Page 2 of Brooding Mountain Man

It was just a few minutes before seven when my shift started, but if Christopher was MIA last night, I’d have a whole heck of a lot of work to do to make up for his absence.

In the meantime, this guy needed a room. We were booked solid, but we almost always had at least one no-show.

“Come on, and I’ll get you checked in,” I said.

I gestured for him to follow, but he didn’t budge. “Not necessary. I just needed one night. I’m meeting with the owner and heading back home.”

A surprising surge of disappointment washed over me. I didn’t want him to leave, but there was nothing I could do to keep him around.

“The restaurant’s that way.” I nodded toward the hallway that led in the direction of the lodge’s restaurant and bar. “But if you’d like to wash up, I could see if we have an empty room where you can hang for an hour or so.”

He reached up with his hand, running his fingers over his beard. “Do I look like I need to wash up?” He laughed. It wasn’t a real laugh—more of a brief chuckle. Somehow, he managed to do it without smiling. “I guess I’m out of practice with stuff like this. I’ve been doing my own thing for so long.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

He looked confused, and I considered backtracking. It was none of my business. I should just reemphasize the direction of the restaurant and get to work.

“What’s what?” he asked.

“Your own thing. What do you do exactly?”

“Lumber,” he said. “I own my own logging truck over in Lillyville. Things have gotten tough, though, now that a big crew has come in and taken all the work.

Wood. That made sense. My boss was building small chalets all around the lodge, and each required an outrageous amount of wood. He was looking to bring in his own guys to save money.

“I think you’ll be perfectly fine as you are,” I said.

I scanned the length of him, assessing the condition of his clothes. He looked like he’d walked in here like this, not slept on the sofa.

“By perfectly fine, I assume you mean your boss is so desperate for help, I could show up for the meeting naked and he’d be cool with it,” he said.

Warmth rushed to my face at the mention of him naked. I was suddenly picturing exactly that. I couldn’t help it. What would he look like below the waist? Probably thick and long, considering how big and tall he was.

“You okay?” he asked, lowering his head a little to look at me.

Uh-oh. I’d zoned out for a moment and my cheeks were probably bright red. Could he tell what I’d been thinking about? Oh, God. I’d be mortified.

“Fine,” I said. “Why don’t I show you to the restaurant? You can grab a cup of coffee before your meeting.”

Without waiting for his response, I turned and started toward the hallway that led to the restaurant. If he didn’t follow, I’d circle back around and hide out behind the desk.

Anything to shield what went through my mind when I looked at him. Right now, that was his hard-toned body withouta scrap of clothes on. It was an image that would probably live in my head for a while.

2

LUCKY

“I’ll do it.”

Those three words popped out of my mouth before I could stop them. I fully intended to say no to Alex Jewell’s offer, whatever it would be. It smacked of teamwork, and I was not a fan of teamwork.

We were seated in his small office near the elevators, him in his rolling desk chair and me in the guest chair in the corner. His desk was behind him.

But as much as I tried to focus on our conversation, all I could think about was that stunning, curvaceous woman from the lobby.Georgia. That had been on her name tag in big, bold letters. Her image had stayed in my head as I sipped coffee in the mostly empty restaurant. When Alex texted me to meet him in his office, I nearly jumped for joy.

Since when did I get this revved up over the prospect of seeing a woman again? It was definitely not like me.

“Awesome,” Alex said. “Work with Georgia to block off a room for you to stay in for the next few weeks. You’ll probably want to go home on weekends.”

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