Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Sawyer

Cash leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window in the resort restaurant, impeding my view of the docks below.

"Who are we spying on?" he asked casually.

I glared at him. "No one."

Cash pressed his forehead to the glass, peering out toward the dock, where Skylar was talking to Ash in front of a brightly colored food boat that had arrived.

"Then you're creeping on Skylar, in which case, Brooks will kick your ass."

I scoffed. "You know I'm straight."

"Eh, I'm not convinced anyone is ever totally straight."

I cut my eyes toward him. "You would love that. More people to hook up with."

My attempt to divert him failed. Cash kept talking, but then, no one had ever figured out how to shut his big mouth.

"So if you're not into Sky, I have to assume that intense look you've got going on is for Ash."

"He shouldn't be here."

Brooks's voice came from behind us. "Who shouldn't be here?"

"No one," I muttered.

"Sawyer is spying on Ash," Cash said.

"For fuck's sake," Brooks and I growled at the same time.

I turned away from the window. "I was just admiring the view."

"Aha!" Cash pointed at me. "So you were perving on Ash!"

"What? No . I was looking at the landscape. Fucking hell. You think everything is a joke, but it's not. Ash is the last thing I want to see."

Brooks pinched his nose and sighed. "Saw, you're going to have to deal with it."

"I know that." I turned away from the window. I hadn't been spying on Ash. I'd simply been waiting for him to clear out before I headed to the Swallow Adventures office to check in with Hudson. "What do you think I'm doing in here? I'm trying to prepare."

"Can you ever prepare for giving up a ten-year grudge?" Cash mused unhelpfully.

Brooks gave him a flat look. "Aren't you on the clock?"

Cash raised his hands. "Sorry, boss boyfriend! I'll get back to the front desk."

"I hate when he calls me that," Brooks grumbled.

"I hate most of the shit that comes out of his mouth." I paused. "Why are we friends with him again?"

We laughed, cutting through some of the tension.

"I really don't know," Brooks said. "But I do know why I'm friends with you. And I really should have given you more time to come to terms with this."

I shrugged. "You knew I'd flip. I'm sure you weren't looking forward to the ranting."

He grimaced. "Still."

"It's okay." I glanced out the window. The dock was empty. Now was my chance to get to work without any run-ins. "It's not like we have to work together. We don't even have to speak to each other."

Brooks frowned. "I don't know if that's the best?—"

"I gotta get to work." I patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, man. We're cool."

I stepped into the hallway, and damn near ran into Ash. He'd just stepped inside, head bent, eyes on his phone. I ducked into the conference room next door and waited for him to pass, then hauled ass down the corridor to the exit.

By the time I got to the Swallow Adventures hut, I was breathing hard. The weather was still mild, but I'd broken into a light sweat from the speed-walking I'd done.

Avoiding Ash when his boat was right next to ours might be trickier than I'd implied when I spoke to Brooks. Most likely, we'd run into each other. Probably exchange some unsavory words. Just like we did on the lake when we were both running tours.

Ash could never resist stopping to taunt me. I could never resist taking the bait.

But Brooks didn't need to worry about all that. It was my problem, not his or Sky's. The resort was an incredible project, and this was their first season opening. They had bigger fish to fry.

"Damn it!" Hudson slapped his phone down on his flimsy metal desk as I walked into our little hut that included a front ticket window, small office, and bathroom.

"Uh-oh. What's wrong?"

Hudson growled and tugged his beard, which he'd grown at Fisher's request. My friend had a real bear fetish.

"Regi isn't coming back this season." He blew out a breath. "And apparently he had to wait until the first day he was scheduled for a tour to tell me."

I knew what that meant. "More booze cruises for me, huh?"

"Well, I'd send Heath, but you know what he's like."

Grumpy. Cantankerous. Too likely to dump an obnoxious drunk into the lake.

"Yeah," I said glumly. "I know."

"We've still got a lot of applications on file. I've got a tour about to go out, but if you wanted to look through them…"

"I can do that."

"Are you sure? You could also just go home and relax until the cruise later tonight."

"Sooner we get interviews scheduled, the sooner I'm off booze cruise detail, right?"

"That's right. You've done your time. Besides, you're of more help to me in the office." He chuckled. "You could probably run this operation better than I could."

"No, thanks," I said quickly. "I'll just take my paycheck and leave the business headaches to you."

"Well, it's been a lot easier since the resort took us on as a partner," Hudson said. "Although I suppose we'll have to see long-term if we're busy enough. Otherwise, they might cut us loose again." He grimaced. "And I already spent most of my savings on the new house with Fisher."

"See?" I shook my head. "I'll leave those kinds of worries to other folks. My camper and my boat are enough financial responsibility."

Not to mention, a lot of my spare income went toward my hobby. I'd forked up for a speedboat, which I was still making monthly payments on. Not to mention all the equipment for wakesurfing and boarding. When I was a kid, my dad had taken me and my friends out, but once he was gone, it had been up to me to pay my own way if I wanted to continue.

There were a few places that rented out equipment or ran tours, but none nearby. I had to drive an hour, and it was expensive to book. It didn't take me long to figure out I'd be better off buying my own equipment and recruiting friends to go out with me.

None of them were into it at the same level Ash had been, but?—

I cut that thought short. I didn't want to think about those days.

Hudson stood and edged out from behind the desk. "The applications are in the bottom drawer," he said. "I've got to get out there."

I nodded, shifting aside so he could get to the door. It was a very small office. Sky had offered Hudson a nicer one in the resort, but he wanted to be accessible to the public.

"When should I schedule the interviews?" I asked.

"For as soon as possible," he said. "If I'm not here, you can just cover them. I trust your judgment. Hell, if you find a good candidate, just hire them. The sooner we get fully staffed, the better. Business is already starting to pick up."

I nodded. We'd had two booze cruises this month, but soon it'd be every couple of days.

"Okay, I'll get started."

I pulled a thick file folder from the bottom drawer. It was full of applications, but some of these were a couple of years old.

I skimmed the details, separating them into piles. I'd start with the best and most recent applicants, because I figured the odds of finding someone who was still interested would be better. Then I separated those into most and least experienced and started making calls.

I'd gone through half a dozen, leaving messages for half of those and crossing others off the list because they'd relocated or already gotten a job elsewhere, when something caught my attention.

Bling-bling-bling!

Shit, that was our bell at the ticket counter.

I blinked out of my fugue state and checked our schedule with a quick glance. There was nothing scheduled outside of the tour Hudson already took. But we occasionally got walk-ups. Not usually this early in the season, but once the resort was booked, it would probably happen a lot more often.

One more reason to get fully staffed now.

I hopped up and skirted around the desk, then ducked into the ticket window just as the bell rang again.

"Hi, how can I help?—"

I stopped short. Ash stood there, a sheepish grin on his face, his beard hiding the dimple I knew he had.

"Uh, hi. I expected Hudson…"

"He's on a boat tour," I said shortly. "He'll be back in two hours."

I turned away.

"Wait," Ash called. "I just need the key."

I paused. "Key?"

"To the food boat. Skylar said it was here, so…I'm just going to take it out for a test drive. You know, I want to see how it handles."

I nodded. "Fine. Wait here."

We had a rack of keys behind the desk. I found the one labeled food boat and returned to the front counter. Ash was waiting, but his head was turned toward the water. He squinted slightly in the sun, and there was something about his position, one elbow propped on the counter, that made a sharp sense of déjà vu slam into me.

Even years older, with the bulk of a man's body instead of a lanky teen's and the extra facial hair, he still stood the same.

Moved the same.

Smiled the same.

He turned toward me, that trademark grin spreading across his face.

Twin sensations hit me. Fondness and resentment. Comfort and pain.

My heart tumbled. Why did he have to come here?

"Thanks, man. I can't wait to take her out."

I slammed the key down. "Why the fuck are you doing this?"

He blinked. "Uh, what?"

"Working here. Invading my life. Making nice with my friends."

"It's not like that. This was a good opportunity."

I scoffed. "Right. You've got a rich stepdad who could finance your damn business anytime, but you had to come here."

Ash's smile dropped. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about. But what's new, right? You always did leap to dumbass conclusions."

"Like you stealing my girlfriend?"

" Ex- girlfriend, and I didn't steal her, asshole. She came to me of her own free will."

"You broke the bro code, and you know it."

Ash snatched up the key and gave me a grim smile. "Well, good thing I don't want to be your bro , then."

That cut like no other words he'd ever said. We'd been as close as brothers once. I'd thought we still were when I moved to Swallow Cove. Sure, Ash lived in Bubble Butte back then, and we weren't an easy jaunt across the lake from each other, but I thought we'd find a way.

My family fell apart, and I was a mess, but when the dust cleared, I expected my best friend to be waiting for me.

But he wasn't.

I'd always assumed he was selfish and horny. But maybe it ran deeper than that. Maybe he hadn't wanted to be my friend at all.

Ash read something in my expression. He winced. "Sawyer, I didn't mean?—"

"I've got work to do."

I turned on my heel and headed back into the office, fuming.

If the bell rang again, I didn't hear it through the buzzing in my brain.

How had I fooled myself into thinking I could avoid him here? I hadn't even made it through a few hours without him sending me into a tailspin.

Fucking fuck. This summer was going to suck balls.