Page 28 of Before and After

I frowned. “What the hell?”

Karen let out laugh. “Seriously? I mean, I’ve seen some weird stuff working here, but this is new.”

I reached in and pulled out…a burrito. It was still wrapped and uneaten.

“That’s from the Wandering Burrito food truck in town,” Karen said. “They havegreatfood.”

Shaking my head, I closed the safe. “I assume our guest imbibed a little too much, bought a burrito, and mistook the safe for a microwave.”

Karen burst out laughing. I couldn’t help but smile.

My radio crackled to life again. “Allie, this is Marcy. I have a woman on level two who’s accidentally dropped her wedding ring down the sink. Room 214.”

I closed my eyes.

“Please hurry,” Marcy added. “She’s really losing it.”

“Bye, Karen,” I murmured.

“Thanks, Allie. Good luck with the ring.”

“Oh, I’m calling Everett to deal with that one.” I headed out of the room and dumped the burrito in the trash bag on Karen’s cart.

Long after I’d calmed down a hysterical Mrs. Coggin and helped Everett retrieve the woman’s four-carat diamond ring, I finished up my reports and managed to do a few employee evaluations that were overdue. I blew a strand of hair out of my face. God, my feet were aching. I dreamed of soaking them and getting a foot massage.

A girl could dream.

I turned a corner and almost mowed down Sierra.

“Hey.”

My friend had a scowl on her face. Unusual for the perkiest person I knew.

Then I noted the mud splattered all over her white polo shirt.

“Did you start a mud-wrestling activity that I didn’t know about?”

“Ha ha,” she replied, plucking at her shirt. “There’s an idiot group of guys here mountain biking. One surfer guy’s been asking me out several times a day and isn’t taking a hint. When I say hint, I mean several blatant, firm ‘nos.’ Today, the asshole ‘accidentally’ sprayed me with mud when he braked.” Her eyes narrowed. “Accident, my ass.”

“I’ve seen the guys. They were here last winter. They’re into extreme sports.”

“Yes, they asked me to organize some paragliding for them. And they wanted to know all the hardest biking trails. It’s a shame they’re assholes, a couple of them are easy on the eyes.”

“The tall blond asked me out last winter.”

“Oh.” Sierra perked up. “He seems like the best of the bunch.”

“Yes, well, I need a guy like I need a hole in the head.”

“And an extreme-sports bro is probably more trouble than he’s worth.” My friend cocked her head. “And something tells me you prefer dark-hair, muscles, and moodiness.”

I blinked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She shot me a smug smile. “Oh, so you and a certain grumpy head of security weren’t getting ice cream together with your nephew on the weekend?”

Damn the small-town gossip grapevine. “We just ran into each other. That’s it.”

Sierra stared at me a beat. “I’m not buying it.”