Free Lovers of Legend by Mac Flynn Page A

which had an open-rafter roof. To our left was the fireplace of stories, to our right was the desk, and in front was a wall of doors. One led to the pool, and another to the pool table. The upstairs showed off an open dining room with round tables covered in white clothes. Diners could look across the lobby and out through the windows onto the deck. The upper floor was accessed via stairs to the far left close to the fireplace, and on either side of the dining area were doors that led onto the deck. Behind the stairs was a narrow, dimly lit hallway, and I guessed that led to the employee living quarters and the kitchen.
    We headed over to the front desk and Greg leaned over the counter. Behind the counter was a middle-aged man in a simple white shirt and he wore a broad smile. "Good evening. My name is Brent Patterson, owner of the lodge and front desk clerk. How can I help you?" he wondered.
    "We're here to stay in cabin fourteen," Greg told him.
    The man turned to his left where sat a computer. After a few clickity-clacks he gave a nod. "I see, Mr. Benson, is it?"
    "That's me," Greg replied.
    The man glanced at the screen and raised an eyebrow. He looked over to Greg. "And you reserved the cabin for a week on the employee discount?" the man wondered.
    "Well, yeah. Can't I do that?" Greg wondered.
    "You can, but-" His eyes flickered to me and back to Greg. "And this young lady is?"
    "Oh, a good friend," he told him. I frowned, but held my tongue.
    "Very well." The man leaned under the desk, grabbed a set of keys and set them on the top. "The cabins are numbered with Number One closest to the lodge. The times for meals is posted in your cabins, and all meals are included in your package. There are also pamphlets listing group events, and I might add that tonight is a special fireplace storytelling time after sundown. The trails are open from sunup to sundown, and we are not responsible for any accidents should you not follow the rules."
    "Sounds good," Greg replied. He grabbed the cabin key and turned to me with a broad grin. "Ready?"
    "Yeah, sure," I replied. I looked to the desk man who stared at both of us with confused interest. Then we left the lodge and plopped into the car. "What was that about me being a friend?" I asked him.
    "Well, you are. My girlfriend, that is," he pointed out.
    "Uh-huh, and about this cabin being expensive?" I wondered.
    "Well, they were before the discount," he replied.
    "And it being an employee discount? How'd you get that?"
    "Stop worrying about everything. We have the cabin, don't we?" he argued. He pulled the car out of the parking space and drove us to cabin fourteen. There were twenty cabins total, so this was just on the wrong side of being away from the lodge. Greg parked the car in the parking spot, got out, and breathed deeply. "Great air, isn't it?"
    I followed his example and couldn't argue. There was the fresh smell of a summer evening's dew with a hint of heat from the long day. "Yeah, it is," I agreed.
    "Come on, let's see how these things look inside," he suggested.
    Greg led me onto the small porch and opened the door. The entrance swung open and revealed a single large room with two beds against the far wall, a door on the left wall that led to the bathroom, and to the right was a small living room with two chairs, a TV stand, and a TV. The floor was polished wood, and so was all the furniture. It was pretty snazzy, and very expensive looking.
    I stepped inside, dropped my bag onto the floor, and dove onto the hefty-looking bed on the right. The mattress was crisp, but had a good bounce. I laughed and turned to Greg. I was surprised to see he still stood on the porch and his eyes were turned to the left toward the lodge. "Something wrong?" I asked him as I slid off the foot of the bed.
    He whipped his head to me. "W-what? O-oh, no, nothing wrong, just thought I saw something," he replied.
    "Oh? What'd you think you saw?" I wondered. I walked over to the door, but he stepped