Page 85 of Staying for You

“Thanks,” I grunt, pulling up a board and setting it behind me.

“Been here long?”

Who the hell is this guy and why isn’t he working? “Yup.”

“Not a big talker, huh?”

I sigh and stand up, brushing off my hands. “Listen. I’ve got a shit ton of work to do to get the resort ready. If you’re here to work, get to it. If you’re here to chitchat, I suggest you find a different job because this isn’t for you. I don’t know where you came from, but here we work hard or we get fired. I suggest you make a decision if you’re going to be a pussy who doesn’t know how to work like a man or…” I make a big show of pointing out my working hands and boots that are far from brand new, which means I won’t have blisters at the end of the day.

He gives me a strange look that highly resembles a sneer then his back as he walks away toward the rest of the guys who are actually working. David, the crew leader, smirks and I shrug, roll my eyes, and get back to work.

I’m not here to make friends. The last time I made friends with someone from The Escape, well… I won’t think about it now because I don’t want to break more boards.

It’s a warm day but not too hot. Perfect for finishing up the job that I’ve been putting off since Cami left. I never got around to staining the deck and the forecast calls for rain in a few days. If I get it done now, it’ll have plenty of time to dry before it rains.

“David, I’m heading up to the lodge if you guys need anything.”

He waves me off. “We’ll be fine. Even with the winter we had up here, everything looks pretty good to go. We’ll make sure you’re ready for the season and I’ll check in before we head out.”

“Sounds good.”

I make my way back up to the lodge, feeling eyes on my back. I know it’s the new guy. Pissed that I called him a pussy in front of all the men but I call things like I see them. And if he doesn’t want to be called a pussy, then he shouldn’t behave like one.

The last week, I’ve gotten more work done than I normally do in a month’s time. At night I’ve fallen asleep fitfully, despite how physically exhausted I was. Cami won’t return my calls or texts and I don’t blame her. Everywhere I look, though, I see her.

She was playful and fun and funnyand kind and about a million other things.

I’m working on the edge of the deck, about to start staining the stairs. Sweat’s dripping from my brow and stinging my eyes. I should have worn a cap today to prevent some of that. But I’m almost finished now. I’ll just power through it and finish so I can shower and get to town to run my long list of errands. I decided I’d build two more cabins this summer, which means I need to finish the other two first. Ethan and Olivia aren’t happy with me. They knew something was up when I hadn’t FaceTimed with Brody for a while so when they finally reached me and I gave them a quick rundown of what went down with Cami and then added on my plans for summer, they saw right through it. Fill my days with work and I’ll forget about everything else.

At this rate, I’ll have more new cabins than old. Fine by me. More cabins means more guests and no matter what, my vision for The Escape has and always will stay the same. Bring families together.

I hear my sliding door open and my head jerks up.

“What the fuck?”

The new guy who was down at the docks is walking across my freshly stained deck, leaving footprints as he marches toward me like he’s on a mission.

“I hear you spent a few weeks fucking someone else’s wife,” he says, leaning against the railing like he owns the place and has a right to be here.

“Not sure where you heard that, but s’far I know, I’ve never slept with a married woman.”

The air around him shifts as he tries to make himself appear larger than what he really is. “You don’t know shit then.”

“Care to fill me in here? And while you’re at it, stop moving around and ruining my fresh stain?”

He doesn’t even look down at his feet or acknowledge what he’s doing. In fact, if anything, he twists his feet around to ruin my work even more.

I stand up, realizing he’s here to be a dick and I’m in a shitty enough mood that I’ll gladly take on whatever he’s wanting to dish out.

“I’ll ask again. Care to fill me in here?” It’s clear I pissed him off somehow and he’s making sure I know it.

“Like I said, you’ve been fucking a married woman.”

“Don’t know how you know dick about my sex life,” I say, crossing my arms across my chest and planting my feet wide. This guy’s a tool. A scrawny piece of shit who’s got a chip on his shoulder.

“It’s my business when it’s my wife you’ve been fucking.”

“Guy, you’ve got the wrong man.” I move like I’m going to go back to working on the deck because I don’t have time for this.

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