Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Rae

W orking in housekeeping at the lodge was a totally different world than ranching, but just as exhausting in its own way. After half a day of stripping beds, vacuuming, dusting, and scrubbing toilets, the place was starting to feel endless, like no matter how many beds I made, there were still a million other rooms waiting.

There was one thing I learned in this job that I'd never taken into consideration until today. People on vacation were terrible at picking up after themselves. A ball of shame swirled around in my stomach at the realization that my friends and I had been guilty of that very thing. Actually, we were probably worse than the people staying at Second Hope Lodge whenever we'd gone on vacation. All form of manners had been thrown right out the window. We trashed hotel rooms and villas because it was expected that someone else would pick up after us while we were busy working on our tans out by the pool or sipping fruity cocktails on the beach. We hadn't given the poor people whose job it was to clean the disasters we left in our wake a single thought.

If my parents' plan was to send me here to humble me and make me see the error of my ways, they had succeeded brilliantly. I'd been here less than a week, and I already knew I'd been the worst kind of asshole back in L.A. I was determined to change that.

"Hey, how's it going?"

I looked up from the trash can I was emptying into a larger garbage bag and smiled brilliantly at Ivy, the pretty woman a few years older than me with pale strawberry blonde hair who was my boss for the day. She was the head of hospitality for the lodge. I wasn't exactly sure what all that job entailed, but apparently that put her over the housekeeping staff. "Great," I chirped, lying through my teeth. The work wasn't easy, that was for damn sure, and before coming here, I was a pampered little brat. But I would be damned if I didn't pull my weight or complained about it being hard when all the people around me did this day after day. The longer I was here, the more I realized I wasn't the person I had pretended to be back in California. I'd been faking it, wearing the layers of a vain, self-absorbed mean girl in order to fit in.

I wasn't exactly sure who I really was, but I knew I wanted to do everything in my power to find out, and I was starting to think this was the place to make that happen.

"Lucinda says you've been doing great." My chest started to feel warm, pride swelling inside me and filling the space at finding out I was doing a good job. I hadn't been sure what Lucinda, the head housekeeper, really thought of me. The woman wasn't exactly easy to read. She was an older woman, probably somewhere in her late forties, if I had to guess, who grunted one-word answers and wore a perpetual frown. I'd worried at first that she hated me on principle alone. That she didn't want to waste her time with a spoiled socialite. However, a couple of the other lodge staffers had pulled me aside to assure me it wasn't personal, that it was just how she was.

"I appreciate that."

"It's time for your lunch hour. Do you have any plans?"

"Oh," I started, caught off guard by yet another friendly person. Seemed like Hope Valley was full of them. "Um, no. I was going to eat the sandwich I packed." I really needed to get to a grocery store. If I had to eat one more peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I was going to scream.

"Forget about that. I should have told you, the restaurant kitchen holds back meals for the staff. You finish up here and I'll grab us a couple plates and meet you in the employee breakroom. Sound good?"

It sounded great, actually. A hell of a lot better than sitting by myself. "Yeah, that's perfect," I said with a genuine smile.

"Great! See you in a bit."

She took off, and I got back to work, an added layer of excitement falling over me as I worked at my new lunch plans. I finished scrubbing the bathroom and pulled off my rubber gloves, tossing them onto the housekeeping cart before wheeling it out into the hall. I returned the smiles of everyone I passed on the way to the storage room to drop off the cart, still a little thrown at how nice the people here were. Guests and staff alike.

I took the elevator to the first floor and turned left at the hallway right off the lobby. Instead of having guest rooms down this hall, there were offices, a couple conference rooms, the break room, and a locker room for us to use to change from our own clothes into our uniforms if needed. By the time I made it into the breakroom, Ivy was sitting at one of the round tables for four that filled the space, along with a few vending machines, a fancy coffeemaker, and a fridge.

She pointed to the plate in front of the empty seat across from her and waved for me to sit down. "Hope you like chicken. The other options were meatloaf and turkey pot pie. All of it is delicious, because Daniel doesn't know how to make a bad meal, but his grilled chicken breast is the best."

"That's perfect. Thank you so much." I sat down and inhaled deeply. I didn't know what he seasoned the chicken with, but it smelled downright heavenly. The chicken looked juicy, the side salad was fresh, with fat, ripe cherry tomatoes, and the roasted potatoes looked perfectly crispy. My stomach let out a low growl, reminding me how hungry I was. I picked up my knife and fork, not wasting a second, and dove right in, shoving a huge bite into my mouth without an ounce of shame.

When I used to go to restaurants in L.A., I'd push the tiny bits of food I paid an arm and a leg for around on the plate, maybe taking a bite or two so I could rave about how delicious the food at the over-priced five-star hotspot was. If any of the people I hung out with back then could see me now, they would curl their overly-plumped lips and look down their surgically straightened noses at me .

But I couldn't find it in me to give a damn how I looked shoveling food into my mouth. First, because everything I'd eaten since getting here—peanut butter sandwiches aside—was delicious. And second, because I'd never worked so damn hard in my life, and I needed food to keep me fueled or I was liable to pass the hell out. Fainting due to starvation would have been three gigantic steps back from where I was trying so hard to get to, proving to myself and others that I was better than I had been.

"How has your first day been so far?" Ivy asked, her gaze steady on me, genuine interest staring right into me.

"It's been really good," I replied, somewhat surprised to find that my answer wasn't a lie. I might not have been used to the work, but I was quickly coming to learn a sense of accomplishment from hard work that I had never experienced before. "Everyone here is so nice. And this place is beautiful," I said. Even the room I had been cleaning earlier, one of the smaller ones, had been warm and cozy and inviting. Like all the rest, it had gorgeous views of the ranch, with the foothills and mountains beyond.

The lodge itself was built to look like a gigantic cabin. The interior was designed in a rustic ranch style with wooden walls, thick, raw beams along the ceilings, and sturdy furniture covered in rich tones of buttery, studded leather. The fixtures were brass and high-end, complimenting the deep wood throughout. It was a place I would have gladly shelled out a pretty penny to stay at in my previous life. "I can see why it's booked solid for the next three months."

"Thanks," she chirped happily. "We try to make this place a great experience for everyone. People from the city love to come out here and decompress, you know? Go fishing, trail ride, hike. You'd be surprised how much of our business is repeat."

"I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but I'd never been around a horse before I came here."

Ivy's eyes went big as she chewed the bite she had just popped into her mouth. "Really? I love horses. Does that mean you've never ridden before?"

I gave my head a shake and forked up some of the salad. "Nope. Never."

She sat up straight, excitement radiating from her. "You should totally talk to Raylan. He runs the trail rides and horseback riding lessons for the lodge. I bet he'd be happy to teach you."

A little flutter moved through my belly at the idea of getting on the back of one of those big, beautiful creatures. Zach had said he'd teach me how to work with Sassy, but I wasn't sure she was ready to have a rider yet. That didn't mean I hadn't been bitten by the bug since getting here. And learning to ride was crucial when it came to the ranch work I'd started doing. It was only a matter of time before it became necessary.

At the mention of riding, a thought popped into my head.

I wonder if Zach would be willing to teach me instead . But I quickly snuffed that idea out, doing my best to ignore the little tingles starting to dance up my spine and along my skin. It wasn't the first time I had thought about him since our interaction the night before, and every time the image of him popped in my head, that tingle started.

Zach was, hands down, one of the sexiest men I'd ever laid eyes on. I'd realized it that first morning when he showed up at the cabin in a bad mood and threw a ton of attitude at me. But last night, I'd gotten an up-close-and-personal look at him for the first time. Without the cowboy hat, I'd been able to see he had dark blond hair that matched the whiskers on his cheeks and chin. He wore it cropped close to his scalp so there wasn't enough for a woman to clutch in her fist, but it was still long enough to slide your fingers through. His eyes made me think of warm, decadent dark chocolate when they weren't glaring at me. But the main thing I noticed from the night before was how perfectly he filled out his worn, faded Wranglers. The man had an ass that just... wouldn't... quit ! A perfect bubble butt that men who spent years doing squats and lunges would never be able to replicate. It was round and looked firm as hell, and my mouth watered at the thought of taking a bite out of it.

I'd never considered myself an ass girl before. I liked a strong set of shoulders and a long, thick neck—both of which my new boss had—but I was officially the number one fan of Zach's ass. Hell, I would gladly start a fan club dedicated to it.

But looks aside, I couldn't stop thinking about the sparks that had shot up my arm the moment his big work-roughened hand had closed over mine. My entire body lit up at the simple touch, like I'd grabbed hold of a fallen powerline.

In the blink of an eye, a crush had formed. I was attracted to my boss in a way that made my skin feel tight and my breath quicken. And nothing could ever come of it. I spent way too many years making shitty choices and giving in to every selfish desire. I couldn't be that woman anymore. I needed to make better decisions. I needed to show that I could be responsible, and crushing on Zach was the very definition of irresponsible. My parents had sent me here for a reason, and that did not include trying to seduce their friend's much older son.

None of that mattered anyway, because I was sure he wasn't the least bit interested. Despite his change in attitude last night in the barn, he'd made his opinion of me crystal clear. I was just a spoiled little girl in his eyes.

And no matter how badly I might want to make him see me differently, it was probably safer if his opinion didn't change.

I pushed the intrusive thoughts of Zach to the back of my mind and smiled at Ivy. "You know what? I might just do that. Sounds like fun."