The Ruckus

“I wanna give you a warm welcome back to Covington, especially given the appalling weather.”

“Oh, I see. Well, it is kind of you and thoughtful.” And strange. And confusing. “But I just need to check on Muriel in this bungalow. That’s urgent. And after that, I need to check on my mother.”

I don’t know why I mentioned my mother. She was just in my mind, at the back of it, then suddenly she was on the tip of my tongue. But I definitely didn’t want weird creep Randy offering me a lift to my mother’s place. Nor did I want to talk to him about my family at all.

He opened his door like he was about to get out, but at that precise moment, another car slowly pulled up alongside with his window wound down.

I didn’t recognize the smartly dressed man as I turned to him, but I immediately noticed his Lakeview name badge.

“Hi,” I said at exactly the same time as the stranger said hello.

“I’m the resort manager,” he said. “Are you one of our guests?”

“Yes.” I was about to tell him which bungalow I was staying in when Randy drove off in his truck. I never heard the click of the door closing, so maybe it never did.

At least creepy Randy didn’t get to listen to the rest of the conversation between myself and the hotel manager. I assured him that everything was fine in my bungalow, but I was about to visit Muriel, who was trapped in hers.

The manager assured me they were doing all they could to free her. He went on to apologize for any inconvenience caused by the storm and told me he would do everything possible to make myself and my friends feel comfortable throughout our stay. Some things were beyond his control, but I sure appreciated his attitude.

He also offered to drive me the short distance to Muriel’s blocked door, which was strange because we were so close that climbing in and out of the car might have taken longer than it would have done for me to simply walk there.

And walk there I did.

I didn’t need to worry a moment longer than necessary about Muriel. And when I saw her, I knew I didn’t need to worry at all.

She was doing better than just fine.

If ever a woman was happy to be trapped in a storm, it was Muriel right then. She wasn’t alone.

I’d like to think Poppy and I were her best friends in high school, but we had competition from a couple of boys, Cameron Moore and Hugh Davis. Those boys had grown into hotter-than-hell men, and they were trapped with her.

Judging by the look of the three of them, they’d made good use of their time trapped together by keeping each other warm. Good for Muriel. And as they had plenty of food in the bungalow too, I kindly hoped they would continue to stay trapped in there for a long time.

I quickly made an excuse to leave. I told Muriel I was going to visit my mother.

Again?

What was the deal with my mother, who I hadn’t seen in forever?

Well, I know I told Muriel that because I didn’t want her to worry about me being all on my own. And if she ever got free, I didn’t want her to come rushing to find me when she might have better options: two better options.

Leaving Muriel with her two guys and believing Poppy was with her folks did mean that I was alone and at a loose end. Plus, with the storm, it was the perfect time for a family reunion.

But I had no vehicle and no cell network coverage, so visiting my mom was out of the question.

The better way to spend my time was locked inside my bungalow with a good book, my sketch pad if I needed a break from reading, and my food in a bag.

I feasted on all the food and treated myself to uninterrupted hours of escapism in a hefty romance novel.

I noticed the cell phone network recovered, but I had no reason to use it, so I ignored it.

At some point, I must have fallen asleep, but I’d lost all track of time. It didn’t seem to matter because I had no reason to interact with the outside world until I had to get my flight back to L.A. The girls were bound to come and get me for that.

Eventually, my supplies ran out, and when I picked up my phone to call for food—pizza or something—I noticed the cell network had gone down again.

I waited a while for it to burst back to life, and read another couple of chapters, but when there still wasn’t any service, I decided I’d better head out to find my own food.

It was drizzling, windy, and dark outside. Not a storm, but still, not the sort of weather for going out walking. However, the weather was set to worsen, and I didn’t want to be stuck in with no food.