Page 11 of One Night in Alaska

It was a good point. The bartender slid us a couple of beers without asking us what we wanted. I took a sip of mine and considered his point, but I didn’t know what to say. Damn, I felt so stupid. I’d let myself become distracted by a really hot guy, and now, I was screwed.

“You can always stay at my house.” Nothing about Beau’s tone sounded suggestive in even the slightest, but I couldn’t help but turn and stare at him. Now, it was my turn to raise both eyebrows. “In a guest room,” he added before taking a long drink of his beer.

Beau seemed like a nice man. He’d gone to a lot of trouble to help me when he didn’t have to, and even when I didn’t make it to the boat, he’d come back to the bar with me to help me calm down and make sure I was safe. That spoke volumes to me.

Still, I’d watched enough true crime dramas to know that lots of serial killers seemed like nice guys. Ted Bundy came to mind. “No offense,” I said, picking up my glass, “but I’d just as soon not end up as a lampshade. Lucy will never forgive herself.” I took another drink.

Beau laughed, wiping his mouth on a napkin. “I can assure you, that’s not something you need to worry about.” I stared at him for a moment, and he continued. “I mean, I’m pretty skilled at fishing, but hunting has never been my thing. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t even take the hide off a deer, let alone the much more delicate human covering.”

He was kidding. I knew that. But I continued to stare at him for a long moment. He snickered and turned his attention out the window for a moment before he turned back to me. “How about we go check out the local hotel, then? I know the owner and can get you a good deal on a room.”

“I don’t mind paying,” I told him.

“Right, but if you want the deal, you’ll have to let me get it,” he argued.

I decided to take a look at the place before I continued to argue. “Okay.”

Beau led me out to a nice pickup truck in a parking lot down by a section of the docks for smaller ships than the one I’d arrived on. He opened the door for me, and I climbed inside, thanking him.

We drove for about five minutes. The sun was beginning to set, and the scenery was beautiful. This really was a nice little town. Maybe I had been too quick to judge.

When we arrived at the hotel, I felt my stomach turn over. Dingy and unkempt, the place reminded me of the Bates Motel fromPsycho. A two-story building that stretched for about a half-block, it wasn’t big, but I figured there had to be fifty rooms or so. Only two beat-up cars sat in the parking lot. It was a nightmare, and since I’d already experienced one of those today, I was terrified to open the door and get out.

“Is this the only hotel?” I asked him, hopeful that this was some sort of joke.

“Yep. Fisherman’s Inn,” he said, the neon sign blinking down at us from a sign overhead. What was left of it anyway. It currently read “ishmn nn.”

Swallowing hard, I stared at the building, willing myself to get out, but I couldn’t move.

“If you think you might want to stay at my place after all, I’ll tell you my house is kind of centrally located so peoplewouldhear you scream.” He gestured out the window, but I was confused.

All I saw was a row of ginormous mansions right on the water. All of them looked like multimillion-dollar homes on prime real estate. “Wait—what?” I asked him. “One of those houses is yours?”

Running his hand through his hair, he looked down and shrugged. “Yeah, the one in the middle.”

My mouth dropped open. “The white one?” It was the biggest one of all. Though it was hard to say from this distance, I had to assume the house was at least six thousand square feet, with a huge balcony on the second story that probably had views that went for miles. When he nodded, I added, “Damn.”

“What?” he asked, looking up at me, his eyebrows knitted together.

I’d just assumed he wasn’t well off, based on his appearance, which was something I wasn’t necessarily proud of. “Nothing,” I said. “I do appreciate the offer, but I think I should probably stay in the hotel.”

I couldn’t believe I was saying that. After all, the place in front of me looked like a death trap whereas the house he was talking about was probably the nicest house I’d ever seen, let alone had the opportunity to stay in.

“Are you sure, Georgia?” he asked me, and I could hear the concern in his voice. “I know we just met, and I don’t blame you for being cautious, but this place is kinda scary. I know Dave, the owner, and he’ll make sure you’re safe. But I wouldn’t want to stay here.”

“I appreciate it, Beau, I do,” I said, reaching over to rest my hand on his arm. The moment I touched him, I realized what I’d done and pulled back, even though the tingling sensation the brief contact left was nice. “But really, I think I should give this place a try.”

He nodded. “Then, let’s go get you a room. But I’ll make sure you have my number so I can give you a ride to Juneau.”

“Deal,” I told him and opened the truck door.

7

BEAU

Getting out of my truck, I went around to join Georgia as she made her way carefully across the cracked asphalt that made up the parking lot outside of the only hotel in town. Fisherman’s Inn wasn’t anything to write home about. In fact, it was downright nasty. I’d never had anyone come into town to visit who’d chosen to stay there over my own house, including business associates. After all, I was in the business of renting homes to people, so it only made sense that anyone I knew would want to stay in a house. Nevertheless, she didn’t know me that well, so when she insisted on checking out the local hotel, I had no problem driving her over.

I was surprised that she was bothering to walk inside, though. Was she really going to stay here? I wished I could at least go to a local store and pick up some items for her, since she didn’t have a change of clothes, and any toiletries Dave might’ve had on a shelf in the back had probably been there since his grandfather ran the place when Dave was just a little kid. One would have a better chance of getting their teeth cleaned with a needle from one of the pine trees lining the area where the hotel met the forest than actually using one of those toothbrushes.

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