Page 3 of Ms. Fortune
As I was passing by the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the deck and off into the mountain valley where the Blue River rushed below, a flash of lightning lit up the main floor of the lodge and reflected off the water. I stepped closer to the glass as something moving down by the water flickered in my peripheral vision. At first, I thought it was nothing more than a deer or some other wild animal stopping for a drink. When another lightning bolt split the sky, revealing a slight glimpse, I realized the shape was closer to something human. When I squinted against the darkness, I could make out what looked like a larger person carrying a smaller person on their back. I vaguely wondered why anyone would be out in this weather, and how they’d managed to get down to the river basin in the rain. This area was hard to traverse on a clear day. No one in their right mind should be next to the water in these conditions because there was no guarantee the river wouldn’t rise and flood the valley at a moment’s notice.
I broke a piece of chocolate off and shoved it in my mouth while pressing closer to the windows. I watched the shadowy figures struggle to the river’s edge with each lightningstrike, then gasped in shock when the bigger one dropped the smaller one off their back and directly into the moving water. Immediately, all the dessert ingredients in my hands fell to the floor, and I rushed to the door leading out onto the deck.
I didn’t know what I planned to do. I was too far away to see anything clearly, and it was impossible to get down to the river before the smaller figure was swept away by the flowing current. Belatedly, I paused with my hand on the door, realizing it wasn’t the smartest move to let whoever was down there know I’d witnessed the chilling and suspicious act.
Plus, it was dark and cloudy. With the rain, it was entirely possible I hadn’t seen what I thought I saw. I let my imagination run wild more often than not, and I was already picturing a scene from a scary movie before I caught sight of anything being amiss. Maybe my mind had been playing tricks on me to distract me from the unhappy guests and the fact that the power was still out.
I swore as I stomped on the marshmallows that fell out of my hands, causing the bag to pop open, sending them flying across the floor. I cursed again while I stooped over to clean the mess up in the dark. It took longer than it should’ve, and I smacked my head on the corner of a table trying to fish the last one out from where it’d landed.
While standing and rubbing the sore spot, I accidentally knocked over a lamp. The antique glass shade shattered, and the light bulb exploded into a million pieces. That disaster was much harder to tidy up when I could barely see what I was doing, and I cut my palm on a piece of broken glass.
It was a downward spiral of mishaps that had me ready to pull my hair out in frustration.
Just as I convinced myself that what I had seen out the window was nothing more than an illusion brought on by too much work and too little rest, and while I reminded myself thatI had actual problems that needed my attention, the lights in the lodge came back on, making the interior of the building glow like a spotlight. I knew good and well whoever was down in the valley could see me standing there, looking in their direction. I could no longer see out, but they most definitely could see in, and I might as well tattoo a bull’s eye on my forehead, indicating I had seen something I wasn’t intended to.
It appeared my useless maintenance worker had finally figured out how to do his job, but not until I had a knot on my forehead and a slice across my hand.
That was just my luck.
The lights popping on startled me enough that I dropped everything I’d just collected in my hands and lifted my bloody palm to cover my pounding heart. I stepped over the scattered mess and rushed from the kitchen out onto the massive deck that hung over the dark drop-off below. I put my hands on the railing and blinked against the rain as I peered down at the river that I could hear but not see clearly.
The storm seemed to be on the edge of clearing up. There was no more thunder or lightning, and the ominous cloud coverage had started to lift. The rain was still steady, but no longer falling in sheets that soaked everything in seconds.
I was on the verge of convincing myself I was making something out of nothing when a heavy hand fell on my shoulder and tugged me away from the slippery railing. I shouted in surprise and whirled around, ready to fight. The side of my balled-up fist landed dead center on a strong, wide chest covered in slightly damp flannel. A warm hand wrapped around the ineffective weapon and let it drop between us in a thoroughly humiliating manner.
I had no clue where Declan Risk had come from before I found him wandering along the pass that led to the lodge, his thumb stuck out like an old-fashioned hitchhiker. I’d initially stopped to tell him that no one would pick him up in theoffseason, and to warn him about the unpredictable weather. I still wasn’t certain how my good deed had ended up with me bringing the handsome man home and offering him a job. Especially when it became glaringly obvious he’d never had to repair anything or maintain the basics of a home.
He mostly kept to himself, was quick with a grin, and put in the work to come off low-key and unbothered. He happily took refuge in one of the cabins that was empty for the season, and only sought me out when he needed to ask what I wanted him to take care of for the day—or when he had to admit he had no idea how to fix whatever was broken. He definitely had themanportion of his job title covered. It was too bad thehandypart wasn’t even close.
I flexed the fingers of my dropped fist and narrowed my eyes as we stared at each other. He might look like a local on the surface in the worn flannel and faded jeans, both of which were wet and muddy. But there was something about him being dressed so casually that made it seem like he was wearing a costume. If I had to guess, I would bet money that whatever he wore in his real life differed greatly from his current wardrobe.
I thought the same thing about his face.
The man who had told me to call himRiskywas distractingly handsome. He had a face that made me think of naughty things. It was the sort of face that made the few guests who crossed paths with him do a double take. It was the type of face one could easily imagine on a big screen or gracing the pages of a magazine. His features were a mix of strength and softness in perfect proportions. His jaw was chiseled and looked extra fine, covered with dark stubble. His nose was sharp and straight, giving him an almost-regal appearance. But his eyes were bright and warm. They were the color of weak tea mixed with honey. It felt like they were lit from within and glowed with an unnatural light. He also had nice eyebrows. They looked well-groomed andshaped to specifically fit his face. They made him appear less intimidating—since the rest of his features were exactly that.
I secretly thought he made it a point to appear approachable. And the more time I spent with him, the clearer it became that he was putting up a facade. He wasn’t as happy-go-lucky as he tried to appear.
I didn’t know if he was a savior or a serial killer. If my luck stayed true to form, it was the latter.
I pounded on my chest and grumbled, “You scared the shit out of me.”
He stepped back and ran his eyes over me, stopping on the blood smeared across my skin and clothing. “I called your name.”
I should’ve heard him. Because I always flinched or cringed when someone said my name out loud, let alone called it loudly through the building. It never failed to amuse me that while I loathed my silly first name, he’d willingly given himself a similarly ridiculous nickname. Lucky and Risky. We sounded like two labrador retrievers that some lenient parents had allowed their kids to name.
I gulped and looked back toward the darkened valley. “Sorry. I was distracted.” I cleared my throat and moved to clean myself up. “Good job with the generator. I didn’t think you were going to get it running without help.”
It had taken longer than it should have, but it was the first task he’d completed without my assistance.
Asking where he had come from and what hereallydid for a living always hovered on the tip of my tongue. I never let the questions pass my lips.
They said ignorance was bliss, and in this instance, it was true. Something in my gut told me the less I knew about the man standing across from me, the better off we’d both be. If it wasn’t within the basic background check I had run when I hiredhim, or something that popped up with a quick internet search, I preferred it to stay none of my business.
I knew he was thirty-three and a Leo. He had been born in the Midwest and moved around a lot, if his credit report was to be believed. The last address he had listed was in California. However, he didn’t give off sun-and-fun vibes at all, even though he tried. All his listed employers were companies and corporations I’d never heard of, but the only reference he had given was a woman named Karsen Booker. She spoke glowingly of my new employee but offered little personal insight. She said he was capable and wouldn’t rest until whatever job he was working on was complete. I’d felt like I had the basics covered and my guests wouldn’t have to worry a criminal was pretending to fix the place up.
Risky’s broad shoulders lifted in a lazy shrug. “I found the instruction manual.”
The generator was new. It was a top priority to update when I came back, but this was the first time I’d had to use it. Chances were, I would’ve needed to bust out the manual to get it going as well.
