Page 6 of Lucky in Love
He followed the small signs to the office, parked, and got out. A pretty young brunette paced the porch, ponytail swinging, a phone clutched to her ear.
“Oh,” the woman said into the phone. “Never mind. He’s here now.” She pushed a button, slipped the phone into her pocket, and turned to him. “’Bout time you showed up.”
CHAPTER THREE
Alex’s day was off to a rough start. She’d already taken three cancellations over the escaped convict news and had to postpone her morning jog to wait for the plumber. That left a lot of pent-up energy with nowhere to go.
Already grumpy, the last thing she needed was guff from the fix-it guy. Sixty minutes late, and then he rolls up in some fancy rental car?
“You’re late,” she greeted when he got out of the car. “Lyle said you’d be here an hour ago. And what are you driving?”
The man looked over both shoulders. “Are you talking to me?”
He was handsome but apparently a little slow on the uptake.
“No, I’m talkin’ to that tree.” Alex waved toward the empty woods. Besides missing her run, she also hadn’t eaten yet. The combo resulted in a sharper-than-usual tone. “You’re late, and I’m on a schedule.”
“Huh?”
“Follow me, and I’ll show you what needs to be done.”
“I’m here to—”
“Uh, I think I know why you’re here. I’m the one who called you.” She huffed and jogged down the stairs. “I’ve been waiting for you all morning. Let’s get moving.”
“What is happening?” the man muttered before addressing her again. “Look, I’m here to—”
“Fix the sink. Yes. Get the toilet up and running. I know.”
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”
Wrapped up in her own problems, she was only half-listening. “Look, I’m already stressed about this inmate thing. Three cancellations so far this morning. Can you believe it? Like some murderer is going to show up in Green Valley Falls. Pft.”
“I don’t know who you think I—”
“Less talk. More action.” She clapped her hands briskly. “Come on. I’ll walk you up there. Don’t you have tools or something?”
The man stared dumbly as a beat-up old pickup pulled into the space next to his. A burly man got out.
“Sorry, I’m late. Alex?” he said to the stranger, incorrectly assuminghewas Alex. Sometimes it was a pain having a man’s name.
The rental car guy held up both hands. “I’m not Alex.”
“I’mAlex.” She looked between the two men. “Who areyou?” she asked the man from the pickup.
“Name’s Hugh. Lyle sent me over to check the plumbing and fix the sink.”
“Oh,” Alex said and turned to the bearded man. “Then who are you?”
“I’m just trying to rent a cabin,” he said, voice laced with frustration.
“Well, why didn’t you say so?”
“Wha…?” he started, then heaved out an exaggerated sigh and shook his head. “Never mind. Do you have any openings or not?”
It only took her a second to recalibrate and snap into polite manager mode. She’d had cancellations because of the fugitive, but didn’t want to rent those. If the authorities recaptured him soon, campers might still want to salvage their reservations.
The only option was cabin twelve. It was last on the list for a remodel, but they hadn’t gotten to it yet. She’d been holding off on renting it, but if this guy was desperate enough…
