Prologue: Theo
Late January of last year
(A few weeks after the New Year that begins Bear Valley Book Two, Real Mann)
“I need to talk to you about the off season,” Quinn Mann says, sliding a plate full of food right under my face. “I need a break and a burger. Join me.”
Dear god, the food smells amazing. I nod at my boss, but my brain is fuzzy.
My face flushes as my gut clenches and mouth waters at the thought of food. At the scent alone, my stomach nosedives. The unfocused floaty feeling I have had the past day or so threatens to come back full force from the smell of meat and grease.
I take a small bite, as soon as Quinn turns to bring his own plate, and force myself to chew slowly, but my brain is too sluggish to count the bites.
I should drink the Coke he put in front of me, if I can get my hands to stop shaking first. Caffeine and sugar are my very best friends.
Shaky tingles race up and down my arms, like lights chasing each other on an endless loop. A stomach-wrenching headache sprouts from the base of my skull.
Luckily, the lights are off in Black Diamond, Quinn’s bar, too early in the morning to be open, and the natural light is plentiful. Maybe it hides my body’s reactions.
Quinn asked me to meet him, but I was working anyway. Maybe I should worry—him giving me a burger and too many accompanying dishes at 9:00 a.m. probably means he knows I need a meal.
Maybe, maybe, maybe.
A meal is part of my shift behind the bar, but that’s hours away. It’s not part of me doing inventory this morning, and it’s not usually even possible this early in the day. Quinn claimed to be “testing” items for his menu, but usually, any recipe testing happens among Quinn and his brothers, not here.
“Noticed you were off the schedule for a few days. Everything all right?” Quinn eats right along with me. He makes this so much less of a charity-case situation, even if it really is.
“That was just the schedule. I didn’t ask for a break.”
“Sydney scheduled it that way?”
I nod in response. I don’t want to say anything about Sydney Johnson. The flirty college student has worked at Black Diamond much longer than I have. Lately, she’s been preoccupied with a new boyfriend and has prioritized him over her job. I’m not the only one affected, but I’m no spokesman for the workers of Black Diamond Aprés Ski, either.
I just want to keep my head down and keep my job. No matter how nice Quinn and his family are, I don’t need to act like I am here to stay or draw attention to myself.
“Damn.” Shaking his head, he runs a hand over his face. “Look, Theo, I’m sorry that happened. I should have been paying closer attention, even though I have been out of pocket lately. Any chance you would make the schedule going forward? I know you can handle it.”
“If you need me to.” Giving him a brief smile, I let my blood sugar sing. My skin is warm with an electric buzz. Can someone get high off of food? “Plan on being out of town?”
“Did my brothers. . .?”
When he trails off, I shake my head quickly. “Not in so many words, but they suspect you are seeing someone.” I take a sip of Coke, letting the sugar and caffeine work their magic. I feel—not like myself quite yet, but better than I did. “Are we making another bet?” I try to pull Quinn back from zoning out. Or worrying about me. Quinn worrying leads to questions I can’t answer.
Quinn chuckles. “No way, man. I can’t believe you won the last one.”
I shrug. On New Year’s Eve, we bet how many tips Quinn would earn. He always shares if he ends up behind the bar, and that night we were slammed. Plus, Sydney only showed up for half of her scheduled time. Lucky me, I won.
Starting out the year with extra cash in my pocket was nice. Cash I was trying to turn into an opportunity. Cash now long gone because Sydney left me off the schedule for four days. Four days at the end of the month, at that.
When I work, I eat. When I don’t, I don’t. Food is too expensive in the small ski town and over in Mirror Lake, the college town where I live. Not only that, but my tiny living space has limited security. If something isn’t well hidden, it is gone before I get back from work. I could store food in my room—it has no heat and is as cold as a refrigerator most of the time—except it would be taken. It’s not worth the precious dollars making up my meager existence to feed someone else.
Hunger is one of the wolves always at my door.
Always.
Black Diamond, or anything in the orbit of the Mann Family, is another world. A world of abundance. A good place for me to lay low for a while. The extra meal or won bet here and there doesn’t hurt, either.
“You eat.” Quinn frowns at how little of my meal I have consumed so far. “I’ll talk.”
