Laurie’s Wolves(67)

Or so she thought…

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Zach was so busy at the resort, he had very few opportunities to reach out to Laurie or Corbin. And neither of them had responded. He had no time to consider the implications, however. He needed to help his parents deal with the increasing number of guests who had arrived throughout the day.

The promise of fresh snow starting the following morning had brought more skiers than usual to the area. Every hotel in town was maxed out. No one seemed bothered by the strange dip in temperature that had occurred during the night. It had vanished almost as quickly as it had come.

Zach had his back to the front counter when he heard his mother’s voice raise behind him. He spun around to find her smiling fakely at one of their season pass holders, a man he recognized from years on the slope.

The guy’s face was red, and he held up his pass and shook it.

“What’s the problem?” Zach asked as he approached.

His mother turned her gaze toward Zach, her weird smile still in place. “Justin would like his money refunded for the season. Could you grab me a form for that?”

“I don’t want to fill out a fucking form,” Justin sputtered. “I just want my money back.”

“I understand, sir. May I ask why?”

“I don’t have to tell you why.” The man switched his weight back and forth between his feet, tossing his season pass on the counter. “The customer’s always right. Just give me back my money.”

“Okaay…” Zach pulled a form out from under the counter and began to fill it out himself. It was their policy to document any refunds for tax purposes and also for their records. He picked up the pass, scanned it, and used the information on the computer to fill out the form on behalf of the disgruntled asshole in front of him.

“Lord, do you need a book to do this? Just give me my money.”

“I’m getting there, sir. We need to have all the paperwork filled out in order to keep our books accurate. The IRS won’t appreciate it if we don’t.”

Justin leaned over the counter, his face far closer to Zach’s than he would have liked. “You care about the IRS, but you don’t care about the laws in this land concerning monogamy?”

Zach froze. So that was what this was all about.

His mother gasped. Her hand went to her throat, and her mouth fell open.

“Sir, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I think you’re mistaken if you’re listening to rumors.”

“Really?” The man cackled. “So you aren’t living in sin with another man and a woman?” He visibly shuddered as though he’d stated the most grievous sin in the Bible.

Zach pursed his lips. “My private life is just that—private. And I’ll be happy to refund your money as soon as I have this form filled out. You’re welcome to fill it out yourself, or I can do it for you.” Zach lifted an eyebrow.

The man snatched the paper from in front of Zach and reached across the counter to yank a pen out of a holder on Zach’s side of the desk. “You better have a lot of these forms, because everyone I know will be coming in for a refund. We don’t tolerate the likes of your family in this town.” He scribbled on the form with a shaky hand while he spoke, not lifting his head.

Zach tried not to react.

When Justin had his paper finished, he threw it across the counter. “Satisfied?”

Zach picked it up and scanned the document. “You’ll need to sign at the bottom.” He spun the paper around and pointed to the signature spot.

Justin grumbled while he added his signature. “Anything else?” he asked sarcastically.

“Nope. That should be fine.” He opened the drawer to the cash register and counted out the refund into Justin’s hand. “Have a nice day, sir.”

Justin narrowed his gaze and spoke again. “You’re done for. We don’t want your kind around here. Get out of town before you’re forced. You hear?”

Zach smiled, holding back his desire to reach across and pick the puny man up by the neck with his bare hand. “I’m sorry you feel that way, sir.” Was this asshole threatening him?

Defeated, Justin spun on his heel and stomped out of the room.

The woman behind him held up her pass. “I’d like a refund too.”

Zach felt the stress from his mother at his side. He could hear her breath hitch. “No problem, ma’am.” He handed the woman a form and turned toward his mother, nodding for her to step away from the counter with him.

When they were out of earshot, he leaned into her. “Calm down, Mom. You know what percentage of our revenue comes from locals.”