by Kay Correll
She handed him the plate she’d just washed. “So he was just helping his mom out?”
“Appears so.”
“So he needs to explain this to Mom.”
“Exactly what I told him.”
“But I bet Mom won’t listen to him. She’s stubborn.”
Mac grinned. “So is her daughter. But I went and asked her to give him a chance to explain. Now it’s up to her to forgive him and decide what she wants to do about her relationship with him.”
“I think she likes him.”
“Maybe. Yeah, I think so too. But it’s up to her how things work out from here.”
Mac was right. It was up to her Mom from here. She just hoped that her mother would give Harrison a chance. She wanted to see her mom happy. To have someone in her life again who cared for her. Maybe Harrison could be that person.
If her mother would give him another chance.
Chapter 19
Harrison got up early the next morning and sat beside the pathway that Nora took each morning to get to the dining hall. He knew she’d said there was no chance for them, but he couldn’t get her out of his mind. Maybe they could just be some kind of friends? That was probably the best he could hope for. At the very least, he could try to ease the tension between them.
Nora walked into view. She paused when she saw him sitting on the rock. He held his breath, wondering if she would turn around and go back the other way. After a moment, she continued toward him.
“Morning,” he greeted her tentatively.
“Morning.”
Not cold, not warm. Just neutral. Well, that was a start.
“I thought I might catch breakfast at the dining hall this morning. Now that I’ve run into you, mind if I walk the rest of the way with you?” Ran into her. As if. He’d been sitting out here for forty-five minutes, not sure what time she went to the lodge.
“Sure.” Once again, not enthusiastic, but not totally dismissive either.
They headed along the pathway beside the lake. Nora paused, and he stopped to see what she was looking at. A lone blue heron stood by the lake, looking at them. He swore he saw a tiny frown cross Nora’s face. They walked past the heron, and Nora looked back over her shoulder at it before heading on down the path.
“Nice day out.” He thought he’d try some safe small talk.
“It is. I heard we might have some snowfall coming next week.”
“Really? It’s been so mild so far.”
“Colorado is like that. Nice one day, snow the next.”
They continued on in silence. He finally made small talk again. “Thought I might try the pecan pancakes this morning.”
“Always a good choice.”
“Think you could join me?” He was at least going to try.
“I’ve got a busy day.” She climbed the steps to the lodge. “Enjoy your meal.”
With that, she disappeared inside. He stood on the porch, looking out at the lake. His hunger finally propelled him inside for the promised pancakes.
Nora hid out in the kitchen, avoiding Harrison. She let the servers handle delivering all the orders and refills of coffee. She didn’t check on their customers even once, and she felt guilty about it. But that’s why she had employees, right? To help with the workload.
“You going to tell me what’s going on?” Judy set a baking sheet of fresh cinnamon rolls on the counter beside her.
“Nothing’s going on.”
“You’re always flitting in and out of the kitchen, checking on things. You haven’t left the kitchen once this morning.”
“I’m just trying to help you out more.”
“Honestly, Nora, you know I adore you… but your help this morning has been… well, not so helpful.”
Nora looked down where she was cleaning up a mound of flour that she’d managed to spill all over the counter and floor. “I might be a bit distracted.”
“Why don’t you go out and have you a good big breakfast?”
That’s the last thing she needed. “Not hungry.” Her stomach chose that exact moment to growl loudly as if mocking her.
“Okay, then how about you go see if they need help at the reception desk. Or catch up on paperwork. I’ll finish cleaning up this mess.”
Nora sighed. She knew when Judy was ready to throw her out of her kitchen, and this was probably more than just a suggestion. There was no need to drag Judy into her mood or her problems.
She turned and almost went out the back door to the kitchen to circle around to another door to sneak into her office without being seen. But that was ridiculous. The man was not going to chase her away from her own dining room. She pushed through the door and entered the dining room, her gaze sweeping the room, looking for Harrison.
He spied her and their eyes met. His eyes. Those darn eyes of his. They had some magnetic pull, weaving a spell over her. She looked away. Then back at him. He lifted a hand in a wave.
She smiled and nodded. Just like she’d do toward any guest.
He pointed at the chair across from him as if asking her to join him again.
She stood in the doorway, torn with indecision. Her stomach growled again, taunting her.
Since when was she a weak, scared woman? Afraid to have a simple breakfast with a man? It didn’t mean anything. It was just a meal. She took a deliberate step toward him, then paused again, undecided. With a brief shake of her head, wondering what she was doing, she continued to his table.
“Judy threw me out of her kitchen. That offer for joining you for breakfast still available?”
“Certainly.” He jumped up and held the chair out for her.
She slipped into her chair and waved to a waitress. “I’ll have the pecan pancakes and coffee.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The waitress hurried away.
“Go ahead and finish your breakfast.” She motioned to his half-eaten plate of pancakes smothered in maple syrup with a big side order of bacon.
“I can wait for yours to come.”
“Don’t be silly. Finish it while it’s hot.”
“You’re right that the pancakes are delicious.”
Talking about food was safe, right? “They are.”
The waitress brought her coffee, and Nora let it sit for a bit to cool off.
“Coffee is good, too.” Harrison continued with the safe food conversation.
“Thanks. It’s from a local coffee place. They roast their own beans.” Safe. Safe. Safe.
She took a sip of the coffee which was still too hot to really drink so she set it back on the table, unfolded her napkin, and placed it in her lap. She straightened the salt and pepper shakers against the container that held sugar and sweetener on the table. Then she leaned over and moved the chair next to her so it was straight with the tabletop instead of at an angle.
Harrison shot her an amused look. “Does it help?”
“Does what help?”
“Moving all those things back into place. Does that make you feel more in control of your life?”
She looked at him in amazement. That wasn’t what she was trying to do.
Was it?
She grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “Maybe? I don’t like to feel out of control of things.”
“I get that.”
The server brought her breakfast, and she attacked the stack of pancakes. Something to concentrate on besides his eyes.
Harrison was more than pleased Nora had joined him for breakfast. Surprised and pleased.
The conversation lagged between them while she ate her meal. He sipped his coffee and glanced around the room. That Linda woman sat by herself in the corner, but he’d swear he saw her making furtive glances at him all through the meal. He probably should have called the police when he found her at the cabin. There was something about her. Something mysterious. But he didn’t need another mystery to unravel while he was here. He had enough just figuring out what Walt was up to.
“That was delicious.” Nora pushed her plate away.
“I ag
ree.” He quit looking at Linda and brought his attention back to Nora.
She brushed a lock of hair from her eyes and reached for her coffee. They sat there sipping coffee and not talking.
But at least she was sitting here with him. And her eyes no longer shot flashes of anger at him.
Baby steps. He was okay with baby steps.
Chapter 20
The next morning Harrison sat in his car, pulled off the side of a service road near his grandfather’s cabin, and tucked back a ways so his car couldn’t be seen. He’d been here over an hour, hoping Walt would leave. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and waited. Maybe Walt wasn’t planning on leaving the cabin today. He waited some more.
He finally saw Walt drive past, headed toward town.
He turned on the car and drove to the cabin, once again parking in the clearing past the cabin, just in case Walt returned. He reminded himself that he had every right to be there, but still, a twinge of guilt passed through him as he climbed onto the porch. But he hadn’t been able to find out any information on the company buying the property. They’d hidden their tracks well. He was certain that Walt was hiding the information, and he needed it so he could protect his mom.
He had every right to be here. He kept repeating that mantra. Besides, he’d do anything for his mom, including entering a cabin that she, by rights, co-owned.
He crossed the porch, and a small smile crossed his lips when he found a key to the cabin still hidden under an old oil can in the weathered cabinet at the end of the porch. So much had changed. Some things hadn’t.
He went to the door, unlocked it, and stepped inside.
The absolute quiet surrounded him. He stood still, soaking in the smell, the surroundings, the memories. The pine ceiling rose high above the entrance. Light streamed in through the windows across the room on the lake side of the cabin.
He swallowed as he remembered the last time he’d been here with his grandfather. He’d been standing in front of those windows, facing his grandfather. His grandfather’s voice had been strong and firm and so full of disappointment, commanding Harrison to leave.
He could feel the soul-crushing pain in his chest at those words. And he’d been unable to explain anything to his grandfather.
So he’d turned and walked out of the cabin all those years ago and never saw his grandfather again. And he’d never returned until this trip.
He chased away the painful memories before they could overwhelm him. But he was pulled, as if by magic, to the mantel full of photos. He picked up a wooden-framed photo of his grandmother, his grandfather, and him as a young boy. He was surprised that a photo of him had survived in the cabin. He set the photo down gingerly, and with one last melancholy glance at it, he turned and headed toward the study.
As expected, Walt had taken over the room. Papers were strewn across the old wooden desk. Harrison crossed the room and carefully riffled through the papers, trying not to move them from where Walt had put them.
An official-looking document caught his eye, and he grabbed it and crossed to the window to read it in the light. Articles of Organization for the Blue Horizon Company. He’d seen that before, but it only listed a registered agent, not who actually was part of the company. He shifted through more papers until he came to a list of private investors in the company.
Exactly what he’d been looking for.
He read through the papers and wasn’t surprised to find Walt was actually an investor in the company. So was Chuck Smith, who owned Alpine Outfitters. No surprise they were still buddies. He read through the list of other investors, but no more names seemed familiar to him. He snapped some photos of the papers with his phone.
He walked back to the desk and set the papers back where he found them. On a table at the side of the room, there were plans spread out for a sprawling condo development.
He looked at some other pages resting on the table and frowned. It looked like Walt also would get a free penthouse condo for life to live in with the deal. He snapped a photo of that agreement, too.
Finally, he was getting to the bottom of everything.
Walt was up to his old tricks. Protecting his interests. He was selling the family property for a low price to a company he had an interest in. But he’d make his money back on condo sales, not to mention a free place to live.
He wondered if Walt had ever paid for a place to live in his whole life.
Anger surged through him. Walt was trying to trick his mother. Give her half of the low selling price, while he would get his money from condo sales and the growth of the company.
Well, it wasn’t going to happen. He was going to stop his cousin dead in his tracks. Partially to protect his mother, but he couldn’t help but admit it also was a bit of revenge for what Walt had done to him all those years ago.
And even after being away for all these years, he had to admit he didn’t like the thought of the cabin being torn down. Gone forever.
Harrison took one last look around the study, hoping he’d gotten everything back in place, and left.
When he got back to his cabin at the lodge, he called his mother. She didn’t pick up her cell, but that wasn’t unusual. She rarely kept it with her in the retirement center. He called the reception desk at the center. Jolene, the receptionist, answered in her normal perky voice.
“Jolene. Harrison Stanworth. I’m looking for my mother.”
“Oh, she just walked by a few minutes ago and was headed back to her room. Said she was going to rest for a bit. Do you want me to send someone to get her?”
“No, don’t bother her. I’ll just try her later.” He hung up the phone. He was anxious to tell his mother everything that he’d found out now that he had proof. But she’d been tired since the pneumonia episode, so he’d let her rest and try again later. Maybe next time he called, by some miracle, she’d even have her cell phone with her.
Chapter 21
Nora saw Harrison sitting at his usual table by the window for breakfast the next morning. He was eating alone again. He hadn’t joined Linda for a meal since that first night.
Not that it mattered to her one way or the other.
Torn between hiding in the kitchen and going to pour him some more coffee, the practical, businesswoman side won out. It was her job to see that her customers had hot coffee, right? That was all it was. Just doing her job.
She grabbed the coffeepot and headed toward his table.
A wide smile spread across his face as she approached. “Good morning, Nora.” His deep, throaty voice wrapped around her and his clear blue eyes sparkled with welcome.
But she ignored the friendly tone of his voice and his smiling eyes and used her best just-doing-her-job voice. “Coffee?”
“Love some.” He held out his cup.
She filled his cup and was annoyed to see a slight shake to her hand.
“Do you have time to join me for a cup?”
She glanced around the dining room. She couldn’t use the excuse they were busy, because most of the tables were empty. “I… I suppose I could.”
She walked over to the sidebar, got a cup for herself, and poured it full of coffee. She turned to walk back to his table and splashed some on the floor. She stopped, cleaned up her mess, and continued to the table, slipping into the chair across from him but making sure her legs didn’t bump up against his legs stretched out under the table.
Not that she noticed his long legs so close to hers. In fact, there was so much about him that she just didn’t notice. At all.
“Do you have a wedding here at the lodge this weekend?” Harrison shifted in his seat and his legs brushed hers.
She moved her legs farther away. “No, not this weekend. This weekend is the big Autumn Arts Weekend in town, so we decided to not book one at the same time. We get a lot of regulars who come to the lodge for the festival, year after year. Wanted the rooms available for them.”
“So what’s this arts festival about?”
“
Well, most of the shops will be open and showcase arts and crafts from the area. Beth’s best friend, Sophie, owns a gallery here. She’ll have that open with displays. There’s an Arts and Crafts Fair at the arena in town on Saturday. Lots of fun things and handcrafted items displayed there. Then, Sophie and Chase—Chase Green, the country singer—do you know him? Anyway, Sophie sings with Chase now, and they’re giving a concert tonight.”
Mac walked up to the table. “Hey, Nora, Harrison. You coming into town soon for the festival?”
“Nora was just telling me about it. That all sounds interesting. I guess I’ll head into town and poke around.”
“Nora, you should have him come with you. Show him around.”
She glared at Mac, but he ignored it. Harrison looked at her expectantly.
“Do you want to come with me to the festival?” It would be rude not to invite him after Mac had suggested it.
“I’d love to.” He said it so quickly she had no time to come up with an excuse to withdraw the invitation or why it was a bad idea.
But it was just the friendly thing to do. Show a stranger around town. Then she frowned. But he wasn’t a stranger. He’d been to Sweet River Falls before. His family owned half the Dobbs place.
“Well, Beth and I and the boys will see you in town later, then.” Mac headed out of the dining room. Traitor. Why had he insisted she invite Harrison?
Well, he hadn’t insisted. Just suggested. And she’d jumped right in to invite him. Her forehead crinkled.
“You changing your mind on the invite?” He cocked his head to one side, staring at her.
“No.” But she kind of wished she could. She took a sip of her coffee. “I’m planning on going after the noon meal here in the dining room. Leave here about one-thirty.”
“I’ll just meet you here, then?”
“Sure.”
Harrison stood. “Well, I have some work I need to get done before we head into town.” He turned and walked away.
She sat and finished her coffee, staring out the window at the lake. She didn’t want to have Harrison come with her to the festival. And yet… she did. How come being with Harrison felt like she was on an icy road at the top of a mountain with her car teetering on the edge?