I stood and wiped the sweat from my forehead, taking off my helmet and relishing the feel of the cool air on my skin. I sat down next to the massive truck—I’d been lifting all morning, pulling chains and hauling logs, and though my body felt tired, I enjoyed the rush I got from the physical work. It was part of the reason I’d become a logger in the first place—I got to work outside and use my hands, use my body for something useful. I’d always had a lot of pent-up energy in my life, so this line of work suited me perfectly. No matter how much money I earned, I would always do the hands-on work. I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else with my life.

I took a sip of my water bottle and looked around, drinking in the natural beauty. The remaining trees were tall and glorious. They were plentiful, and all of the wood we took was used to improve the retreat. A large chunk of the forest would remain untouched, preserved for the surrounding wildlife and the beauty of the wilderness.

I heard a noise behind me, on the other side of the truck. I turned around, glancing underneath it to see a pair of men’s boots.

“Hello?” I called out in the silence. “Gabe?”

There was no answer. There was another noise, a snapping sound, and at the last moment, I lunged to the side and out of the way as the chain on the truck broke and the large logs began to roll out and down the hill. They thundered as they crashed against each other and into the trees below. I tried to take a deep breath, my eyes wide as I stared at the logs. If I’d moved only a second later, they would have crushed me. I remembered the man on the other side of the truck and tried to get up and go after him—he’d definitely snapped the chain, trying to kill me in the process. I scrambled to my feet and ran around the truck, but whoever the man had been had disappeared into the trees. I scanned the forest but saw no hint of movement. I shivered as I looked around, staring down at the fallen logs that had almost killed me.

I got in my truck, deciding to leave it behind and come back with help. I didn’t know how I’d explain the situation to my men. When I’d looked at the broken part of the chain, it was clear it had been cut, that it hadn’t simply snapped by itself. I didn’t know what that meant and I didn’t want to know—I only knew it would be best to get away from the site, especially if I was scheduled to be there alone.

As I drove, my mind went to Michael. I thought about the anger on his face and wondered if he was capable of something like that. I decided to bring it up with Lilian later. Truth be told, I wanted to see her again anyway. I’d been thinking about her the entire time while I’d worked, how easy it was to make her smile despite the fact she was clearly wound tight. I wondered what it would be like to unwrap her and see inside of her, though I knew it was hopeless to wonder. She would only be here for a week, and I had no interest in getting involved with a woman who would just be a fleeting thing, no matter how much fun it would be to see her sweet smile as I made her come.

By the time I got back to the retreat, it had started to snow again, and I knew it was going to be a bitch to dig those logs out later. I didn’t look forward to doing it, not after what had happened, but I knew I couldn’t let my crew do it on their own.

I got inside and went into the office set up on the top floor of the retreat. I sat down at my desk, trying to relax before I went to see Lilian. I wanted to be calm when I explained it to her so that she wouldn’t get too worried or paranoid.

I was about to get up and go to her room when there was a knock at the door. I stood up and opened it, frowning when I saw who it was.

“Richard,” I said, filled with loathing as usual at the sight of the man. He’d always brought a nausea to my stomach, but after the incident, seeing him had become even worse—he wasn’t even supposed to be here and he knew it.

“Logan,” he said back, his voice cold. “Can I come in for a moment?”

“What do you want?” I asked, my voice coming out full of poison. It didn’t matter how much time I spent in his presence—he was able to wind me up just by existing, a rare feat for anybody given I was pretty laid back and easy to get along with.

“You know what I want, Logan,” he said.

I sighed, opening the door to let him in. I shut and locked it behind me, then went around the desk and sat down, staring at the man with what I knew was loathing on my face.

“I told you not to come here again,” I said, keeping my voice calm. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m staying at the retreat,” he said, giving a wolfish smile.

“No, you’re not,” I said.

“Oh, but I am,” he said in that devilish voice as if he were smarter than me. “And you’re not going to do anything about it.”

“I can kick you out of here,” I said through clenched teeth. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

“You won’t,” he said casually, his voice flippant.

“Why are you here, Richard?” I asked him impatiently. “Speak or get out of my fucking office.”

“So much rage,” the man said, clicking his tongue. “You really need to do something about that.”

I glared at him without answering. Truthfully, I wasn’t an angry person in general, but Richard had always been good at getting under my skin.

“I want my money,” he said. “The money you owe me.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I owe you nothing?” I hissed. “Yet you keep coming back here—”

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” he said, his calm demeanor flaring up into anger. “You owe me thousands of dollars. And I’m going to get it.”

“And how are you going to do that?” I asked him. I stood up, looming over him as I held his eye with steely resolve. He grinned at me in a way that made me shudder, almost too wide for his face.

“You’ll see,” he said, standing up as well. He buttoned the jacket that he was always wearing and gave me a small bow, a sardonic smile on his face. Then he disappeared, leaving me alone to seethe in my office. Richard had been hassling me about the money since he’d been fired from the board, though he hadn’t done anything to earn a single penny. I refused to give it to him no matter what he did, but I couldn’t help but wonder what he was capable of or what he would do in order to get his hands on the money.

I left the office, wanting to see Lily even more than before. There was something about her that made me feel lighter than I usually did, like all of my problems were just vague memories in my head. I went to her room and when I saw her door, I froze. Written in marker, in all capital letters, the word slut was scrawled on the door. I shook my head, gritting my teeth as I knocked on it. I decided not to tell Lily about it, hoping that she wouldn’t come outside before I had a chance to get it cleaned off.

She answered it a moment later, dressed in one of the short, soft robes that had been provided for her. I forgot for a moment what I’d gone there for, forgot the message on the door, the moment I saw her. I could see her long legs under the robe, long and lean, and my eyes traveled up her body and back to her blushing face.

“Hi,” she said. “Um, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I didn’t expect to come by, but there’s something I thought I should talk to you about,” I said.

She raised her eyebrows. “Again? Did you spread another rumor about me?”

I laughed. “No, something happened today. Can I come in?”

“Sure,” she said, moving aside to let me move past. I could smell her shampoo and saw her hair was wet and falling down her back, longer than I had thought it was.

“So what’s going on?” she asked, standing near the doorway as I stood by the bed.

“I was working today outside and somebody snapped the cable holding the trees in place,” I told her. “Nearly killed me. If I hadn’t moved in time, it would have.”

Her hand fluttered over her mouth and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Somebody tried to kill you?”

“Yes,” I said, watching her for her reaction. A look of fear passed over her face but it wasn’t something that overwhelmed her. It was paired with curiosity and interest.

“Don’t you think it could have just snapped?” she asked, though she didn’t sound convinced.

“It was cut. I saw somebody there. They ran away before I had a chance to catch them.”

“Oh,” she said. She chewed on her lip and I stared at her mouth, which was wide, her lips full and soft-looking. “What are you going to do?”

“There’s nothing I can do about it right now,” I said. “I just have to watch out, keep an eye out.”

She stared at me for a moment. “Why did you come and tell me this?”

“I wondered if it might be Michael,” I said.

She shook her head without hesitation. “No, he’s an asshole, but I think he’s too weak to do something like that. He’s a weasel.”

“He’s the only person I can think of who would be that angry,” I said. “Do you think it’s possible he’s that upset?”

“It’s possible,” she said reluctantly. “But I really don’t think it was him. He’s not the type to do something like that. Maybe it was somebody pranking you.”

“That’s a hell of a prank,” I said. “I could have been crushed to death.”

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said, looking into my eyes.

“How was your day?” I asked her.

She shrugged. “I worked,” she said.

“Are you planning to ski? Go to the spa? Anything but work?”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” she said, glancing away from me. It wasn’t long before she met my eye again and held it, her gaze intent.

“You really should, Lily,” I said to her. “Relax a little bit. You work too hard.”

She smiled at me. “You barely know me.”

“And yet I know you’re in this beautiful place that you love, hidden away in your room.”

“I guess you’re right,” she said. “But I really don’t know what to do with myself.”

“How about we go skiing?” I suggested. I hadn’t been expecting to ask her to spend time with me but I found I wanted another reason to be in her presence. “I mean, if we’re pretending to be interested in each other, we should spend some time together.”

She looked at me for a moment, then nodded, a look of amusement in her eyes.

“Do you really think that’s necessary?” she asked, her voice playful.

“I think we need to be very thorough if we want Michael to back off,” I said to her. “I’m just looking out for you.”

“Uh huh,” she said, though she grinned. “Okay, Logan. We can go skiing. But only for an hour or so.”

“An hour,” I agreed, though I knew I was going to do my best to drag it out for longer. “And then I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Okay,” she said softly. I looked at her for another moment, tempted to reach out and touch her. I had never been so taken with a woman so quickly before, and I knew right away that it was a bad idea. But it didn’t faze me. I smiled at her before I left, telling her goodnight. I shut the door behind me and was about to go get a maintenance worker when I heard it open again. Lily poked her head out and looked at me.

“Hey, um, are we going tomorrow?”

“Yes,” I said to her. “Would you like to have lunch with me first?”

“Sure,” she said, a pleased look on her face. She turned then to go back into her room and saw the writing on her door, staring at it for a long moment before she looked over at me.

“This is something Michael would do,” she said. I nodded.

“I’ll get it cleaned up,” I said. She went back into her room and I left to find a maintenance person, still thinking about the look on her face when I’d asked her to spend the day with me. She had looked like she was genuinely interested, and I knew if I wasn’t careful, that was a look I could fall for if I let myself go.