“There was a situation.”
“Is that what we’re calling it?”
“Yes.”
Pete nodded thoughtfully. “The blue-hair situation.”
I didn’t answer, because every answer that came to mind made me sound more invested than I intended to admit.
He leaned back slightly and grinned. “She’s a knockout.”
“What is it with you people? The way she looks isn’t relevant.”
Pete watched me stack another piece of wood. “Kid,” he said.
“What?”
“In the six years you’ve been working here, you have turned down every woman who has attempted to flirt with you.”
“That’s not true.”
“Oh yeah?”
I placed the final log into the stack.
Pete waited for me to reply, and when I didn’t, he nodded. “That is what I thought.”
I brushed my hands together. “Zoey was a guest.”
“She is also very obviously interested in you.”
“That is speculation.”
And also what had kept me awake half the night. I knew the difference between attraction and something deeper. I had no idea which one she felt.
Pete snorted. “You think we didn’t see the way she looked at you while you were fixing that filtration unit?”
I picked up the axe and checked its blade.
“You deserve something good, kid.”
I looked at him. “That’s not the point.”
“It should be.”
The words landed heavier than I expected. Pete and Nora had both heard enough of my past to understand why I rarely let people close. Their concern felt suspiciously familial, and I wasn’t sure I liked it.
Silence stretched between me and Pete.
The wind moved through the trees behind the lodge, and guests laughed somewhere near the firepit.
Pete shifted on the bucket. “So,” he said.
“So?”
“You gonna see her again?”
I rested the axe against the chopping block. “Honestly… I don’t know. But I hope so.” The admission made me feel more vulnerable than I cared to admit.
