Hunter's Fortune (River Jewel Resort Series Book 2) Page 2

  * * * *

  Hunter shivered in an attempt to rid herself of the memories and ambled into her father’s office to refill her glass. “Good thing I can afford the large bottles.”

  She sat down at the large, mahogany desk and turned on the computer. “There has to be a clue somewhere in all of this mumbo-jumbo. I can’t believe an entire fortune could simply vanish. Someone, somewhere, fucked up and I’ll find it.”

  Hunter pored through hundreds of records and files, refilling her glass as she did so. Before she knew it, it was three in the morning and she was no closer to finding the truth or her money. All she knew was that she was the proud owner of a bankrupt company, the family home, one secluded cabin, and she had about fifty-thousand dollars to her name.

  “Shit!”

  How was she supposed to survive on fifty-thousand dollars? Hunter liked her lifestyle and she wasn’t about to become one of the floundering middle class! She shopped, she had a maid, and she loved her expensive car. There had to be a way to fix this debacle!

  “But not tonight. I know I’m missing something and these people are expecting answers I can’t give them. Thanks, Dad. Your life-long accountant has completely destroyed everything you screwed everyone over to get.” Hunter couldn’t think of a time when her father had ever shown desperation. Jack Golde was very well-known. He wasn’t some fly-by-night businessman. Jack had been an in-your-face, let’s get it done kind of guy. And get it done he did. He hadn’t cared who he had to fuck to get ahead. Jack had always been the man who needed to own it all, do it all, and no one had stopped him.

  If he found himself in trouble, he’d talk his way out of it. If a man caught Jack screwing his wife, he’d pay the man handsomely to forget all about it. Money always talked and Jack had used many means to fulfill his insatiable desires. Drinking was a favorite pastime of his, as was gambling. In fact, Golde Trucking was built upon more than the backs of the little people in town.

  Those folks who dared cross Jack Golde were blackmailed into doing his bidding. If they owed him money, they paid exorbitant interest. And when Jack gambled, the stakes for his opponents were sky-high. Every dime Jack Golde had ever accumulated was in fact, ill-gotten gains, and he didn’t care who knew it.

  Hunter knew her father hadn’t been respected, he was feared. Even though he’d built a company that supplied jobs to many who would’ve never been able to find work in their small town otherwise, everyone had despised and feared the man. The company drivers and office workers were merely pawns in Jack’s giant game of chess. He put them in harm’s way every day with shoddy equipment and long hours, but Jack paid them enough to keep them in line. Everyone in Jack’s life was simply a person to use, someone to exploit in order to support his greed. The stockholders, in turn, hated Hunter merely by association.

  She knew a lot of things need to be changed in the company. She wasn’t completely clueless. But at this point, she no longer cared about anyone else. As far as she was concerned, the employees and stockholders could figure it out for themselves. She was over it. Done. She’d never wanted to be in charge of such an operation and why he’d given the responsibility to her, Hunter would never understand.

  Jack Golde had never been around and he’d made sure her mother ran away just so he could continue his Casanova lifestyle. Essentially, Hunter had been a virtual orphan. Sure, she’d never wanted for anything material; her father had been sure to provide only the best for his daughter. Everything Hunter lacked in emotional love and support was replaced with expensive clothes, shoes and copious numbers of gifts. Sadly, compassion and love were free, yet no one she’d ever known could seem to afford to give either to her. Was it any wonder she cared only about herself? How could she be faulted for that?

  “Enough. I’m not about to head down this ‘poor me’ memory lane moment. I can’t keep doing this. I can’t go back. I can’t change the path I’ve taken in life.”

  If Hunter was ever given a chance, she knew she’d change so many things. She’d have a husband and a child, maybe two. Her home would be filled with laughter and love instead of expensive furnishings and bitter disappointment. So many nights she’d dreamt of a man who would come into her life and change it for the better. But that never happened.

  “Where would I meet him, anyway? At work? The mall? Face it, Hunter. This is your life. Every screwed up, insane moment of it.”

  Slurring now and comfortably numb, she set her glass on the desk. Exhausted, she fell asleep alone on the brushed leather sofa and once again dreamt of the faceless man she wished would save her from herself.

  Chapter Two

  “Wow! Who left the lights on?” Hunter awoke to a glaringly bright morning and found she truly didn’t want to face it.

  “I can’t do this. I’ll never find the money on my own.”

  She tried calling Giles repeatedly and of course he didn’t answer. “I knew it. Voicemail, really? ”

  After she’d ingested an incredible amount of coffee, Hunter showered and readied herself for the day ahead. She called Giles’ phone every ten minutes until the message greeted her, “We’re sorry, this number is no longer in service.”

  “That sonofabitch! He really has bailed. How am I supposed to face these people? I’m not. I won’t do it.”

  She resolved right then and there to leave. Hunter made quick work of calling her lawyer to bring him up to speed. He admonished her for not calling him sooner and she cut him off immediately.

  “Sam, I don’t have time for this. That weasel has left me holding the bag, albeit an empty bag. In a matter of hours, those vipers are gonna’ be beating down my door, demanding my resignation and a shit-ton of money. I’m outta here.”

  “Okay, I’ll do what I can. Get up to the cabin and I’ll do my best to fix what I can.”

  “Thanks, Sam.”

  “It’s part of the job, right? And Hunter, be careful. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  She hung up the phone and grabbed her coat, purse and keys before locking the door and leaving. Only after she was on the road did she realize she still hadn’t spoken to Jason either.

  “Whatever. Let the gold-digging-bastard figure it out for himself.”

  * * * *

  The last thing Hunter needed was car trouble, but that’s exactly what she got. Half an hour into her road trip, she found herself the proud recipient of a flat tire.

  “Get the expensive, nitrogen-filled tires, they said! Of course there’s no spare. Shit! Shit! Shit!” Slamming the trunk, Hunter sat in the driver’s seat and pressed the onboard emergency button.

  “No signal.” The cold automated voice informed her.

  “Lovely.”

  She paced up and down the steep, curvy mountain road while holding her cell phone in the air, hoping to grab at least one bubble of signal.

  “Unbelievable.” This section of Indiana was virtually uninhabited. Except for the random hilltop barn full of cows or goats, Hunter was alone.

  “Could this get any worse? Thanks, Dad!” She raged at the sky, trees and surrounding wildlife.

  “You couldn’t even teach me to change a damn tire?” Hunter ineffectually kicked the flattened rubber.

  “Dammit!” Hopping around on one foot, holding her other excruciatingly painful one, she did what any self-respecting woman in the same position would do—she sat down and cried.

  “How can this be happening to me? What did I do to deserve such atrocities?” She flipped and flopped on the gravel road, alternately pounding and kicking the slim stone path.

  “And fuck you, squirrels! Shut up! No one wants to hear your happy chatter! Suck a nut!” She threw a handful of pebbles at the line of trees in front of her and collapsed in another fit of crying.

  “Are you alright, ma’am?”

  Hunter opened her eyes and found herself staring into the deep blue eyes of a mountain man. “Get back!”

  She jumped to her feet, grabbing the closest object on her way up and brandishing it, ready to
beat the stranger into a bloody mess. She’d be damned if her photo would be on the front page of the local paper as the latest victim of some deranged weirdo.

  “Whoa. Easy there, little lady.”

  “Keep your hands where I can see them. Who are you? What do you want? And why are you staring at me like that?”

  “Well, you’re just full of questions, aren’t you?”

  As the stranger stood there with his hands in the air, Hunter measured him with her eyes. “I asked who you are.”

  “I know what you asked. But you never answered me.I asked if you’re okay. You seem to be having some car trouble.”

  “That’s none of your damn business. But for your information, I’m fine.”

  “Yeah, I can see that. Do you always tell squirrels to go ‘suck a nut’ when you’re fine?”

  “You’ve been watching me? Listen here creep, you need to back up and walk away. I’m not going to be your next meal. So take your psycho ass on outta here before I kick it for you.”

  The man laughed so hard that tears ran down his cheeks, making a trail through his beard and onto his blue flannel shirt. He actually had the nerve to bend over, in a full-blown belly laugh.

  “I don’t see what’s so funny. I said to keep your hands up!”

  He continued to laugh and glanced at her occasionally before erupting into another fit. “You?”

  “You really are fucking crazy.” Hunter slowly began to back up and inched closer to the safety of her car.

  What kind of guy appeared in the middle of nowhere, only to stand and laugh at a woman in distress? The whole world was going insane! This is why she went to work and straight home, aside from the occasional trips to the mall and specialty stores she loved so much. Hunter hated people. As far as she was concerned, she was better off staying away from all of them. Another reason she’d done all of her Christmas shopping online.

  Speaking of Christmas, thankfully, that was over. At least she’d had the money to give her employees their year-end bonuses and a token of the company’s appreciation. This year she’d given them all calendars in the hope of reminding them that deadlines had to be met. For the most part, the drivers were always good with their deliveries to the various steel plants. But there was always an oddball who just couldn’t get it right. Hunter had felt it was her duty to instill a sense of responsibility within her company. Now, all of that was gone.

  “Listen, buddy. I don’t want any trouble. Just go back to whatever rock you crawled out from under and I’ll be leaving.

  “No, you listen. Sweetheart, you’re not goin’ anywhere.”

  A shiver of terror ran through her and the man’s cold gaze stared back at her, freezing her in her tracks. “You’re on my land. You’re not going anywhere. You can’t leave.”

  He inched closer to her and Hunter tightened her grip on the weapon in her hands.

  “No!” She screamed as the guy reached for her. “Don’t touch me, you bastard!”

  He yanked her only means of defense from her and held it up. “This is what you were going to beat me up with? Impressive.”

  Hunter only then realized she’d been holding a stick.

  “Sticks and stones. That’s the best you could come up with?” He erupted into another fit of laughter and tossed the stick aside. “A damn twig! You don’t get out much, do you?”

  Mortified, Hunter did her best to maintain her stance. Brushing up against this burly beast of a man had clearly rattled her nerves. And she couldn’t help but wonder if there were now hundreds of creepy-crawly bugs running amuck across her designer clothing. The man’s hair was definitely unkempt and if his clothing was any indication, he most likely lived in the woods.

  He pressed even closer to her body and Hunter felt herself recoil. “I said, don’t touch me.” She backed away and found her backside pressed up against the car.

  “Gladly. I was merely disarming you. Though I’m pretty sure you’d have poked your own eye out before you’d have done any damage to me. Let’s just say it was for your own good.”

  What a jerk!

  “Now, are you going to allow me to help you with this flat tire or are you still hell-bent on, what did you say? Oh yeah, kicking my ass.”

  “Just get away from me. I’ll figure it out myself. Kindly point me in the direction of the closest person’s home and I’ll be on my way.”

  “Not a great listener, are ya’?”

  “Why must you answer questions with questions? Have you lived in the woods all your life? No human interaction?”

  “What?”

  The man was incorrigible! “Never mind. I don’t want to confuse you with words of more than one syllable.”

  Hunter pulled her hair to one side of her neck and crossed her arms in front of her.

  “You’re quite the piece of work, aren’t you?”

  “Okay, look, Mr. Woodsman, just leave me alone. Clearly, we aren’t going to be able to have a civilized conversation. Obviously I’m not surprised, considering…”

  “Considering what? Oh, you mean considering how I look? How I talk?”

  Hunter smirked and shrugged. “If the shoe fits.”

  “Alright, have it your way. Where’s your spare?”

  “If I had a spare or anything to help me change a tire, do you think I’d have grabbed a stick to defend myself with? Do you think I’d still be here if I had a spare?”

  “Shucks, ma’am. I have no idea. I’m just a dumb ol’ mountain man.” He spit out the side of his mouth and tucked his hands in his pockets.

  “Typical.”

  And where did he get off calling her ma’am? Did she look like a ma’am? Hunter was barely thirty-five. How could anyone think she was old enough to be a ma’am!

  “Look, I’ve had the worst week of my life. I’m trying to get to my family’s cabin and I really don’t need attitude and condescension from some hilltop hillbilly. So, if you have an idea on how to help me, great. If not, kindly take yourself back to wherever you came from.”

  “You have quite a way with words. I have no idea why you’d be all alone.”

  Picking up on his sarcasm, Hunter continued, “Whether I’m all alone or not is of no consequence to you.”

  “I beg to differ. Ya’ see, if you weren’t all alone, I wouldn’t have to be here listening to you whine and cuss out squirrels. If you weren’t alone, you wouldn’t be stuck out here in the middle of nowhere on my land. And I wouldn’t have to be stuck with a woman who clearly has issues. I’ll go get the necessary equipment and be right back so you can be on your way.”

  Taken aback at his brusqueness, Hunter stood there with her mouth wide open as the man disappeared into the woods, leaving her standing on the side of the road.

  “Humph.”

  Chapter Three

  An hour later, the man returned and made quick work of fixing her tire. Hunter thanked him and offered a hefty sum for his help. The man declined.

  “Please, just go.”

  “Alright then. But clearly, you could use the money, could you not?”

  “Fine.” He accepted the few hundred dollars and Hunter was finally on her way.

  She made her way across the ridge, driving slowly and alert for any wildlife that might happen to wander into her path.

  “I’m so exhausted. I wish I could just find a hotel for the night. Maybe tomorrow would be a better day to drive to the cabin.” She turned the radio on and found herself immersed in the beat of the latest pop-country song that the entire country was going nuts over. The celebrity gossip rags had the singer’s face splashed on every cover. Hunter could never remember her name, though. To her, all of the newest artists sounded the same and looked the same.

  Just as she drove over a hill, she saw a large building, alight in colors of pink and blue. Not offensive or neon shades, but welcoming, and images of a big, soft bed filled her mind. Hunter took the next left-hand-turn and followed the road until she found herself in front of the most incredible structure she
’d ever laid eyes on.

  “How can this be? River Jewel Resort? I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never seen this before.”

  The parking lot was empty, but every window seemed to have a light on. She parked her car close to the building and opened her door to step out into the night.

  “Brr. Where’d this wind come from?”

  The forecast had called for unseasonably warm temperatures, but she had to admit to herself that the weatherman was often wrong.

  “Wow!” Hunter was taken aback by the sheer beauty of the establishment before her. A sense of peace unlike any other came over her as she stepped closer to the place where she hoped they’d have a room for her.

  “Good evening, Miss.” A man appeared out of nowhere and startled her.

  For the second time that day, she threw her hands up and screamed. Hunter’s purse and keys landed a few feet away on the pink, pea-gravel lot.

  “Oh! I’m so sorry. Here, allow me to help.”

  The man hurriedly gathered her belongings and handed them to Hunter. She yanked them from his hands and scowled at him.

  “I’m so sorry, Miss. I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s my duty to welcome each guest and I…”

  “I really don’t care what your duty is. And I think you should be more careful. Jumping out of the bushes is not exactly helpful.”

  “But, I didn’t…”

  “Whatever. I don’t have the energy to go back and forth with you. I need a room and I’m not getting one by standing here talking to some bell-hop.”

  “Yes, Miss, I completely understand. Would you like me to park your car for you?”

  “Clearly,” Hunter squinted to read his name tag, “I’ve already parked my car, Javier. Maybe you should’ve appeared a bit sooner and we could’ve avoided this little moment.”

  The man was around average height and that meant he was approximately eyeball-to-eyeball with Hunter. If anyone was to walk by at that moment, they’d have seen Javier bristle and appear to shrink as Hunter spoke to him.

  “Yes, Miss. I apologize. I was returning from parking another customer’s car. I should’ve been more prompt.”