Chapter 3 #2
Whenever the original Cages had founded the place, not that I wanted to know too much about that family history, they had taken the environment into consideration.
Much like the current Cages, to be fair.
The resort was off to the east and was the main draw of tourists to the area.
There were homes along the resort where many of our employees lived, and it was surrounded by forests, and the large mountain of Champagne Peak.
The place was known for its rolling hills and great skiing and snowboarding.
I didn’t do either one of those often anymore.
Mostly because I didn’t think my knees could handle it.
But there was a spa, and enough conference space that people could have weddings, events, and other types of conferences. And if I had my way, the Cages would allow me to do even more with it.
Hikers could go through any one of the numerous trails that began and ended at the resort, and we worked with the local authorities and rangers to keep everybody safe.
I loved my job. I loved the views, the history, and working with countless little pieces to ensure that everything did what it was supposed to do.
Life didn’t work out the way it needed to. And my personal life clearly didn’t. So having my professional life succeed was the only thing that mattered, which meant I needed to get the Cages on board.
As manager, I wanted to upgrade Cage Resort.
People loved the place already and came out in droves.
However, I thought we could do better. There were a few upgrades that I wanted to do on the structure itself, a few housekeeping items, and I wanted to do a decent social media push for weddings and other high class events.
I had been working on a plan for months, and I knew if I just asked, they would probably let me. The Cages were nice, at least some of them, and they wanted the place to succeed.
I just knew that the family was going through its own issues recently, with the whole secret family thing, so asking them before hadn’t seen prudent.
I pulled into my parking space and made my way into the resort offices, speaking with my night crew team members one by one, as I said the goodbyes for the day.
I was usually the first one there for my shift, and the last one to leave.
But I was the boss, at least right below the Cages, so that was what I was supposed to do.
While I was the manager of the resort, I didn’t have the final say in things. That was Cage Enterprises. Flynn used to be the one who would come to town to work on any businesses that the Cages owned, which happened to be the majority of them.
Hence why they even had their name in most of the businesses.
The coffee place was named The Cage Bean. The bakery, Rise and Cage. The diner, Cage Free. And my favorite, the Italian restaurant, Cage Italiano. The latter made zero sense, and the recent crop of Cages hadn’t named any of them, but it still made my eyes roll to the back of my head.
When Hudson had moved to town after getting out of the military, or whatever else he had done, everybody thought he would be the one to take over for Flynn so they wouldn’t have to continually drive through the mountain pass.
Only that hadn’t happened.
Hudson wanted nothing to do with us. Fine by me.
Dealing with that bearded growly man near my home and around town was enough.
But then he’d stepped in a few times for Flynn, until Isabella had taken over.
She had married Weston, a local, and now lived here half of the year.
Meaning when Isabella was down in Denver, and Flynn couldn’t make it up, we still had to deal with Hudson.
That was fine. I’m an adult. And I didn’t need to think of him. I hated the fact that I kept thinking of him however. I refused to be weak. I refused to let anyone see that I could be.
He had seen me at my weakest.
Just like my mother.
I pushed those thoughts from my head and went to work. Cage Lake and its resort was going to shine, and I was going to make it happen.
By the time I was done for the day, I was exhausted, and my feet hurt. I probably should be wearing more sensible shoes, and I did so when I was outside, but I liked my heels. I liked the way they made me feel, the way they made me look.
I liked that Hudson hated them. Not that I had seen him today and I wasn’t going to be too relieved about that.
I drove the winding road home, darkness settling in, and pulled into my garage.
I loved my home, as small as it was. I didn’t live where the majority of people did in town, but I had my silence, and my alone time.
I had three locks on each door, because being a woman alone wasn’t easy. I needed to be safe.
I changed into comfortable clothes, reheated my dinner from leftovers thanks to Luna, and settled onto the back deck, letting the sound of nature sink into my pores.
Off in the distance I saw a light, and smiled, knowing that Hudson was probably in his studio back there.
I wiped the smile from my face. Why did I have to know that? And why did he have to be my neighbor.
I sighed, and took another bite, before the sound of footsteps echoed through my backyard. I froze and reached for my dinner knife.
“I wouldn’t do that. Hello, Scarlett.”
I whirled, knife in hand, my plate shattering to the ground. Another dish in one day. I was going for a record. But as my ex stepped into the light, I couldn’t care.
I swallowed hard, my hand surprisingly steady as I held it out in front of me. “What are you doing here?”
“Is there a reason that you’re holding a knife at me?” Ronin asked.
My pulse raced—just the idea of him nearly sending me into a pure panic. I hated the fact that he could do this to me. “Get off my property.”
“I just want to talk, Scarlett. We ended things on bad terms. And I need you to get my side of the story.”
Of course that’s what Ronin wanted. Or at least said he wanted. Because he would never be the villain, only the victim in his own story. “There is no your side of the story. You hit me.”
He sighed, giving me those sweet puppy dog eyes that I might have fallen for once, but now could only see the lies beneath. “It was an accident. I was angry. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”
“You hit me. And it’s never happening again. Now go away.”
“And you think threatening me with a little steak knife is going to help you?”
“I don’t care. Just go.” Bile coated my tongue, and my hand began to shake.
His gaze caught the movement and his lips twitched. “Do you even know what to do with that, Scarlett?”
Lifting my chin, I tried for the strength I knew I needed to maintain even if it were only veneer. “Just come closer and see.”
“Okay then.” I should have stayed silent. I should have done anything. But instead he took a step forward, and I swiped out, knowing it was no use. Ronin used to box and then went into MMA. Not the legal stuff. Not the things that were about passion and strength and showing your humanity.
No, it was about beating someone brutally because you could.
He knocked the knife out of my hands and shoved at my shoulder. “I just wanted to talk. Why do you make things so hard?”
Heart beating rapidly in my chest, I lifted my knee and slammed it into his balls. He staggered back, cupping himself, even as he shouted. I ran inside, closed the door, and locked all three locks, tears sliding down my cheeks.
“I just wanted to talk, Scarlett,” he shouted through the door.
And I stood there, my head pressed against the door, waiting for him to leave. And when he finally did, I sank onto my welcome mat, wondering why he wouldn’t leave me alone.
My phone buzzed on the counter where I had left it in a fog of exhaustion, and I reached up for it, hand shaking. I nearly knocked it to the ground before I caught it.
Hudson
Are you okay? I heard a shout.
I squeezed my eyes shut, blowing out my breath.
He had heard. I wasn’t alone.
I wasn’t alone.
Me
I’m fine. I just dropped a plate.
Hudson
Open your back door then.
Alarmed, I stood up, nearly fell down again, and looked out my kitchen window. Hudson stood there, staring at the mess I had left behind, and I wanted to curl into a ball and hide.
“I’m fine!” I called through the window.
Hudson turned to me and shook his head. “Are you sure?”
“Just go, okay?” He didn’t miss the crack in my voice.
He let out a breath and met my gaze through the window. “I need to see you. Just see you. Then I’ll go. Promise.”
I let out a breath, knowing he wouldn’t leave.
He would sit there and wait. Or worse, maybe he thought somebody was inside with me and wanted to help.
I didn’t want him to see me, but I was fine.
Ronin hadn’t pushed me hard enough to bruise.
At least I didn’t think so. And it wasn’t like the bruises would show up yet.
And doing something I knew I probably shouldn’t, but was the only thing I could do, I unlocked the door and slowly opened it. Hands fisted at his sides, he studied my face, before his gaze roamed over my body, as if checking for wounds. It wasn’t as if he was going to see them.
“Was he here?”
“He’s gone now,” I blurted. I hadn’t meant to say that. Hadn’t meant to think it.
“Do you want me to check the house?”
I froze, as I hadn’t thought of that or the full ramifications of Ronin being here, before I finally relaxed. “I’m fine. He’s not in the house. He was out on the deck, and I heard him leave.”
“Are you sure about that? I can check the property.”
“I can check my security cameras.” I cursed. “Which I should have done to begin with. Just like I should have called somebody when he first walked onto my porch. I should have had my phone near me. I didn’t think. I never think when it comes to him. And I hate it.”
“Scarlett. Don’t blame yourself. It’ll just piss me off.”
“People keep telling me not to put the blame on my shoulders, and yet, here we are.” I sighed. “And yes, pissing you off is something I never want to do.” Even I didn’t believe the sarcasm at that point and the look on Hudson’s face proved he didn’t either.
“If you’re sure you’re okay, I’m going to check around the property. And you should check the security cameras.” He paused, studied my face again. “And put ice on your shoulder.”
“How did you know?” I whispered, my voice breaking.
“He tore your shirt, Scar,” he whispered, before he leaned down and began to pick up the broken plate.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked, incredulous, ignoring the fact that Ronin had indeed torn my shirt and I hadn’t even noticed.
“Because somebody should. And I know you’ve got this on your own, but, as my family continues to tell me, you don’t have to.”
And with that, I knew I didn’t understand Hudson at all. But then again, I didn’t understand myself.
So I picked up my phone, went through the security cameras, and then went to get a broom.
I couldn’t sweep this away, couldn’t push it away, but I could at least help him clean up this mess.
Because it wasn’t as if he was going to let me do it on my own. At least not tonight.