Chapter 9

CHAPTERNINE

One week.

Henley told herself that she could hold out for another week. Seven days. Ten thousand minutes. Six hundred and four thousand seconds.

She sighed. It was getting harder and harder not to give in and tell Finn she didn’t want to wait until Jasna was at her sleepaway camp for him to make love to her.

The day camp last week was a hit. Jasna really enjoyed herself. She even met a girl, Sharyn, who she’d clicked with. They’d met up one night this week, going to a movie…with Henley and Finn sitting in a row in the back of the theater, keeping their eyes on the two girls. The great thing was that Sharyn was also going to the sleepaway camp Jasna was attending toward the end of the summer. Henley hoped the relationship continued to grow, as the girls were the same age and would be in the seventh grade together at the middle school in the fall.

As for her own work…today, for something different, Spike and Pipe had arranged for an “employee appreciation day” of sorts. The lodge was off limits to the guests for two hours so everyone could relax and not worry about being “on” for a short while.

To be honest, The Refuge didn’t have a ton of employees, but that made working there all the more intimate. The nine employees, other than the seven owners, were all in attendance…Henley, Carly, Jess, Ryan, Savannah, Luna, Robert, Hudson, and Jason. Alaska was also included as an employee, even though she and Brick definitely had a wedding in their future.

The guys had gotten each of them a huge gift basket filled with treats, gift certificates, and even cash. Spike had ordered a cake from a bakery in town, and also catered in a meal—much to Robert’s dismay.

Jasna was there, thrilled that she’d been included in the celebration. She’d gotten her own gift basket, and was currently flitting around the room talking to the men and women she’d gotten to know over the last few weeks.

Henley’s gaze caught on Finn’s from across the lodge, and he smiled at her. Every time she looked up, he was watching her. If anyone else had been so attentive to her every move, she probably would’ve called them a stalker and been freaked out. But she couldn’t be upset that he kept track of where she was, because she did the same thing with him. It was as if they were magnets, constantly being pulled toward each other.

And of course, the sparks between them had only gotten more intense with each day that went by. She was getting to know the man better every time they talked, and she hadn’t found a single thing that turned her off yet. Yes, he had demons from his past, but so did she.

It might be wishful thinking on her part, but Henley couldn’t help but notice the more time she spent with Finn, the more he opened up to her. No, she still didn’t know exactly what had happened to him, but she had gleaned enough information to understand he’d lost his canine partner, Steel, to some horrific incident. He had intense guilt over what happened, and as a result, had backed off from interacting with…pretty much everyone. Preferring the company of animals to people.

But he was slowly and surely changing before her eyes. He made more of an effort to hang out with his friends at the lodge, and he no longer looked quite so uncomfortable around the guests or at social events like this one.

“So…you and Tonka, huh?” Ryan asked.

Henley didn’t even bother to deny it. Why should she? She wasn’t embarrassed to be dating Finn, and neither of them had any reason to keep their relationship a secret. Especially not from the men and women they worked with. “Yup,” she said, hearing the pride in her own voice.

“You guys are adorable together. And he’s so good with Jasna.”

“He really is. She’s a good kid, but still, even I get overwhelmed with all her questions sometimes. And he answers all of them without seeming to get irritated in the least.”

“She does ask a lot of questions,” Ryan agreed with a chuckle.

“Sorry if she’s been bothering you,” Henley said, wrinkling her nose with chagrin.

“Oh, no, not at all. I love when she helps. She makes the day go by so much faster.”

“Well, if she ever slows you down or you aren’t in the mood, don’t be afraid to say so.”

“She’s fine. Promise. I mean, being a housekeeper isn’t exactly rocket science.”

Henley glanced at the woman, assessing her with new eyes. When Ryan had been hired a few weeks ago, Henley immediately thought she didn’t fit the mold of someone who might apply to be a maid at a motel.

That was stereotyping, she knew…but during her time at the retreat, the men and women who’d been in and out of the housekeeping job had all been marking time at The Refuge while they looked for something that paid better. It was typically a pretty short-term gig. Carly and Jess had also admitted being here wasn’t a long-term thing for either of them. Carly was working for extra money while she went to school, and Jess’s husband had been laid off, so she’d taken the job to keep their family afloat until he found work.

Ryan hadn’t said much about her background at all, or why she was there. She’d mentioned she was grateful for the job and frequently cited how much she loved the atmosphere. She was somewhat mysterious, actually…which made Henley all the more curious about her.

“So…what about you? Got your eye on anyone? Do you have a boyfriend already?”

Ryan laughed. “Oh, no. I’m single and happy as a clam.” But something in her eyes belied her carefree words.

“Oh, come on, we’re surrounded by gorgeous single men. You’re telling me not one of them has caught your eye? Pipe has the whole biker thing going on—and who hasn’t fantasized about being on the back of a hot biker’s motorcycle? Not to mention his sexy British accent. Or there’s Stone, with those glasses and his whole scholarly-looking thing. Oh, wait! I know—you’re holding out for Tiny. He’s such a pretty boy, but with those huge muscles,” Henley teased.

To her surprise, Ryan blushed. Her gaze flicked briefly to the right, where Tiny was currently standing, talking to Luna.

“Ahhhh, so it is Tiny you’ve got your eye on,” Henley said with a smile.

Ryan’s gaze immediately dropped before she looked back at Henley. “Nope. I don’t have my eye on anyone. I like being single. I can do what I want, go where I want…”

There was almost a hint of desperation in the other woman’s tone, and Henley knew she’d pushed enough. She didn’t want to make Ryan uncomfortable. She’d learned from her years as a therapist when to back off. “Good for you,” she said, then changed the subject. “I know Alaska was thrilled you were willing to start on such short notice. After Alexis left so quickly, Jess and Carly were working overtime to keep up.”

“I love it here. It’s so beautiful,” Ryan said.

Henley nodded. “It really is. It’s almost ridiculous.”

The two women smiled in agreement.

“Ryan, can I bug you for a second?” Alaska asked as she approached.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“You were so cool about helping me last week when the computer at the front desk was acting up. You really seem to know what you’re doing with electronics. My cell phone quit ringing yesterday…or making any noise, really. I’m also not getting notifications, even though the settings all seem right. I already checked to make sure I didn’t bump the silent button on the side, and I didn’t. Now I’m getting frustrated because I don’t want to miss any texts or calls from guests while I’m working, but I am already.”

“I’m sure it’s something simple,” Ryan said, holding out her hand.

Alaska gave her the phone with a sigh of relief. “I mean, I would’ve asked Jasna, because you know, kids these days seem to be experts at anything having to do with technology, but I haven’t had a chance yet.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m an expert,” Ryan answered, “but…here ya go. All fixed.”

“Seriously?” Alaska asked, taking her phone back. “You had it for like two seconds! What was wrong?”

Ryan laughed. “You somehow turned on the ‘do not disturb’ function. When it’s on, there’s a little moon icon on the home screen.”

“Oh! I saw that, but just thought that was an icon showing me my alarm was set.”

Henley laughed this time, along with Ryan. “Nope.”

“I swear, I have no idea how in the world I can be so good at admin tasks, even with the website, but be so clueless with stuff like this. Anyway, thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome,” Ryan said with a wide grin.

Alaska turned to head back toward Brick, and Henley couldn’t help but look in Finn’s direction once more. Just like always, as if he could feel her gaze on him, he turned his head and smiled.

“You guys are too dang cute,” Ryan said with another chuckle. “Well, time for chow, I think. I’ll talk to you later,” she added, before heading for the food table.

“Hey, Mom!” Jasna exclaimed as she appeared out of nowhere next to Henley. She put her arms around her and leaned close.

Henley wrapped an arm around her daughter’s shoulders and asked, “How you doin’?”

“Great!” Jasna said happily. “I love it here so much.”

“I’m glad.”

“I know you told me all about the animals, but I can’t believe you didn’t tell me how awesome everything else was. I could’ve been hanging out here every summer!”

Henley chuckled. “I did tell you it was great, but you weren’t interested in hearing it because it was Mom’s workplace.”

Jasna laughed. “Okay, you’re right. But seriously, how could I have known The Refuge wasn’t anything like your office downtown?”

Henley wanted to roll her eyes and remind her daughter how many times she’d talked about the retreat for people who needed a break from the world, but she didn’t. She was simply glad Jasna was having a good summer. Losing Mrs. Singleton, and thus her childcare, had been a huge concern, but everything was working out extremely well so far.

“If I can have your attention!” Spike called out from across the room.

Everyone turned to him, and he continued.

“We just wanted to tell all of you how much we appreciate the work you do here. We couldn’t keep The Refuge up and running as well as it does without you. We talked about it the other night, and we want you all to know you’re more than welcome to stay in the empty cabins, anytime there’s one available. We try to have bonfires on one or two Saturday nights a month, which you can always attend, and of course you’re more than welcome to take advantage of the hiking trails. We want you to feel as much pride in what you’re doing here as we do. Just get with Alaska if you want to stay in a cabin, and she’ll let you know when there’s a cancelation or an opening. Unfortunately, it’ll probably be a late-notice kind of thing, but we hope this might be a welcome perk for you all.”

Everyone around them let out a cheer, and Henley smiled. She and Jasna had loved staying at The Refuge, and she knew the others would too.

“Now that that’s out of the way…feel free to hang out for as long as you’d like. We’ll open the lodge to the guests in another half hour or so, but that doesn’t mean you have to leave. Oh, and take as much of the leftover food home as you want. Robert won’t be upset if it’s all gone by the time he serves what he calls a ‘real dinner’ tonight.”

Everyone laughed, and Robert shrugged as if to say Spike wasn’t wrong.

“As always, if you need anything—anything at all—never be afraid to ask any one of us,” Spike went on. “Brick, Tonka, Pipe, Owl, Stone, Tiny, and I want you all to be happy during your time here. You’re truly changing lives, even if you don’t think what you do is important. The men and women who come to The Refuge need a place to relax while trying to heal from whatever they’re going through. They want a stress-free vacation, and every single one of you helps provide that. And now I’m done being sappy. Thank you all again!”

Everyone clapped, and Jasna looked up at her with a serious expression on her face. “Mom?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“I don’t like to think about anything bad happening to Spike. Or Finn. Or any of the other guys.”

“I know. I don’t either,” Henley said softly.

“They were all in the military, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“So they probably had to kill people? And people were trying to kill them?”

“I don’t know about that. Not everyone who’s in the military has to actually shoot anyone,” Henley said diplomatically. The truth of the matter was that she didn’t know all the guys’ stories. Even though she was The Refuge’s therapist, the owners didn’t sit down with her and tell her all their secrets. Finn was proof of that. She was dating the man, and she still didn’t know what exactly had happened to make him want to invest in The Refuge.

“I know killing people is bad, but I don’t think anyone here would do that on purpose. And if they did…the person probably deserved it.”

It was fascinating to watch her daughter grow up in front of her eyes. To see her mature intellectually. “I agree,” she said after a moment.

“And if anyone tried to hurt me, or you, I think they’d do whatever they could to help us.”

Henley frowned. “Has someone said or done something to worry you, Jasna?”

“No,” she said with a shrug. “I just feel safe here. And before you say it, I know bad things happen anywhere, but when I’m around Finn and the others…I just know no one can hurt me.”

And with that bombshell, Jasna hugged her mom, then pulled out of her hold and bounced over to visit Savannah, the woman who did The Refuge’s taxes and accounting.

“You okay?” Finn asked as he took Jasna’s place against Henley.

She gave him her weight as she kept her gaze on her daughter. “I don’t know,” she said honestly.

“What’s wrong? Talk to me, Hen.”

Taking a deep breath, she looked up at the man at her side. “It’s just that Jasna said some stuff that worries me.”

“Like what?”

“About how she knows she’s safe here at The Refuge. That even though you and your friends might’ve killed people, she was all right with that because they were probably bad.”

Finn didn’t say anything for a moment, then finally he nodded. “She’s not wrong. On both counts.”

“Should I be worried that she brought it up? I mean, maybe she doesn’t feel safe in our apartment?”

Finn turned her and put a finger under her chin, tilting her face up. “I think she’s a twelve-year-old girl who’s experiencing her first bit of freedom this summer. She has the run of this place and loves every second of it. I think she’s just trying to express her happiness, and let you know that she trusts us.”

Henley nodded. “Of course she trusts you and your friends. Why wouldn’t she?”

He studied her for a moment. “You’re so amazing.”

She frowned up at him. “Finn, we’re talking about Jasna and her trust in you guys,” Henley protested, even though she loved getting compliments from the man.

“And you said she trusts us without a second of hesitation. I know you’re aware that most people would think twice about letting their daughter hang out with a bunch of former military guys who are suffering from PTSD. Not to mention all the guests who have the same issues,” Finn told her.

“I’m not scared of you or your friends. Even the guests. That they’re here at all means they’re trying to figure out how to live with what happened to them. I worry more about the people out in the world who are driving drunk. The entitled people who think they have the right to berate hardworking employees in service jobs. People who don’t care if they go to work or school when they’re sick, with no regard for others. I’d rather Jasna hang out here with you and your friends than have her mind rotted by watching so-called reality TV or hanging out with mean girls from school.” Henley stared intently at Finn, hoping he understood what she was trying to say.

“One week,” Finn said as he stared back.

Henley’s lips twitched. “One week,” she echoed.

They shared an intimate look, and Henley swore she could feel his heart beating against her hand where it rested on his chest.

“Mom!” Jasna shouted from across the room.

The mood between her and Finn was broken with her daughter’s summons, but his fingers against her back as she turned still sent goose bumps down her arms.

“They’re gonna build a library here at the lodge! And Spike said I could help pick books!” Jasna said excitedly.

“That’s great. But we’re all standing right here. You don’t have to yell as if I’m on the other side of the property.”

“Sorry,” Jasna said with a small grin. “I’m just excited.”

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly, and the more Henley thought about her daughter’s words about being safe, the better she felt about them. It was simply Jasna’s way of trying to tell her mom not to worry. That she was happy.

Everything Henley had done in the last twelve years had been with Jasna in mind. The jobs she’d taken, the food she bought, the movies they watched on TV. The most important person in her life was her daughter. Knowing she loved The Refuge as much as Henley did felt really good. And she wasn’t wrong. The men who owned the retreat were special. Yes, they probably had killed in the past, but that in no way made them unworthy—or untrustworthy. She’d trust her life to them. More importantly, she’d trust Jasna’s life, if it came down to it.

Tonight, Finn had invited her and Jasna to walk out to Table Rock before it got dark and view the sunset. She’d been there before, and the hike out to the picturesque spot wasn’t too difficult. It pretty much didn’t matter what she and Finn did together, he could ask if she wanted to sit in an empty room and stare at the wall with him and she’d be more than happy to agree. Just being around the man made her happy.

One week, she reminded herself silently. Piece of cake.