Page 41 of Mountain Boss

I lift a hand and rub it over my chest.

It’s been two days. Two damn days, and already I can feel my resolve wavering.

Which is all the more reason to get Courtney out of here.

If she’s here for the full three months…

I won’t make it.

There’s no way I’ll keep my hands off my curvy little worker that long. So, tears or no tears, I need to continue keeping my distance.

Chapter 31

Courtney

On my hands and knees,I hunch my shoulders, then stretch them out like a cat.

It doesn’t help.

I still feel like I was rolled down a hill.

The plywood beneath my hands groans with the movement.

“Quit your bitching. I’m getting up.”

I crawl to the edge, then reach down with one foot until I find the top step of the mini ladder.

The steps did make it easier to get into bed last night, but this—I shift and reach my other foot down—is less easy.

When I fell asleep with pitiful tears on my pillow, I told myself I’d wake up feeling better.

I know the situation.

I can create a plan.

I can figure out a budget.

But when I get my feet on the floor. And I feel the throbbing in my shoulder from sleeping on it.

I accept that I don’t feel better today.

I slowly move my head side to side, willing the knot at the base of my neck to go away.

Maybe a hot shower will help.

I could take one nowandone tonight. Really indulge.

Knowing I have time, since I never changed my alarm from the first day, I brush my teeth and gather an outfit for today—jeans and a worn-in crew neck sweatshirt.

I’ll have coffee in the Food Hall, but I quickly scoop a spoonful of peanut butter out of the jar and shove it in my mouth before opening the door.

My foot halts over the top step.

The clipboard.

With my mouth glued shut, I glance around, eyes lingering on the view I have of Mr. Black’s front patio. But I don’t see anyone.

Picking up the clipboard I left in the Food Hall at the end of the day, I see a new sheet has been added, andCostcois written across the top.

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