Page 5 of The Alpha Option
She did note with approval that the handsome man in blue strategically put himself between her and the dressed-but-still-massive trespasser.
Now that they were face-to-face, she took a moment to truly look at their rescuers—although she and Steph had been doing fine on their own, thank you very much.
The jean-clad one was obviously in charge. Medium length dark brown hair. Midnight-blue eyes that looked straight at her as she continued her perusal. His square jawline supported a face with generous lips and a slightly angular nose. Unlike his friend, who was dressed in hippie chic at best, this one wore a neat flannel shirt over a pair of brand-new Levi’s.
When he held out his hand, she took it, and a sudden jolt passed from his fingers to hers. Not an electric shock, not an obnoxiously tight squeeze, butsomethingall the same. Charisma? Magnetism?
He carried himself as if there was unlimited power hidden inside his muscular package.
“Jace Carter.” He shook her hand then immediately greeted Stephanie as well. “This is my cousin, Blue.”
“Cassidy Rundle. Nice to meet you, I guess.”
Blue snickered and then turned it into a cough, wiping at his mouth to hide his smile. “Yeah, we get it.”
The big man in the back didn’t bother to offer a hand. He lifted his chin. “I’m Marvin. I live here.”
A sudden gust of breath escaped Marvin as Blue casually leaned out with an elbow and struck him in the gut.
Stephanie sucked in air and took a half step back, hand slipping into her pocket.
Cassidy laid a hand on her friend’s arm reassuringly before raising a brow at Blue. “Maybe we can hold off on any more physical violence and use our words.”
“She’s right. Blue, lay off. Marvin—” Jace lifted a hand and pointed at the big man who had just opened his mouth. “Shut it. We’ll figure something out, but you are a big part of the current problem.”
“This has got to be a misunderstanding,” Stephanie said. “We own Timberwolf Lodge.”
Jace made a circling motion with his hand. “Let’s talk about that. I believe you,” he hurried to reassure them before Cassidy could complain. “I’m a little shy on details.”
Okay. This was doable. Cassidy patted her pocket, reassured that the copy of the paperwork was there and real. “A few months ago, I saw a message on social media about a wilderness lodge in the Jasper area being given away. An older woman talked about all the things she and her husband had accomplished but now that he was gone, she couldn’t do it on her own. She didn’t want to sell the place to some big conglomerate. She wanted it to go to people who would really appreciate it.”
Jace nodded encouragingly.
Cassidy shrugged. “It caught my attention. I was in a dead-end job. Stephanie needed a change, and her sister had to—” She glanced at Stephanie. Then back at Jace. “Well, never mind that. But we thought it was a neat idea. We’ve seen shows about stuff like this on Netflix before, and they were legit, so I entered the lottery.”
“Two weeks later this lawyer shows up on our doorstep with all the paperwork,” Stephanie said. Colour had returned to her cheeks, and she spoke with confidence now. “We gave notice on our apartment, sold what we didn’t want, and came here determined to meet the requirements.”
Blue eased a little closer to Stephanie, his posture relaxed. “You got requirements? And just so you know, this place was owned by our auntie, which is why we’re involved.”
That was a helpful bit of information. “Good. That means you guys will know who the caretaker is. Because, frankly, this place is a lot more run-down than we expected.” She stiffened her spine as she raised a hand. “But, like Stephanie said, wearegoing to meet the requirements. According to the paperwork the lawyer gave us, we have one year to get the lodge up and running.”
Jace glanced around and then winced. “Is there some monetary target you have to reach to prove you’ve accomplished that?”
“There’s a board that has to approve,” Stephanie offered. “The Wilson Pack, whatever that is. I think it’s an environmental assessment group.”
Jace lifted a hand to his face before redirecting his fingers to brush them past his nose and forehead and drag them through his hair. “Okay. That makes a lot of sense.”
“That’s good, but you still didn’t answer my question,” Cassidy pointed out. “Caretaker?”
Blue’s grin stretched from ear to ear. He reached over and patted a hand firmly on Jace’s shoulder. “Here’s your man.”
Drat. On one level, the news was a good thing. Jace was easy on the eyes, and Cassidy wouldn’t mind having him around to look at. But nothing she’d seen since driving up to the place had left a good impression of his work ethics.
She met his gaze straight on. “Do you suck at your job on purpose?”
His expression grew long-suffering while both Blue and Marvin laughed heartily in the background.
Jace shook his head. “I’d tell you it isn’t my fault, but I’m not sure you’d believe me. Let’s talk about how we go forward and make this work.”
