She wasn’t sure what his point was. “So they shouldn’t go either?” She stopped because she wasn’t sure why they were having this fight. “Look, hopefully this job at the resort works out. It’s a supervisor role and a lot more money.”
“And you can live on property,” Ty pointed out.
She wasn’t sure about that. Ty lived on property. He had one of the single units that housed part of the resort’s staff. Though calling it a single unit didn’t mean only Ty was there. She’d heard he had lots of visitors. Women. Women he slept with. Yeah, she wasn’t sure she was ready to see that. It was screwed up because she’d given up on Ty romantically long ago, but she worried it would still hurt to see him with all those women. “We’ll see.”
“Okay. I’m sorry. I worry about you.” Ty unzipped his jacket and set it on the counter next to the deep freeze. “I don’t want to fight. I hate fighting with you. Please let me know if your sisters need anything. I want to help. And you know my mom stops by out there. She dropped off a casserole the other day.”
Because his mom was one of the wonderful people in the world. “I’ll thank her when I see her next. So you want to surprise River and Jax with a welcome home party? I think that might be fun. But I’m not letting you order the cake or you’ll spell his name J-e-x or J-u-x.”
“Or S-u-x.” Ty’s grin lit up the room. “I’m joking. I like him. He’s a good guy. I’m happy he’s coming back and we can get Mountain Adventures up and running again. I missed having a third job. But I was kind of hoping the idea was my main contribution. You know I really would screw up ordering the cake. This is one of those things I was hoping you would run with. I am very good at following your instructions.”
She’d been joking about the cake. Ty had many skills. Party planning wasn’t one of them. “I can do that. You deal with making a great playlist and helping me make sure the cabin’s ready for them when they finally get home.”
She’d been staying in River’s cabin the whole time River had been gone, making sure everything was maintained properly. It had been a godsend since it happened around the time her old roommate had upped her rent and her sisters had wanted to join the marching band. She’d saved a lot of money by staying at River’s. Ty had come over to help with maintenance more than once. He’d helped her make sure the place was ready for winter and often brought by one of his mom’s casseroles since he couldn’t eat it all by himself. He had no idea how those shared meals often were the only dinner or lunch she had.
Had she sat with him and pretended they were in their own cabin? That would be ridiculous.
Only once or twice.
Ty nodded. “Will do.” He glanced back toward the dining room. “Are you sure you should be alone with that guy? What do we know about him?”
He was so careful when it came to her. Sometimes she wondered if he thought she couldn’t take care of herself. Of course she’d been the one to go out with the crazy cult leader, so he might have a point. “Van is cool. You haven’t worked with him? He’s got a job at the lodge, too.”
“I don’t hang out in the bar much,” he admitted. “He’s only been around for six weeks. I was surprised Zane hired him. He’s usually more careful.”
“I think he’s got ties to Henry’s old friends, and that means he’s been thoroughly vetted.” Henry’s old friends had turned out to be ex-CIA, so they ranked high on the paranoid scale. They also had resources by which to vet people that didn’t involve beets, so she thought she could trust them.
“Ah, that makes sense.”
Lucy opened the storeroom and took out the checklist. It wouldn’t take long for her to close since Van was mopping down the dining room. She had to make sure everything was ready for lunch tomorrow and then she could be on her way.
God, she hoped her car worked.
“So he can give me a ride if I need one.” It looked like the cook had already done all tomorrow’s prep work. She checked off the list and signed it. “If he chooses to murder me, you’ll know who to look for.”
“Don’t fucking joke about that.”
The hoarse quality of his voice made her stop and step out of the pantry. “Joke about murders in Bliss? I thought we were supposed to do that to throw the tourists off.”
His shoulders were straight, a serious look in his eyes. “Stop it. I still think about it.”
She put down the clipboard and walked up to him, putting her hands on those tight shoulders. “I’m sorry. I’m okay. He’s dead, and the saddest part was that he was really after Hope. I mean if I’m going to get murdered, I want it to be about me. I don’t want to be the side character who dies so the heroine finds the will to fight.”
“You’re still joking about it.”
“Well, it’s been two years and I’ve had some therapy. Maybe we should get you some.” She turned again, getting back to work. “You don’t have to stop by to make sure I can get home. I’m a big girl now. If something happens to my car, I can always call someone.”
“Me. You can call me.” His voice had softened. “Unless you only want to call Michael now.”
Sometimes he sounded like a jealous little boy. It was left over from their childhood, and she simply rolled her eyes at this point. “I didn’t call Michael in the first place. He showed up. I think Nate talked to him after Henry got back and everyone was still worried someone would rush into town guns ablazing and looking for revenge.”
“I don’t think so. I think Michael knows exactly what he’s doing. That’s why I want to talk to you.” He took a long breath as though he was steeling himself for something. “Are you interested in him?”
The last thing she needed was a lecture on how bad some other man would be for her. “I don’t see how that’s your business, Ty. You know I don’t ask about your girlfriends.”
“I don’t have girlfriends and you know it.”
She huffed. “Okay, I’ll be clearer. I don’t talk to you about your one-night stands.”
“Yes, you do. Do you know the amount of times you’ve lectured me on venereal diseases? Because I do. It’s fifty-nine. Fifty-nine times since I got back from Virginia six years ago. That’s once every thirty-seven days, Luce. And that doesn’t include all the jokes about it. These are verifiable lectures.”
He’d done the math? “What makes it verifiable?”
“I count it as a lecture if it lasts more than four minutes. Otherwise it’s just a dig.”
Damn. She hadn’t realized how often she’d talked to him about his sex life. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you, Ty. I was joking.”
“Maybe the first couple of times, but after the thousandth or so a man has to think. I know I’m the joke of this town.”
He was missing the point. He was considered a stud. “You’re not. I don’t think you being able to get sex whenever you like is exactly something people feel pity for you about.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised,” he said with an unamused laugh. “We live in a place filled with happy relationships. I assure you they think my life is sad.”