Page 35 of You Know You Wanna

“Right,” I said slowly, dragging out the word as resignation filtered into my soul. “Thanks. I hope you didn’t get stuck with the worst of it.”

He glanced at the rake in his hand and grinned. “No, sir. Not at all. What we’ve got to do is basically just gardening. Thankfully, the resort doesn’t appear to have suffered any structural damage, though we will need to clear some trees that have fallen over on the trails later on, so I’d advise against going on a hike this morning unless you’re good with climbing over them.”

“A bit of climbing is never a bad thing.” I clapped him on the shoulder and moved out of his way. “Alright, David. Thank you for letting me know what was going on. Good luck with the cleanup.”

He nodded his thanks, then took off again, racing toward the Kids Camp while I stood still for a moment, not really sure what to do with myself now. I’d had it in mind to talk to Birdie about what had happened last night, but if that wasn’t possible right now, and with Laurene off painting rocks, my day was suddenly wide open.

Shit, when was the last time that happened? I couldn’t even remember. Guess I might as well go catch up on work while I won’t get in trouble for it.

I chuckled to myself as I strode toward the lobby, wondering how I’d become a person who snuck in time to work. Ultimately, though, there was no better time than right then. Laurene was otherwise occupied, and while I really didn’t mind climbing over some trees, my time really would be better spent working than hiking today.

As I walked into the lobby, I saw Alan at the front desk. The old man’s silver hair shone white under the lights, the furrows on his face deep as he checked something on the computer. I’d already told Declan that I was giving up on trying to invest in this place for now, but after a storm like the one we’d just had, I figured it was worth one last shot.

The way I saw it, last night must’ve been stressful for him. It might even have made him realize that it wouldn’t hurt to have some money on tap to strengthen their infrastructure.

I walked up to him, and as soon as he noticed me, he went on the defensive. His spine straightened, his chin came up, and his shoulders squared. It was adorable that he thought he could intimate me, but I wasn’t the patronizing or the condescending type, so I didn’t belittle him by mentioning it.

This was business and what I wanted to offer him would help, whether he saw it that way or not. “Good morning, Alan.”

“What do you want?” he barked, narrowing his eyes on mine. “I’m still not interested in selling, you know.”

“Oh, I know,” I said. “That’s just the thing, though. I’m not asking you to sell the entire place to me. I’m asking you to let me invest in it. I give you money and you give me a stake in the property in return.”

“No.”

“So you’re serious about working yourself to death?” I asked. “With the money I give you, you could hire more staff. Perhaps even a general manager to take some of the pressure off you. You could modernize a little. You could⁠—”

“I’m serious about working myself to death,” he said, speaking over me. “I have more than enough staff members and I don’t need pressure taken off me or modernization. Guests like this place as it is, thank you very much.”

I gave him a pointed look. “For now, sure, but you should quit while you’re ahead. A place like this needs a lot of maintenance and upkeep. Plus, it might be rustic right now, but pretty soon, rustic is going to become rundown.”

“Rundown?” He scoffed. “How ‘bout I run you down with my truck? I’ve been here since before you took your first breath. Don’t presume to know more than I do about what this property needs.”

I shrugged. “I don’t. You know exactly what it needs, which is also why you know you won’t be able to keep up with it much longer. Take my money. Stay on the property. Hell, die on the property if that’s what you want, but do it without running the place into the ground with you.”

Those cloudy eyes narrowed to slits. His hand came up to point at my chest. He was trembling, though I didn’t know if it was with age or rage. “I can cancel your reservation right now, son. In fact, I think I⁠—”

“Daddy! I’m so glad I caught you,” Laurene called from the entrance as she ran up to me. Her eyes were huge and hopeful, the expression on her face pleading for some reason. “Can I go on a camping trip with the Kids Camp in a few days?”

“Sure, baby.” I gave Alan a challenging look that said try to cancel my reservation for the next few weeks, I dare you.

The old man just rolled his eyes back to the computer screen. I slid my arm around my daughter’s shoulders, leading her to the breakfast area we’d left less than an hour ago. The coffee station was still open, and the scent of bacon, eggs, and all sorts of goodies was still heavy in the air.

“Tell me about the trip,” I said as we sat down and I motioned to the single server on duty to bring me another coffee.

I assumed the others were all helping with the cleanup, but thankfully, this guy was still here and most of the guests had finished eating. He saw me, nodded, and came over with a coffee for me and some orange juice for Laurene.

“It happens every summer,” she explained excitedly. “Jenna just told us about it and I thought I’d see if I could catch up with you to ask. I’d like to give her an answer right away so I know for sure that I’ll get a spot.”

“I’m sure they’ll take all the kids whose parents agree,” I said, glancing over at Alan, who was still glowering at the computer. “Are you sure it’s safe? Who’s going with you? After that storm, I’m not sure how safe the woods are right now.”

“It’s safe,” she assured me. “Birdie is coming too, and Jenna said they keep a close eye on the weather just in case.”

Knowing that Birdie would be chaperoning the trip gave me some peace of mind. Plus, I’d already agreed when she’d asked in front of Alan, so I couldn’t exactly backtrack now. “Okay, honey. That sounds good. You can go.”

She squealed and jumped up, giving me the biggest smile I’d ever gotten from her and throwing her arms around my neck. “Thank you, Daddy! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I’d better go give Jenna the good news. See you later.”

“See you later.” I hugged her back, holding her to me for longer than was strictly necessary, but it had been a long time since she’d hugged me this enthusiastically. I savored the moment, wondering again how the hell I was supposed to let go after the summer when it felt like we were finally building a relationship with one another again.