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We get a lot of people like Montgomery—rich, entitled, viewing staff like they’re sentient furniture. It pisses me off beyond reason, but it’s also the world I grew up in, so none of it is a surprise.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about her,” I tell him. I want to say women like her generally realize their worth, but that’s not always true. Men like Montgomery always seem to worm their way into good people’s lives, and I can never understand it.
I clap my hand on his shoulder and glance around. It seems like the crisis is being handled without the amount of fuss I was afraid of. And okay, maybe we’ll have a little visit from the sheriff later on because some people do that after the shock wears off, but I have a feeling it won’t go that way this time.
“I’m gonna head back to the apartment for a while,” I tell him. There’s no point in me hanging around for the dinner shift, considering our resort guest list is now officially down to two and no check-ins, thanks to the storm rolling in quick. “You call me if anything comes up.”
He gives me a salute, and I roll my eyes before heading for the lobby doors.
When I step back into my apartment, the kitten’s sitting by the door, and she gives an accusing meow the moment I shut the door. Kicking off my boots, I scoop her up and flop down on my couch so she can knead on my chest.
“Needy,” I complain at her. “You’re gonna have to get used to it. I run this place.”
She blinks at me, then bashes her forehead into my mouth in a firm nudge.Nudge—cute name.
She bashes her head against my hand, her head so tiny compared to my palm. I know that won’t last long, considering how fast kittens grow. By the time she goes to another family—
I stop and almost laugh because I know deep in my gut that’s not happening. She’s got a name now. And she’s claimed me.
I scratch under her chin, and she eventually curls up against the side of my face, half-tucked into my neck.
Reaching for my phone, I open my camera and snap a few photos because I want to be able to remember when she was this small. It takes a few tries to get one where all of her is in the picture and I’m not scowling in concentration.
I can feel a throbbing in my temples, the stress of everything catching up to me, and I close my eyes. The perfect vision of the woman from the general store floats through the blackness, prodding at me instead of letting me sleep.
I can still remember her thick black hair and confused little grin as I tried and failed to speak.
I’m a little annoyed that I’m thinking of her. It was a single missed moment that meant nothing, and I have a lot more important things to focus on. But then I realize with a jolt that startles the kitten, making her rearrange herself and cuddle closer, that the couple who had been at the register in front of me were the same ones who just took an ambulance back down the mountain.
I’m surprised I hadn’t put it together when I found them on the trail, but the two of them had been so overshadowed in my memory by their friend—byEden—that it hadn’t clicked in the heat of the moment.
I drift off to the feel of Nudge’s purring and the soft, warm fur under my fingers and the sweet smile of a woman I hadn’t been able to make my mouth work for.
If she’s still at the lodge… maybe I’ll get another chance.
Maybe next time, I’ll sweep her off her feet.
I huff a tiny laugh before sleep claims me, knowing the chances of that are downright dismal.
