It's gotten so dark from the storm I need to pay close attention to the map and the street signs as we turn from the highway toward Lake Crescent. The lake itself is choppy and slate-colored with the rain and the wind. At some points, as we're driving along, the water's edge is so close to the road that it feels like I could jump out of the car into it. Not that I'd want to.

When we pull into the mostly empty gravel parking lot for the lodge, two men are sitting in two different black SUVs, like Lorelei told us. As soon as they see us, they take out gigantic cameras. Crap.

I've been keeping in touch with Lorelei via texts since I picked up Rune. When he parks in front of her cabin, I see her small, pale, worried face as she move back curtains and beams a quick smile and a wave at us.

"Don't look at the photographers, Shells," Rune warns, putting a hand on my arm before he reaches into the back for his hat, "Even if they come right up to the window. Make sure Butterscotch is okay in case this takes a while in the lodge. If the photographers approach you and start saying anything, don't comment. I'll go get Lorelei and be right back."

I nod and keep myself from glancing at the photographers while I move Rune's duffle bag into the trunk and deal with the dog. I unhook Butterscotch but keep her in the backseat, glad I gave her a potty break earlier. I dig out her water dish, pour her some from a container I keep in the back, and set the dish on the floor so she can drink if needed.

By the time I've moved his bag to the trunk, Rune is back and putting Lorelei's bags in on top of the others. Lorelei's running around the car to hug me tightly and then to open the back seat and greet an ecstatic Butterscotch quickly.

Neither photographer approaches the car or says anything, but as soon as we start walking towards the lodge, their rapid footsteps crunch on the gravel behind us, and cameras click. I wish I'd brought hats for Lorelei and me. My heart's pounding in my ears with adrenaline from the craziness of this situation.

Instinctually, we have Lorelei between us, holding firmly onto her hands. Rune positioned himself closest to the photographers, shielding Lorelei and me as much as possible with his body. They keep their distance and don't follow us as we walk up the stairs into the main building. I have such tunnel vision right now. I almost trip on the last step, and my face heats with embarrassment and frustration.

The main lodge is impressive and ironic, considering it's built to mimic the rustic wood and stone parkitecture of the historic lodges at and around the national parks. But I guess it's new and looks luxurious, and that's what mattered to Jenna.

The lobby is spacious and modern but still smells jarringly of fresh paint. It continues the historic lodge theme with exposed beams and a massive river rock fireplace that's now blazing. But there's no one enjoying it. There's no guests I can here at here at all. This feels very strange for high season. Is it so new no one knows about it yet? At the front desk, Rune asks the lone clerk which room Jenna Mercurio has booked for her meeting, and then we're striding down the correct hall.

None of the conference rooms appear occupied except almost at end with the door ajar. Several feet away from our target door, I can hear an the too familiar gravelly voice of my hated old boss. I stop abruptly, horrified.

"Rune," I whisper urgently, "that's Pamela Lyon's voice."

A stormy, even more determined expression comes over his face. He holds his finger to his lips, and the three of us creep closer, just outside of the door. Unfortunately, there's no window into the conference room so we can only hear what's going on.

"I don't understand why you can't film Kim and me playing a game in front of the lodge fire and do other b-roll stuff," I hear Jenna say, sounding sulky, "Why do you want to film Lorelei too when her father hasn't signed the release yet? He'll be here by this evening. We weren't supposed to film anything until tomorrow anyway."

"This is a family-oriented show, Jenna; we need Lorelei," I hear Pamela say, in a patient tone she uses with challenging clients, "This storm is really going to set us back. Time is money, and I need you to be more of a team player."

"Exactly," a charming male voice chimes in, "This is only for a test. If we've got something interesting, her father can sign the release when he shows up. We're just eager to get some footage."

Rune motions for us to stay where we are. He takes out his phone and holds it up like he's filming before he walks into the room, leaving the door open.

"Hello," Rune says, sounding casually cheerful, "it sounds like I got here just at the right time."

"What are you doing? Why are you filming this private meeting," the charming man says in a much less charming voice, "turn that thing off."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"Why are you harassing my family, Pamela?" Rune asks, his voice calm but serious.

"They're not harassing us," I hear Jenna retort hotly, "this isn't about you."

"You're paranoid, turn that off," Pamela instructs sharply.

"Then why are there paparazzi in the parking lot?" Rune counters.

"Dallas, grab his phone," Pamela instructs, "We don't need this." There's a grunt and a scuffle. Rune appears jogging backward out the door with his phone still in his hand. He grabs Lorelei, scoots her behind him, and reaches to do the same for me.

When the man trying to snatch Rune's phone sees us, he drops his hand and darts back into the conference room, saying tightly, "Pamela, it's time to go."

Less than a minute later he, Pamela, and a third man with a large video camera exit the room and almost run us over in their eagerness to leave. Dallas tries again to snatch Rune's phone, but Rune is faster. Lorelei and I follow and step out of the way in unison as if it's a choreographed move.

"This is a whole new level of dirty work, Pamela," Rune calls angrily as she and the two men walk briskly away to the exit in the opposite direction as the front parking lot. Pamela turns and starts to say something but glances at Rune's phone, shakes her head, and follows the men out.

Rune shuts off his phone, slips it into his pocket, and runs his hand over Lorelei's bright hair, "Let's tell Jenna you're coming with us."

"Yes, please," she says, her eyes still wide from all that happened. I'm sure mine must be as well. What the hell is going on?

"Jenna," Rune says as we follow him into the small, plain conference room complete with a long table, chairs, and a whiteboard, "Apparently, you didn't hear my lecture about staying away from reality shows," he says, shutting the door.

Inside, Jenna is sitting at the table next to a younger woman who looks very mousy in comparison to her. Both appear as thunderstruck as I feel.

"Why did you have to be so rude? This wasn't about you," Jenna asks Rune, now looking angry and close to tears, "This was a wonderful opportunity."

"Of course it was about Rune. The paparazzi are here in case he showed up," Lorelei says hotly, "Daddy never has photographers snapping pics of him unless he's competing at an event, or it's a fan but they want selfies with him."

Jenna looks surprised by this. What planet is she on? Next to Jenna, the other woman seems to wish the ground would open and swallow her. She has a bookish look, with large black glasses and shadows under her eyes, as if she's stayed up too late too often reading. Her dark blonde hair is scraped back in a messy ponytail, and she's huddled in on herself in jeans and a jacket that's not quite warm enough for the weather.

Jenna, in comparison, is the sort of woman I think of as professionally good-looking. The sort that actually is ready for a reality TV crew to follow her around. Now, as always, her face is carefully made up, her long nails a deep scarlet which matches the piping in her top-of-the-line charcoal warm up suit. Her dark mahogany hair is worn back in a sleek ponytail.

"Look, both of you," Rune says tiredly, leaning back against the wall and scrubbing his hand over his hair, "unless you're making it yourself or know your production partners and their track record really well, reality TV is all about creating as much drama as possible to the detriment of the people starring in it."

"That's not what we pitched at all," Jenna says stubbornly, as if she hasn't heard him. I doubt she did.

"It doesn't matter," Rune starts.

"That's not what we agreed to," the younger woman says defensively, holding up a green project folder as if it's some kind of proof.

"So, you've worked with this particular production company before?" Rune asks as he sits and pulls Lorelei down into the chair next to him, retaking her hand. I sit next to her.

"No," the younger woman turns a bit pink under his intense gaze, "but I've been producing digital content for women's magazines for the past few years. This is a legitimate company. I checked them out."

"I'm sure they're legit," Rune says more patiently, "that doesn't mean they were going to stick to your pitch in editing the actual show. How did you meet them? How well do you know them?"

"They reached out to me through Instagram when we were in Hawaii." Jenna says, "They connected after I posted some pics of Gunnar and I in training and said we were heading to the Pacific Northwest soon. I asked Kim to check them out."

"Do you have a copy of the contracts you signed with you?" Rune asks.

Jenna and Kim glance at each other. Both shake their heads.

"They were going to have their legal team send them to us," Kim says, "they told me it was standard procedure."

"Just shoot me now," Rune says, dropping his head into his hands, "How could you be such naive idiots?"

Jenna is crying now, but I'm unsure if it's from embarrassment or disappointment.

"Do either of you have the production company's business card? I want to take a picture of it and send it to my lawyers," Rune asks shortly.

Kim opens the green project folder and removes the card clipped to the top. Rune snaps a pic of it and slides it back to her.

"I'm stunned my cousin went along with this," Rune says, standing. Jenna looks stony, "You did tell him about this, didn't you?" He asks.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," she says, not looking him in the face, "a fun way to help pay for our new life up here." There's something that rings a little false about this. Gunnar makes a very good living. He told me he only decided to move when he was sure he no longer needed his LA clients.

Rune shakes his head, starts to say something, stops, and finally says, "Shelby and I are taking Lorelei with us back to Port Angeles. If the bridge is still open, we'll take her home; if not, I'll be in touch about where we're staying."

"You can stay here," Kim pipes up, looking as if she might not want to be left alone with Jenna right now, but Jenna glowers at her, "it's not officially open yet," Kim says more quietly.

"Thanks, but I have something else in mind," and then he adds, as he moves to the door, shepherding Lorelei in front of him, and then turns and says, "If you're so keen on this idea, why don't the two of you come up with your own show? It's about the only way you won't get royally screwed. Start small by posting it on YouTube and see how it goes."

"I'm an accountant becoming an interior designer," Jenna snaps, wiping her tears with her fingers, "even I know it takes money and skills we don't have."

"You can learn," Rune says shortly. I think he's going to say more, but then he shakes his head again, and we walk out.