Page 77 of Mountain Boss

I also found out that the past week without guests is a bit of an abnormality this time of year. But it was planned to accommodate theswitchoverfrom Marty to me.

It makes sense, but also, if Sterling was concerned enough about the new maintenance person, then it seems like he would’ve spent more time—any time—walking me through the position and what was expected.

Sighing, I plop down on the top step of my cabin.

I’ve been pacing around for the last twenty minutes, waiting for these people to arrive, but it’s not helping me to calm down.

I don’t even know why I’m nervous. My job, according to the new sheet I found sitting next to Big Joe, is tostay away from the guestsand tomake the bedsandclean the bathrooms and kitchenetteswhile theguests are out of the cabins—doing whatever they do between one and four.

I reach into the thigh pocket of my cargo pants and let my fingers trace the button on my new flashlight. Which was the other thing sitting next to the coffee machine this morning. And another reminder of my run-in with Sterling, and a real live fucking bear last night.

The metal is cool on my palm when I grip the flashlight.

When he told me he needed me to survive…

I pull the flashlight out of my pocket so I can look at it again.

I wanted to tell him that surviving is all I’ve been doing.

And I’m sick of it.

I want to do more than that.

I depress the button with my thumb and shine the light onto my opposite palm. It’s so bright I can see the beam even in the daylight.

I turn the flashlight off.

One of these days, I’ll get there.

One of these days, I’ll thrive.

I humas I pull the blankets up to my chin.

Today was… anticlimactic.

The six men arrived over a period of two hours in four vehicles. Leon and Simpson are the guides for their outing, so they were the ones to greet and settle the guests in.

Everyone else just went about their day, and I went back to work on my list of things to fix—spending my afternoon tightening a couple of railings and replacing burned-out bulbs.

But after the bear and what felt like a near kiss from last night, I’m okay with boring.

Closing my eyes, I shimmy my shoulders against the new, ridiculously comfortable mattress.

And in what has become my nightly norm, my mind goes to Sterling.

I still don’t understand what’s going on there—between me and him. But there’s been a change.

From moment one, he was hot and cold. But it’s like the thermostat has been set to high, and then someone broke the switch. Causing the heat to build with every interaction.

And I can’t ignore it.

Can’t ignore him.

Can’t ignore the way my body reacts to his nearness.

But I can’t let myself forget he’s my boss.

That he’s my employer.

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