by Jo McNally
“Okay,” Matt said with a slow nod. “I deserve that. Sorry.”
Bryce, like Dad, couldn’t hold a grudge for long. He looked around the lodge with a one-shouldered shrug.
“S’okay. Didn’t mean to insult your rat hole... I mean...ski lodge.”
“So you met the ranger?” Who, of course, was a woman; Bryce was a perpetual woman magnet. It made sense a female forest ranger would fall into his orbit. Bryce nodded, reaching into the small refrigerator behind the bar for two bottles of water. He tossed one to Matt.
“Yup. She’s a salty one, too. Curiously immune to my charms at the moment. I’ll keep working on her, though.” Bryce stared out the window. “She refused to talk business last night but agreed to meet me for coffee today. She said she’d follow up on our request for a temporary road on forestry land. She also said we shouldn’t expect a yes.”
Ski resorts rarely owned all of the hundreds of acres they occupied. Much of the land was leased from state or federal governments. Most of Watcher Mountain was New York State forest land. Using existing slopes on their land was one thing. Removing trees to lay a new road was a big ask. At the very least, it would take a pile of paperwork and months of meetings.
Matt cursed under his breath. “I can’t catch a break with this place.”
Bryce winked. “I told you this was a bad idea.”
“You said you wanted your own private slope to rehab on, and here you are. The price was right and we both agreed we could use the slopes this winter and flip the place after that.”
“Yeah, but...” Bryce gestured widely at the walls down to studs and the debris strewn around. “I didn’t know we were buying this much of a fixer-upper.”
“Neither did I, trust me. But the price was right, and the building is structurally sound beneath the mess. The roof is good. The slopes are in decent shape. The lift doesn’t look like it will take too much work. The biggest tasks will be replacing the snowmaking machines and getting this interior work done by Christmas break.” No way they’d be ready for Thanksgiving. He drained his water and flipped the bottle into the recycling bin. “Even with a late start, we’ll make a little money before we flip it next year.”
“You sure you want to sell it that quick?”
Matt turned in surprise. “That’s the plan, right? You’ll be back on the circuit next winter, so...”
“If I get back out there, I don’t need a chaperone anymore.”
“I’m your manager, not your chaperone.”
Bryce’s mouth opened and closed a few times, his forehead furrowing. He finally blew out a typically dramatic long breath. “Maybe it’s time for you to...you know...live your own life. You don’t have to be responsible for me forever.”
Matt had been the only parent figure in Bryce’s life for the past fourteen years, and he couldn’t imagine that changing.
“It’s a little early to put me out to pasture. I’m thirty-four, not sixty-two.” Matt put his hand on Bryce’s shoulder. “If this is about your leg, the doctors all say you’re going to be fine. We’ll be back on the circuit next season. And even if I don’t go on the road with you next year, do you really think Gallant Lake is the kind of place I’m going to put down roots in? It’s not exactly Vail.”
The move from Boulder to Vail years ago had been Mom’s idea. Bryce flew down the slopes as if he’d been born to live on skis, and she saw his bright future before anyone else did. She wanted him to have every opportunity, and his coach at the time was in Vail. Dad was a tech consultant, so he could do his job from anywhere. They bought a little house in an older neighborhood. Bryce started winning junior Alpine events and never looked back.
“Uh...” Bryce’s eyebrow arched. “You hated Vail by the time we left. You called it a vast wasteland of the rich, with the working class folks getting priced out of housing and...”
“Thank you. I remember what I said.”
“Which is why you need a new place to settle that’s different. It would be on-brand for one of the Danzer brothers to own a ski resort, even if it is a baby one.”
Matt shook his head, staring up the overgrown slopes outside the window. “It won’t even be a baby one if we don’t get the snowmaking system installed. And we can’t do that without a road. And the only road is on our very unfriendly neighbor’s land.” He looked toward the woods where he’d met Jillie Coleman. Or more accurately, where he’d been chased up a tree by her dog.
“They’ll probably be reasonable if you go talk to them.”
Matt wasn’t all that sure. Jillie had been pretty combative the first time they’d talked. She’d been clear about not wanting the resort to open. But they needed that road. He rubbed the back of his neck. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d taken a project neighbor to court if it came to that, but it was always a last resort. The idea of reaching that point with Jillie set him on edge.
“One way or another, Coleman’s gonna have to give us access, or things could get ugly. I don’t want to start a turf war with a neighbor, but...”
Bryce followed his gaze to the woods. “Like Mom used to say, sometimes it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission. What could they do to us if we told the contractors to use the damn road?”
“They could have your asses tossed in jail.”
The male voice had both brothers spinning on their heels. A uniformed police officer stood in the open doorway. His straight-brimmed gray hat sat squarely on his head, casting his eyes in shadow, but not disguising their chill. His arms were folded stiffly across his chest. This was one unhappy cop. Not exactly the way Matt wanted to start relations with local law enforcement.
Matt forced his mouth into a cheerful smile, trying to give a light laugh. It sounded as forced as it was. “Don’t mind us—that was just wishful thinking...” No, that didn’t sound good. “I mean, we weren’t seriously planning anything...” Except it sure must have sounded that way. He stopped digging himself deeper and stepped forward, hand extended. “I’m Matt Danzer, and this is my brother, Bryce. We’re the new owners of—”
“I know who you are.” The officer hesitated, then took Matt’s hand and shook it. He did the same with Bryce. “I’m Police Chief Dan Adams.” He fixed Matt with a hard stare. “I helped nail up those no-trespassing signs on Jillie’s property line yesterday. If you think you can just traipse over there again without permission, then you and I will be having a long chat. At the police station.”
There was a heavy moment of silence. Matt looked up at the ceiling with a long sigh, his shoulders sagging. It was barely noon and this day was already off to a banner start.
“Chief Adams, I’m sorry. We were blowing off some of our frustration over the situation with our neighbor, and I know what you overheard must have sounded bad.” From the way he said Jillie’s property, it was clear the man knew her well, and liked her. Which meant Matt had to tread carefully. “I’ve only met Miss Coleman once, and I was on her property completely by accident...”
Bryce barked out a laugh. “Wait, I’m just now putting this together. Is Miss Coleman the lady who chased you up a tree?”
Something cracked in the police chief’s stern expression. His eyebrow vibrated just a bit, as if it wanted to rise, but had been wrestled still. His mouth had the same struggle, but ultimately stayed straight after a little twitch.
“Jillie Coleman chased you up a tree?”
Matt flashed a dark look at his brother before answering. “It was actually that hellhound of hers that did it. Black beast was loose and treed me like I was a bear. Then Jillie showed up right with an actual canister of bear spray. I thought my first day on Watcher Mountain was going to be my last.”
Bryce nudged the chief’s shoulder. “Has he mentioned yet that we’d just arrived after flying into New York? That he was wearing a suit and an overcoat?”
Chief Dan Adams gave up any illusion of s
ternness and doubled over in laughter. “Jillie and Sophie chased you up a tree? While you were wearing a trench coat? Where the hell was I when this happened? Are there photos?” He was still laughing. Great. “No wonder she’s not intimidated by you...” The chief’s eyes closed, his laughter gone in an instant as he straightened. “Forget I said that, okay?”
“I wasn’t trying to intimidate anyone.” Matt frowned. What an odd thing to say.
“I’m sure you weren’t. It’s just that Jillie doesn’t talk to strangers.” His eyes were no longer chilly, and he looked around the lodge with genuine interest. “Everyone was surprised when we heard the old ski resort had sold. A lot of us natives remember coming here in our younger days. You’re really gonna reopen it for skiing?”
This was more than casual conversation. Matt was being gently yet firmly interrogated.
“Skiing and snowboarding in the winter. I’m hoping to be able to repair that old alpine slide in time for summer, and add a couple of zip lines, too.” The cement slide ran from almost the very top of the mountain down past the lodge. People rode on it by sitting on plastic seats with a braking bar to control their speed as they whizzed through the trees on the far side of the property. Some of the iron supports needed work, but that was a job for spring.
The chief’s smile warmed. “Yeah, I’ve had some wild rides on that alpine slide—you could really get flying. And zip lines up here should be a good draw with the views.” He shifted his weight, taking off his hat and running his hand through his sandy hair with a sigh. “Are you and Jillie Coleman going to be a problem for me?”
And there it was. The thing the police chief most wanted to know.
“I honestly hope not, Chief. She didn’t send you over here, did she?”
“Call me Dan. And no, not exactly. But she’s anxious about the resort being sold. She wasn’t expecting to have neighbors.”
“Well, no offense, but that was an unrealistic expectation on her part. There were big plywood for-sale signs at the bottom of the road. It’s not like I did anything wrong.”
Dan pursed his lips, staring at the floor for a moment. Whatever he was battling with internally, he seemed to resolve it with a nod to himself. He looked up. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong. Why don’t you show me around? I drank my share of beer up here in my young-and-crazy days. The last owners basically turned it into a year-round party house. Lots of booze and very little investment in the place.”
Matt started a quick tour after motioning to Bryce to get to work hauling more paneling outside. They were on a tight schedule if they wanted to open for the holidays. He walked Dan over to the wall facing the woods toward Jillie’s land. “I’m going to add more windows on this wall, so they wrap all the way around. This will be a tech center with a coffee bar. We’ll have high-speed charging stations and lockers to stow customers’ tablets and laptops. That way they can work or do their social media stuff in between ski runs.”
Dan looked at the few narrow windows now on that side. “So you’re opening up the wall that faces Jillie’s place?”
“Well, I didn’t know that when we drew up the plans, but yes. It’s not like anyone can see her...” Matt paused, noticing a tall, sharply pitched green-metal roof barely visible in the trees. “Is that her place over there? What is it, an A-frame?”
Dan nodded. “Probably built by the same guy who built the lodge.” He glanced Matt’s way. “It used to be secluded.”
“Oh, come on,” he protested. “No one’s going to notice that. I never even noticed it before now. I think her privacy is safe.”
“What are you guys looking at?” Bryce joined them again, with three bottles of cold beer dangling from his hand. “Oh, that A-frame over there? It’s pretty sweet. If you look from the roof deck upstairs, you can see it real clear.”
Dan’s right brow arched at Matt, who immediately protested. “I’m not the bad guy here.” He took one of the beers Bryce offered. “At least I’m not building some housing development next door to her.”
“I get that,” Dan said, shaking his head when Bryce tried to hand him a beer. “I’m on duty. But it may take a while for Jillie to wrap her head around it.”
Matt scrubbed his face with his hand. “I don’t want a battle with the woman. I didn’t intentionally walk onto her property.” He took a long swig of beer. “What’s her deal, anyway? Are you and her...?”
Dan grinned and shook his head. “I’m a happily married man as of thirty-five days ago. Jillie’s a good family friend.” Bryce had returned again, this time with a can of soda for Dan, which he accepted with a nod of thanks. “To be honest, you’re lucky Jillie talked to you at all.”
Matt coughed. “Are you saying that was her nice side? She must be a real...”
Dan brought him up short with a raised hand and firm look. “Jillie Coleman’s one of the nicest people in Gallant Lake. And one of the most well liked. I don’t advise bad-mouthing her to anyone around here.”
Bryce chuckled. “It’s kinda fun seeing my perfect brother chastised by the law for a change.”
Matt stared hard out the window at the steep roof in the distance. He was a businessman. He was used to having problems to solve. This felt...different. Jillie was a mystery shrouded in smoke. Not that they’d had a chance to really have a conversation, other than her yelling at him to get off my lawn, but he was usually good at pegging people fast. Putting them in the right category. Enemy. Friend. Bystander. There was something about her. She was quick to bristle, but that thread of fear and jumpiness she had said there was more to her than just being a cranky neighbor.
“I don’t know her, so I shouldn’t say anything,” Matt said. “She wasn’t exactly neighborly when we met, though.”
Dan’s head tipped slightly. “You mean when she found you on her property.”
“Well...yeah. But I wasn’t there on purpose.”
“You know that’s not a legal defense, right?”
Bryce laughed, but Matt kept circling back to something Dan had said earlier.
“Why are you so surprised she talked to me?”
Dan shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. “Jillie just...really values her privacy.”
“Yeah, I get that, but why?”
Dan’s eyes narrowed. “That’s none of your business.”
Matt held up his hand. “I’m only trying to figure out how to negotiate with her about using that access road. It’s my only feasible option to get the slope work done. Any tips on what might work with her?”
Dan stared out the window. Matt wondered if he’d get an answer at all. The police chief’s shoulders slowly rose and fell. “Like I said, Jillie values her privacy, and she doesn’t like surprises. Don’t show up unannounced. I’ll be honest—I don’t think she’ll ever approve having strangers on her property. Too much risk of unexpected encounters.”
Matt thought again about how jumpy Jillie had been. “Why is she so paranoid?”
Dan grunted. “You know I’m not answering that, right?”
A mystery shrouded in smoke...
“How am I supposed to not show up unannounced when I don’t know how to contact her? Do you have her phone number?”
Dan chuckled and set his hat back on his head. “I’m the police chief, not a social secretary. I’m not giving you her phone number. You know her address. Send her a note.”
“A note?” Matt laughed. “You mean, like a handwritten letter? You’re kidding, right?”
“Look, you asked for advice. You didn’t specify you only wanted advice you wanted to hear.” Dan held out his hand. “It was good meeting you two. I’ll give you another piece of advice—get into town and meet some of the other business owners.” He shook hands with Matt and Bryce. “The commerce club is pretty active in Gallant Lake. My wife, Mack, is on the board—she owns the liquor store here. And talk to Nora at the coffee shop.
She’s plugged into everything going on in town.”
Bryce nodded. “I had coffee with Holly at the coffee shop this morning. I was not expecting a café Americano that good in this little town. No offense...” He cringed when he caught Matt’s glower. “What? Oh...sorry. I didn’t mean...”
Dan waved him off. “Gallant Lake looks sleepy at first glance. We’re sort of in a rebirth phase, since the big resort remodeled and started drawing a more upscale crowd a few years back. That’s someone else you should meet—Blake Randall. You know what? I’ll talk to Blake and see if we can set up a get-to-know-each-other meeting over drinks some night.” He turned to Bryce, amused. “You met Holly, huh? How’d that go?”
Bryce grinned. “Probably as well as you seem to think. She’s as prickly as the plant she’s named after.”
Dan patted Bryce’s shoulder. “Gallant Lake tends to attract strong-willed women. Holly takes her job as forest ranger pretty seriously. She knows almost every inch of these mountains. You weren’t thinking she’d let you build a new road on forest land, were you?” He started to laugh. “Good luck with that, kid. She’s even more stubborn than Jillie.” He turned to go, then glanced back, his eyes bright with humor. “And the two of them are friends, so don’t even think about playing one against the other. They’ve probably already compared notes.”
Matt gave a loud groan. “In other words, we’re screwed.”
The police chief’s shoulders were shaking as he walked away.
“Pretty much.”
Chapter Three
It was ridiculously dangerous for Monica to be so close to the Shadows. But she needed to know their patterns of behavior. So she crept to her hiding spot and prayed they never discovered her alone in their territory.
It had been a couple of weeks since Jillie chased Matt Danzer off her property. It was wishful thinking to imagine he’d just pack up and leave Watcher Mountain, but hey—a girl could dream, right? She stared at the masculine handwriting on the card she held. He clearly hadn’t left. And he wanted to talk.
