Unforgettable. Rhonda Nelson
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she wasn’t going to waste her breath arguing the point.
After what felt like several more miles up the winding mountain, past beautiful vistas and rocky meandering streams, Trudy pulled the SUV through a stacked-stone-and-cedar arch that bore the name Oak Crest Lodge. “Ah, we’re here,” she said needlessly.
The large A-frame stacked-stone-and-cedar building blended in so seamlessly with the surroundings it gave the impression of sprouting from the ground, much as the trees did. Colorful leaves dotted the roof, lined the gutters and spilled over the long, weather-beaten front porch. Mossy patches and mushrooms grew along the foundation, crept up through the fissures in the broken rock.
Potted ferns and mums in varying fall shades were planted in old washtubs, barrels and watering cans, and sat in no particular order on the porch. Grapevine wreaths graced the huge, rounded, rough-cut cedar doors.
Faith undid her seat belt as the SUV rolled to a stop, and quietly considered the place. A funny feeling, not easily read, tingled in her chest, making her shift in her seat. Beside her, Trudy rambled excitedly.
Though she’d never been here before in her life and this lodge didn’t remotely resemble her modern, two-story brick home back in trendy Brentwood, Faith had the strangest feeling of homecoming, for lack of a better description. That same feeling one got when seeing an old, treasured, but seldom-seen friend.
Which was equally impossible and insane.
Though she’d led a nomadic life during her childhood—her late parents had thought moving was a grand adventure and never stayed in one place long enough to put down roots—Faith knew they’d never traveled to this part of the state, much less stayed at this particular lodge. Honestly, Faith thought. What was wrong with her today?
Feeling ridiculous and out of sorts, she shook the feeling off, got out of the car and stretched. Her muscles had bunched in the small of her back, and her legs felt like lead.
“God, isn’t this the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen?” Trudy enthused, her voice high-pitched with wonder. “The pictures simply didn’t do it justice.” She threw her head back and drew in a deep breath. “Oh, the air is so crisp and clean. This is simply fantastic.”
Faith had to agree. It was spectacular. The overall mood of the place seemed cozy and warm. A little careworn here and there, needing a little TLC, Faith decided, eyeing the full gutters. Still, she was instantly enchanted. The place just inspired—
A flash of something big and black caught her eye, making her pause, midstretch. That cloak of foreboding she hadn’t been able to shake tightened imperceptibly around her throat, and a skitter of alarm whispered over her nape, making her scalp prickle.
Faith slowly turned and in the nanosecond it took for her brain to assimilate just exactly what she was looking at—what horrifying monstrosity was barreling toward her at breakneck, slobber-spewing speed—her muscles froze with terror, locking her in place. She could barely draw a breath, much less move.
So she screamed.
Then fainted.
2
LEX ELLENBURG’S HEAD jerked up as an earsplitting scream suddenly rent the air. Oh, hell. Not Pooh again, Lex thought as a ball of dread ricocheted around his abdomen. Not Pooh, dammit. He didn’t have time to deal with another lecture from the park rangers—he had too many other pressing problems to deal with.
Like keeping his fledgling lodge afloat.
He buried the ax into a log and raced to the front of the building. The young bear had been coming around a lot more lately and, while most of his guests were regulars and knew of Pooh’s penchant for wandering about the lodge grounds, there was always a newbie who would see him and squeal like a wounded hog.
Then report him.
While Lex believed Pooh too tame to be a real threat to anyone, he was still a wild animal and animals could always be unpredictable. Lex snorted. Like women.
He rounded the corner and breathed a palpable sigh of relief. Not Pooh, thank God. Only Beano. Granted, the giant black lab had pinned a small woman to the ground, but she clearly wasn’t in any danger of being mauled to death. Lex’s lips twisted. The worst Beano could do was drown her in doggy drool. Still, his dog knocking guests to the ground couldn’t be good for business.
“Beano!” Lex bellowed sharply. “Off!”
“Off!” cried another woman, this one desperately trying to haul the giant dog off her friend. She might as well be trying to move a mountain with a spoon, for all the good it was doing. “Get off her, you great ox!” When she spied Lex, her face wilted with relief. “Thank God. Call him off. Get him off her!”
Tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth, Beano turned his soulful dark brown eyes toward Lex and seemed to say, “Look what I found. A new toy.”
It was at that precise moment that Lex realized the woman on the ground seemed unnaturally still. She made no effort to shove the dog from her chest, and she wasn’t screaming. Not a good sign. He mentally swore and a whole new kind of tension tightened his spine.
Pulse hammering in his ears, Lex rushed to her side, dropped to his knees, shoved the dog off her chest—“Off, dammit!”—and checked for any visible injuries. The worried friend crouched beside him, took the woman’s hand and gently shook it. “Faith? Faith? Oh, Faith!” she cried.
No blood, thank God, Lex thought, though he was still far from relieved. He ran his hands over her limbs, checking for any broken bones, then picked up her small wrist and checked her pulse. The strong beat throbbing beneath his fingertips marginally alleviated some of the dread.
He looked up. “Did she hit her head when the dog knocked her down?”
“Faith? Oh, come on, Faith,” the friend pleaded desperately, gently nudging the unconscious woman. Worry wrinkled her brow. “I don’t know,” she said, clearly agitated. “I was on the other side of the car. But the dog didn’t knock her down. She fainted before he got to her.”
Startled, Lex frowned. “Fainted?”
“She was attacked by a dog when she was a child,” she said defensively, casting him an annoyed glare. She gestured irritably at Beano. “I’m sure he’s probably harmless, but he charged her like a bull, for heaven’s sake. That animal will have to be put up while we’re here.” She scowled and didn’t appear to like the idea, but seemed resolved nonetheless.
Though he couldn’t possibly understand what had been said, Beano whimpered, trotted over and buried his wet nose in Lex’s neck.
“Go on,” Lex told him, giving him an affectionate push. “I’ll deal with you later,” he said, exasperated. Damn dog. He didn’t need this, and he didn’t want to put up his dog, but under the circumstances, he didn’t see where he would be left with much choice.
“Let’s get her inside.” He carefully lifted her in his arms and, despite the tension gathered in every muscle, couldn’t help but notice that her slight frame had all the right curves, in all the right places. She felt…nice against him, soft and womanly. Her scent, something light and floral—daisies maybe?—drifted up and teased his nostrils. She had a smooth heart-shaped face, a lightly freckled button nose and a dainty chin, which would have made her simply cute…but when one factored in that full, ripe mouth, she became downright beautiful. Soft-as-silk fawn-colored curls bobbed over his arm with every step he took, and to Lex’s unending astonishment, his blood simmered, igniting a pilot light in his groin.
He swallowed a bark of self-deprecating laughter. Which just went to show just how desperately he needed to get laid.
Hell, he hadn’t had the time, much less the energy. Keeping the lodge in the black, practicing creative finance—which he’d become so adept at in recent months he should qualify for a damned Ph.D.—and constantly maintaining the building hadn’t left him with