Page 22 of Ms. Fortune
“You’d be surprised what kind of threat a kid who knows their way around a gaming system and some basic programming can be. Is there anyone else on the payroll?”
“A childhood friend. I’m not paying her, but she shows up now and then to lend a hand. I’ve known her forever. She’s got her hands full with a new baby. I can’t see Banner sulking around to sabotage the property.” Frankly, I didn’t think she was savvy enough to pull off any of the oddball things happening around here.
“People change over time. It’s good to make sure you aren’t looking at anyone, especially those closest to you, through rose-colored glasses. I’m going to take those names and the information for anyone else you hire and run background checks on them. I can get deeper and find things they don’t want anyone to find.”
He gave Risky a bland look. “I can vouch for Risk. I already know his deep, dark secrets. If he tells me he wants to help you out and find whoever is behind all these accidents, I believe him. If he wasn’t hell-bent on staying retired, he could pull the nitty-gritty background info as well. He used to handle digging into people’s lives and secrets like it was child’s play.”
Risky snorted and narrowed his eyes at his friend. “Now I drive a skid loader and build patio furniture. Guess which job doesn’t keep me up at night.”
Curious to hear more about Risky’s past from someone else, I asked, “You mentioned you know each other through work. Do you know his previous employer as well?”
He gave an exaggerated shudder. “Unfortunately. My cousin is married to the man Risk stepped in to replace. We’ve gota gnarly and sprawling family tree. Some of the branches just happen to spawn deadly fruit.”
I couldn’t come up with anything to match that. He was as well-spoken as he was scary. I was ready to drop the topic and take him inside the lodge to start his search. The sooner this chaos ended, the better.
As soon as we reached the massive, carved wood front door, my cell phone rang from the back pocket of my jeans. I opened the door and practically shoved Risky inside. My dad was the one calling, and I didn’t want anyone to overhear our conversation.
My mother was sarcastic and leaned into meanness when she didn’t get her way. My father had enough of his parents within him that he was softer and gentler with his modes of manipulation. It was easy to get angry and stay angry with my mom. My dad made it much harder. Whenever we had a big disagreement, I always ended up feeling like a bully. He always acted like I’d broken his heart with zero regard for the damage he and my mother had done to mine.
“Hi, Dad. I haven’t heard from you in a while. Is everything okay?”
He only called me when he was in trouble and needed me to bail him out. Or if he needed money.
I always gave him what he asked for. I figured it was what my grandparents would have wanted me to do. It didn’t matter that he and my mother had been left a sizable inheritance, or that they had blown through it in a matter of months. I was always the bigger person—because I had to be.
“Your mother told me she just talked to you. She said you’re still stubbornly working your life away, trying to renovate the lodge.” His voice was low and soothing. He rarely had any inflection in his tone. It took a lot to get a reaction out of him. The only thing he was ever concerned about was my mom.“Haven’t you grown out of those childish dreams of yours yet? That place is too old. Too isolated. It’s better to tear it down and take the paycheck. The land it’s on has always been worth a fortune. I don’t believe your granddad would want you to suffer in vain. The whole family wants better for you. You deserve a respite after everything that went down in Denver.”
I sighed and kicked a rock resting on the driveway and watched as it bounced its way toward the tire of the Bronco.
“Do you know what went down in Denver, Dad?”
I’d bet money he had no clue beyond whatever bits and pieces my mother had spoon-fed him. I’d spent weeks alone, terrified to step out of my house. I couldn’t leave town because there was a police investigation. The press was hounding me. Baker’s family did their best to make it known they wanted me to suffer as deeply as they were. I had no one to talk to. No one to lean on. There were days I cried until I made myself sick. There were nights I was so angry that I trashed my apartment in a rage. Not once did this man or his wife reach out to me for a check-in. My mother didn’t even answer the phone the one time I gave in to weakness and longing and called to hear a familiar voice. All I had gotten was a voicemail, saying she and my father were traveling somewhere in Arizona to stay in a desert yurt for a month and they wouldn’t have cell service or Wi-Fi.
“Not exactly. You’ve always managed to land yourself in deep water, which is why taking on the lodge isn’t a good idea. I don’t want you to get in over your head. Why not sell and take the money and travel the world? You can invest in finding yourself and becoming the best version of who you’re meant to be.”
I sighed, lifting my free hand to rub my forehead in aggravation. “I’m not the one who’s lost, Dad. And I don’t think money is the way to find the best version of myself.”
I didn’t have the time and leisure they did. My best self was buried under an avalanche of misfortune and submerged in asea of dissatisfaction. I had goals I needed to reach. There were dreams I wanted to chase. Most important was the happiness I longed to find.
“Don’t be so flippant, Lucky. Money makes life easier. It puts things in reach you can’t even imagine. The lodge was my parents’ pride and joy. It doesn’t have to be yours.”
I rolled my eyes and kicked another rock. I was sick and tired of having the same conversation. “When I find something I care about as much as this place, I’ll let both you and Mom know. Was there arealreason you called?”
His voice never rose or lowered, but I could tell he was disappointed in me. “I don’t need a reason to call my daughter.”
I swore under my breath and lifted my head to squint against the sun. “All right. If you don’t need anything, let’s talk later. I’ve got a bunch of projects going on so I can get ready for the high season. Once everything is done, you should bring Mom for a visit. I can show you how hard I’ve been working and prove I made the right decision.”
My father cleared his throat, and I could easily picture him looking sheepishly at the ground. “That won’t be possible. You know your mother and I don’t do well in the cold. I called to let you know we’re heading to Costa Rica in a few weeks. We’re planning on spending the summer there.”
I noticed he hadn’t extended an offer for me to join them or even suggest I visit. They never did.
“Sounds fun.”
He made a slight sound and paused before asking, “Would you mind wiring us a couple thousand dollars for the airfare? And maybe a bit extra for living expenses?”
I didn’t bother to ask where the money I’d sent them a couple of months ago went. Neither likely knew. They didn’t do things like track expenses and bank balances. All money might as well be Monopoly money in their hands.
“Yeah. I’ll go into town when I get a minute and send it out.” I glanced at the front door of the building, wondering what Risky and the tattooed giant were up to. It was rare I trusted anyone enough to give them the keys to my castle.
