Page 1 of A Veteran’s Obsession

1

RUBY

Emerald Heart Resort nestles on the side of Wild Heart Mountain, beautiful, secluded, and the perfect place to hide where no one will recognize me.

I tug the sunhat over my red curls and adjust my sunglasses. The lobby is dim with the sunglasses on, but I’m not risking being recognized by the young woman at reception.

The line is three people deep, and even for the off-season, the resort is busier than I’d like. The ski slopes haven’t opened yet, and it’s too cold for swimming in the lake. What do people come here for? Maybe they’re all running from something, like I am. Or maybe they all have the same half-price coupon I have from a discount site online. Otherwise, there’d be no way I could afford to stay at the Emerald Heart Resort.

The man in the line ahead of me scrolls on his phone, looking bored. Something catches his attention, and he smirks at the video he’s watching.

I hold my breath and scoop my ponytail off my neck and tuck it down the back of my jacket. I could have dyed my hair or cut it. I sat on the bathroom floor last night with the scissors and couldn’t do it. It’s my mom’s hair.

The man scrolls past the video, and the bored expression returns.

My hand twitches to reach for my phone, but I have kept it turned off since the internet blew up last night. I had to navigate here the old-fashioned way, with a map. And now I’m waiting in line with nothing to do but observe those around me and try not to stand out, which is tricky when you’re wearing a floppy sunhat in fall.

With my head lowered, I glance around the lobby. A well-dressed couple sits by an enormous fireplace with a stroller between them. Both of them are on their phones.

Any one of them could have seen the video, and with my distinctive hair and plus-size body shape, it’s hard to go incognito.

I thought a mountain retreat in the off-season would be a good place to hide, but everyone’s on their damn phones, a reminder that there is nowhere I can run from this.

My foot taps the ground, and the guy in front of me turns around to glare at my shoe. Luckily, it’s my foot he’s glaring at and not my face. I stop tapping, and my shoulders hunch forward, trying to take up less space, be less seen, which is the opposite of what my mom drummed into me.

Stand tall and be proud of who you are, Ruby. Don’t diminish yourself because you make others uncomfortable.

Yeah, look where that advice got me. I’m the laughingstock of the internet.

The man in front of me takes his room key and moves off, and then I’m next in line. I should take my sunglasses off, but I’ve come this far, and I’d rather look stupid than be recognized.

“Welcome to the Emerald Heart Resort.”

The woman has a wide smile, and there’s no hint of recognition. And if she thinks it’s odd that I’m wearing sunglasses and a sunhat inside, then she doesn’t say it.

“I have a reservation for Ru…” I stop myself in time. “For, um, Elizabeth Bennet.” She doesn’t flinch at the name. It was the first thing I came up with last night when I was scrabbling on my laptop to make a hasty escape.

The receptionist taps at her computer. “Can I have your reservation number, please? It would have come through in the confirmation email.”

“Sure.” I reach for my phone, then remember it’s turned off, and for good reason.

“Do you need the reservation number?” I ask.

She taps on her computer, and her brow creases. “I can’t find your name in our system.”

“I booked it last night. I used a promo code.”

Her frown deepens. “We don’t have any promos running currently. Did you get a confirmation from us?”

She looks at me expectantly, and I can visualize the email that came through to confirm the room, but to show her, I either need to dig out my laptop, which is at the bottom of my suitcase, or turn the phone on.

Digging my laptop out of my suitcase to find the email in the middle of the lobby is going to draw attention. Maybe my phone won’t be too bad. Things might have calmed down since last night.

“I’ll get that email for you.”

My phone chimes the moment it’s turned on as notifications come through on every one of my messaging apps.

I ignore the chimes and navigate to my email. The damn thing keeps dinging, and then it rings. It’s an unknown caller, and there is no way I’m taking that call.