Chet chuckled. “Of course that wasn’t his story. He said you tried to roll him for cash.”
“He doesn’t carry cash. He probably wouldn’t even know how to pay for something he couldn’t use his smart wallet on,” Kendall said.
“I didn’t…” She hadn’t thought she would have to defend herself. “It was what Sonya said.”
Sonya reached out and patted her arm. “I knew exactly what happened. Don’t worry about it. It’s sadly not the first time my brother’s harassed a woman, and it won’t be the last, but I should warn you to watch out for him because he was really mad about it.”
Kendall’s lips curved up in a Cheshire cat grin. “He made us call a doctor and everything. Apparently the cute EMT was off that night so he got this super-grumpy hottie. He was not impressed with Brock, and I’m fairly certain the doc meant to handle his junk roughly.”
“He was trying to make sure Brock was okay,” Sonya countered. “Brock was drunk and being obnoxious. I just wish Dad had been around. Brock always acts like an angel when our dad’s around.”
“Yeah, well, when the old man dies, Brock will get to be a god,” Chet muttered.
She wasn’t sure what that meant, but the fact that they’d called Caleb out to the lodge worried her. She wasn’t surprised Caleb hadn’t talked to her about it. Brock likely wouldn’t have remembered her name, and Caleb wouldn’t have cared enough to call the police and report an assault. He would have told Brock he’d deserved it and to stay away from the women of Bliss if he wanted to keep his balls.
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t in trouble. “Is he all right?”
She didn’t really care, but she might like to know if she was going to be sued. Nate wouldn’t arrest her, but the Foster family had power outside of Bliss.
Kendall shrugged. “He’s already screwing some chick he met on the ski lift. He’s fine.”
“But he didn’t want to come here with us.” There was a wealth of satisfaction in Sonya’s voice. “He dropped us off but wouldn’t come in.”
“And now we have a safe space,” Kendall announced.
Chet lifted his glass. “So cheers to Lucy. I proclaim you Lucy of the hard knee, vanquisher of Brock.”
She glanced at her watch. Only another couple of minutes and she could run away. She would hop in her piece of crap car and hide at River’s. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
“Nah, we’ve got to leave in a couple of minutes,” Sonya said. “We’re heading back to LA after the weekend, but thanks for putting big brother in his place.”
At least they would be gone, and even if she got the job at the lodge, she wouldn’t be the one personally taking care of the villas. There was a fleet of butlers and housekeepers to deal with the wealthiest of the lodge’s clients. She would stick to the main lodge and be happy to do it. “I hope you have a good trip back.”
She turned and started to walk toward the kitchen. At least Michael and Ty were on the other side of the building. She could barely see Ty’s golden hair over the booth. Hopefully they wouldn’t even notice that she was sneaking out the back.
Of course they might not care at all.
It was perverse. She should be brave and march right over there and yell at both of them.
Instead she managed to run into Zane instead.
“Hey, you okay?” Zane glanced over at the booth she’d come from. “They give you trouble? I told the asshole who cornered you not to come back. I assumed they would all stay away.”
He’d told Brock not to come back? That wasn’t a surprise. Zane wouldn’t want that man around any of his employees. “They’re fine. Not any worse than other tourists.”
“Ah, so that look on your face is about the knuckleheads in the back,” Zane surmised. “You know they were called to Stef’s this morning, right? I’m surprised they’re still hanging out together. I would have given them two days before Michael killed Ty, so I’ve already lost that bet.”
“Yeah, they’re together and not with me,” she pointed out. She needed to get away. “Can I knock off a couple of minutes early?”
“You know you could go over and talk to them,” Zane chided.
“So that’s a no?” She wasn’t sure she was ready. Obviously this morning and last night had been more than enough trouble for Michael. She’d always known he would be easy to scare off.
Zane sighed. “Nah, you can go. Can you take the trash out before you leave? The kitchen got a big order in and I need to check on a couple of tables.”
“Sure.” She would happily empty all the trash if it meant getting her out of yet another humiliating position. She would take it out and run like the coward she was.
She grabbed her coat and emptied the trash. The kitchen was bustling and warm, the smell of the day’s special scenting the air. It was Zane’s beef stew, which he served with cornbread and a side salad. How many times had she been grateful for that winter treat? She was going to miss this place if she got the job.
But sometimes that was what happened. She’d thought about turning Cole Roberts down because she would miss this little family she’d formed here at Trio, but she had to trust that she could come back, that they wouldn’t forget her entirely.
Like her mom had.
She shoved through the back door and stomped down the stairs that led to the dumpsters. Was River right and she had deep-seated reasons for holding back from Ty? Did she still believe at her core that she wasn’t loveable and no one would stay with her, so why bother trying?
The snow was starting to accumulate. It would be gone as soon as the sun came out tomorrow, but up in the mountains it would stick and add to the winter paradise that was the lodge. In a few weeks even the valley would be blanketed.
Would she and Ty even be talking by then? Or would they pass each other in the hall and nod politely while he went on with his life, went back to his partying ways? As for Michael, she might not see him at all. He would be alone and cold in that cabin of his.
She made her way to the big dumpster and tossed in the bag.
“Hello. I should have known you would be hanging around the trash,” a masculine voice said.
She turned and felt her eyes narrow. Brock stood there in the moonlight wearing an expensive-looking coat, jeans, and sneakers that probably cost more than her car. She started to move back to the building when he cut her off.
Fear made her spine straighten. “What do you want?”
“I think you know what I wanted, but you’re too much of a bitch to give it to me.” He held up his hands as though trying to prove he wasn’t dangerous. “But hey, I know when I’m not wanted. I figure you probably don’t even like men, and that was my mistake. But your mistake was humiliating me.”
“I was defending myself,” she countered. Luckily there was a security camera looking her way. No one would be monitoring it right now, but at least they would know what happened. “Do I need to do that again?”
Brock chuckled, an unamused sound. “Not at all. You’re a violent little thing. No. I won’t play your games again. I think you should play some of mine though. The sheriff refused to arrest you for assaulting me, but I think I can do better than putting you in jail. Or we can come to another arrangement.”