The rest of us lived scattered around the mountain, alone with our demons, barely even coming together despite our proximity. That’s the way it had always been for almost two decades.
Until Holt met Tessa.
Things were changing now.
But that didn’t mean I had to. And it certainly didn’t mean I needed an assistant. Besides, even if I wanted one. It’s not like there were a lot of qualified candidates in Iron Peak. People didn’t come here. Not even for holidays. And they most certainly didn’t come here for employment.
Outside, the wind rattles the windows. November is cold, and winter is already starting to settle in so high up. We’ve had a few snowfalls already, but nothing serious.
Not yet.
I know enough to know it could be any day when we get the first blizzard that shuts me off from the rest of the world for a while.
Just one more reason why I’ll never be able to find an assistant.
Not that I want one.
The sound of tires crunching the gravel outside pulls me from my circular thoughts. I go still and listen.
It doesn’t sound like Holt’s truck, and Tessa rarely drives her car up this far. It’s not Cal or Beck, and Sawyer hasn’t been up to Iron Peak in months.
There is no one else.
I walk over to the window and pull the curtain aside enough to look out.
A small SUV sits next to my truck, engine idling. I don’t recognize it, and it looks wildly out of place. The type of SUV that’s built for the city, not a gravel road. And definitely not for a mountain road.
The driver’s door opens, and I freeze.
The woman who sets foot in my yard is bundled in a coat that’s probably not nearly warm enough. Her dark hair whips around her head in the wind as she looks around, no doubt trying to figure out where she took the wrong turn that led her to my place in the middle of fucking nowhere.
When she turns toward the house, I see her face for the first time.
She’s gorgeous. And young.
Way too young to be up this far alone. The mountain isn’t a safe place, and it’s definitely not the place where you want to be lost and alone.
I push away from the window with amuttered curse. Looks like I’m going to have to give her directions. Hopefully, she’s not too far off track. There are only a few hours of daylight left, and the tiny town of Iron Peak doesn’t have much in the way of accommodations. At least none I’d recommend to anyone.
I grab my coat from the hook by the door, prepared to head her off before she can knock on the door. Preferably before she gets up on the porch. I’m not one for company. Not even the temporary kind.
I yank open the door, the wind immediately rushing inside.
The woman stops at the bottom step, clearly startled. Her eyes widen as they land on me.
Up close, she looks even younger than I thought. She looks like a student, a young woman of Tessa’s age. Her hair is dark, almost black, which makes her pale skin look almost like porcelain. Her eyes are a startling blue that stands in stark contrast to the rest of her face, giving her an innocent, almost doll-like quality.
“This road’s private,” I say, my voice rough. “You lost?”
For a second, she just stares at me, stunned. Then she swallows hard andstraightens her shoulders. “I’m looking for Luke Morgan.”
Everything in me goes still. No one looks for me. Not up here.
Anyone who needs me is usually a client, and they know better.
When I don’t answer, she clears her throat and tries again. “Are you?—”
I don’t let her finish. Instinct takes over before reason—or manners—can take over.
