“WhatcanIdo?I’ll take anything, no job too small!” Despite the limp, Daphne seems bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. The resort is mostly empty, and the snow is still blocking the roads into town. But when I come down to open the bar, she’s sitting at the counter looking like a border collie waiting on her flock. She’s wearing the dress from last night, a little worse for wear, and is barefoot.
“Right now, your job is to stay off that bum ankle and heal,” I scoff as I load two cases of soda syrup into the machine. As much as I hate the loss of money this storm is going to cost me, I love that we’re alone together.
“Okay, I’ll give you one day, but I need you to use that time to figure out what job you need help with.” She gives me a defeated little smile and leans back in her chair. “Besides, I don’t even think it’s that bad.” Daphne jumps down from the bar stool and winces as her foot makes contact with the floor
“Yeah, you’re really giving off the bastion of health vibes right now.” I roll my eyes, quickly walking around the bar and offering her my arm to lean on.
She lowers her gaze and grabs my arm, letting me guide her over to one of the well-worn leather sofas by our 360-degree fireplace. It consists of a circular pit and a chimney that kind of floats over the fire and goes straight out through the roof. Some people might argue that the mid-century modern architectural feature feels a bit dated, but that’s one of the reasons I love it. That, and it’s cozy as fuck.
“I’m gonna grab you some more meds and some of the magazines Lerana keeps in the back. You’re to rot on this couch until at least lunch. I’ll be behind the bar mixing up some Bloody Marys for the regulars, you just holler if you need anything.” I try to come off as nonchalant as I can. Especially after I let the inner creep that lives inside of me get the better of her a few days ago in the shower.
I still don’t understand what that was besides hella out of character for me. Worse yet, I can’t stop thinking about her and how much I wished she would have given me the okay to keep looking. Even now, as I fluff a pillow that I wedge to elevate her injury, my senses are overloaded by her scent. I want to lean in and lick her neck, to rub my fur all over her and mix our scents together, I want to—
“Hey, I think that pillow is fluffed.” Daphne gives me an odd look, and I realize that I’ve just been staring at her neck and kneading this damn cushion for far too long.
“Oh yeah.” I snap back to reality. “Is there anything else you need from me?”
Daphne’s jaw sets, and she looks like she’s about to say something else, before a resolve crosses her face.
“I’m okay. Thank you, Andri, this means a lot.”
I leave it at that. I’ve already been the world’s biggest weirdo around this damn woman, I don’t need to dig my pit of humiliation any deeper.
But as soon as the heavy wood door latches closed behind me, I hate that I’ve left her alone. Something primal is gnawing inside of me, and I let it be soothed by the fact that even if she is alone, it’s in my hotel.
I take the stairs down to the lobby, and there with her dainty sprite body is Briarlee, my gondola attendant. She peeks up at me from behind a mug of what I’m sure is more honey than tea—fairies are well known for their sweet tooth.
“Hey there, buddy, boss man!” She grins wide, her teeth ever so slightly more pointed than a human’s. In fact, she could pass easily as a very petite regular woman, if not for the dragonfly-like wings she normally keeps tucked under her jacket.
“What on earth are you still doing here? I figured you’d try to beat the storm and make it out of town.”
She’s one of the few non-humans I know that lives outside of Hallow’s Cove. I don’t pry as to why, but I think it has something to do with fairy magic.
“Yeah, my old Volkswagen Beetle didn’t make it out of the parking lot, and the motel is full of other trapped tourists, so I figured I’d come up here and see if we had any rooms open for me to grab a shower? This weather is brutal on my wings or I would have tried to just fly home.”
“You’ve been up all night, haven’t you?” I laugh. “I bet you're still mead drunk…”
Ignoring me, Briarlee looks out the window. “Hell of a storm, but the caterpillars this spring warned me already about how brutal this winter would be. I guess I can’t act too surprised."
“It always weirds me out that you can speak to all those critters,” I tell her as I lift the partition to the main desk.
“I mean, why should it? You’re acritterand I can speak to you.” She cocks her head and puts her cup of honey onto the coffee table before weaving gracefully over to me.
“Well, I guess you’re not wrong.” I grimace, catching sight of my fur-covered face in the dated black and green computer screen in front of me. Most of the businesses in Hallow’s Cove do well enough without the internet or other technology that’s popular outside of the town. It didn’t seem worth it to update the booking system that was already here when I took over.
“I assume most of the rooms are empty, since today was a turnover day?” She leans over the desk and looks at the screen, her wings lifting her high enough to see the screen. They’re beating fast like a hummingbird’s.
“Mostly,” I mutter as I block off the room that Daphne is staying in for the foreseeable future.
“Mostly?” Her eyebrow quirks up.
“Well, one of the guests had a falling out with their partner, and I’ve had to move her from the private cabin to one of the suites.”
Briarlee looks unsurprised.
“It’s the girl who rode down yesterday, right, with the heels?” Her wings suspend her high enough that her elbows rest on the counter. She cups her chin and leans in conspiratorially. “I saw her sneaking glances at you—are you the reason they fell out?”
“What? No!” I throw my hands up. “That guy's a dick and was cheating on her—I’m not a home-wrecker.” My face drops into a tight frown at the accusation.
