Hunter's Fortune (River Jewel Resort Series Book 2) (3 page)

“Well, you’re just full of questions, aren’t you?”

As the stranger stood there with his hands in the air, Hunter measured him with her eyes. “I asked who you are.”

“I know what you asked. But you never answered me
.I
asked if you’re okay. You seem to be having some car trouble.”

“That’s none of your damn business. But for your information, I’m fine.”

“Yeah, I can see that. Do you always tell squirrels to go ‘suck a nut’ when you’re fine?”

“You’ve been watching me? Listen here creep, you need to back up and walk away. I’m not going to be your next meal. So take your psycho ass on outta here before I kick it for you.”

The man laughed so hard that tears ran down his cheeks, making a trail through his beard and onto his blue flannel shirt. He actually had the nerve to bend over, in a full-blown belly laugh.

“I don’t see what’s so funny. I said to keep your hands up!”

He continued to laugh and glanced at her occasionally before erupting into another fit. “You?”

“You really are fucking crazy.” Hunter slowly began to back up and inched closer to the safety of her car.

What kind of guy appeared in the middle of nowhere, only to stand and laugh at a woman in distress? The whole world was going insane! This is why she went to work and straight home, aside from the occasional trips to the mall and specialty stores she loved so much. Hunter hated people. As far as she was concerned, she was better off staying away from all of them. Another reason she’d done all of her Christmas shopping online.

Speaking of Christmas, thankfully, that was over. At least she’d had the money to give her employees their year-end bonuses and a token of the company’s appreciation. This year she’d given them all calendars in the hope of reminding them that deadlines had to be met. For the most part, the drivers were always good with their deliveries to the various steel plants. But there was always an oddball who just couldn’t get it right. Hunter had felt it was her duty to instill a sense of responsibility within her company. Now, all of that was gone.

“Listen, buddy. I don’t want any trouble. Just go back to whatever rock you crawled out from under and I’ll be leaving.

“No, you listen. Sweetheart, you’re not goin’ anywhere.”

A shiver of terror ran through her and the man’s cold gaze stared back at her, freezing her in her tracks. “You’re on my land. You’re not going anywhere. You can’t leave.”

He inched closer to her and Hunter tightened her grip on the weapon in her hands.

“No!” She screamed as the guy reached for her. “Don’t touch me, you bastard!”

He yanked her only means of defense from her and held it up. “This is what you were going to beat me up with? Impressive.”

Hunter only then realized she’d been holding a stick.

“Sticks and stones. That’s the best you could come up with?” He erupted into another fit of laughter and tossed the stick aside. “A damn twig! You don’t get out much, do you?”

Mortified, Hunter did her best to maintain her stance. Brushing up against this burly beast of a man had clearly rattled her nerves. And she couldn’t help but wonder if there were now hundreds of creepy-crawly bugs running amuck across her designer clothing. The man’s hair was definitely unkempt and if his clothing was any indication, he most likely lived in the woods.

He pressed even closer to her body and Hunter felt herself recoil. “I said, don’t touch me.” She backed away and found her backside pressed up against the car.

“Gladly. I was merely disarming you. Though I’m pretty sure you’d have poked your own eye out before you’d have done any damage to me. Let’s just say it was for your own good.”

What a jerk!

“Now, are you going to allow me to help you with this flat tire or are you still hell-bent on, what did you say? Oh yeah, kicking my ass.”

“Just get away from me. I’ll figure it out myself. Kindly point me in the direction of the closest person’s home and I’ll be on my way.”

“Not a great listener, are ya’?”

“Why must you answer questions with questions? Have you lived in the woods all your life? No human interaction?”

“What?”

The man was incorrigible! “Never mind. I don’t want to confuse you with
words of more than one syllable.”

Hunter pulled her hair to one side of her neck and crossed her arms in front of her.

“You’re quite the piece of work, aren’t you?”

“Okay, look, Mr. Woodsman, just leave me alone. Clearly, we aren’t going to be able to have a civilized conversation. Obviously I’m not surprised, considering…”

“Considering what? Oh, you mean considering how I look? How I talk?”

Hunter smirked and shrugged. “If the shoe fits.”

“Alright, have it your way. Where’s your spare?”

“If I had a spare or anything to help me change a tire, do you think I’d have grabbed a stick to defend myself with? Do you think I’d still be here if I had a spare?”

“Shucks, ma’am. I have no idea. I’m just a dumb ol’ mountain man.” He spit out the side of his mouth and tucked his hands in his pockets.

“Typical.”

And where did he get off calling her ma’am? Did she look like a ma’am? Hunter was barely thirty-five. How could anyone think she was old enough to be a ma’am!

“Look, I’ve had the worst week of my life. I’m trying to get to my family’s cabin and I really don’t need attitude and condescension from some hilltop hillbilly. So, if you have an idea on how to help me, great. If not, kindly take yourself back to wherever you came from.”

“You have quite a way with words. I have no idea why you’d be all alone.”

Picking up on his sarcasm, Hunter continued, “Whether I’m all alone or not is of no consequence to you.”

“I beg to differ. Ya’ see, if you weren’t all alone, I wouldn’t have to be here listening to you whine and cuss out squirrels. If you weren’t alone, you wouldn’t be stuck out here in the middle of nowhere on my land. And I wouldn’t have to be stuck with a woman who clearly has issues. I’ll go get the necessary equipment and be right back so you can be on your way.”

Taken aback at his brusqueness, Hunter stood there with her mouth wide open as the man disappeared into the woods, leaving her standing on the side of the road.

“Humph.”

Chapter
Three

An hour later, the man returned and made quick work of fixing her tire. Hunter thanked him and offered a hefty sum for his help. The man declined.

“Please, just go.”

“Alright then. But clearly, you could use the money, could you not?”

“Fine.” He accepted the few hundred dollars and Hunter was finally on her way.

She made her way across the ridge, driving slowly and alert for any wildlife that might happen to wander into her path.

“I’m so exhausted. I wish I could just find a hotel for the night. Maybe tomorrow would be a better day to drive to the cabin.” She turned the radio on and found herself immersed in the beat of the latest pop-country song that the entire country was going nuts over. The celebrity gossip rags had the singer’s face splashed on every cover. Hunter could never remember her name, though. To her, all of the newest artists sounded the same and looked the same.

Just as she drove over a hill, she saw a large building, alight in colors of pink and blue. Not offensive or neon shades, but welcoming, and images of a big, soft bed filled her mind. Hunter took the next left-hand-turn and followed the road until she found herself in front of the most incredible structure she’d ever laid eyes on.

“How can this be? River Jewel Resort? I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never seen this before.”

The parking lot was empty, but every window seemed to have a light on. She parked her car close to the building and opened her door to step out into the night.

“Brr. Where’d this wind come from?”

The forecast had called for unseasonably warm temperatures, but she had to admit to herself that the weatherman was often wrong.

“Wow!” Hunter was taken aback by the sheer beauty of the establishment before her. A sense of peace unlike any other came over her as she stepped closer to the place where she hoped they’d have a room for her.

“Good evening, Miss.” A man appeared out of nowhere and startled her.

For the second time that day, she threw her hands up and screamed. Hunter’s purse and keys landed a few feet away on the pink, pea-gravel lot.

“Oh! I’m so sorry. Here, allow me to help.”

The man hurriedly gathered her belongings and handed them to Hunter. She yanked them from his hands and scowled at him.

“I’m so sorry, Miss. I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s my duty to welcome each guest and I…”

“I really don’t care what your duty is. And I think you should be more careful. Jumping out of the bushes is not exactly helpful.”

“But, I didn’t…”

“Whatever. I don’t have the energy to go back and forth with you. I need a room and I’m not getting one by standing here talking to some bell-hop.”

“Yes, Miss, I completely understand. Would you like me to park your car for you?”

“Clearly,” Hunter squinted to read his name tag, “I’ve already parked my car, Javier. Maybe you should’ve appeared a bit sooner and we could’ve avoided this little moment.”

The man was around average height and that meant he was approximately eyeball-to-eyeball with Hunter. If anyone was to walk by at that moment, they’d have seen Javier bristle and appear to shrink as Hunter spoke to him.

“Yes, Miss. I apologize. I was returning from parking another customer’s car. I should’ve been more prompt.”

She tossed him the keys and ignored him as she made her way towards the massive double-doors of the River Jewel Resort.

“Enjoy your stay, Miss Golde.”

She strutted to the front desk without another glance at the bell-hop who somehow knew her name.

“Welcome to the River Jewel Resort. My name is Maria. How can I help you?”

Hunter rolled her eyes and let her irritation show. “First of all, I hope you’ll tell your manager to look into finding a new valet. That little man is incompetent. He could’ve killed me.”

“What? Javier? Are you alright, Miss? Please tell me what happened and I will be sure to bring it to the attention of my manager right away.”

Hunter went on to tell Maria what had occurred in the parking lot. “And if I had been an older woman or man, I might’ve had a heart attack or a stroke! He certainly needs to learn some manners.”

She couldn’t get an honest read from Maria, so Hunter had no idea what Maria truly thought. But she assumed Maria would be like all front desk employees who smile, nod, and immediately forget what a customer says.

“Never mind. I’d like a room.”

“Certainly. I have the perfect suite just for you.”

Hunter whipped her driver’s license out of her wallet and slid it across the massive mahogany counter. “Whatever. I just need a bed, a tub and some uninterrupted quiet. I’ve had a horrible week.”

“I’m sorry. Is there anything else I can do to make your stay better?” Maria made quick work of entering Hunter’s information.

“Do you have a few million dollars to give me?” Hunter snorted and rolled her eyes.

Maria looked shocked at the question.

“I was kidding. It’s not your problem. Thank you for your help. At least that was easy.”

“Of course. Payment is due when you checkout. Do you need someone to bring your bags to your room?”

“No. I didn’t bring any. I was on my way to another place where I normally keep some of my belongings, but the events of the day brought me here, to this place in the middle of nowhere. I’ll be fine. Just give me the key to my room. That’s all I need from you.”

“Certainly. Miss Golde, there is a pamphlet in the room covering our many amenities and services. I think you’ll find everything to your liking. If not, feel free to call me and I’ll do everything I can to get anything you want.”

Hunter snatched her room key away from Maria and said nothing as she stomped over to the elevator.

As the elevator doors closed, Hunter saw Maria wiggle her fingers at her and smile. “Who the fuck finger waves? How old is she? Ten? I can’t wait for this day to be over.”

“I see you’ve met Maria. Isn’t she adorable?”

“Ah!” Hunter slammed into the back of the elevator and grabbed her chest.

“What the hell is wrong with all of you?”

“I didn’t mean to scare you. Sorry. I’m the new bell-hop, by the way. My name’s Dave.”

The man held out his white-glove-clad hand and Hunter ignored it. She wasn’t here to make friends or to be buddies with the hired help. What was it with these people? Either there was a grand scheme to kill her through shock or the people in this area were complete nitwits! Regardless, Hunter was definitely beyond irritated and ready to lock herself in her room.

“Look, Dave, I’m not here to make small talk. Just do your job and get me to my floor.”

A few moments later, the doors slid open and Hunter stepped out into an immaculate hallway.