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He popped the trunk and unloaded her suitcases. “You’ll be just fine here, Miss Hope. Don’t you worry.”
“Thank you so much.” She handed him a twenty as a tip. “I’m off to a great start already. I’ll take it from here.”
“Thank you so much. You have a wonderful day now.”
Malcolm rumbled away, leaving Hope alone. Some distant noises came from inside the building, but the area was almost silent otherwise, with only the occasional birdsong. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and turning around.
Picking up a suitcase with each hand, she climbed a few steps and entered, noting the lobby sign over the door. The propped-open doors were made of beautiful tropical hardwood. Hope glanced around the lobby. There was a seating area with couches and armchairs preceding the front desk.
Two dark-skinned women behind the desk were having an intense conversation. On the other side of the lobby was additional seating, along with a large table set with cookies, infused water, and fresh fruit. Hope walked over and helped herself to a glass of water, parched from her long journey.
As she drank, one woman from behind the counter walked over. She looked to be in her late fifties and had a fuzzy halo of black hair. Her name tag read Patti Thomas, Manager. “Good mornin’. How may I help you?”
Here we go.
Hope smiled and put all her confidence in it. “Hi Patti, I’m Hope Collins, the new owner of the resort.” She held her arms out from her sides. “Here I am! And I can’t wait to meet Steve. Can you let him know I’m here?”
Patti winced, her ample frame turning away slightly. “Oh dear.” Then she faced Hope. “It’s very nice to meet you, and everyone is excited you’re here. But we’ve had a terrible shock this mornin’, so we’re all of out of sorts.”
She sighed and took Hope’s hands. “Steve left suddenly last night. He didn’t say a word to anyone. None of us knew.” Patti squeezed her hands as Hope’s breath came faster and faster. “When he didn’t come out of his house this mornin’, I got concerned and went to check on him. He was gone, and he didn’t leave any information on how to reach him. Even his cell phone number is disconnected.” Patti wrenched her eyes shut before opening them again. “I can’t believe he’d just up and leave!”
Hope’s pulse pounded in her ears as her head spun. “He left? How am I supposed to take over the resort?”
CHAPTER 10
Hope raised both hands to grip her hair, her breath heaving as Patti’s warm brown eyes opened wide. She put her arm around Hope’s shoulders, steering her to a couch. “Now you sit down, child. I can’t have the new owner passin’ out on me, now can I?”
“Steve promised he was staying six months to help me transition,” Hope said, her voice rising. “I don’t know anything about this place. How could he just leave? What am I going to do?”
Patti squeezed her hand, her eyes filling with warmth as she scooted closer. “When I went into his house this morning, there was a letter for me. He said he was terribly sorry to be leavin’ in the middle of the night, but he couldn’t bear to stay on and felt he had to leave straight away. There was also an envelope with your name on it, so it looks like he wrote a letter to you too. But we’ll let that sleepin’ dog lie for now.”
Hope pressed both palms to her eyes and leaned forward. “I left everything behind for this. I can’t turn around and go home again. This is supposed to be my new start in life. How on earth am I supposed to figure out how to run this place?”
Patti smiled, transforming her face as her white teeth lit up the room. “Why, child, you don’t have to worry about that! I’ve been the manager of this resort for a long time now, and anythin’ I don’t know isn’t worth knowin’. Half Moon Bay has been here a long time. I run a tight ship, and we’re all hard workers here.” She touched Hope’s cheek for a moment. “Steve might have thrown us a curveball, but I’m not goin’ anywhere. You and I will make this all work out, you’ll see.”
Hope gave her a brave smile. “Thanks, Patti. I’m glad you’re here.” She looked around the lobby, taking in the colorful paintings of local plants and scenes of sunsets and green mountains. “This place looks beautiful. I know I’m very lucky, but I’m still in shock.”
“It is beautiful, and no mistake. Let me give you a quick tour of the resort and introduce you to some of the people. I knew you were comin’ in today, so I have the Hibiscus bungalow set aside for you, thinkin’ Steve would still be in the owner’s residence. No matter. Let me start by introducin’ you to Martine, who works the front desk . . .”
* * *
Alex unscrewed the yoke of the regulator and hung it over the tank valve. They were on their way back after the second morning dive. He worked quickly, trying to get as much done as possible before they returned to the resort. It had been a great morning, culminating in seeing three Caribbean reef sharks on the second dive.
The group consisted of four couples who liked to take dive vacations together. They were excellent divers, which made his job much more enjoyable. A corner of his mouth turned up as he watched the flat blue sea, not a cloud in the sky.
Tommy had the radio up as usual, and several guests were singing off-key to Bob Marley. Alex smiled wider and shook his head. Everyone was in a good mood. Mark, one of the husbands, stood next to him. “So, Alex, I couldn’t tell. Are you a divemaster, or an instructor?”
“Both, I guess. You have to become a divemaster before becoming an instructor. I got my instructor cert about eight years ago.”
“You’ve been at this a while then. You have to take a special course for instructor, right?”
Alex nodded. “Most dive shops can teach up through divemaster, but you have to take a specialized course for instructor.” He coiled up the regulator and hung it over the tank valve.
“Oh yeah? Where’d you take yours?” Mark’s wife Lucy had handed him a towel, and he rubbed his dark hair.
“Don’t let him pester you. He can talk scuba all day.” Lucy laughed and returned to her seat.
Alex grinned. “Can’t we all? Nothing wrong with that.” He turned back to Mark. “I did my instructor course in the Red Sea. The diving there is great.”
