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The squeal of worn brakes outside the headquarters of Bitterroot Campground grabbed Quint's attention. He raised his gaze, looking out the window. An older Ford truck pulled a twenty-six-foot travel trailer around the circle outside and stopped in front of the door.
Picking up his cell off the counter, he slipped the phone into his back pocket. Since letting Linda go last summer, he was on his own running the office and taking care of any problems that arose at the campground.
His decision to eliminate any female workers came after finding one of his male employees murdered on his property. He couldn't take the chance of a woman getting killed or hurt because he had enemies.
Enemies that wouldn't hesitate to take out a woman in an attempt to get to him.
The bell hanging from the doorknob jingled.
A woman walked inside. He looked up. Looked down. Then, looked up again and met the greenest eyes he'd ever seen. Long blonde hair flowed around her shoulders as she turned her head, scanning the room.
He tilted his head, trying to see more of her face. "Can I help you?"
"I'd like to get a campsite for two days." She stepped up to the counter and gripped the edge. "I don't have a reservation, and I'm hoping—"
"Full hookup or dry?" he said, lowering his gaze to her breasts.
She wore a man's T-shirt with a pocket over her left breast. The too big clothing couldn't hide that she was one-hundred percent female. If he had to estimate, her measurements were around 36-28-34.
"Um, I'm not sure what you mean." She pursed her full lips and blew a stream of air out of her mouth. "It's my first time staying in a travel trailer."
Wanting to see what the lower half of her body looked like, he walked around the counter and pointed to the wall where he had a map of the campground pinned to the wall. "Over here, we have full hookups—it comes with electricity and water, plus there's a dump station at the gate." He pointed to the left side of the park. "This is where those who dry camp stay. There're community bathrooms if you take the trail over here and a gazebo with a firepit and two electrical sockets if you have a portable stove burner. It's first come, first serve for the community sites. You'll have to share it with the other dry campers."
"What's over here?" She pointed to the right on the map.
"Tent camping only."
She moved her finger. "And, here?"
"That's an area designated for campers that bring pets with them." He sniffed, trying to pick up any musty odor to signal she had a dog with her. The only thing he smelled was a faint apple scent. "Do you?"
She looked at him and her arched brows lowered. "Do I what?"
"Have a dog?"
She shook her head. "No."
He looked down and took in the worn jeans that were at least three times bigger than they needed to be and the rolled cuffed that still dragged the ground. She was short, barely came up to his chest and probably topped out at five feet four inches. He'd seen all kinds of camp clothes on people staying at the campground, but they usually fit a person's body.
"Do you have something more private in full hookups? Away from other campers?" she asked.
The woman hadn't even seen the grounds. Each spot was allotted the same amount of land.
"Maybe over here." She pointed at the map. "Where there are lots of trees?"
"Let me look on the registry to see if there's any available on that last row." He walked back around the counter, thumbed through the book, and tapped the paper. "Space 34A is vacant. How long did you say you wanted to stay?"
"Um, two days?" She pulled up on the legs of her jeans.
Reservations for that spot were already scheduled starting on Sunday. She'd be gone by then.
He turned the registry book around. "It's yours. Just fill out the information, and it'll be twenty-four dollars a night. You can pay for the first night now, and someone will be around collecting tomorrow."
"I'll pay for both days now." She pulled money out of her pocket. "Do you, uh, need my driver's license?"
"Nope." He set a pen on the book and glanced up at her. "You're not from these parts."
Anyone local understood he respected the privacy of others. As long as campers wanted to pay, they could stay. That way, they kept their nose out of his business and complained less.
"I'll pay for both nights now." She put the exact amount on the counter and picked up the pen, writing her information quickly. "Thank you," she said quietly.
He put the book away. "I'll show you the spot. Go ahead and pull the trailer around and follow me.
Halfway to the All-Terrain Vehicle, he sensed her falling back and looked over his shoulder. She struggled with keeping her jeans from dragging and grabbed a fistful of material at her thighs, lifting her pant legs higher.
Two bare feet peeked out from underneath the material. He looked up at her face. She winced with each step on the loose gravel.
Letting her go at her own pace, he reached the lean-to and grabbed the nearest ATV. He pulled out in front of the guest and sat on the seat, while the woman climbed into the driver's side of the truck.
Once he heard the truck start, he slowly led her to Space 34A. Hopping off the quad, he motioned her to drive past the landing pad. Then, he stood at the back of the paved space, and using hand signals, he helped her back the trailer—six times before he ran out of patience and stalked to the driver's side window.
"Watch my hands when I'm back there. You need to turn the steering wheel a quarter turn the other way when the bumper of your truck comes up to the turn. Then turn three-fourths the other way and hold it until I hold up my fist for you to stop," he said.
"Three fourths?"
Reaching inside her truck, he tapped the wheel. "Here's a quarter turn. It's at nine o'clock." Moving his hand, he slapped a different spot. "Here's three-fourths. You're going to go clockwise to six o'clock."
"Okay, I'll try," she said.
It took her three more attempts to back the trailer into the spot before he finally called it good enough and had her stop the truck.
He knocked on the side panel of the pickup. "You're good to go."
Walking away, he left her to level and set up the older trailer on her own. Though, he couldn't help taking his time getting on the ATV and riding away as she continued to sit in the driver's seat. First time camping or not, she'd need to learn how to get settled on her own.
As it was, he put her as far away from the pet area as possible in the spot she requested. Being a lone woman on the mountain put her at a disadvantage if she planned on making use of the wilderness around her. She didn't need to deal with barking dogs or worry about one of them getting out of the fenced-off area and into her camp.
He turned and went on the second loop, avoiding the back section. The campground was one huge oblong circle with four loops zigzagging through the property, one exit, one entrance, backed by the Bitterroot Mountains, and over five hundred acres on the Clark Fork River.
Ahead of him on the road, his longest-standing employee waved. He slowed down and waited for Jared to reach him. All his caretakers moved around the campground on ATVs, as did most of the campers who were recreational riders and spent their days on the thousands of trails in the area.
"There are two big rigs parked in the turnaround." Jared dropped his hands from the handlebar. "Do you want me to go check them in?"
"I'll take care of them. I'm going back to headquarters now." He looked in the utility trailer behind Jared's quad. "Did you get the two trees cleared from the path to the river?"
Jared wiped his forehead with his hand. "Yeah, I cut the logs up. I put J.T. and Sam on splitting it all. They're going to stack the wood by the fish cleaning station. I figured someone would use it for building a fire while they're at the river."
"Good call." He lifted his chin, rode away, and pulled in front of the door of headquarters.
Looking around, he searched for the two parties Jared mentioned and couldn't find any sign of them. Maybe they decided to turn around and search for somewhere else to stay.
He walked inside and went straight to his desk. Tilting back in the seat, he plopped his boots on the surface and rubbed his face with both hands. It'd been a hell of a winter and spending the last month getting ready for opening season had him feeling older than forty-six years old.
Crossing his arms across his chest, he tucked his chin and closed his eyes. Dogs barked. He flinched, opening his eyes. Straining to hear how close they were to him, only silence came. After so many years, he got used to the visions, the imagined sounds, the reminders of his past every time he closed his eyes.