Chapter 9
Melinda
The sound of scratching woke me up. I looked around the room to see if anything was in here but found myself alone—like always. I closed my eyes to go back to sleep when the scratching happened again. I rolled out of bed in my too-large ripped t−shirt that used to say Yankees on it and grabbed the small lamp on the nightstand.
What? I didn’t have anything else to protect myself with.
“I have a weapon!” I yelled, inching my way closer to the door that led outside. The floor was cold against my toes, and the hair on my arms stood up. I heard a whimper, and hoping it wasn’t some psycho pretending to be injured, I yanked the door open, lifting the lamp above my head. “What in the…” I said, peering down to see those little paw prints again. This time something was there in the corner, shivering and whining.
“Oh, baby,” I said as my heart broke. It was a puppy, skin, and bone, and small. I could count its ribs. “Come here,” I called to it and stepped outside, hissing when the snow hit the soles of my feet. “It’s okay. It’s warm inside. Come on,” I snapped my fingers and whistled. It uncurled its tail from between his legs, and with trepidation, the abandoned pup took a chance on me, sniffling my hand and then licking it. I picked him up and carried him back into the room, petting him as his tiny body quaked.
“Poor thing. It’s okay now. You’re okay.” I gave him a quick bath and cut up one of my t−shirts to make a dog onesie. Hell, I needed to go into the dog fashion industry because he looked freaking cute with his tail out and wagging. “What should we call you?” I took a bowl from the cabinet and filled it with leftover food. “Sorry, I don’t have dog food. I’ll get some today. Um,” I unfolded some magazines and placed them on the floor. “I won’t be home for a while, do your business here." I scratched behind his ear. "You're a cutie. I wish I knew your story." He took that moment to run away, jumped on the couch, curled up in a ball, and tucked his nose under his tail, and fell asleep.
“That’s my cue then,” I said and got ready for my day.
It had been a few days since Chris freaked out about Ben and me spending time together. We weren’t flirting, at least, I didn’t think so. Plus, I didn’t think Chris cared, not about flirting, but I saw something in his eyes that morning. It bothered him that Ben and I were friends, and maybe it was because Chris and I would never be friends. Or because he detested employees getting to close to one another. What did I know?
After throwing my hair up in a bun, changing into a cute outfit with red jeggings and a black t−shirt with a white blazer, I made a cup of coffee, slid on my booties again, scratched my new friend's cheek, and headed out the door. The chalet was close to the main lodge, and it didn’t require me to drive, which was good because my car still wasn’t here.
I made sure to vanish into my office after I slithered through the doors, so no one saw me. I didn’t feel like chit−chatting. The day quickly got away from me, and when I looked at the clock, it was eleven at night. Oh my god! The puppy. I groaned. I just knew there would be crap everywhere—literally.
“Hey,” a deep tremor coming from behind me sent an electrical current through my body.
I pushed my feet on the floor and spun in my swivel chair. I loved spinning. My smile fell when I saw it was Chris. “What do you want, Chris?” I started to pack up my things in my purse to get ready to head home.
“You don't sound too excited to see me."
“I’m not,” I said, stuffing papers in my bag, well, forcing them.
"I am only here to show you something that needs to be decorated for a New Year’s gala. It’s something I’ve been working on for a while and forgot to tell you about.”
I scoffed with a shake of my head. “I just bet you did, Chris.”
He had the nerve of not being around the last few days just to come to find me for this now? In the middle of the night. Please. He was doing this to tick me off. I stood and pushed my purse up my shoulder. “Okay, then. Come on, let's go. I have someone waiting for me at home.” Well, I wasn’t wrong, but I wanted to get under his skin.
His jaw ticked for a second as he spread his arm to his side to allow me out. “After you.”
I tried not to be annoyed that it was so late at night. I was tired. I needed my bedtime coffee and didn’t want to be around him because, at the end of all the annoyance, was a spark of something, and it made me nervous. I crossed my arms as we walked through the main lodge, out to the back deck, and waited for the next ski−lift to get us.
I shivered, wishing I would have brought a bigger coat.
“Here,” he tossed his peacoat over my shoulders. It was still warm from his body, and it smelled like him, wild, maddening, and outdoors.
“Um, thanks?” I said, wondering why he was being nice suddenly. I figured he’d let me freeze into an ice statue.
He didn’t say anything as we got onto the lift. My legs swayed in the air as we descended the mountain. "Wow," I was astounded by the beauty this place held. The stars were out by the millions, and the sky had hues of blue. The moon, a half−crescent, and not a cloud in the sky. The air was fresh and sharp, reminding me every time I breathed in that I was alive.
“Right? It was one of the reasons I bought this place. It’s run down and still needs a lot of work before we open. Sometimes, I feel like I’m in over my head, but then I see this, all of this, and know a place like this deserves to be fixed up so people can appreciate it.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to him. This side of him took me by surprise. I knew better than to trust a kiss or a kind gesture. This was a prelude to a game he wanted to play with me. Be kind, build me up into thinking I could trust him, and then bam, he'd cut me down. Well, not this time, this time, I was staying on my toes.
“It’s beautiful. I think the resort will do well.” The ski−lift came to a stop, and we jumped off, and a good thing for small favors because I landed in my booties perfectly without falling. Ha!
We walked in silence for a half-mile or so, passing natural hot springs that people can bathe in and relax. The steam billowed in thick clouds above the bubbling water. It fascinated me that even with it being so cold, nature could surprise us by giving something hard to freeze.
We had no idea what to say to one another, and I even kept my mouth shut about the hot springs. Heck, I wanted to jump into them, but I didn’t want to get naked in front of him, so I remained silent until we got to a pair of stable barn doors that had seen better days. The hinges were rusty, and the wood was grey with rot. It seemed the rain, snow, and ice got the best of this.
"It's taken a while, but behind these doors is something people will always remember."
