Page 5 of Ms. Fortune
She shook her head and turned to the freezer so she could dig out a handful of ice cubes. She wrapped them in a wet towel and placed it over her swollen eyes after she tilted her head back.
“My mom warned me not to marry him. My brother told me to stay away from guys who didn’t want to live in Blue River year-round. None of my friends liked him. A couple of them even told me they felt like he treated them like they were inferior.” She laughed again, but it sounded like a part of her was dying. “I should’ve asked more questions. Been more persistent. I allowed him to live a separate life because I was too afraid of losing him. I love him, Lucky.”
I sighed and made a goofy face at the baby. “I’m relieved nothing happened on your drive up here with this weather. It was nasty.” I cocked my head and asked, “Why did you come here and not go home? I mean, you’re always welcome, but I bet your mom can give you better advice in a situation like this than I can.”
I’d never been in love before, and I was used to being disappointed.
Banner peeked from behind the makeshift ice pack. “I knew you wouldn’t tell meI told you so. And Grant won’t look for me here. If he even bothers. He didn’t seem all that interested in reconciling. He didn’t even try to stop me from leaving the condo.”
“What a dickhead.” I shifted so I could wrap my free arm around her shoulders and give her a hug. I knocked the side of our heads together and told her, “Don’t worry. You can hide out here as long as you need. I’ll kick him off the side of the mountain if he shows up to bother you.”
Banner laughed and finally collected her daughter. She kissed the baby on her cheeks and whispered a tearful apology when she saw I was working with one hand. I asked her if she wanted to stay with me in the converted basement that served as my home, or if she wanted to set up in one of the empty cabins so she could have some privacy. I was a bit surprised when she picked one of the cabins instead of crashing with me since she didn’t want to go home to her empty condo. I was taken aback that she wanted to be alone while being so upset.
She followed me outside and across the property to one of the A-frame units, which were a far cry from my personal space that occupied the entire lower level of the lodge.
My granddad had built the basement into a private residence as a surprise for me before he passed away. He knew my dream was to come back and take over the day-to-day operations of the lodge for him. He wanted to make sure the transition was as smooth as possible and ensure I had a way to separate my work and personal life. When I first returned, I felt so terrible about the state of disrepair the property had fallen into; I lived in the oldest cabin while I worked to make everything livable again, which was where I’d stashed Risky ever since bringing him home. I felt like I didn’t deserve the pristine area my grandparents had left for me.
Now, I’d fully made the placehome. It was somewhere I never planned on leaving.
I hung out in the cabin until after Banner got Rosie to sleep, and I bullied her into taking a shower. We sat with on the queen-size bed and whispered reassurances quietly in the dark. I let her vent and cry. I assured her everything would work out. She wasn’t the first woman who’d been cheated on by an enormous loser, and she wouldn’t be the last. We reminisced about the past and our teenage high jinks to lighten the mood, and I agreed with her when she wandered off-topic and started listing all thereasons my new handyman was the most attractive man she’d ever seen.
When the conversation died down and I could tell she was starting to overthink again, I blurted out, “Did you see anything weird coming up the pass on your way here?”
The winding road gave glimpses of the river and valley around nearly every hairpin turn.
“What? No. I was focused on not driving over the edge. I could hardly see the road through my tears and the rain. Why?”
I shook my head and flopped down on the bed. I tossed my arm over my eyes and realized I was exhausted. “It was just one of those days where things went wrong, one after the other. The weather. The power went out. I have unhappy guests threatening to leave. My mom called and was her usual delightful self. I made a mess all over the living room. During the storm, I thought I saw something down by the river that freaked me out.” I heaved a deep sigh. “You know how it goes with me.”
Banner grasped my hand and locked our fingers together. I heard her quiet sniffle. “Your parents cursed you when they named you Lucky. It’s like the universe is always out to prove how ill-suited it is. I wonder if your life would have been completely different if they’d called you Jennifer or Jessica.”
“Maybe once this place is doing the kind of business it used to, I’ll look into legally changing it.” I’d always threatened to when I was younger, but never could go through with it when I was finally of age.
“Don’t. I like that you’re Lucky, even if you aren’t lucky. It makes you unforgettable.”
I laughed and squeezed her hand back.
I never asked to be unforgettable. All I wanted was to be like everyone else. I wanted a life that was calm and fulfilled by simple things. I wanted to make my grandparents proud andstop worrying about how everything was going to go wrong as soon as I touched it.
Unfortunately, like a dark spell hanging over my head, only one of those desires was bound to come to fruition.
“This is so much work. Aren’t you tired?”
I glanced at a bleary-eyed Banner while I prepped a light breakfast for the guests. I figured I needed to make it extra special today to make amends for the rough evening they’d had to suffer through.
I shrugged and flipped a piece of French toast on the griddle. “During the offseason, it’s easy. When the ski season starts, I have to hire help. It should be pretty easy to find a couple of kids who won’t mind working for cheap for the season if I offer room and board. There’s an entire employee loft above the garage I can trade for labor.”
There was always a flood of seasonal help available when the weather shifted. I had grown up thinking I never needed to explore the world because every winter, the world came to me. Every year brought people from all over, and I never tired of learning about new cultures and hearing about places I’d only ever seen on a map.
I needed a couple of hands to keep the guests fed and manage the housekeeping. I wanted to build a bar on the deck and turn it into the ultimate winter wonderland with firepits and warm drinks that guests could enjoy on big Adirondack chairs. I also wanted to employ my very own winter sports instructor, so people coming to stay with me wouldn’t have to look anywhereelse if they wanted to take skiing and snowboarding lessons. It’d been years since I’d frequented the slopes. Not that my skill level was where it needed to be to teach others. But for the offseason, I could mostly manage on my own. Some days were harder and so busy that I wanted to vomit by the end of them. I still preferred a bad day running the lodge to a great day doing anything else.
Banner held a bottle to Rosie’s mouth as she watched me hop around the kitchen. Her face was swollen from crying into the early hours of the morning, but most of the hysteria from the night before had faded. She even managed to eat a little bit from the plate I put in front of her. Her movements were on autopilot. It was obvious her thoughts were a million miles away.
Banner sighed and lowered her head to kiss Rosie on the forehead. “I don’t know why I’m surprised Grant didn’t bother to track me down. I stayed up all night, thinking he’d come pounding down the door, trying to explain himself.” She snorted and held the baby closer. “No wonder he thought he could carry on another relationship behind my back. I’m so stupid.” She sniffed, and I could see she was battling back tears.
I reached out to pat her lightly on the back. “You aren’t stupid. You’re in love. That always seems to make people blind. You saw what he wanted you to see. Your heart caused you to look past anything that might’ve been a red flag.”
I told her I needed to set up the breakfast bar for the guests and left her to mope in the kitchen. I was relieved Risky had gotten the generator running. If not, I would’ve had to drive to town and pick up emergency supplies, which would’ve cost a small fortune. I was breaking even with the lodge so far, but not turning the necessary profit. I’d had to put so much money into repairs and advertising after reopening; any cushion I’d had to fall back on had long been depleted. I wasn’t broke just yet, but that could change in the blink of an eye.
