Page 2 of Beauty and the Beard

He pushes off the bed and heads towards the door.

“They had a marathon last week. It was interesting.”

Roman grabs his coat off the rack by my door and turns to me, his arms open for a hug. I step into my friend’s embrace with a smile.

“I promise I’ll be back—in one piece—before you know it.”

“I love you, Sash. Let me know once you’re there safe.”

“I will as soon as I can. I love you, too.”

I kiss his cheek, and he squeezes me back before leaving with a wave.

After the door clicks behind Roman, I turn my deadbolt. A quick glance at the clock confirms I don’t have that much time left to finish packing and get to the airport.

But even knowing I’m on a time crunch, I have to google black bears.

Then I gasp.

Damn Roman and his wildlife shows.

The flight was smooth and my town car pick up at the airport was very comfortable. I used the two-hour car ride to text Roman that I’d landed safely and slug back theStarbuckslatte I snagged in the airport before my ride arrived to take me on the next leg of my journey.

We drove out of the city of Montreal, through farmland and gorgeous backdrops any painter would flock to for inspiration. Vineyards rolled past and my excitement grew. There was already so much to see and explore and I hadn’t even arrived at the lodge yet.

My driver pulled into a very run-down service station and parked. He sent a text on his phone before turning back to me.

“This is where I leave you to your next driver. I’ll grab your luggage.”

Following the driver out of the car, I scan the lot for another town car. Perhaps there’s a limit on how far he can take a fare and he needs to pass me off to another company.

“Will the wait be long?” I ask, since the only other vehicle in the parking lot is a rusty oldToyota Corollaand a giant yellow school bus.

My driver cocks his head, like maybe I’d missed a very important piece of information.

“You’re going to Maple Mountain Lodge, right?”

“That’s right.”

He hefts my luggage and walks towards the bus. The bus door swings open with a squeak and he passes my bags to someone inside.

“This bus takes you the rest of the way.”

Sweat breaks on my brow. Confession: I’ve never been on a bus - not for school or even public transit. School buses are creepy and city buses are full of… justick. And don’t even get me started on subways. Mass public transportation is not for me.

“Uh, how much farther is it?”

A grey-haired man pokes his head out from the bus and motions me to come inside.

“You must be Solomon Montpellier.” He extends a hand when I’m within range. “The name is Pete, and I’ll be taking you the rest of the way.”

Taking his hand, I shake it, perhaps with a grip of more fear than welcome.

“Please call me Sasha. Nobody calls me Solomon.”

His warm smile calms me as he motions to the back of the bus.

“Sure thing, Sasha. Pick a seat and we’ll get rolling. It’s thirty minutes up a country side road to the lodge. The fancy cars don’t like to drive it. That’s why we have a bus.”

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