Runaway

by Katie Cross

  “Yes,” she said quickly. “I have a few bags in my car.”

  “Good. Anything I can help with?”

  She hesitated, then said, “I just . . . I came here because I wanted to be left alone for a while. I don't want anyone to know I'm here.”

  “Sure.”

  She blinked. “You're really okay with this?”

  “Of course. Is someone after you?”

  “Not yet.”

  “But will be?”

  “I'd rather not go into more details.”

  “Are you in danger? I won't ask any more than that.”

  “You wouldn't be.”

  She didn't answer my question, but I could tell she wouldn't elaborate, so I let that one go. I did love a challenge.

  “It's no secret you avoid my calls and get frustrated with me on the phone,” she said as she set down her hot chocolate. “I wasn't sure what kind of reception to expect, to be honest. But you need cash, you live in the mountains, and that's a good fit for both of us right now. I figured it was worth a shot, at any rate.”

  I grinned, and it seemed to surprise her. There wasn't a single person on this planet as stubborn as Marie Lee—Stella Marie Lee, I meant—or as fit to do my accounting. She told it like it was, and most of the time, I didn't like reality.

  But I still went with it.

  “That's true.” I toasted her with my mug. “Our conversations are frustrating. But I haven't gotten rid of you yet, have I?”

  She blinked. “No. Why is that?”

  “I need people that challenge me.” I stood up and set the hot chocolate near the sink. Then I pulled a coat on and stepped into a pair of muck boots by the door. “Help yourself to whatever you want. There's some food in the fridge. I need to get the fire going in your cabin so you don't freeze tonight. It's still warm during the day, but the nights get cold.”

  “Oh.” She nodded. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

  Without another word, I walked outside. What else was I supposed to say? She was far more charming in person than I'd expected. Although she was clearly in an uncertain situation now, it didn't seem to change the inner core of strength I'd always sensed on our calls. Though I couldn't reconcile the frustrating woman on the phone that rarely backed my investment ideas with the confident woman before me now.

  And, for some reason, I didn't want to.

  3

  Stella

  The twitter and call of a bird outside woke me the next morning.

  I stirred, wrapped in the warmth of a sleeping bag that Mark had dug out of . . . somewhere . . . after starting a fire in a small fireplace. The cabin he'd given me wasn't large. Barely had room for a small bed, a square desk, a chair, a pole to hang clothes across the far wall, and a tiny bathroom with a standup shower. It had just been built a few months ago when a woman named Lizbeth had moved in here. But it was oddly perfect.

  Small. Isolated. Quiet.

  Heaven.

  My new phone chimed. I grabbed it off the ground where it charged near a plug in the wall and yawned to find a text message.

  Grandma: You've arrived safely at your mountain retreat?

  * * *

  Stella Marie: Yes! My friend is here and all is well. Love you.

  My finger hesitated over the send button. Was Mark a friend? That would be a generous interpretation of the word. But client sounded weird, and he was more than just an acquaintance. He had, without pressing much, taken me in when I needed it the most. If that wasn't a friend, then what was? I sent it.

  Her response came moments later.

  Grandma: Love you.

  With a little yawn, I stretched my arms over my head. The dying fire kept the room warm. Outside, fresh sunlight streamed through the naked tree branches and onto the ground. A little wind drifted by, and the soft scent of fall lingered in the air. Beyond my cabin lay a summer camp—Adventura—but I didn't know much else about it beyond annual income, operating expenses, and a few other ratios that had nothing to do with reality. I knew Mark and investors had sunk money into this, that he'd had a bad second summer, and those investors had left at the end of the summer. A guy named Maverick took over those investors in a last-minute save that prevented Mark from losing everything.

  Several big churches had pulled their reservations at the last possible minute in July, and now Mark still scrambled to come up with cash. With a shake of my head, I pushed those thoughts away.

  Work would come later. It never had before. Work had always been first. But now it couldn't be.

  Because I had no job anymore.

  Right now, it was time for a run. Running here would be far different than a city park or long blocks, but there had been a road that brought me here.

  Last night, Mark had wordlessly helped me lug my two suitcases and rolling laptop case inside. I riffled through them now, yanking out a pair of black pants and my favorite socks. Even so little luggage cluttered the available area. I'd have to buy hangers at some point, but living out of bags was acceptable for now. My gaze drifted outside. I'd also have to confront Mark again at some point.

  Perhaps it wouldn't feel so daunting now that I knew he wouldn't kick me out. At least, not yet.

  Once ready for my run, I rooted through my laptop bag, grabbed a stack of sticky notes, and scrawled my goals for the day on top. Then I slapped them on the wall on my way out.

  1. Notify grandma

  2. Buy food, hangers, and chai mix.

  3. Check on my clients.

  4. Go for a run.

  Maybe hiding in the mountains wouldn't be so bad after all.

  4

  Mark

  If Stella had made anything clear last night, it was that she wanted to be left alone.

  So did I.

  A craving for isolation, or maybe something else entirely, drove me to declare my official mountain man status after JJ's wedding. The summer camp season had ended at Adventura, which made the timing perfect. Justin winterized the most remote cabins and ran off somewhere with my little sister, leaving me alone with a lot of ideas and thoughts and . . . other things.

  What mountain man status actually meant, I had no idea, but the vague idea in my mind involved isolation, snowy nights, and a really big beard.

  So far, the experience had mostly been itchy and silent. Being alone at Adventura wasn't too bad. This wasn't my first time. It involved pacing the cabin, prowling the trails to find a cougar that kept wandering too close, and trying not to explode from the sheer quiet. Ideas stacked up in my brain like dust without JJ here to talk me through them. Which had, for a time, driven me to call Marie more. By some miracle, she actually answered each time.

  Now that she was here, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd given time to some of those random ideas just so I could talk to her.

  On one hand, the fact that she seemed close to my age, was definitely confident, and absolutely single, was great. On the other hand, it was also massively embarrassing. My financials had taken a swing in the wrong direction this summer. Not only had the spa idea fizzled out, thanks to an overzealous city council after I'd sunk money into the build-out, but Adventura lost two big clients and took devastating hits as well. Only Maverick's curiosity and deep vision kept me from being homeless, but my problems were far from over.

  Embarrassing.

  Now, I had to figure out a way to save Adventura and survive the winter alone. Or maybe not so alone.

  With a sigh, I cleaned up the bathroom, swept up the remains of my ghastly beard—which now was trimmed and wouldn't try to grab all my food—and ran a comb through my hair. Even that improvement might drastically change her response to me.

  I mean . . . she laughed.

  My pride still stung, even though I didn't really blame her. When I stepped back into the cabin, my phone chimed. I grabbed it, then grunted at the Hearts on Fire notification. Two new messages.

  StephLuvsDogs: Hey Mark! Saw your profile and just wanted you to know I love hiking. I think we'd have a lot in co
mmon.

  A snort bubbled out of me. Six months on and off this stupid app had quickly taught me that most women thought that hiking and living in the mountains equated to about the same thing. But once they saw Adventura, they skittered off.

  Too isolated, one girl said. Are you like a hermit or something?

  Nope. If I can't hear sirens, it's not for me, said another. Which still didn't make sense to me. Did they not read my profile where I was very clear about where I lived? What did sirens have to do with anything?

  Or maybe it was me they avoided.

  Another message waited below that one.

  AbbyKessler65: Sorry for the late response, Mark. I got caught up with some work stuff. Hope you're doing great!

  My fingers tightened around the phone. Clever girl. Yes, she hadn't responded to my follow-up message after our first date ten days ago, and now she expertly ghosted me here. Apology. Explanation. Well wishing. Now I had nothing to really say back, and if I did, which I wouldn't, she'd ignore it.

  Classic move.

  For the thousandth time, I considered ending my time with Hearts on Fire, but I'd already done that three times. Eventually, I wandered back. Because what else was there? Sitting alone in the mountains while I stewed over my money loss and desperate need to gain it back?

  Besides, I was my mother's son, and couldn't dissuade my natural optimism about people in general.

  There was always a bud of hope that the next woman would be someone I could talk to. Someone that didn't mind my crazy ideas. Wasn't intimidated by my energy. Dynamo, someone had once called me, and it hadn't been kind.

  Someone to just be with.

  A memory of JJ and Lizbeth snuggling on the couch, reading their separate books, rose in my mind. I sent it away. JJ deserved her. They were perfect for each other. And now I was insanely jealous that he was the first Bailey brother to cave. JJ, the one that didn't care about love and never talked about having a family. Of course he'd be the one to break because he was the one that didn't want it so bad.

  With a shake of my head, I pitched my phone to the couch. I'd talk to Stephanie about her alleged love of hiking later. For now, I needed to lift. Heavy squats. Maybe some presses. Something to push against.

  Stella Marie filtered through my mind, but I forced her back out. She wanted to be left alone, so I'd honor that.

  Even if I was intrigued.

  A quick tap came on my front door and I pulled it open. Stella stood there. Sweat rolled down her face and she breathed heavily.

  "You good?" I asked.

  She grinned. "Fine. Just went for a run. You look . . . less like a bear."

  My fingers raked my beard. "Thanks."

  "I need to go to the store. Is there somewhere I could store food? Like a . . . kitchen or something?"

  My head tilted toward the combined kitchen and dining hall through the trees. "Big building down that trail. I don’t winterize the kitchen, so the power should be on. There's a massive fridge, so help yourself."

  "Thanks." She turned to go but stopped. "Need anything at the store?"

  "I'm good, thanks."

  Stella hesitated, nodded, and disappeared around the side of the cabin. My mouth opened to call her back, but not knowing what to say, I shut the door. No, I had to leave Stella Marie alone. She was my accountant. Saw my tax returns. And she'd come here needing help. She'd asked for space, I'd honor that and act as if she wasn't here.

  Meanwhile, I had someone else to swoon in town.

  "Adventura is going great."

  My lack of enthusiasm sparked a hint of amusement in Maverick's eyes. He sat across from me at the Diner, where a plate of rubbery eggs, butter-soaked toast, and watered-down ketchup awaited him. I used my fork to cut into a pile of pancakes as he grabbed a knife.

  A waitress named Dagny set a cup of orange juice in front of me and I thanked her. Dagny had tucked us into the back of the diner against the wall. Fading yellow flowers drooped in the middle of a cheap vase that I pushed out of the way to make room for maple syrup.

  Our fourth-quarter meeting had just begun, and what a bangarang report.

  "I figured as much," Maverick said, "but I also think you're holding back. What's going on? How did Q3 play out?"

  Maverick, a previous corporate powerhouse turned small-town-business-guru loved a puzzle. When my brother married his adopted daughter, we'd become good friends. No one gave me the truth as hard as Mari—Stella, but Mav came a close second.

  The words stuck in my throat like needles, but I forced them out. "I had to put the staff payroll on my credit card to get them paid after the loss. It closed out payroll, at least, but I got nailed on the payroll taxes."

  He grimaced.

  Mav had started talking to me about his interest in Adventura last April. When things started to tank in July, and my other investors decided they didn't like the risk after the second year of sketchy returns, Mav swooped in, bought their shares, and now had a controlling interest in the company.

  Also my life.

  "I worried about that," he said.

  "There is still the mortgage to pay and the minimum balance on the credit card. The camp can't sit all winter, and JJ isn't renting anymore to do his catering, so Adventura effectively has no cash flow until spring."

  Doubts assailed me. Maybe Adventura had been a mistake. Summer camps made no money. This wasn't feasible. I let them roll through, then back out. Too late to have doubts. Time for action.

  Maverick lifted one eyebrow and silently indicated for me to continue. He held a controlling interest but acted more like a mentor. So far, he hadn't solved any of my problems except taking the shares. Thankfully, he didn't want to control Adventura—just advise and then make money. After two years of summer camp management, it was clear that Adventura wouldn’t survive on that alone. Which meant it was time for me to generate some new ideas. Sometimes, I thought Maverick invested out of sheer curiosity about me.

  Now I had to prove him out because who knew where a partnership with a guy like Maverick could lead? Anywhere.

  While I laid out the numbers with clinical sterility, I could feel his thoughts churning behind his eyes. I paused only to take a few bites of bacon and pancake every now and then. By the time I finished, he gave a low whistle.

  "Tough situation, Mr. Bailey."

  "Tell me about it," I mumbled.

  He shrugged. "I've seen worse."

  "I have a couple of apartments and townhomes I rent out to tourists in Jackson City and some other places. I could sell one and use it to pay the mortgage through the winter, but that drops the money that feeds me. Plus, I don’t want to give up long-term assets."

  He punted a few more questions back and forth. I rolled with them, even as I hated the punch to my pride. Business was like that. High and low. The highs felt amazing. The lows were a deep crash. I'd always pulled through somehow, but this time I wasn't so sure I'd pull through the way I wanted to. It wasn't a matter of surviving.

  It was what surviving looked like at the end.

  "So what's your plan?" he asked.

  Something sparked back to life inside me. Yes. Ideas. I had no lack of ideas. "My gut tells me I need to focus inward. Make use of what I have." My brow furrowed. "But how do I repurpose Adventura?"

  He reached for a glass of ice water with a sudden, mischievous gleam in his eye. "If anyone can figure that out," he drawled. "It's Mark Bailey. I have faith in you, brother. How is the mountain man life?"

  I snorted. "Quiet."

  He laughed after taking a drink. "Want my six-month-old? He doesn't stop babbling."

  Yes, I thought. I'd take your family life in a heartbeat. Instead, I grinned. "Fatherhood too much?"

  "Nah. It's everything I wanted. Just need to update my tattoos now."

  "Everything else okay?"

  A cloudy expression followed the question. "Ellie is struggling lately, which affects Bethany, but things will eventually even out."

  "Yeah?"

>   "Devin Blaine left." He set the water aside. "Joined the Marines unexpectedly and is gone." He snapped two fingers together. "No real explanation. They had plans to attend state university together, but he joined without telling anyone, then left two weeks later."

  I leaned back, stunned. "Devin did? I had no idea. They're close."

  "Were."

  I winced. Ellie, Lizbeth's sister, and her best friend, Devin, were loose figures in my life. They came to Adventura every week to see Lizbeth when she lived there. I liked them both. Devin would make a solid soldier. Ellie was a veritable mountain goat, and I'd been embarrassed when she almost out hiked me.

  There was definitely something electric between them. They claimed to be best friends, but it didn't take an idiot to see there was more. An unexpected departure would be ugly, particularly to a girl like Ellie. She trusted at glacial speed and had a sharp wit for survival.

  "Sorry about that," I said.

  Mav smiled. "I think it's a good thing for both of them, to be honest, but Ellie can't see it yet. With time, she will."

  The conversation devolved into his latest business project, revamping The Boulangerie bakery in Jackson City that JJ had worked for in late winter and spring. Didn't seem like they'd pull through with their current strategy, and brought Maverick in to save their cash flow.

  While he told me about the details, a movement behind him caught my eye. A familiar woman with a bright smile, slightly crooked front teeth, and trailing brown hair sat in a booth across from us. A thin, clean-shaven man with glasses sat across from her. They smiled in that warm, lovey-dovey way that made my stomach queasy.

  Abby Kessler.