Page 2

Chapter

Two

“ O kay, so the crew is going to fly into Denver with all the gear and drive over, but I flew into Montrose so I could meet with the homeowner first.”

And also because he couldn’t sit in a damn van for that many hours. The planes were bad enough, but there he could get first class or exit row. Taking the damn van on a six-hour jaunt with all the equipment and the whole crew…

No.

Colton Maxwell wasn’t too good for that shit or anything, but he was definitely too torn up. As it was, his leg was shaking and that was with the cruise control on most of the way.

“You should have let me get you a driver,” Gent said, his voice stern. His silent partner believed in convenience and expediency. And he was willing to toss money at it.

“Nah. The guys can drive once they get here. You know how much Law loves mountain driving.”

“Well, he is from Leadville.”

“Right?” Colton chuckled. “Anyway, I’ll check in once I get to the lodge, okay?”

“You’d better. Bye.”

And Gent hung up on him. Like normal.

He hadn’t thought he would ever make it back to Hot Springs Junction, but the situation was too good to pass up.

He knew for a fact that this little house was actually haunted. He’d seen it with his own eyes. So, they would be able to put on a good show.

And then there was Sebastian.

Sebastian, who he had never been able to get over.

Who he’d tried to find a reason to hate, but he just couldn’t.

So he was going to get the damn omega out of his system once and for all.

He was going to find out why Sebastian had never once tried to call, to see what had happened to Colton when he hadn’t come back like he’d promised.

Or why he’d never answered Colton’s calls…

He had to thank Hank Vargas for this. The man had set him up with Sebastian’s house ghost hunt the first time, and he was the one Colton had gone to when he’d decided he wanted to go back.

And he’d made an offer he thought Sebastian wouldn’t be able to refuse. That house ate up funds, and the town wasn’t exactly booming like Secret Springs was just one pass over.

So, he was going to go and see what he could see.

He hoped he made it to Hot Springs Junction before his leg cramped, and he ran off the road, though. That would suck if he just up and disappeared.

Again.

He managed to pull into the lodge, which always seemed to come up way faster than he expected. The hotel had been built on the pass immediately before Hot Springs Junction proper, such as it was.

There was something kinda joyous about the weird two-story clapboard building with its grand porch out front.

The little outbuildings for the spring were just barely visible in the back.

The huge stone vats on either side of the porch were filled with a variety of blooms in all colors, and so were the window boxes all along the second-story bedroom windows.

Someone had painted in the last three or four years since he’d shown up last, and instead of being white, it was now bright purple.

Like ba-doing purple.

It clashed amazingly with the bright yellow building next door with the sign outside that read Xavi’s ‘Coffee and Curios’.

Colton shrugged. It was a choice. He wasn’t sure it was a great choice, but it was a choice.

There were no other cars at the hotel, but that didn’t surprise him.

After all, he’d bought up the entire building for two weeks, and no one else was here yet.

So, it was a win-win. It meant that he got a private soak in the hot springs, he got to demand silence when he wanted it in the middle of the night, and there would be amazing oatmeal every morning for breakfast.

He didn’t care if they offered bacon and eggs and all of the rest of it; that was fine. But there was something about being up here that made him want oatmeal, so oatmeal he was going to have. Steel cut. With honey and raisins and nuts.

He sat there in his parking space for a long moment before he got out and grabbed his cane.

He made his way over to the edge of the lot so he could look down at the town, which had finally escaped the blanket that winter threw over it.

The way the Junction was situated, the town ran along one rock face and then on other side of the state highway was just a drop.

There wasn’t a school or a doctor’s office. Not even a post office.

Just a gas station with a convenience store.

Sebastian’s house was smack-dab in the middle of the little row of ten.

Well, he didn’t suppose that was possible.

There were five on one side and four in the other, so it couldn’t be the middle, but he could see it.

It hadn’t been painted, purple or otherwise.

It was still the same Federal blue that it had been.

He knew Sebastian was still there, of course. He’d asked, and Vargas had said absolutely. That was the Belle house. Where else would he be?

He took a deep breath, his head spinning a little as it tried to process the altitude. It never really bothered him too much, but he would need to guzzle some water. And remind the guys to do that and take some preemptive Tylenol.

He wanted to march right down to see Sebastian and demand some answers, but no. He was giving himself a night. Maybe a steak dinner. Or whatever the special was. A long soak, like he’d already decided.

No sweet omega with big, green eyes and the softest lips ever…

He turned abruptly, almost losing it ass over teakettle but stopping the momentum with his walking stick. Then he headed into the lodge.

He walked up the stairs, taking it nice and easy, then opened the big double doors. There was a foyer with shining wood.

And there, sitting behind the desk was a solid-looking lady with a silver mohawk, a nose piercing, and rainbow tattoos from her chin down. “Howdy. Welcome in!”

Fascinating.

It was sort of like getting greeted by a unicorn.

“Good afternoon. I’m Colton Maxwell. I’ve rented out the entire hotel for a bit.”

That mohawk bobbed. “My wife told me. Congratulations. I’m Amanda Griffin, pleased to meet you.”

“Hello, Amanda.” He held out his hand to shake and, yep, the hands were tattooed too. Wow. “And your wife is?”

“My wife is Tori. She runs the marketing and the front desk. She deals with the public as a rule.”

Colton was shocked. Utterly.

Not.

“She’s taking a small break this afternoon. She likes her afternoon nap, so I staff the desk when she’s not here.”

Colton assumed that Tori was a little less…colorful in nature, but who knew?

“Normally, I’m the one cleaning up the pools and dealing with maintenance if something breaks. So, if you have issues, I’m the one on call. Otherwise, you’ll be dealing with the sweetheart you spoke to on the phone.”

“Sounds perfect.” Because obviously this woman was not meant for front-facing customer work. Still, she was kind of amazing.

“So, it says in our records, you’ve stayed here before.

Tori has you in the large suite and then the other rooms are ready whenever you need them.

I wasn’t sure how you and Tori wanted to work it—if you wanted all the keys and you could just pass them out, or if you wanted us to check everyone in and just put it on the same ticket. ”

“It’s all getting expensed. So, I’ll take the key to the suite, and then, if you’ll just check people in as they get here, I’d appreciate it. I left your wife a list.”

“Oh, yes, she’s very organized. Like I said, she’s?—”

“Napping.” Even when a big customer came in.

Amanda nodded her head. “Pregnant omegas, you know. They need their rest.”

“So I’ve heard.” He grinned, his shoulders relaxing. She was pregnant, which explained the napping. Not that she couldn’t nap whenever she wanted, but he had set his arrival as today. “Anything else I need to know?”

“Well, we do have the little cafe here, plus there’s coffee and, um, curios next door. There’s a newish restaurant down in the Junction, too, though it’s sort of a classic diner. Were you wanting to look at a menu for supper?”

“Sure. That way you can know ahead of time. My guys will probably stop on the way, since they’re driving in from Denver. If not?—”

“We can toss in a pizza whenever they show up. Or, my wife slings an amazing grilled cheese. As long as they don’t want steak au poivre or something, we can feed them late.”

“Cool.” He chuckled. “So why purple?” He leaned on his cane, which kind of looked more like a ski pole, which he liked. It would fold down into three pieces, though, and the handle would screw off, which meant it would go in a TSA bin.

She snorted. “That was totally Tori. She’s just a fan of the color, and she says that Western Colorado is known for being eccentric.

” She frowned at his cane a little. “Did you want to sit? I can call over to get you a latte and an eclair or something if you want to just hang out in the lounge. I’m happy to yammer at you. ”

“I was just kind of stretching my leg. Driving puts some strain on it.” He lifted one shoulder in a shrug.

“I’ve watched your show. Did you really get stuck in a cave-in?”

“I did, yes.” And it wasn’t his favorite subject. “I think I’ll walk over to get a coffee. Maybe a curio.”

“Oh, good luck.” She winked. “Hey, I can take your bags to your room.”

“Oh, thanks. I left most of it in the car for the guys, but if you don’t mind the carry-on…”

“Nope. I can get it.”

“Thanks. Do you still have steel-cut oatmeal?”

That had her hooting. “We do. It’s in your past guest record how much you like it.”

“Great. Well, I’ll be back.”

“Cool. Have fun.”

“No doubt.” And he headed off to get the lay of the land from Xavi’s, whatever the heck that was.