Page 17 of Ms. Fortune
“I was young and knew I needed to come back to Blue River as soon as possible. I was ready, especially after my granddad passed away. I wanted to go home. Baker was far more invested in our relationship than I was. I thought we were having fun and hanging out, but he didn’t want to let me go, and he refused to let me leave.” I sighed and dragged a hand down my face as awful memories started to swirl. “Every time I tried to go, he would threaten to do something drastic. He always claimed he would hurt himself or me. At first, the words were enough to make me hesitate, but when they stopped working, he turned to action. He would cut himself. He overdosed. He locked himself in a room with a loaded gun. His behavior got progressively worse, and the threats more extreme. I was stuck in Denver for far longer than I’d planned to be because I felt like I couldn’t leave him. I almost escaped several times, but each attempt ended terribly. I was convinced I was responsible for his well-being. I thought that him loving me was what made him so ill.”
I blew out a deep breath and tried to wrangle my out-of-control emotions. “Baker’s family played a part in me taking on all the blame. I let them convince me he had been fine before he met me. That wasn’t the case. He had a long history of mental illness and acting out against his partners. We played a pretty nasty battle in the press after the truth came out. There’s a lot of blood left from the fallout.”
Risky gave a low whistle and stepped back as the group with the family reunion started to wander into the dining room. They all flashed a dirty look in our direction but still helped themselves to the free food. I didn’t bother to ask for an update on their grandmother. It was best to let any communication surrounding that situation happen through the sheriff or a legal representative. I didn’t have the money to have a lawyer onretainer just yet, but I had a trick or two I could pull off if I were truly backed into a corner.
Risky put his hand on my shoulder, and I felt his fingers slide until they were resting on the back of my neck underneath my messy ponytail. He gave the sensitive spot a little squeeze that felt more than friendly and lowered his head until his lips touched the curve of my ear. The brush of his beard against my sensitive skin sent goose bumps racing across my body. His whispered words made that block of ice in the center of my chest melt even more.
“It’s better to be hated than it is to be loved. Making someone mad is a thousand times easier than making them happy. Why would anyone pick a nearly impossible task instead of a sure thing?”
Why, indeed?
“My parents told me they would watch the baby for a few hours. I think they’re worried about my mental state. It’ll be nice to get out of the house, and I’m sure you can use the help around here until you hire your seasonal staff.”
It felt like Banner was telling me I needed to put her to work to distract her from her failing marriage rather than asking me if I wanted free labor.
I nudged a mug of untouched tea closer to Banner and warned her, “There have been a lot of strange things happening around here lately, and you know how my luck goes. I’m a jinx. I don’t want you to walk into a situation that might be tricky on top of dealing with your soon-to-be ex-husband. Especially if you plan on working for free.”
Banner gave me a pleading look. There was no way I could remain firm under the onslaught of her big eyes that looked like they’d been crying for a year straight and the slight tremor in her hands. It was obvious she hadn’t been sleeping well and was under an immense amount of stress.
“I’ve gotta get out of my house, Lucky. My parents act like it’s no big deal to divorce Grant and move on with my life. They don’t understand how terrified I am that he’s going to do whatever he can to take Rosie from me. On paper, I’m a twenty-seven-year-old who lives in a condo her parent’s pay for and hasnever had a full-time job. If I go in front of a judge for custody, who knows what will happen? I can’t stop thinking about how I ended up in this position. Why was I so blind? Why did I think having a baby would make things better and bring our family closer together?” She sniffed while reaching for the rapidly cooling tea. “I need the distraction.”
“I’m not going to have very many guests for the next month. I’m prepping for the high season and finishing up all the construction that needs to be done. If you don’t mind grunt work with an occasional kitchen shift, you’re more than welcome to hang around for as long as you want. Your main responsibility can be helping me vet the seasonal staff when I start hiring in the next few days. I’ll give you the password to the computer up front, and you can check out their résumés and set up an interview schedule.”
Since she’d grown up helping in her family’s restaurant, she would have a better idea of what I needed when hiring solid food-and-beverage staff than I did. I wanted to build a team that was willing to return every season to take some of the headache out of the process. My grandparents’ staff had been like family when I was growing up. They had known more about me and done more for me than my parents ever had. I longed to re-create that same type of warm camaraderie and atmosphere.
“I’ll do whatever you want me to do as long as you don’t kick me out.” She made a face after taking a sip of the now-lukewarm tea. “What sort of strange things are happening? I heard a rumor that you’ve been butting heads with the sheriff again. Haven’t you outgrown being a pain in his ass?”
I snorted. She wasn’t in a position to pass judgment on my behavior now or then.
I had been reckless and rebellious, and she’d always been right beside me when I was up to no good. Even with being the best of friends when we had been teens, we probably would’venever reconnected if Banner hadn’t sought me out when I returned to Blue River. She was the only person from my hometown who hadn’t tracked me down to ask about Baker or automatically assumed I was at fault concerning his passing. She was the same sweet, bubbly girl I remembered from my youth, so I’d let my reinforced guard down and picked up the friendship right where we’d left off.
“The lodge has experienced some dangerous mishaps since I reopened. And there’s been an influx of difficult guests. And I’m not talking about people who are your typical handful. They’ve been the guests from hell. I’m sure the town gossip has been going feral over the grandmother I supposedly put in the hospital.”
Banner lifted her eyebrows and smirked behind the rim of the mug. “I might have heard a thing or two. I always wait to talk to you first before believing anything I hear through the rumor mill.” She gave me a pointed look. “People are bored in a tiny town like this. You’re the most interesting thing to happen around here in ages. Of course, everyone is focused on you.” She put her drink down, leaned on the counter with an exaggerated leer, and lowered her voice dramatically. “As well as that handyman of yours. Every time he takes a trip into town, all the tongues start wagging. And not just to talk. What’s his deal?”
I took the empty mugs to the sink and turned my back on her. “No deal. He was looking for a new job in a new place, and I was hiring.”
“So, it was fate.” Banner sounded dreamy and reminded me of when we had been teenagers, gushing over whatever guy was the heartthrob.
“It wasn’t fate. It was a happy accident. I doubt he’ll stick around Blue River for long. Everything about this place is too small for him.”
“Have you asked him how he ended up here? He doesn’t look like the type who’s interested in the leaves changing color or sampling fancy craft beer. And there is no way he’s a time-share type of guy. What else could’ve brought him to the mountains?”
I shrugged and kept my back to her. I didn’t want her to see the confusion on my face. I asked myself those same questions, but I didn’t dare pry into Risky’s life. It felt dangerous to know too much about the man.
“I’m sure he has his reasons. As long as he sticks around through this first rush, I don’t care about anything else.”
Banner giggled, causing me to turn my head and look at her over my shoulder. She wiggled her eyebrows at me and taunted in a teasing tone, “I think you care. You look at him the way the boys in high school used to look at you. I’ve never seen you have fuck-me eyes for anyone before. You usually treat the opposite sex like they’re a nuisance.”
I scowled at her and playfully tossed the dishrag in my hand into her face. “That’s because they are a nuisance.” I’d die before admitting that Risky might be the exception to that rule, even though he couldn’t handle a third of the things I asked him to do. “And I’ve never had fuck-me eyes.”
“You’re mistaken. If you could see yourself when you looked at him, you would know you don’t look at him the way you look at everyone else. You’re always so indifferent to everyone, but that guy matters to you. Even if it’s just a small fraction, that’s more than you feel for most.”
I wanted to say she was imagining things, but Banner knew me better than the average passerby. If she’d picked up on the weird energy between me and Risky that I couldn’t corral, there was no use denying something undefined was happening between the two of us.
“I like having him around. He’s proven himself to be helpful in a variety of ways. He seems immune to my luck. It’s nice to spend time around someone I can’t drag into the mire.”
Banner hopped off the barstool she had been sitting on and stepped next to me at the sink. She bumped her hip against mine and gave me a knowing look. “Aren’t you old enough to realize that you use common accidents that could happen to anyone as an excuse to keep people away? You’re so worried about being hurt by others because of the way your parents treated you that you’ll find any reason you can to stay alone and not let anyone in.”
