Page 6 of Forbidden Mountain Man

“Do you have a view?” I asked, looking over at him.

He approached the couch with a bowl in each hand. I could see a spoon sticking out of the top of each one. He handed me one of the bowls and sat at the other end of the couch.

Immediately, I was aware of the distance between us. He was too far away.

“Yeah, I guess you can’t see it right now,” he said. “Hold on.”

He leaned forward and grabbed a large, square device with a screen on it from his coffee table. He tapped around on the screen, and suddenly the outside lights flipped on.

“Shut the front door,” I said as I stared at the scene in front of me.

It was a giant window, similar to the one at the bar and grill. But instead of overlooking ski slopes as the lodge did, this cabin overlooked some sort of waterway—maybe a pond, maybe a lake. On the other side of it was what looked like a snow-covered forest with trees as far as the eye could see.

“That’s why I picked this lot,” Lucas said, scooping a big spoonful of sundae into his mouth. When he swallowed, he looked toward the window and said, “It’s also why I’m careful about how we source our lumber for our projects. When people pick lots, I want to leave as many trees up as possible, and that’s not easy when you’re trying to get wood to build the cabins.

“Have you thought about taking some of the trees from the ski runs?” I asked. “I feel like they’re a safety hazard. It just takes one skier losing control and veering over toward the woods and…disaster.”

I was putting together the perfect bite of a blend of ice cream, chocolate, and caramel when I realized he’d stopped eating to stare at me. I backtracked, trying to figure out what I might have said that had him gaping.

“Your boss would never let that happen,” Lucas said. With a chuckle, he shook his head. “No way, no how. If he did, though, it would be for his own project.”

I slid a spoonful of ice cream into my mouth and stared at Lucas, trying to figure out what was going on here. His tone definitely changed when he mentioned my boss.

“You don’t like Alex?” I asked.

He narrowed his eyes again. This time, he seemed to be studying me.

“What makes you think that?” he asked.

“The way you were talking about him. I sensed a little…contempt.”

I paused before saying that last word. After I finished speaking, I wondered if it was too harsh. Contempt? My boss was a pretty likable guy, but he was cutthroat in business. From what I could tell in the brief time I’d known him, it had a lot to do with his dad starting the ski lodge decades ago. Alex was trying to keep the family business going, and it was a struggle every step of the way.

“I’m not really a businessman,” Lucas said. “I started building cabins for the love of it. I don’t need the money, but I want structure—something to look forward to each day. Since leaving the military, I’ve struggled to find that, but now…”

He didn’t finish that sentence. I waited to see if he would. With that brief monologue, I’d learned more about him than in any conversation we’d had so far. That wasn’t saying much, though.

“I do think my boss is too into his business,” I said.

Lucas was eating again. He had his attention on his food, but now he looked up at me and paused, seeming to think through what I’d said. Maybe I was digging too deep, but I wanted to know what made this guy tick.

“It’s not that,” he said. “I’m all about starting and running a business. It’s the fight for the almighty dollar at all costs.”

Now I was frowning. I didn’t know what that meant. He thought my boss was too greedy?

“Both your boss and that Brandon guy building the shopping center downtown seem to want to capitalize on the opportunity here,” Lucas said. “This town is about to see huge growth. I justwant to build some cabins. Although, I guess to outsiders I look pretty greedy myself.”

I was still frowning. “What do you mean?”

“I built a cabin on the strip coming up the mountain. The one with the sign advertising custom-built log homes.”

I sucked in a breath. “I know that building. That’s you?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “I guess that looks like I’m capitalizing too. The city said I couldn’t run my business out of here. I was perfectly fine to do just that. So I got my two guys, and we constructed what you see on the strip. It’s just a sales office, basically.”

“But you don’t have a salesperson working there,” I said. “I know because when I was looking for a job?—”

“You emailed me.” He lowered his bowl and stared at me as though seeing me for the first time. “You were working for the library, but they did away with your job.”

---