Page 42 of Hideaway Reunion

“Mr. Vanbeck?” Cav walked up, relaxed as ever. Whether or not it was intentional, he managed not to block Brayden’s camera angle. “How about we discuss this elsewhere?”

“I’d love to. In fact, I was at the construction site. The abandoned site, since you are all here,” he screeched. “Explain yourselves right now.”

Bobby cut the engine and climbed down from the cab. “Why don’t you start?” He folded his arms across his burly chest. “We were told to stay on site through a serious storm.”

“A little rain⁠—”

Cav and Bobby both advanced on him. “We didn’t have a little rain,” Cav stated. “If you’ve been over there, you know that. You saw the damage.”

Bobby wiped a streak of sweat from his forehead with his wrist and stared Vanbeck down. “Y’know, I’m all ears. Tell us why is it, when it all went sideways, no one even checked in?”

“We tried,” Vanbeck shot back. “No one has answered the phone.”

“Would that be the phone in the torn-up office?” Cav pulled out his cell phone. “Because we all have our personal cells with us and I don’t see any missed calls from Indigo Reef. How about you Bobby?”

Bobby made a show of checking his cell phone. “Nope. No missed calls. Brian, did you get a call from our employer?”

“One second!” Brian called out. Vanbeck was forced to face the small crowd as Brian limped forward, supported by Veronica. Natalie was behind her, carrying a folding chair for him. “No attempts to reach me either.”

“Well?” Bobby took another step forward. Cav kept the attorney hemmed in on the other side. “We’re waiting.”

“You—all three of you—are supposed to be prepping our construction equipment!” Vanbeck declared, loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Instead, you’re using corporate assets to assist people who have actively sabotaged our construction efforts and machinery!”

“But that’s not true,” Bobby said. “It’s patently false and I think you know it. I’d go so far to say the opposite is true. Can’t think of any other job I’ve worked where I was asked to start up before seven. Or park my equipment as close to the boundary as possible to create noise pollution.”

“Have to agree with you,” Cav chimed in. “Our orders have been uncommonly inconsiderate.”

Vanbeck stammered. “I’ll have all three of you fired and blacklisted from every job site in the state! The entire southeast region.”

Cav laughed. “Go ahead and try. You left the three of us in an unanchored aluminum trailer during a season known for unpredictable weather when you knew a serious storm was brewing. A tree came through the roof, the whole thing collapsed on us, and not a single person checked to see if we survived.”

“Know who did?” Bobby seemed to grow bigger as he went toe to toe with Vanbeck. “Ms. Hargrave there.” He pointed to Roni. “She and her friend walked into sixty-mile-an-hour winds and driving rain to help us. She led us to safety and gave us shelter.” Bobby’s voice rang with fierce conviction. “She bandaged my arm, treated Brian’s wound and sprained ankle, gave us dry clothes, water, clean beds, and made sure we had our fill of good food and water. All while you’re lounging about in your posh hotel suite downtown. We’re clearing the Hargrave property first because they have an event tonight and it’s the right thing to do. Something I’m sure is a foreign concept to you.”

“You insolent⁠—”

Click-flash. Holly Brooks stepped directly between Vanbeck and the construction workers, her camera flashing—unnecessarily—right in the attorney’s startled face.

“It’s really something,” Holly gushed, all innocence. “And exactly what our Brookwell community is all about. The fact that the Hideaway provided shelter, medical attention, and meals to the very crew Indigo Reef abandoned in a crushed trailer... Well, that completely flips the previous narrative upside down.”

“You will print nothing about any of this,” Vanbeck said. Though he kept his voice low, everyone was close enough to hear him. “That... that was an unprecedented weather event⁠—”

“It wasn’t.” The quiet contradiction came from Celeste as she moved toward the center of the fray. “The news and weather alerts were quite clear about the risks of that storm coming ashore. The Hideaway was prepared with a full-house generator. And your workers were quite lucky that it was Veronica on duty this week. She and Brayden both have extensive training in managing first aid and health crises.”

She stopped short of demanding an apology or any statement of gratitude, but Brayden was sure she was winning more friends and stronger loyalty with every second of strained silence.

He glanced at Roni, shocked to see tears welling in her eyes. She blinked them away before they could fall, but it was clear what her sister’s confidence meant. The three of them might disagree over their dad, but they were a team through it all.

“I’m sure the whole town will be equally fascinated and appalled to hear how Indigo Reef left their workers stranded, only to be saved by the famous Hideaway hospitality,” Holly said. She held out her digital recorder. “Would you like to add any clarifying remarks?”

Vanbeck aimed his furious gaze at Brayden, who was still recording the entire scene. “Turn that off.”

“I won’t,” Brayden said, voice cool and even. “I warned you about trespassing. Probably for the best if you turn around and go before someone calls Chief Caldwell to issue a formal citation for criminal trespass and harassment.”

“This isn’t over,” Vanbeck spat. “Not for any of you.” Turning on his heel, he stormed back to his glossy black sedan, slammed the door, and sprayed gravel as he reversed out of the driveway.

“Well,” Bobby grunted, hauling himself back into the cab of the backhoe. “Guess the pleasantries are over. Let’s finish this.”

Veronica laughed and everyone seemed to relax. Celeste pulled her into a hug, quickly joined by Natalie. The sisters were beautiful individually, and outright stunning as a group.