Free Hard Impact: An Alpha Billionaire Romance Novel by Helen Grey

set of keys from my pocket, and inserted one into the door lock. I pushed it open, gesturing for her to enter. “It’s that simple,” I said, following her inside.
    I hadn’t been here for a while, and like the outside, I was pleased with the renovations to the interior. The front door opened into a large space. To the left was an area where lodgers could sit around a fire and shoot the breeze. The log walls were au natural, but I’d had the chinking replaced and whitewashed. The hardwood floors had been sanded down and re-coated with polyethylene, protecting the nearly one-hundred-year-old planks from more abuse.
    The river stone fireplace added not only charm but additional functionality. A massive elk head was mounted above the mantel, off-set by two antelopes on either side. Two sets of sofas were situated perpendicular to the fire, with a couple of small tables with chairs and lamps strategically placed around the room. Between the fireplace and the outside walls stood inset floor to ceiling cedar bookcases filled with books. An authentic bearskin rug covered the floor in front of the hearth. In the other corner was a larger, round table with chairs, perfect for a match of Texas Hold’em or other games.
    The room was open to the log beamed ceiling. Rooms lined one side of the second floor, with highly polished wood railings separating the balcony overlooking the living space. On the long wall beneath the open, second-floor balcony hung two Navaho tapestries, along with other Native American and Western regalia; a quiver of arrows and bow, a coiled lasso, and near the hallway, a Frederick Remington painting. To the right was the stairway, while my office, a small bathroom, the kitchen, and a small dining room were down the hall.
    I smiled with satisfaction as I turned to Misty, gesturing upstairs. “Like I said, at the end of the hallway, last room on the right, you’ll find a closet filled with clothes. Pick whatever you want.”
    She frowned. A nervous tick? Did she always frown like that?
    “Is it really necessary for me to change clothes? After all, we won’t be here very long, will we?”
    I blew out a breath, biting back a curse. I wasn’t sure if it was miscommunication on Ruby’s part, or on the part of the magazine, but apparently Miss Misty Rankin had been left out of the loop with no idea what was going on.
    “Miss Rankin… Misty,” I amended. “We’ll be spending the night here and then tomorrow or the next day, we’ll be flying—”
    “We’re staying the night here?”
    Her eyes huge, she glanced around the room, as if someone might miraculously appear from out of the woodwork before glancing at me again. Her face flushed, but whether it was from anger, frustration, or who knew what, I had no idea. I nodded. “I have properties to inspect before hunting season,” I explained. “Didn’t your editor tell you?”
    Once again, Misty frowned. She dug into her satchel and pulled out a manila envelope. “This is all I got, Mr., uh, Blake,” she said, shaking the envelope in front of me. “It has your photo and a very sketchy bio, and that’s about it. And no, my editor didn’t tell me that we would be going anywhere, let alone that we would be staying overnight—”
    “We’ll be gone about a week,” I broke in, forcing my face to remain carefully blank. The expression on her face intrigued me. The flush had darkened and so had the look in her eyes. “You’re the one that wanted an in-depth interview—”
    She began to sputter. She formed half a word, stopped, then tried again. “A week?”
    “At least,” I shrugged. “I’m a busy man, Misty. If you want to interview me, you’ll have to come along. I don’t just sit behind a desk. In fact, I hate sitting behind a desk. I’m actively involved in my property development. I test everything to make sure that all my properties and perks provide the amenities that are promised to my clients.”
    “But I don’t… I didn’t