Page 12 of Protective Mountain Man

All my excitement deflated as that realization hit me. Brock stilled, a big smile on his face. It was the biggest smile I’d seen from him yet.

I, meanwhile, was grappling with something that had me far from smiling. Oh shit. What had I done?

“I have to go.”

In one movement, I climbed off him, snatching up my clothes. I looked back at the door. Still nobody there. But what if my boss had peeked in? Or any of the customers? That angry couple with all the money and nowhere to stay, for instance. Or a co-worker. Someone on the cleaning crew or a kitchen staff member. That would really get me in hot water.

“Fuck.”

I said that word out loud. Finally remembering Brock was seated on the chair behind me, I turned, now mostly dressed, and looked at him.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I shouldn’t have done this here. It’s not you. I’m just…I suck at this adulting thing.”

“Adulting?” he asked.

“Yeah, that’s something people my age talk about when?—”

Crap, what was I doing? People my age? It wasn’t like he was fifty years older or something.

“I know what adulting means,” he said. “I just can’t figure out where it fits in here.”

“This job is supposed to be proof that I can do it on my own,” I said. “I’ve been really self-conscious about moving back in with my parents. And not being able to find a job has made it even tougher. And yeah, I know it’s only been three weeks, and this isn’t exactly my dream job, but if I can’t be professional here, how can I expect anyone to ever hire me? I don’t deserve it. I have to go.”

I didn’t wait for his response, just spinning on one heel and rushing toward the door, buttoning my pants as I went. I’d head straight to the ladies’ room—the one near the lobby, not the closest one, which was in the restaurant.

First, I needed to check my appearance before I ran into someone who could rat me out. And then I had to get back to my desk and act like the employee I was being paid to be.

8

BROCK

Ishould go after her. No, I should stay here. It wasn’t like there was much I could do. So I got all my clothes back into place and snuggled under the blanket, doing my damnedest to sleep.

It was useless. Hours ticked by and sunlight gradually began to filter in through the windows on the far wall of the pool area. Finally, when my phone said it was seven a.m., I climbed off the chair, folded up the blanket, and stacked it on top of the pillow, carrying all of it toward the lobby with me. If the road was open, I could get the hell out of here and head down to my shop to check in on things and shower and change.

But the big question was, what would I say to Porsha? I should at least speak to her on the way out, right? Maybe I could get her number and set up a time where we could chat later.

As I neared the lobby, it became clear that a private conversation wasn’t in the cards this morning. Whatever was going on, it involved a lot of people in that one space near the main door. Normally, I would have dropped the bedding and gotten the hell out of there, but now I was attached to the night clerk, and if she was involved, I couldn’t just breeze through.

“Someone’s getting me out of here.”

That voice was all too familiar. It was the man with a wallet full of cash. I braced myself as I rounded the corner to see that this was going to be a whole lot of drama.

I fucking hated drama.

“I’ll take you down the mountain personally,” Alex said. “Just let me talk to some of the other guests and figure out what everyone else needs.”

“You!”

The wife of the man demanding a ride had spotted me. She was standing next to him, still wearing her hair disheveled and a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her husband’s hair was pretty mussed too. Together, they both looked like they’d had a rough night. It was quite a contrast from the well-put-together, dripping-in-money look they presented last night.

I shifted my attention to Alex and asked, “The road’s open?”

Alex nodded, but he looked confused. “You’ve been here all night too?”

I scanned the lobby for signs of Porsha. Finally, my gaze landed on the desk and found no sign of her. Had she gotten fired? Shit, if Alex had somehow found out what we’d done last night and it cost Porsha her job, I’d never forgive myself.

“A driver was stuck at the roadside,” I said. “I was on my way down and stopped for coffee when I heard the road was closed. I had to bunk here for the night. No other choice.”

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