by Ciara Knight
He was a bit startled when he first walked into his room. Someone had painted the room the ugliest shade of green he’d ever seen. It only took him a moment to understand, though. Everything in the room was themed for the musical Wicked. It was a favorite of his, so he couldn’t complain that the walls were the exact color of Elphaba’s skin.
He had booked the room for three weeks, and he planned to completely finish his book in that length of time. He was already three quarters of the way through, and any writer worth his salt should be able to write thirty-thousand words in three weeks if he really buckled down.
Hunter unpacked his suitcase and put his clothes away. The B&B even had laundry services for a small fee, so he would have them deal with everything. All he’d have to do was write. How hard could it be?
Once he had everything set up exactly like he wanted it, he wandered downstairs to the kitchen. “I think I want to take you up on that boxed lunch.” Bri nodded at him, handing him a menu of sorts. It was really just a list of sandwiches, chips, and baked goods she would put into his lunch. “I’ll do chicken salad, Doritos, and a cream cheese brownie. And a bottle of water to drink.”
“No problem. I’ll have it ready in an hour. Would you like to come down for it, or should I bring it up to you?”
“I’ll come back. I want to go see the gazebo you mentioned. I love the idea of working outside if it’s a convenient place.” He walked toward the door. “Will you put the lunch on my bill?”
“Yes, we’ll start an account with incidentals. We also have toothpaste and razors if you realize you forgot to bring something.”
Bri was already living up to the reviews he’d read. “Which way is the gazebo?”
“Just go out the door you came in and walk around the house to the right. If you look straight ahead from there, you’ll see it. There’s a little pond beside it.”
To his surprise, she didn’t end the directions the way most people did. He hated when people said, “You can’t miss it,” because it almost always ensured he would.
“Thanks again. I’ll be back.” His phone was in his pocket, but he was determined not to use it while he was here. The whole purpose behind coming was to be ‘unplugged’ so he could get some work done.
He walked around the house and saw the gazebo in front of him. It was perched just on the edge of a hill, and it was beautiful. Was that a swing? He hurried toward it, stopping as he reached out and touched the swing that was hanging from a couple of chains which were attached to the roof of the structure. He sat down and made it swing with his foot, a smile touching his lips.
A little in front of him were some chairs and a table. He knew they were meant for picnics, but he could visualize himself sitting there, writing his heart out. It was the first place he’d been able to see himself writing in weeks, which was why this book wasn’t done. He’d never experienced writers’ block before, but it was alive and well in him now. He would have to do something, or he would lose his mind…and his contract with his publisher.
He’d only been sitting there for a few minutes, seemingly staring off into space, but his mind was working. It was piecing together the next scene…and the one after that. Finally, the voices in his head were talking to him again. He pulled out his phone, not to talk to anyone, but instead he tapped the app for his dictation software and got down to business.
He preferred to have his hands on the keyboard when he wrote, but desperate times and all that. If his mind cared about the book, he’d get it into words. He wasn’t waiting another minute.
*****
Bekah Roberts walked toward the pond—where she’d been told there was a dead fish floating—by one of the guests. As the official landscaper and grounds woman for B&B’s B&B, it was her job to deal with it. She wore a pair of old jeans and a T-shirt that had seen better days, thankful that she and Bri had decided that being able to wear jeans to work was important to them, so she never had to wear anything stupid looking.
She got to the pond and muttered to herself. “Aww. Not Maynard. He’s my favorite. I’m so sorry, Maynard. I don’t know exactly what I did wrong, but I know I’m going to take care of it.” She took her net and scooped poor Maynard out of the pond, dumping him into a trash bag she’d brought along for that purpose. “I’ll find you another friend,” she told the remaining fish.
“Do you mind?” an annoyed male voice asked from a short distance away. She hadn’t noticed a man there, but she shouldn’t have been surprised. Guests used the gazebo all the time.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was there,” Bekah called. She put the bag with Maynard down, and dropped her net, walking over to introduce herself. “I’m Bekah Roberts. My cousin and I run the B&B.”
B&B’s B&B. It makes sense now. “I’m Hunter Sloane.”
“Oh, of course! I saw your name on Bri’s list of who was checking in today.” Even when there was only one guest checking in—like today—Bri printed out a list of everyone who would be arriving for Bekah. “I’m glad you found the gazebo. It’s peaceful here, isn’t it?”
“It was until you came along and started talking to Maynard.” Hunter frowned at her. “I’m trying to work.”
Bekah frowned right back at him. “I didn’t mean to disturb you. I’ll get back to my own job.” She walked off, picking up her things and went straight back to the house. The man was insufferable and rude. She’d have told him so too, if it hadn’t been his first day there. She didn’t want to scare him off and have Bri get mad at her. Her cousin kept reminding her that she had to be polite to the guests.
It wasn’t that Bekah wasn’t usually polite—It was simply that she always spoke her mind. Sometimes she said things in ways that others considered harsh, but she never really meant them that way. She just didn’t mince words. It was a blessing and a curse all at once!
She carefully disposed of the fish before going into the house and straight to the kitchen. “That Hunter guy is rude,” she said by way of greeting.
Bri turned to her. “He was really polite to me!”
“He got mad at me for talking to Maynard.”
“Oh that big fish in the pond? Why were you talking to him?” Bri pulled a small batch of brownies from the oven.
“One of the guests told me there was a fish belly up, and it was Maynard.” Bekah sighed. “He was my favorite.”
“The trout in the pond are not your pets, Bekah.” Bri shook her head at her cousin.
“I guess not. Why was he cranky?” Bekah couldn’t deny that the man on the swing had intrigued her. Few men dismissed her quite the way he had. She wasn’t drop dead gorgeous, but she was pretty, and combined with her fun-loving personality, she was used to men lining up to take her out. Not getting angry with her as soon as they met her.
“Hunter? He came here to work, and I think he was hoping the gazebo would inspire him somehow. He said he’s a writer.”
Bekah frowned. “Hunter Sloane…I think I may have heard of him.” She sighed. “I guess I owe him an apology the next time I see him. Well, I’ll give him one, but really he owes me one.”
Bri grinned. “Whatever you can do to keep the peace.” She cut a brownie and gave it to Bekah on a plate. “I almost forgot. Mrs. Olson called today. She wants you to come over and have a meeting with her at your earliest convenience.”
Bekah groaned. She liked Mrs. Olson, because she was a dear sweet woman. Her daughter however—that was another story entirely. “This afternoon, I guess.” The Olsons owned the hotel next door, and they gave the B&B guests a huge discount on using the hot springs there. The B&B hadn’t been open for long enough for them to risk offending the people who made the discount possible. “Any idea why?” She took a huge bite of the brownie and sighed contentedly. “No one can make brownies quite like you can.”
“She didn’t say. Just that it was important.”
“Why me and not you?” Bri was usually the one to go to the business meetings, because she was the one with a mind for detai
ls. Bekah was more of a tomboy than her cousin, preferring to do any outdoor tasks instead of playing happy homemaker cooking and cleaning for the B&B guests. They shared the cleaning, but that’s all Bekah really did inside.
Bri shrugged. “She didn’t say.”
Bekah wrinkled her nose. If one of them had to deal with the Olsons’ daughter, Jennifer, it should be her. Jennifer was known for making Bri’s life utterly miserable. Well, until recently of course. “I’ll go after I finish my brownie. Better to get it over with.”
Ten minutes later, she was on her way to the hotel. She was dreading going, so she’d go quickly and get it over with. She was all about ripping the Band-Aid off and drinking all her medicine in one gulp.
When she got to the hotel, she walked to the front desk. “Mrs. Olson asked to see me.”
The girl behind the desk smiled at her brightly. “She’s in her office. You know the way, right?”
Bekah nodded, raising a hand in a wave. The girl had been a couple years ahead of her at Silver Springs High, but in a town the size of Silver Springs, everyone knew everyone else. It was hard to avoid seeing someone, even if you wanted to.
She knocked on the closed door to Mrs. Olson’s office, and waited until she was told to enter. “I heard you wanted to see me.”
Mrs. Olson nodded. “I have a huge favor to ask. Will you hear me out before you automatically say no?”
Bekah frowned, nodding. Whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be pleasant. “Yeah, I’ll listen.”
“You know that we told Jennifer she had to get a job after the way she tried to interfere in both your cousins’ relationships. Well, she tried. We called around town and tried to get her hired, but no one would have her. She has a bit of a reputation for being difficult…”
Bekah laughed at the understatement. “That she does.”
Mrs. Olson grinned. “Well, anyway, we gave her a job in our own housekeeping department here at the hotel, but it’s really not working out. All of the maids, and the head of housekeeping, are threatening to quit if we don’t fire her. She refuses to clean toilets, instead telling the others that since her parents own the hotel, she can stay in the breakroom reading magazines. Claims it’s her lot in life to be in charge while everyone else labors away.”
Bekah nodded. “Sounds like Jennifer.”
“After much discussion with her father, we’ve come to the conclusion we want you to teach her to be a good maid. She can’t pull rank on you, because you don’t work for us.”
Bekah groaned. “But then I’ll want to quit…and I own the place!”
Mrs. Olson smiled, shaking her head. “If you’ll train her for a week, we’ll make it worth your while.”
Bekah raised an eyebrow. “You will?”
Mrs. Olson named a figure that had Bekah frowning as she thought about it. That much money would go a long way toward paying off the bank loan they’d taken for the last of the renovations on the B&B. “That’s for one week. It shouldn’t take longer than that to train even Jennifer, but if it does, you just let me know. That much per week until she’s ready to work here.”
“And if I can’t get her ready to work here?” Bekah had to ask. There was a good chance Jennifer would never be willing to clean toilets or change sheets. It just wasn’t in her.
“Then I’ll be in the fun position of firing my own daughter.”
Bekah sighed. She wouldn’t wish that position on her worst enemy, and despite the demon spawn the woman had given birth to, she liked Mrs. Olson. “I’ll do it.”
“You will? Oh, thank you, Bekah! You won’t regret it!”
“If she’s rude to Bri or a guest, I won’t be responsible for what I say to her. Just a fair warning.”
“She might need a bit of Roberts honesty.” Mrs. Olson stood. “I’ll send a check to you tonight, and my delicate flower over in the morning. And just so you know…she’s not allergic to anything. If she claims to be allergic to cleaning products, you have my permission to tell her she’s a liar.”
“She tried that, huh?”
“I really don’t think there’s anything she hasn’t tried.”
Bekah sighed. “This is going to be fun, isn’t it?”
“That’s not the word I’d use…”
With a wave, Bekah left the hotel, knowing she was making the right decision for her business, but she hoped it was the right decision for her cousin. For some reason, Jennifer had always seen Bri as her favorite target.
She walked along the wooden sidewalk Bri’s new husband Anthony had built, her mind on how she was going to train Jennifer. She wasn’t paying any attention to where she was going at all, and she ran straight into a wall. “Ouch!”
The wall had hands that reached out to catch her. “I was just looking for you!”
Bekah looked up, realizing the man in front of her was Hunter. He was much bigger than he’d looked in the gazebo. “You were? I hope you’re not still angry that I interrupted your work earlier. If you are, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking embarrassed. “I actually was trying to find you to apologize and explain. I’ve had writers’ block for a few months now, and I was sitting in that gazebo, and suddenly all I could think about was what needed to happen next in my story. So I started dictating it into my phone…and your words were picked up by my dictation software. I was frustrated.”
“I had no idea you were working. I’m very sorry.”
“Did you think I was just sitting there having a nice chat with myself?”
Bekah shrugged. “Honestly, I was thinking about my work, and I didn’t even notice anyone was there until you spoke to me.” As much as she hated to admit she lived in her own world, she often did. She could be in a crowded room, and unless she felt like being around people, she could tune them all out.
“Wow. I wish I had that kind of focus. I need to be able to tune out everyone and everything around me.”
“I hope you can get a lot done while you’re here.” She stepped off the boardwalk and walked past him. “Have a good day, Hunter!”
He stood and watched her leave, fascinated by the brain inside that gorgeous woman. Maybe he could get her to teach him some of her concentration tricks. It would sure make his life easier.
About Ciara
Ciara Knight is a USA Today and Amazon Bestselling author who writes 'A Little Edge and A Lot of Heart' that spans the heat scales. Her popular sweet romance series, Sweetwater County (rated PG), takes readers into small town romance full of family trials, friendly competition, and community love.
For a complete list of my books, please visit my website at www.ciaraknight.com. A great way to keep up to date on all releases, sales and prizes subscribe to my newsletter at www.ciaraknight.com/newsletter. I’m extremely sociable, so feel free to chat with me on Facebook (ciaraknightwrites), Twitter (@ciaratknight) or Goodreads.
For your convenience please see my complete title list below, in reading order:
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Sweetwater County Series
Winter in Sweetwater County
Spring in Sweetwater County
Fall in Sweetwater County
Christmas in Sweetwater County
Valentines in Sweetwater County
Fourth of July in Sweetwater County
Thanksgiving in Sweetwater County
Grace in Sweetwater County
Faith in Sweetwater County (coming soon)
Hope n Sweetwater County (coming soon)
Love in Sweetwater County (coming soon)
Riverbend series
Riverbend (novella)
In All My Wishes
In All My Years
In All My Dreams
In All my Life
Gone with the Brides
Sassy Bride
Sweet Bride
Southern Bride
YOUNG ADULT PARANORMAL
Battle for Souls Series
Rise From Darkness
Fall From Grace
Ascension of Evil
The Neumarian Chronicles
Weighted
Escapement
Pendulum
Balance
ADULTA HIGH FANTASY
The Shrouded Kingdoms
The Curse of Gremdon
The Secrets of Dargon
The Runes of Bramon (Coming 2018)
HISTORICAL WEATERN ROMANCE
McKinnie Mail Order Brides
Love on the Prairie
Love in the Rockies (Coming soon)
Love on the Plains (Coming soon)
A Prospectors Novel
Fools Rush
American Mail Order Brides
Adelaide: Bride of Maryland