Cahpter 3
“This is so much work. Aren’t you tired?”
I glanced at a bleary-eyed Banner while I prepped a light breakfast for the guests. I figured I needed to make it extra special today to make amends for the rough evening they’d had to suffer through.
I shrugged and flipped a piece of French toast on the griddle. “During the offseason, it’s easy. When the ski season starts, I have to hire help. It should be pretty easy to find a couple of kids who won’t mind working for cheap for the season if I offer room and board. There’s an entire employee loft above the garage I can trade for labor.”
There was always a flood of seasonal help available when the weather shifted. I had grown up thinking I never needed to explore the world because every winter, the world came to me. Every year brought people from all over, and I never tired of learning about new cultures and hearing about places I’d only ever seen on a map.
I needed a couple of hands to keep the guests fed and manage the housekeeping. I wanted to build a bar on the deck and turn it into the ultimate winter wonderland with firepits and warm drinks that guests could enjoy on big Adirondack chairs. I also wanted to employ my very own winter sports instructor, so people coming to stay with me wouldn’t have to look anywhere else if they wanted to take skiing and snowboarding lessons. It’d been years since I’d frequented the slopes. Not that my skill level was where it needed to be to teach others. But for the offseason, I could mostly manage on my own. Some days were harder and so busy that I wanted to vomit by the end of them. I still preferred a bad day running the lodge to a great day doing anything else.
Banner held a bottle to Rosie’s mouth as she watched me hop around the kitchen. Her face was swollen from crying into the early hours of the morning, but most of the hysteria from the night before had faded. She even managed to eat a little bit from the plate I put in front of her. Her movements were on autopilot. It was obvious her thoughts were a million miles away.
Banner sighed and lowered her head to kiss Rosie on the forehead. “I don’t know why I’m surprised Grant didn’t bother to track me down. I stayed up all night, thinking he’d come pounding down the door, trying to explain himself.” She snorted and held the baby closer. “No wonder he thought he could carry on another relationship behind my back. I’m so stupid.” She sniffed, and I could see she was battling back tears.
I reached out to pat her lightly on the back. “You aren’t stupid. You’re in love. That always seems to make people blind. You saw what he wanted you to see. Your heart caused you to look past anything that might’ve been a red flag.”
I told her I needed to set up the breakfast bar for the guests and left her to mope in the kitchen. I was relieved Risky had gotten the generator running. If not, I would’ve had to drive to town and pick up emergency supplies, which would’ve cost a small fortune. I was breaking even with the lodge so far, but not turning the necessary profit. I’d had to put so much money into repairs and advertising after reopening; any cushion I’d had to fall back on had long been depleted. I wasn’t broke just yet, but that could change in the blink of an eye.
I greeted the cute couple from the deck last night and told them to help themselves. I wanted to ask if they’d noticed anything strange before making a run from the rain. The husband had had his camera pointed into the valley during the electrical storm. I wondered if there was even the slightest chance he’d captured something. I didn’t get the chance because, a moment later, the angry woman who had shut the door in my face, and her frustrated-looking companion, appeared and demanded I check them out early and refund their full stay.
A few more guests started to wander in, saying that everything smelled good while casting curious eyes at the angry couple. I ushered the disgruntled visitors toward the small alcove that operated as a front desk. I didn’t want their negativity to impact the people who were looking for a nice breakfast and hadn’t been bothered by the short power outage.
The woman kept grumbling about how this was the worst vacation she’d ever been on and how awful the accommodation was. She ranted about the quality of the room and bemoaned that there wasn’t twenty-four-hour room service. She insisted they’d been scammed and the website was misleading. The guy with her just shook his head apologetically and gave me a helpless look.
I plastered a pleasant smile on my face and sent a text to Risky, asking him to come and help the guests load up their car. I’d sent Dex—my teenage neighbor—home after the storm and told him to take the day off since he had been stuck at the lodge so late.
I scrolled through their reservation and lifted an eyebrow. “I’m happy to cancel the rest of your stay and remove last night’s charges from your bill. The power outage was an inconvenience for everyone, and I sincerely apologize. However”—I met the woman’s furious gaze with a placid one of my own—“there was nothing wrong with the other three days you stayed with us. I won’t be able to refund those without cause.”
The woman stomped her foot and practically leaned over the counter. “No way! The room was filthy. The food was awful. There was nothing to do here other than be outside and look at the scenery. This is the worst establishment I’ve ever seen, and I’ve traveled the world.”
She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
I turned my head and watched Risky come through the front door. He made his way over to stand next to me, his odd-colored eyes locked on the noisy woman. All it took was a single look, and the woman across from me went from rabid dog to docile puppy. The man she was with pulled her back toward him and audibly gulped.
There was no denying my not-so-handy-man had a certain presence about him. If I hadn’t known exactly how inept he was, I might have been as intimidated as the rest when he turned that pointed gaze on me as well.
“I’m personally taking care of housekeeping and food and beverage at the moment. I know for a fact that your room was spotless and that you only ate breakfast with us here at the lodge the last couple of days. You went into town for most of your meals. If the food sucked elsewhere, that’s not my problem.”
I tapped on the screen of the computer and let my smile turn sharp. “It says here the credit card used to book the room belongs to you, sir. Do you want to argue the refunds I’ve offered, or do you think they’re reasonable?”
“I, uh …” The man gulped again, his eyes fixed on Risky, who crossed his arms and copied the angry woman’s combative stance. “No. Refunding yesterday and the rest of our stay is fine. Thank you.”
“Jeremy! What are you doing?! We need to get all our money back.” The woman shifted her ire to her partner. “I told you I wanted to stay in that cute little town. I don’t know why you booked this stupid place.”
The man finally lost a bit of his temper and snapped, “You told me you wanted to stay in the mountains and have an authentic experience because that’s what your followers wanted . This place has rave reviews and is LITERALLY on a mountainside. If you wanted to stay in the city and pretend to visit the mountains, that’s what you should’ve said, Amber.”
I printed out a receipt for him to sign while they continued to argue. The woman left with the retort that she was going to leave the worst review she could think of on as many sites as she could find. Her words trailed off when Risky shifted his weight and silently urged them to move forward.
I chuckled as she swallowed her word mid-tirade and allowed herself to be herded out the door. I left notes in their reservation to never rebook them, and to expect a chargeback from the credit card company. Having disgruntled guests was nothing new. I remembered my grandmother doing her best to placate people for years, even allowing them to berate her for the weather conditions—like she’d had control of the snowfall year to year. My grandfather had preferred to keep a low profile. But just like Risky had done today, he never hesitated to move troublesome people along if they didn’t get the hint.
Everything about this lodge held cherished memories from my childhood. I would never let any outsider ruin that. A grumpy guest was part of the job and part of building my legacy here.
I checked on the guests still eating breakfast and refilled any items that were running low and needed refreshing. I offered the adventurous couple advice about nearby hiking and helped an older couple with directions to the nearest mountain that offered gondola rides to the top.
By the time I got back to the kitchen, Banner had put the baby to sleep and started to help with the pile of dishes I’d left in the sink. I hugged her neck and kissed her cheek in gratitude.
Banner finally laughed, even though it sounded forced and weak. I shoved my hands in the soapy water in the sink and grabbed the closest plate to scrub.
We tackled the chore in silence until Banner quietly asked, “Have you ever been in love?”
I stilled and shot her a surprised look out of the corner of my eye. “Why do you ask?”
“You said the heart tends to make you blind when you love someone. It sounded like you were speaking from experience. You never talk about what happened after you left for school. It’s like your life is a total blank from when you left Blue River until you returned.”
I paused, and my spine involuntarily stiffened. Like everyone, there were parts of my past I wasn’t proud of and definitely didn’t want to relive, regardless of how close Banner and I were. “Love is a word that gives me hives when I think about it.” I gave myself a shake to loosen the tension that had coiled around my whole body. “I’ve always tried to avoid it.”
Banner gasped and looked at me with wide eyes. “Seriously?”
I nudged her with my elbow and told her I would finish cleaning up. “My parents’ relationship made love something toxic and terrifying. I’ve always thought I would end up the same way if I fell for someone seriously since I’m a product of their obsession.” I convinced myself it was better for me to stay unattached and remain alone.
“But your grandparents had a lovely relationship. You spent more time with them than your mom and dad. Why do you assume you’ll end up like them instead of the couple who raised you and taught you everything you know?”
I shrugged and pulled the drain on the sink. “My grandparents feel like the exception, not the rule.” I gave her an explanation she would understand since she’d known me forever. “Plus, you know my luck.” I didn’t tell her I already knew how wrong things would go if I allowed even a hint of romance into my life.
“Don’t you worry that you’ll end up alone?” Banner pressed her hands to her cheeks. Her fingers were shaking, and there were fresh tears in her eyes. Whatever she’d used to pull herself together today was unraveling.
She had enough of her own emotional trauma. There was absolutely no need to delve into mine.
“How can I be alone when I live in a place that’s full of different people coming and going all the time? This is the life I’ve always wanted. This is what I dreamed of. This is enough.”
Banner picked up her sleeping daughter as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I wish I were happy with what I have and not greedy for more.”
I wiped the counters down and peeked into the dining room to see if the guests had left so I could clean up the breakfast bar. I had a whole list of things I needed to take care of and couldn’t spend the entire day comforting Banner, even if I wanted to.
“It’s not greedy to want your husband to put you first and remain loyal.” That was the bare minimum. “Do you want me to take you to your parents’ house for a little while? Or the offer to stay with Rosie in one of the cabins until you’re ready to face everything stands. I can make a run to your place and get what you both need for a few days if you aren’t ready to deal with anyone.”
Banner was silent until Rosie started fussing. She sighed and visibly pulled herself together. “I can’t avoid Grant or my problems forever. I have to face him eventually. I’m going to head to my parents for a bit. Thank you so much for taking me and Rosie in and taking such great care of us. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but I’m so happy you came home, Lucky. I missed you.”
I asked her if she was sure she was okay to make the drive down the pass. After she insisted they would be fine, I helped her pack Rosie up and sent them on their way. I was worried about my friend but knew there wasn’t much I could do since she was dealing with a broken heart. It was times like this I was thankful mine felt like it was encased in ice and steel. I didn’t have the time or energy to deal with fragile feelings.
Just as I was wrapping up getting the dining area and kitchen back to sparkling condition, Risky walked through the door. He rarely came to the main guest areas of the lodge unless I asked him to. I got the sense that he was happy to avoid unnecessary contact with people—and me.
I lifted a questioning eyebrow, and he pointed to his phone.
I smacked my forehead dramatically. I’d forgotten to send him his daily tasks.
“Sorry. I lost track of things after my friend showed up.”
He grinned like it was no big deal in response as I scrolled through my phone, looking for the never-ending to-do list I kept there.
“Do you know how to drive a skid loader? We need to get the driveway ready for when the weather changes. It needs to be graded, as well as all the parking in front of the lodge.”
It was a pretty big job, but mindless and easy to do if he could handle the equipment. Big if .
In his usual blasé manner, Risky shrugged and said, “I’ll figure it out.”
He always acted like there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do. He tried everything without asking for help. It would be admirable if it wasn’t so frustrating. Which was hilarious, considering I’d watched him mess up plunging a toilet and fail at changing the oil in my truck. He also had no clue how to change a tire or switch out a furnace filter. He’d never seen a fuse box before and nearly burned the place down when he tried to light the pilot on the water heater after it went out during a previous storm.
Maybe my mood was off because of Banner and her questions about how content or not I was with my current situation. For the first time since he had mysteriously entered my life, I found myself curious about the man who didn’t have any basic life skills, but could intimidate anyone with a mere look.
“What line of work gave you the confidence to do anything asked of you? I’ve never met anyone so blindly sure of themselves before.”
He gave me a flat look and lifted a hand to scratch at his rough stubble. Again, I thought the slight beard was something he wasn’t used to. Like he’d just recently let himself grow it, making him appear slightly unkempt and scruffy.
“Are you finally asking me for my qualifications after all this time? Seems a little late to worry about interviewing me for the job, Ms. Fortune.”
I scowled at the sarcastic way he’d used my name. Misfortune followed me everywhere, regardless of the circumstances. I was stuck with it until the end of time.
“I’m still surprised that someone who doesn’t know which end of the hammer to use wants to be a maintenance man. My guess is, whatever you did before coming here didn’t involve getting your hands dirty.”
Something dark flashed across his expression, and his eyes narrowed. “You would be mistaken.” He stretched his hand out and wiggled his fingers. “Give me the keys.”
Unsettled by the sudden change in his demeanor and the unspoken threat that seemed to swirl around him, I nervously stepped back and gestured to the desk where the check-in area was set up. “It’s a big, heavy machine. Don’t get in over your head. It can cause a lot of damage. If you want, I can show you how to operate it before you start.”
“No need. I think I’ll be fine.”
I snorted in amusement and looked at the enormous glass windows that needed to be cleaned after the rain. Vaguely, I wondered if the trail that led down to the riverbed was dry enough to use. When it was safe, I wanted to climb down and look at the spot where I swore I had seen something last night.
Risky spun the keys around his finger and headed to the door. He paused before pulling it open and gave me a long look full of thoughts and feelings I struggled to decipher.
“Believe it or not, my old job was also fixing things. But not in the sense you’re familiar with. Be glad you think everything only needs a little elbow grease and a toolbox to make it seem brand-new. That mindset is a luxury.”
I was left baffled and unnerved as I watched him saunter out the door, whistling off-key. I’d always known there was more to him than met the eye, but I pushed those niggling concerns to the back of my mind because they didn’t feel as pressing as my need for help to get the lodge up and running.
Now, my instincts were screaming at me to pay attention because danger was too close for comfort.