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The inn was meticulously decorated and planned, with a big open event space and restaurant off the main lobby, a fitness room and a little spa. The rooms were perfectly decorated in a way that was high-end but not overdone—perfect for the mountains, and the sports center sat around the back of the main structure, selling and renting hiking gear, kayaks, maps and trail food for summer; cross-country skis, snowshoes and sleds for winter.
“The store generates a lot more than I initially thought it would,” Mike said. “We just have to be careful to offer a different selection than the gift shop in the main village or Adele gets a little touchy about competition.”
“Who’s Adele?” I asked.
“She runs the diner and owns the gift shop. I think she’s been up here for like a hundred years...has a line on every little bit of gossip in town, that’s for sure.”
“Sounds delightful,” I said, an image of a woman with a beehive standing behind the podium at the diner flashing through my mind. It couldn’t be the same woman who’d been there when I was little, could it?
“She’s harmless, mostly. She’ll pretend to hate you, but she’s a softie. Can’t stand me, though,” Michaela said, grinning at me.
“Why not?” I couldn’t see anyone hating Mike—she was great.
“Because I’m marrying Chance, and she’s got a crush on him the size of a Sequoia, even though she’s married.”
“I’m sure her husband loves that,” I said. “And from what I remember, everyone on the planet has a crush on Chance Palmer.”
Mike sighed in the way a happy woman confident in what she had would, and I felt a little pang of jealousy. I didn’t want Chance Palmer—the traditionally good looking guy had never been my thing. I tended to like the oddballs, the underdogs. And the shiny corporate managers, evidently, but that had been a one-off for me. Cameron Turner was way more my speed. Not that I was in the market. At all.
We hopped into a monstrous golf cart with huge tires and followed a rutted dirt road from the back of the inn up the hill and out to where the outpost restaurant was rising impressively from the forest floor. The structure was two stories high, and appeared solid from the front, with stonework climbing one full story and huge windows on either side of the double doors. We drove around to the back, where the crew was hard at work on a massive deck. Mike began explaining how the walls retracted back here, and why managing the construction was complicated, but I only heard part of what she was saying.
Up on the big wide deck, a tool belt hanging from his waist and a pair of thick work gloves over his hands, Cameron stood shirtless, inspecting something one of the other men was showing him near the railing. The sun kissed the skin that pulled taut over the firm smooth muscles of his back, and a thin sheen of sweat made it shine slightly, like a bronze beacon. The tattoo I’d seen on his neck was the top part of a tribal pattern that resembled a dragon, covering a large part of Cam’s back. I inhaled a sharp breath, trying not to appreciate the low-slung jeans, the edge of elastic that was visible just above the denim, or the bulging muscles of the arms that were now pointing at something high up the back wall as he talked to the other man. A warm buzz had filled my head and I had to force my gaze back to Mike’s face.
“...So it’s going to be a challenge to get it all done by August. And even then the interiors might not be finished. Getting the electricity this far up the hill took an act of God, and the county is not in a hurry with permitting the well and septic. We’re right on the edge of the national park, so they’re dragging their feet, but I’ve been promised it will happen. Just maybe not in time for the wedding.”
I tried to imagine one hundred people out here this far from the main building at a party—and no working plumbing. My face must have betrayed my concern, because Mike quickly said, “I’m sure it will be fine. But that’s why we need a plan B. Just in case.”
“Got it.”
Cameron turned then, and spotted us standing below the railing. His eyes found mine, and connected for a brief second with what felt like a physical force, before he winked and then moved his gaze to Mike. “Everything looking good, boss?” he called down. Cameron hadn’t struck me as the winking type, and honestly, he might as well have thrown a pebble and hit me right on the head. I reeled a bit, trying to regain my composure. Chance Palmer appeared from inside the structure and stepped to the railing, his wide smile focused entirely on his fiancée. He hadn’t changed a bit since the last time I’d seen him. Well, maybe a little—last time I’d seen him he’d been a ten-year old version of the man standing above me now.
“Hey you,” he called down to Mike, who was grinning right back at him.
“Hey yourself. You guys gonna get this all done for Maddie?”
Cam leaned on forearms on the railing. “We’d better. You ever seen my sister when she’s pissed?”
“I would rather not,” Mike said.
“We’ll get it done,” Chance assured us.
“Hey guys, this is Harper Lyles,” Mike said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “She’s going to be running events and helping manage things at the inn.”
Chance squinted at me, obviously recognizing me but probably struggling to place me. “Welcome to Kings Grove,” he said.
Cam didn’t smile or welcome me, just watched me interact with Chance and Mike, leaning on his arms like he was at a sporting match or casually observing a deer out in the woods.
“You mean welcome back,” I corrected. “We’ve met.”
I explained to Chance how we knew each other, and his perfect smile appeared again. “Oh my gosh, little Harper! It’s good to see you back here. Your dad must be thrilled.”
“I don’t think thrilled is in Dad’s repertoire,” I said. He’d been steady and calm when I was little, and his voice on the phone since then had always been careful, measured. “And I haven’t seen him yet. Just got here last week.”
“She’s renting the house,” Cam said, and it was apparent that Chance knew what house he meant by the way he nodded.
“Good to see you again, Harper.”
Mike and I got back into the four wheel cart and headed back to the inn. We said goodbye and I steeled myself for my next errand. Checking in with Dad.
