The door to my dad’s office was ajar. Not all the way open, just enough for Charlie to stick his head in and shove it open wide.
I heard my dad chuckling before I even made it through.
“Charlie!” he called out. “How’s it going, my good man?”
I smiled listening to my father talk to my dog. It was as if he thought of Charlie as one of the guys. I guess he was in a way. Charlie had helped pull me out of a deep depression, a depression that still held deep inside me with its dark tendrils. Sort of as if it was lying in wait.
Charlie became a part of the family this past year, not just to me, but to everyone around me. They all knew the giant drool-monger helped me in ways no one else had been able. If for no other reason than to give me a purpose. It was hard to wallow in self-pity when there was a dog tugging on your sheets to get up because he had to piss or dragging in a leash because he wanted to walk.
“He’s doing great, Dad. He just ate a hamburger,” I said, coming into the office and shutting the door.
Dad laughed again, and I smiled because Charlie had his head lying in my father’s lap. Likely drooling all over his suit. He didn’t seem to mind, though. He just stroked the dog’s ears.
“Well, I’m sure your mother will be pleased you’re feeding him well.”
My mother called Charlie her grandson. Enough said.
“What’s this about?” I asked, sitting down in the chair near his desk.
The night lights were on out over the slopes. I got a sudden urge to grab my board and hit the powder. Snowboarding at night was something I would always love. The crispness in the air, the quiet around the trees, and the millions of stars filling the night sky above the pure, white snow. There really was nothing like it.
“I heard you called a staff meeting today.”
I groaned. That’s what this is about?
“Well, if you already know, then you don’t need to ask me about it.”
“Apparently, I do because it’s become clear you just aren’t going to inform me or your mother on what’s going on in your life.”
Ah, shit. I winced. “Mom’s upset?”
“If your mother was that upset, she’d already have been on your doorstep.” He glanced up. “Or at the door of wherever it is you’ve been sleeping.”
I groaned.
“Have you forgotten that BearPaw is sort of like a giant family? Families gossip, son. Especially about the most popular member.”
“People need to mind their own damn business,” I muttered.
“Considering you held a meeting and made everyone aware of your business, I would say that statement is a moot point.”
I sat up in the chair. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you and Mom before I made an announcement. I didn’t really plan it that way. It just needed to be said.”
“This must be some girl.” He started. “A suite under your name, ordering room service to be sent up every morning, purchasing a heap of outdoor gear in one of our nicest shops, bringing her to your lessons… staying in her room.”
“I get the point, Dad. You know everything.” And every single person in this place was a little tattle-tale.
“I’m not trying to lecture you. You’re a grown man. What you do with your time and with whom really isn’t my business as long as you aren’t hurting yourself or anyone else.”
“But?”
There was always a but with parents. Even when you were an adult.
“But this seems very extravagant for someone you just met last week.”
“No one told you her name?” I inquired.
His forehead wrinkled. He looked tired. A feeling I didn’t like pinged inside me, so I focused on the topic in front of us.
“No. But I don’t really think it matters.”
“It’s Bellamy, Dad.”
His face was blank for the first few seconds. Then realization washed over his features, and he sat forward. “The girl you wanted to leave the pros for?”
I nodded. “The girl that got away,” I murmured, repeating Alex’s favorite phrase.
“You mean the girl that ran away.”
My eyes flashed to his. I didn’t like the implication of his words. My tone was flat, borderline unreasonable, when I replied. “It wasn’t like that.”
He spread his hands. “Then how was it?”
“She saw me kissing someone else that morning. I didn’t know…” My voice trailed off as regret washed over me. I didn’t fight for her back then.
Why the fuck didn’t I fight?
Dad made a sound. “You were both very young. Not ready for love.”
“Well. She’s back now.”
“I take it the feelings you had eight years ago are still the same?”
I met his eyes. “They’re stronger.”
“I see.”
I shook my head. “She’s in some kind of trouble, Dad. She won’t say much, keeps saying she’s trying to protect me. But she’s jumpy. Skittish. She’s running from some bad people.”
“And you want to protect her.”
I want to do so much more than protect her. “You’re damn right I do.”
“And telling the staff that she’s your girlfriend was your way of doing that.”
I made a sound. “She was worried they were thinking bad about her because everything is in my name.”
My father smiled mildly. “So you set them straight.”
I got up, restless. Prowling to the other side of the room, I said, “Why does this amuse you so much?”
“It’s just nice to see you care about something other than snowboarding.”
“I care about more than just boarding,” I argued.
“So when do we get to meet her?” Dad asked. I wasn’t sure if I should be annoyed or relieved he didn’t argue back. “You know your mother is going to be relentless.”
I made a sound. “She probably put you up to this.”
He chuckled, and that pretty much proved that. “She’s curious. She’s heard all the gossip, too. But I was as well, especially since you were comping so much at the resort and calling staff meetings.”
I grimaced. “She tried to pay me. More than once. I can’t take her money.”
“I understand.”
I turned to him. “Do you really?”
He smiled wide. “I was young once. When I first met your mother, I was a besotted fool.”
I barked a laugh.
“I am concerned, though. If she really is in trouble, then it could follow her here. I want you to be happy, Liam, but not at the expense of your wellbeing.”
“Not you, too,” I muttered and scrubbed a hand over my face.
“Come again?”
“Bellamy just told me the same thing.”
“I like her already.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Talk to her. If there is one thing I learned after all these years of marriage, you have to be honest. And you have to be a team. If you aren’t, it will never work.”
“Yeah.” I agreed, thinking back to eight years ago. If we’d been a little more honest, maybe acted like a team, things might have turned out a lot differently.
“We’ll get together this weekend. Bring her to Sunday dinner. I’ll tell your mother. She can call you to finalize.”
I nodded.
“So,” he said in the tone he always used when he wanted to change the subject. I knew exactly where this was heading—to me taking over the resort. “Have you thought about what we discussed at our last meeting?”
There was a quick rap against his door, and then it opened. Alex popped his head in. “Sorry to bother you, Ren, sir, but I’m trying to find Liam.”
I stepped forward so he could see me.
Alex’s face softened with relief. “I tried to call you.”
My chest tightened. “Is everything okay?”
He glanced at my father, then back. “Can we talk?”
We both looked at my father, and he waved us off. “Go on. Liam, I’ll see you Saturday.”
“See you then,” I said, but right before I left, I stopped and turned. “Thanks, Dad. For everything.”
“You’re welcome, son.”
Charlie was dancing around Alex when I stepped out in hallway. That’s how I knew it was serious. Alex always goofed off with the dog, but tonight he didn’t even seem to notice him.
“What’s going on?” I asked, tucking my hands in the pockets of my jeans.
“I was at the tavern a few minutes ago, and these guys came in. I didn’t think anything of it at first. I mean, there are new faces in and out all the time, you know?”
I nodded. A pit of dread was forming a hard knot in my stomach, and it was making me very impatient.
“But there was something off about them… Something didn’t feel right.”
“Are they guests here?”
Alex shook his head. “Don’t think so. They paid cash for their drinks… started asking some questions.
“What kind of questions?”
His brow furrowed even deeper. “They wanted to know about Bellamy.”
My hands fell from my pockets, shoulders going rigid. “They asked about Bells?”
“Yeah. They were being casual about it, but there was something off. Then I remembered how you said she was in some kind of trouble…”
I surged forward and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. “What did you tell them?”
Alex wrenched away and made a sour face. “Like I’d tell them shit.”
“C’mon,” I said and took off down the hall. He fell into step beside me. “They still in the bar?”
“Nah, they left. That’s when I came to find you.”
“Where’d they go?”
“Not sure, but I told the guy working the front desk to watch them.”
I hit the elevator button about fifteen times and then cursed. These things were fucking slow! With an impatient growl, I hit the button one last time and took off for the stairs.
“Where’s Bellamy now?” Alex said, running right beside me, Charlie bringing up the rear.
“I left her in her room.”
Alone.
Suddenly, it felt as if all the blood in my veins was replaced with ice water. I let out a string of curses and picked up my pace.
This place was huge. Just because men were here looking didn’t mean they’d find her. She was fine. She was safe.
Please, God, let her be safe.