CHAPTER1
ELIJAH
“Wow!This place is even better looking in person, ain’t it?” My boss claps me on the back.
I inhale the scent of pine and leather as I step into the lobby of the lodge. “Yeah, the website really didn’t do it justice, Sheriff.”
Steve Moss is grinning ear to ear as he looks the place up and down. Bunker Lodge is a modern yet rustic hotel in a forested section of Scarlet Springs County. The picture windows offer an incredible view of both the lake and the mountains. It’s no wonder this place is a hot spot for tourists and locals alike.
I’ve run a few calls up here over the years. Nothing major, tourists that wander off the paths, drunk guests passing out by the fire pits… things that you expect as a deputy in this town. But being here as a guest is different. There’s a calm to the open mountain air that I could get used to.
Steve, known simply as Sheriff to all us deputies, planned this weekend retreat for what he’s been calling team-building. Personally, I think he just needed a vacation. But when you’re a workaholic as we all tend to be at Scarlet Springs Police, Fire and Rescue, this is as close as you come.
It’s strange really, if you had told me that I’d end up thirty-four and chronically single, I’d have never believed you. I always thought I’d have a family by now. I imagined myself with a wife, a few kids, and a house outside of the city. I’m the relationship type, always have been. But for me, that’s meant causing more than a few heartbreaks over the years.
I just haven’t met the right person. Truthfully, there was one girl who I would’ve married in an instant. But I can’t kid myself, she and I were only ever friends. She was way out of my league back then.
“I hope you guys are ready for a weekend of adventure.” Sheriff breaks through my thoughts. “We’ve got stuff planned every single day. Hiking, water skiing, mountain biking, fishing. You name it, they’ve got it nearby.”
“What about relaxing?” One of our other deputies calls out.
A wave of snorts and chuckles ripples through the group. The sound echoes off the high ceilings.
“Hey, that’s what days off at home are for. This is a weekend where we separate the boys from the men. We’re here forteambuilding, gentlemen. This is a chance to grow,” Sheriff says.
Some of the guys groan quietly, but I'm thrilled. We only get to go on these weekend excursions together every other year or so, and I had to sit the last one out. After all, there have to besomedeputies left back at the station to handle things in town when the tourists inevitably run a muck. But it’s my turn and I’m happy to take the time for myself. If I’m not careful, I’d work my life away.
We make our way toward the front desk. The white noise of the group fades as I take a look around. The place is stunning. Dark unfinished wood beams are highlighted by massive windows that offer a view of the greenery outside. It’s breathtaking. It’s the kind of place that makes you wonder why you would ever want to leave. I make a commitment to myself to take more time off and explore all the wonders Bunker Lodge has to offer, even if I have to come alone.
A calm washes over me, but when my eyes land on the woman behind the front desk, my heart nearly stops altogether. I rub my eyes to make sure I’m not daydreaming. It’s been years, but I’d recognize that smile anywhere.
Penelope Blake, my old friend. The one who got away. The girl who set the bar for everyone else I’ve ever fallen for. The woman who has always been just outside of my grasp is suddenly standing in front of me and she’s more beautiful than ever. I’ve loved her all my life, but always from afar. This might just be my chance to change all that.
I walk toward her on auto-pilot, pulled by an invisible magnet. “Penelope.” Her name leaves my lips before I can think it through.
She turns at the sound of her name. Her long, silky hair cascades down her back and her eyes brighten when they land on my face. “Elijah West, is that really you? How long has it been?”
“Too long.” I flash her a smile and notice the way her cheeks flush with color. I
“Too long is right.” Her full lips pull into a smirk.
I hear the rumbling of gossip from the guys behind me, but I block it out. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see her again. Now that she’s standing in front of me, nothing else matters. I won’t let her get away this time.
“I had no idea you were back in town. You work here, I take it?”
“Yeah, just started not too long ago,” she says. “I’m the manager, actually. Got my own place and finished my business degree. Yeah, this is where the world led me, I guess. No place like home, isn’t that what they say?” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
“You, uh, live alone?” I know I shouldn’t ask, but I can’t help myself.
“Yes, alone.” She presses her full, pink lips into a tight line and she doesn’t elaborate.
Alone. Without Conrad. Aren’t they together anymore?My heart pounds in my chest.
Penelope’s long-time Conrad Swinder isn’t a good person. I would know, we used to be friends. That is until one summer when he did some work with me at my Grandma’s house. When he left, her life’s savings disappeared along with him. Tens of thousands of dollars tucked in a box under the floorboards of her house, vanished without a trace.
I never told Penelope about it back when we were all friends. She knew I liked her and I was worried it’d come off as some sort of jealous ploy to win her over. In fact, I never told anyone. My grandma trusted Conrad and I didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth about him. Instead, I used every penny I earned working construction in the summers to pay it back before I joined the police academy.
Eventually, Conrad came clean with me. Not that I gave him much of a choice. And even then he didn’t have the decency to say it to my face. Instead, he wrote me a flimsy letter of apology. It said he used the money to invest in his real estate business. Despite the pressure I put on him, he never repaid a single penny. But that’s Conrad for you.