Page 30 of Wild Highway (Runaway 2)

“Oh, then that’s okay.” I wasn’t part of the family and there was one family member in particular I was hoping to avoid until Montana was a smudge in the Cadillac’s rearview mirror. “You go. I was thinking about driving into town anyway to see what’s changed.”

The Greer Ranch was located ten miles outside the small town of Clear River. From what I remembered, there wasn’t much more than a gas station, post office, café and a bar in town, but it was better than nothing.

“Not happening, sweetheart.” My head whipped around to the voice behind me as Carol marched into Katherine’s office. Her white hair hung loose today, draped over her shoulders. “You’re coming to dinner.”

“But—”

She held up a hand. “Think of it as a peace offering.”

“A peace offering? For what?”

“For the little arrangement you two girls made behind my back.” Carol aimed her finger at Katherine. “Don’t think I didn’t notice Gemma’s credit card on her room.”

“Oh. That,” I muttered.

“I told you that you weren’t paying, but if it means that much to you, then I’ll let it slide. But you’re coming to dinner. We eat at six o’clock. Be early. You two can ride together since you haven’t been to our new place.”

“Sounds good.” Katherine didn’t bother arguing. It would be pointless.

“I’m going to go.” I stood from the chair, gave Katherine a wide-eyed look, then scurried from her office before Carol could rope me into any other family functions.

Two doors down, I knocked on the half-open door and met my new boss, Annabeth, who I liked immediately. She was in her mid-fifties with warm eyes and a cute blond bob. We chatted briefly about my work history and situation here—the way I was leveraging my friendship with Katherine to score a job to keep me occupied—and she promised to be gentle with me since I hadn’t had a boss in over seven years.

Annabeth hired me as an unpaid intern. I’d never been an intern before or unpaid, but when she took me to the front desk and explained my new duties, I’d accepted them with a genuine smile.

The resort hadn’t had a receptionist in three weeks, not since the previous one had moved to Texas. It was the reason Carol had greeted me when I’d arrived earlier this week. So here I was, ready to greet anyone who walked through the front door.

There wasn’t much walk-in traffic at a five-star mountain resort that filled its rooms with long-term, advance reservations. But when guests did come through the lobby, it was nice to have someone there to greet them—besides Clive the elk.

After signing a handful of employment papers and a brief tutorial on the computer system, Annabeth left me on my own, promising I’d be bored in minutes.

She wasn’t wrong.

But being bored at the front desk was better than being bored in my room.

I spent a couple hours getting familiar with the computer system, poking around the events calendar and reservation software, both of which were relatively intuitive. Carol brought me a ham sandwich from the kitchen at noon—my agreed-upon salary with Annabeth—and ate with me at the desk.

We talked about Jake and the ranch and how she wished Cash would open his damn eyes.

She didn’t elaborate on that one. Not that she needed to.

After lunch, she went back to work doing whatever it was Carol did and I manned my station at the desk. Few guests entered the lobby and when they did, I waved and inquired about their day. I played solitaire, partaking in the occasional staring contest with Clive—he won two out of three—until the clock neared five, my shift was over, and it was time to head to my room to freshen up before dinner.

I’d just closed down the computer when footsteps sounded beyond the door, lifting my spirits at the anticipation of another rare guest interaction. I squared my shoulders and readied my smile, but when the door opened, my expression dropped. “Oh, it’s you.”

Easton narrowed his eyes as he walked into the lobby. “What are you doing?”

“Working.”

His jaw ticked. “What?”

“I’m working. Katherine hired me this morning.”

“Like hell she did.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m here, Easton. Deal with it.”