Giggling, Quinn did an impression of Diego that was spot on. Quinn’s cheerfulness was infectious. Zoey had been down all morning, distressed beyond what was reasonable for a weeklong pseudo-relationship and unable to get Graham out of her mind, but she felt better being around Quinn.
“Is it like that even here in the resort?” Gesturing to the hotel around them, Zoey turned to Quinn. “Because it seems like out there, it’s town versus hotel to the extreme.”
“I think it depends on who you talk to. I really like meeting new people all the time. But there’s some people in town who are getting really frustrated. It didn’t used to be so bad, more like they thought the tourists were an annoyance, but whatever. Then a few years ago, someone got drunk and ran a red light.” Quinn’s large eyes gleamed in remembrance. “They sideswiped a car coming through the intersection. Killed almost an entire family.”
“That’s awful. Whose family was it?” Zoey couldn’t help but ask.
Shifting uncomfortably, Quinn glanced guiltily at the door as if someone might hear. “Diego’s family. He was the only one who survived the crash.”
Her heart went out to the awkward, grumpy concierge instantly. “That’s so sad. Why would he work here, then?”
“Because there are only so many jobs around here, and the hotel offers benefits a lot of the local businesses can’t. Health insurance, retirement, housing. And they pay for career training in the off-seasons. I’d never be able to afford college if it weren’t for the Shaws paying for classes. We don’t like to admit it, but without the hotel…”
Without the hotel, the community would suffer.
“I shouldn’t tease him,” Quinn whispered. “He has every reason to be grumpy.”
Reaching over to squeeze the younger woman’s hand, Zoey murmured, “Thank you. You’ve been very sweet to try and help me.”
When Zoey stood up to go, Quinn popped up to her feet, once more a bundle of energy and enthusiasm. “Are you looking forward to the fireworks?”
“Hmm?”
“Everyone is saying this year will be the best. Although after last night, who really knows what will happen now. Maybe next year’s will be even better if more people are around.”
“What do you mean?”
Quinn blinked owlishly. “You don’t know? All anyone can talk about is Ms. Montgomery’s plans for Moose Springs.”
“We had to make a dramatic escape prior to the scheduled programming,” Zoey replied drolly. “I think I need to talk to Lana. Do you know where she is?”
More than happy to be of help, Quinn immediately said, “Up in her rooms.”
Zoey tilted her head, confused by Quinn’s certainty. “I was just there. Lana’s not inside.”
“No, not the one she’s staying in with you. The other rooms she reserved. The executive suite and the presidential suite. Ms. Montgomery booked out the entire penthouse floor. Mr. Montgomery—oh my gosh, he is so gorgeous, isn’t he—and his companions are staying in one, and she’s running the other as an office space.”
“Quinn, can you get me into Lana’s suite? Her office, not Killian’s room. My keycard won’t let me access the penthouse floor.”
“Sure.” Quinn was more than willing to help. “But let’s take the staff elevator so no one sees. I’m technically not allowed to let any other guests on the penthouse floors.”
Seeming to enjoy sneaking around, Quinn led her to the service elevator allowing staff up to that level. The entire elevator ride, Zoey’s heart raced. Graham had been beside himself last night. Knowing something that mattered to him so much had been ripped away by the people visiting this hotel only made Zoey more anxious as they arrived at the suite.
Quinn unlocked the door for her, then disappeared down the hall with a cheery wave, returning to her work.
Stepping inside the hotel suite, Zoey’s eyes went immediately to the massive conference table running the length of one side of the suite. Easily capable of seating twenty people with plenty of room, the table had been set up with a miniaturized, lifelike display of the town, resort, and surrounding mountain ranges.
Everything was there. Even tiny places like the daycare and Frankie’s bakery had been accounted for. Shops so carefully unmarked and unnamed for privacy were fully disclosed for everyone to see. Places of high traffic were marked with colorful dots, with the largest dots gracing the various coffeehouses and gift shops around town.
The Tourist Trap had the largest dot of all.
“Killian, please warn me of when you’re coming over here.” Lana’s voice came from the other room. “You startle the life out of me every time I’m in the powder room and hear—oh. Zoey.”
Zoey nodded at the woman appearing from the suite’s far bedroom. “Just me. Lana? What is this?”
Distracted by the display, Zoey had failed to notice the display boards lining the wall, printed with computer-generated, artistic architectural renditions of—
Feeling the blood drain from her face, Zoey stepped back.
“Those are of Moose Springs. You promised Graham you didn’t buy the resort.”
Lana sighed. “No, dearest. I didn’t buy the resort. I promised him I wouldn’t, so I didn’t. But I might have to eventually. The Shaws don’t want to sell, but they’re broke. It’ll only be so much longer before the resort will fold and take the entire town with it. I care about Moose Springs far too much to let that happen.”
Sitting on the edge of a chaise lounge, Lana gave her a sad look. “Zoey, you come from a small farming town. Even without the influx of travelers passing through, your town would survive. Moose Springs is the ultimate tourist trap. A hundred years ago, there weren’t enough people to be strained by closing the mining operations. Now the population is too high, and the economy is based on supporting tourism. And unfortunately, for as many bodies as come through here, the resort just isn’t making enough money. I give them two years, maybe three tops before they would have to go under.”
“Does Jax know?” As Graham’s friend, she could only imagine how deep that betrayal would cut.
“No, they specifically wanted Jackson to stay out of it. But his parents came to me with a proposal.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Lana, this is huge.”
“It is huge, and it’s also been a huge pain. Do you know how hard the town will fight me on this? It’s not that I didn’t trust you, but I couldn’t risk word getting out before I had everything in place.”
Sashaying over to the table, Lana pointed to a large section of the mountainside abutting the resort. “We build privately owned luxury condominiums here. Each will have all the same amenities available to the owner or seasonal renter as the resort currently offers. That’s what the gala was for, showing everyone an amazing time and then selling them on the idea of purchasing a permanent home connected to the resort. Most of them would only come once or twice a year, but it would make a huge difference.”
Nudging a folder toward Zoey, Lana sat down at the table, her elbow near Rick’s bar. “A construction project this size will bring a lot of jobs to Moose Springs. Annual association fees from the condominiums will provide steady currency to the resort. More employees to take care of guests, more restaurants, healthcare services, better infrastructure…all of which would be needed to accommodate the influx of people from this project. More tax money for the town.”
Lana ran a fingernail along the top of the miniature Rick’s. “Moose Springs might still be a tourism town, but its wealth will be tied into the permanent establishments of these homes. And that will make the town stronger. Give them a chance when the resort eventually changes hands.”
“Are you sure the town will let you? Isn’t something of this scale hard to get approved? Won’t you need permits or something?”
“That’s where the leverage comes in.” Lana quirked a tired smile at her. “The bulk of the c
ommercial properties in town are owned by two different investment companies, one out of Anchorage and the other out of Vancouver. A few businesses are privately owned, like the Tourist Trap, but most are rentals. To be able to push this through, I have to have a deep enough sway over the community to get it past the town council.”
Feeling her eyes about to pop out of her head, Zoey looked at Lana in shock.
“You didn’t buy the resort. You bought the entire town.”
* * *
The sunlight shining through the diner window had the sheer gall to land right on Graham’s face.
“No, quit it.” Swatting a hand at the sunbeam, he groaned. “Go away.”
Cheerfully oblivious to his self-induced agony, the sun continued its happy path across the sky, bringing more light on his chosen bed. Too drunk to drive and too miserable to call someone for a ride, he slept on top of two tables shoved together, a wadded-up towel as a pillow and a bottle of Wild Turkey tucked under his arm. His suit from the previous night wasn’t the most comfortable of sleepwear, but Graham figured he deserved a little pain for making bad choices.
And boy, had he made bad choices. The hard drinking hadn’t started until Graham watched Zoey walk out his door.
“Go away, sun.” Graham moaned as more poured over his face. “I’m internal monologuing.”
“Oh man, he’s worse than I thought. It smells like something died in here.”
Shoving himself up to his elbows, Graham and what was left of his Wild Turkey stared blearily at the shadows within the diner. “I have resigned myself to the situation and accept all responsibility for my choices.”
“Okay, someone needs a trip to the sink.”
“I lost my moose,” Graham slurred to the people hauling him off his table bed. “I lost my girl.”
“I’m really hoping those two aren’t the same thing,” Ash said. “East, can you help me with him. He’s…oof. Seriously, Graham. Go on a diet. You are way too heavy to be this drunk.”
“Zoey Bear liked me.”
“Zoey Bear doesn’t have to lug you around.” Ash grabbed his chin. “Focus, big guy.”
Staring blurrily at her as two Ashes merged into a single one, Graham groaned and dropped forward, his head on her shoulder. “I lost my moose.”
“Yes. And Easton tracked him.”
“You did?”
Easton grunted an affirmative.
“Is he okay?”
“Better than you.”
“Did you see my bed? It was very self-sufficient of me.”
“Sure, it was.” A hand patting his shoulder became fingers locked in his shirt. “In you go.”
Which was how Graham ended up facedown in his diner’s dish-washing sink, flailing as Ash held him down and Easton sprayed ice-cold, high-pressured water into his face. Sputtering and cursing, Graham fought his way free, backing away from the sink. He called them both a few names, shaking the droplets out of his face.
Ash raised an eyebrow. “Feel better?”
“A little.” Inhaling a deep breath, Graham nodded. “Okay, let’s do it again.”
This time, Easton held him down and Ash sprayed him, because Easton was much harder to escape from. By the second time Graham emerged from the sink, drenched and frozen, he was wide awake.
“That’s a way to sober up.” He shuddered.
“Fun to watch too.” Setting a hip against the sink, Ash playfully aimed the sprayer toward her twin. “You’re smelling a little ripe yourself, East. Want the same?”
“I’ve been in the woods all night,” he rumbled. “What’s your excuse?”
“Children, behave.” Stripping his now soaked dress shirt off, Graham grabbed a kitchen towel from the stack of freshly laundered ones. Scrubbing the water from his hair and face, he turned back to his friends. “I don’t suppose anyone was nice enough to bring me a change of clothes? Or my dog?”
“No, we just figured we should sober you up before the lunch shift. Jake’s with Dad right now. We didn’t want him to smell you like this.” This time, there was only one Ash when she took his chin in her hand, peering up at him critically. “You good in there?”
“Better.” Pulling her in for a quick hug, Graham smirked at her noise of protest.
“You smell terrible, Graham.” Ash freed herself, then looked at him seriously. “Hey, we need to talk.”
“About how my stupid ass broke up with my dream girl last night over an emotionally disturbed moose?”
“Worse.”
The news really wasn’t good. Graham listened to what Easton and Ashtyn had heard through word of mouth, then he went straight to the source, Jackson Shaw. Graham could have called Lana herself, but he had…feelings…about all this, and he didn’t trust himself not to lose another friend and burn a second bridge in the heat of the moment. So he listened to Jax tell him all about the gala’s main excitement: the revealing of the multimillion-dollar luxury dream homes that were soon to be a permanent scar on his already disfigured mountain.
“Is there any way we can stop this?” Graham asked, his hangover building into a powerful headache between his temples.
“Mom and Dad already sold her the land. Nice of them to leave me as the one fielding all the calls today. Do you know how many times my ass has been chewed just this morning?”
“We’ll block it at the permit stage,” Graham decided. “Listen, I’ve got a line building up outside, and I need to find a shirt. I’ll call you later to discuss this some—”
“Why don’t you have a shirt?”
“Why do you care if I don’t have a shirt?”
“I’m not the one running a restaurant. That’s gross, man.”
Graham didn’t bother saying goodbye before hanging up. Easton and Ash left with a promise to bring Jake by soon. Easton refused to give Graham the shirt off his back, but Graham did find a sweatshirt stuffed in the back of his truck. It smelled like campfire smoke and bread, which wasn’t a terrible combination. Better than what was happening with the rest of him. Turning his phone off, Graham stuck it in his truck, the physical distance keeping him from calling Zoey and Lana, begging the first to forgive him for being an idiot and telling the second she had lost extra Growly Bear privileges.
The day was long, the dress shoes hurt as he wore them standing behind a grill, and all anyone coming through the doors could talk about was Lana’s condominiums. People wanting to know what they would cost, speculating on the types of floor plans, and buzzing over who would get one.
Graham didn’t bother letting himself get angry. The town council would never let this happen. He knew because he was there for every council meeting, and most of the discussion involved how to limit tourism’s effect on their daily lives, not increase it. This would be handled. If L was out some money, that was unfortunate, but she had plenty more. She would be fine.
A shower, a change of clothes for both him and Jake, and distracting himself with balancing the business’s books killed the time he had between lunch and dinner. As the evening wore on, Graham kept hoping Zoey would walk in and then immediately was grateful when she didn’t. He’d hurt her last night, and Graham needed to apologize. But the break had been made, and it was probably for the best. Reaching out to her would only make things worse.
Graham waited as long as he felt necessary before driving the customers out of his diner. Focused on straightening chairs and wiping down tables, Graham didn’t immediately notice the woman standing next to Barley the Biker Bear.
Raising his eyes to hers, the tension Graham had carried in his chest all day clenched down painfully tight.
“Hey there, Zoey Bear,” he said, voice softening. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”
Which was brutally true. Even faced with the news about the condos, all Graham could focus on was the hurt in her eyes as he’d driven her away from
him. When she gave him a small, worried look, his heart tried to turn itself inside out.
“I know you wanted me to leave. But I need to tell you something really important. I tried to call, but your phone went to voicemail.”
“Yeah, I kept it off today. I do that on days I’m hungover and pretty sure I majorly screwed up.”
“How are you feeling now?”
“Like I’m an idiot who’s sorry. Like my hangover’s gone and I really, really screwed up.” Graham stood close, inhaling the scent of her hair. “Zoey, last night—”
He drifted off, unable to formulate the words.
“Last night was a bad night for you,” she said, kindness and sympathy in her eyes. “And I’m worried I’m about to make tonight bad too. I need to tell you what they announced at the gala yesterday. Lana’s done something that’s going to upset you.”
Sighing, Graham stepped back, settling down on a chair and holding out a hand to her. Zoey placed her fingers in his, allowing Graham to pull her onto his lap.
“Okay. Let me have it.”
“I didn’t know anything until today. Quinn let it slip that Lana had an extra room she was using as an office—”
“No, not about L. You and me first, darlin’. I did you wrong last night, so let me have it.”
When she just looked at him, Graham tangled their fingers together. “I’m so sorry, gorgeous,” he whispered. “I wanted you so much last night, and it hit me you’re leaving. I didn’t think I could deal with losing two people…friends…I care about at the same time. I was a stupid, typical guy and pushed you away. On behalf of me and my gender’s knee-jerk instincts, I am so, so sorry. You deserved better. Let me have it, Zo. I’m ready and willing.”
Instead of yelling at him, Zoey kissed him. It was the best getting chewed out by a girlfriend he’d ever experienced, and Graham’d sure had his fair share.
“Are you okay?” she asked him, running her fingers through his hair the way he loved. “About Ulysses?”
“Easton tracked him, and he’s safe.” The headache he’d never been able to shake began to ease beneath her touch. “I’m getting better by the moment.” Graham squeezed her in a careful hug. “Are we okay, Zoey? Because not seeing you or talking to you today was torture.”
The Tourist Attraction (Moose Springs, Alaska) Page 25