockdown.
Risky never made it out the door. Just as he was about to pull the heavy wood panel open, a furious knocking filled the large entryway. It was late. Considering this was a legendary vacation spot, it wasn’t unheard of that a lost tourist showed up in the middle of the night, seeking directions or a room for the night. Risky turned to look at me with a raised eyebrow, questioning without words if he should answer the door.
I nodded and moved closer to him in case he scared whoever was on the other side.
There was no need for a welcome wagon. The visitor opened the door like she had a hundred times before and rushed past Risky like he wasn’t even standing there. The woman who stormed into the lobby had her arms full of a screaming baby and hysterical tears running down her pretty face.
Without a hello, she sobbed, “He’s cheating on me, Lucky.”
The baby was shoved into my arms as my childhood best friend collapsed at my feet like she was boneless. Risky gave me a questioning look. I waved him off, and he took himself out the door. Once he was gone, I tried to shush both Banner and her little girl. I didn’t want to give the cranky girlfriend at the end of the hall, who was ready to bolt, another reason to complain about her stay.
Banner Gray and I had been besties since middle school. Her parents owned and operated a diner in town. Her family had lived in Blue River for generations. They were tried-and-true mountain folks, just like my grandparents. She came from the type of family I’d always idolized when I was growing up. Her parents were normal and treated her and her siblings like they were the most important things in the world to them. I’d spent plenty of weekends at her house, soaking up the homey feelings.
She and I grew apart when I left for college. Mostly because she was the one who always wanted to leave small-town life behind, and I was the one who actually did it. I never would’ve moved to Denver for college if my grandfather hadn’t made a degree in hospitality management a prerequisite for claiming my inheritance when the time came. In hindsight, I was incredibly grateful for the push. As soon as I moved back home, Banner and I quickly reconciled and put any hard feelings behind us. She was the only one who had welcomed me home.
Things had changed drastically for both of us.
She had a baby now and was married to a guy who was a junior partner at a law firm in Denver. I’d never met her husband. He was a weekend warrior—a guy who worked several hours away and commuted to Blue River on the weekend, only when the weather permitted it. I knew Banner had been trying to convince him to bring her and their little girl, Rosie, to live with him in the city ever since she’d given birth. He always talked her out of it, saying it was too expensive, and it was easier for her to stay near her family to help with the baby. He wanted to focus on making partner at his firm before relocating her away from her family. Apparently, he had another reason for keeping her in Blue River while he stayed in the city.
I rocked the baby to calm her down and urged Banner to move to the kitchen. It was tricky, balancing the tiny, swaddled body and avoiding getting bloody fingerprints on her. Thank goodness the lights were on when they arrived. Banner would’ve broken her neck with the way she was stumbling over her feet and flopping around. I juggled the soft bundle while I ran water over my cut and wrapped it in a clean paper towel. The bleeding had slowed to a trickle. It wasn’t very deep, but it was right on the bend in my hand, which was going to be a pain in the ass as it healed.
“You were driving in this condition?”
She looked at me with watery red eyes and started to cry even harder at my question. I shook my head and patted the baby’s butt. I wasn’t great with kids, but Rosie was pretty easy. She was only freaked out because her mom was such a wreck.
“That’s dangerous, Banner. Did you come all the way from the city?”
She nodded, grabbing a nearby dish towel to wipe her face. “Our anniversary is tomorrow. Grant was supposed to come home, but he canceled at the last minute. He said he had to work. I thought I would go to his condo with Rosie and surprise him.” She sniffed loudly and stared at her fussy daughter. “I got us both dressed up and prepared everything to make his favorite meal. I thought we could have a romantic night together and I could convince him it was time for us to be together as a family full time. I don’t care about the money. I can go back to work when Rosie gets a little older.”
She let out an ugly-sounding laugh and heaved a shaky breath. “I didn’t even make it in through the front door before I saw a pair of heels that weren’t mine in the entryway.” Her head dropped, and her dark brown hair covered her pale face. “He wasn’t just cheating. He lives there with another woman.”
I blinked in shock and looked down at the baby in my arms, who had finally stopped screaming. Rosie watched me with her wide, innocent eyes, and I felt my heart drop to my feet.
“You stay at that condo with him when you go down there, don’t you? How have you never noticed another woman’s stuff being there?”
I was baffled, to the point that I couldn’t be as comforting as she needed me to be. You would have to be blind to not see signs that clear.
“We usually stay with Grant’s parents so they can see Rosie. And the few times he took me to the condo, I was never there for very long and only to spend the night. If I did notice something that I didn’t recall leaving there, he would tell me that his sister had left it when she was over.” She started sobbing again. Her shoulders violently shook, and her breath was choppy and uneven. “His entire family lied to me. Everyone covered for him.”
I couldn’t imagine how badly that sort of betrayal must hurt. The best thing about having flighty, uninterested parents was the perpetually low expectations I had for the people who were supposed to love me. That wasn’t the case for Banner. She had grown up surrounded by love and affection. Her parents and grandparents had healthy, balanced relationships. The types everyone would happily wish to emulate. I doubted it’d ever occurred to her that the person she chose to give her heart to could break it without a second thought.
“I’m so sorry. You deserved better than that from all of them. Especially Grant.”
She shook her head and turned to the freezer so she could dig out a handful of ice cubes. She wrapped them in a wet towel and placed it over her swollen eyes after she tilted her head back.
“My mom warned me not to marry him. My brother told me to stay away from guys who didn’t want to live in Blue River year-round. None of my friends liked him. A couple of them even told me they felt like he treated them like they were inferior.” She laughed again, but it sounded like a part of her was dying. “I should’ve asked more questions. Been more persistent. I allowed him to live a separate life because I was too afraid of losing him. I love him, Lucky.”
I sighed and made a goofy face at the baby. “I’m relieved nothing happened on your drive up here with this weather. It was nasty.” I cocked my head and asked, “Why did you come here and not go home? I mean, you’re always welcome, but I bet your mom can give you better advice in a situation like this than I can.”
I’d never been in love before, and I was used to being disappointed.
Banner peeked from behind the makeshift ice pack. “I knew you wouldn’t tell me I told you so . And Grant won’t look for me here. If he even bothers. He didn’t seem all that interested in reconciling. He didn’t even try to stop me from leaving the condo.”
“What a dickhead.” I shifted so I could wrap my free arm around her shoulders and give her a hug. I knocked the side of our heads together and told her, “Don’t worry. You can hide out here as long as you need. I’ll kick him off the side of the mountain if he shows up to bother you.”
Banner laughed and finally collected her daughter. She kissed the baby on her cheeks and whispered a tearful apology when she saw I was working with one hand. I asked her if she wanted to stay with me in the converted basement that served as my home, or if she wanted to set up in one of the empty cabins so she could have some privacy. I was a bit surprised when she picked one of the cabins instead of crashing with me since she didn’t want to go home to her empty condo. I was taken aback that she wanted to be alone while being so upset.
She followed me outside and across the property to one of the A-frame units, which were a far cry from my personal space that occupied the entire lower level of the lodge.
My granddad had built the basement into a private residence as a surprise for me before he passed away. He knew my dream was to come back and take over the day-to-day operations of the lodge for him. He wanted to make sure the transition was as smooth as possible and ensure I had a way to separate my work and personal life. When I first returned, I felt so terrible about the state of disrepair the property had fallen into; I lived in the oldest cabin while I worked to make everything livable again, which was where I’d stashed Risky ever since bringing him home. I felt like I didn’t deserve the pristine area my grandparents had left for me.
Now, I’d fully made the place home . It was somewhere I never planned on leaving.
I hung out in the cabin until after Banner got Rosie to sleep, and I bullied her into taking a shower. We sat with on the queen-size bed and whispered reassurances quietly in the dark. I let her vent and cry. I assured her everything would work out. She wasn’t the first woman who’d been cheated on by an enormous loser, and she wouldn’t be the last. We reminisced about the past and our teenage high jinks to lighten the mood, and I agreed with her when she wandered off-topic and started listing all the reasons my new handyman was the most attractive man she’d ever seen.
When the conversation died down and I could tell she was starting to overthink again, I blurted out, “Did you see anything weird coming up the pass on your way here?”
The winding road gave glimpses of the river and valley around nearly every hairpin turn.
“What? No. I was focused on not driving over the edge. I could hardly see the road through my tears and the rain. Why?”
I shook my head and flopped down on the bed. I tossed my arm over my eyes and realized I was exhausted. “It was just one of those days where things went wrong, one after the other. The weather. The power went out. I have unhappy guests threatening to leave. My mom called and was her usual delightful self. I made a mess all over the living room. During the storm, I thought I saw something down by the river that freaked me out.” I heaved a deep sigh. “You know how it goes with me.”
Banner grasped my hand and locked our fingers together. I heard her quiet sniffle. “Your parents cursed you when they named you Lucky. It’s like the universe is always out to prove how ill-suited it is. I wonder if your life would have been completely different if they’d called you Jennifer or Jessica.”
“Maybe once this place is doing the kind of business it used to, I’ll look into legally changing it.” I’d always threatened to when I was younger, but never could go through with it when I was finally of age.
“Don’t. I like that you’re Lucky, even if you aren’t lucky. It makes you unforgettable.”
I laughed and squeezed her hand back.
I never asked to be unforgettable. All I wanted was to be like everyone else. I wanted a life that was calm and fulfilled by simple things. I wanted to make my grandparents proud and stop worrying about how everything was going to go wrong as soon as I touched it.
Unfortunately, like a dark spell hanging over my head, only one of those desires was bound to come to fruition.