“This is the lodge. To the left are more cabins. They’re nestled into the trees, but all of them have a spot where you can see the water, whether it’s from the front or back porches or a side window. We hope when you visit us again, they’ll be open for business,” Captain Grayson said.
The lodge looked like it had been carved into the base of the mountains, even though they had to be far away. She felt like she’d been dropped into another world.
I’m in Jumanji. I might not make it out.She giggled, earning a look from the big-hatted woman who held her husband’s hand.
“You all right, dear?”
She’d planned a trip, ignored her nagging instincts, and was now here alone. “All right” wasn’t the best description, but she nodded, not trusting her voice. Too bad she’d trusted her stupid heart. Something between pain and irritation bounced around in her chest like a rubber ball. Those hard ones that kids whipped at brick walls.
The captain talked about trails, hiking, and not venturing out alone as they continued toward the main house. She looked up for a split second, just to see the way the clouds played with the peaks of the mountains, where the sun was dipping low, and caught her foot on one of the broken cobblestone pieces.
She was on her way down when strong hands gripped her hips from behind. Heat and delicious pressure shot through her clothing, along her skin, chasing away a chill that had been with her all day.
“Careful,” Brown Paper Bag Guy’s gruff voice murmured.
Swallowing the sudden moisture in her mouth, Presley looked over her shoulder. “Thanks.”
His eyes werenottea colored. They were a brown so dark they almost looked black. A ring of hazel around the edges made them seem even darker.
The captain’s voice pulled her back. He stood on the steps of the lodge looking at them all. He was a handsome man. Dark hair, strong jaw, dressed in a blue button-down and khaki pants, he definitely looked the part of an outdoor guide. While the guy behind her looked like a poster model for being sexy in the great outdoors, the captain was more polished.
“My sister will get you all settled in your rooms. Her adorable helper is my niece. Our chef should have snacks set up in the dining room. We’ll let you settle into your rooms, but if anyone would like atour of the lodge and grounds, I’ll be leading that at eightP.M.Until then, thank you for joining us here at Get Lost Lodge.”
As they shuffled in, Presley couldn’t help but wonder if Emmett would have loved this place as much as she’d thought. Sure, he’d have dropped his bag and hit the beach, maybe even with a fishing rod. Rylee’s words echoed in her head:I’ve never seen him do any of those things.He’d canceled several weekend plans for fishing time with the guys over the course of their relationship.You see what you want to see.Even if he didn’t love fishing with the guys as much as she’d believed, he would have enjoyed this. The image of his face when he’d realized he wouldn’t be going on the trip at all curled her lips upward. That in itself was worth the boat ride.
Presley smiled at the little girl who stood behind a woman’s hip. Her red hair fell forward even with the little butterfly barrette she wore. Her mom—who had to be the captain’s sister—had her own auburn hair tucked into two braids. Makeup free, wearing camo shorts and a shirt that readWELCOME TO THE JUNGLE, she looked like she could model outdoor wear with Mr. Hot Hands who’d kept her from falling.
“Welcome,” she said. “I’m Jillian, but you can call me that, Jilly, or Jill. This is my daughter, Olivia. Welcome to the lodge.”
The little girl tugged on her mom’s shorts until Jilly bent at the waist, listened, then stood again. Her lips quirked. “My apologies. This summer, Olivia would like to be called Ollie. Please let us know if we can get you anything.”
Half the little girl’s face beamed. The rest stayed hidden behind her mom. Presley met Jillian’s gaze and found it, like her tone, friendly. If things had gone as planned, maybe she would have befriended this woman while Emmett kept himself busy with all of his favorite things. Instead, Presley decided she was going to consider this a self-care trip and do only the thingsshefelt like. She’d share on her socials, promo the airline that gave her the tickets, and talk about the benefit of low-key lounging. Maybe even take a hike. Hell, she might even try fishing. After she slept for twelve hours straight.
She waited patiently for Jilly to assign those in front of her to their rooms, smiling at the way Ollie assisted, all while trying to ignore how aware she was of the man standing behind her.
“Presley Ayers,” Jilly said, looking at a clipboard as the husband and wife and the two guys headed up the stairs to the right for their rooms. She glanced behind Presley, then met her gaze. “It says you’re a party of two.”
With a tight smile, Presley shook her head. “Change of plans. Party of one.” She didn’t want anyone’s pity, so she forced her smile to widen. “Now I get the bed to myself.”
“Oh,” Jillian said too brightly, like she understood what Presley was really saying. “Okay. No worries. I’ll just make note of that.” She jotted something down on the clipboard.
Presley tried to see what she wrote, hoping it wasn’t something like:Watch this one, she’s out of her element.
“You’re down here on the main level. Room one,” Jillian said. Ollie handed Presley a key.
“Thank you,” Presley said, her throat thick with tears she refused to shed.
She moved as quickly as possible, grateful for the open layout of the lodge. Room one was along the left side, under the stairs that led to the second floor. Once she was inside her room, her chill took on new meaning. The space was downrightcold.She could hear the AC fan and feel the temperature settling on her skin like a layer of ice.
Tossing her bag and purse on the bed, she went to the thermostat, rubbing her arms briskly. It read forty-four; winter temps indoors at the end of June. Presley shivered, punched theUPbutton. The digits moved, but as soon as she took her finger away, it returned to the same number. She tried pressing theOFFbutton, but nothing happened.Okay. Give it a minute to warm up.
She went to her bag and pulled out an oversized hoodie. She’d forgotten that she had wrapped lingerie inside of it. Black and purple lace undergarments tumbled onto the bed. They definitely wouldn’t begetting used. Pulling the sweatshirt over her head, she grabbed the folded blanket at the foot of the bed and wrapped it around herself.
Seating herself in the middle of the mattress, she crossed her legs, tugged the blanket tight to her body, and pulled her phone out of her purse. It was still in airplane mode. Once she changed that, going from no Wi-Fi to guest Wi-Fi, emails and notifications poured in.
The first text made her laugh out loud.
Ms. Twain
