by Cassie Hayes
Didn’t matter anyway. He hadn’t been lying to the Bubbie Brigade, who also happened to be on today’s tour with them. Work took up far too much of his time, and the little that remained was reserved for Sophia. Sophia, who at that very moment was looking up at Lex like the mother she never knew. He had to cough to get his heart beating again.
“Bull Buck isn’t the tallest of the trees in the grove, but it’s the tallest we’ll see on this tour. It stands at 246 feet tall, has a circumference of 100 feet, and we think it’s about 2700 years old.”
Zoe ushered everyone around a split log fence surrounding an absolutely massive trunk. Once everyone settled into a spot — Sophia on one side of him, Lex on the other — and craned their necks to see the top, only the sounds of the forest could be heard. No one even breathed.
Tiny fingers wriggled into his hand and he squeezed tight. Without thinking, he slipped his other hand into Lex’s. It just felt right. For a brief moment, her hand tensed, then it relaxed and returned his gentle squeeze. Standing there under the magnificent sequoia, he felt small and insignificant and totally at peace with the universe.
“It’s said that those who bring their prayers and deepest wishes to the giants in the forest will have them answered,” Teddy said quietly. All eyes shifted to him. “It’s a place where you can’t feel unhappy. You all feel it, don’t you?”
They all did, every last one of them. Even those with tears in their eyes looked joyful. Grayson certainly felt the same. So grateful, so happy, so lucky.
“If you’ll all follow me to the shuttle, we’ll drop you back at the fair,” Zoe said, barely having to raise her voice to be heard in the tranquil silence. “But if you want to explore the rest of grove more on your own, I believe the Alpine Inn offers a shuttle. Isn’t that right, Lex?”
Zoe grinned at her friend, her eyes dropping to their intertwined fingers. Lex shook off his hand before anyone else could notice and smiled broadly.
“Yes. It leaves our parking lot on Saturdays and Sundays at ten, then returns to pick everyone up at four. No charge for guests, two dollars for anyone else.”
He couldn’t deny that his pride was a little wounded by her brush-off, but it really was for the best. As much as he wanted to raise his daughter in a small town, the gossip mill in Yosemite Flats was cranked up to eleven. And the three primary instigators were standing together, casting sly glances his way and whispering.
Great. If the Bubbies started spreading it around that he and Lex were an item, it could end up hurting Sophia in the long run when Lex eventually went back to her high-rise life in Marina del Rey. As much as he was drawn to ‘small town girl Lex’, ‘lemon-drop Alexandria’ was someone he would never consider pursuing. The trouble was he didn’t know which one she wanted to be. He wondered if she even knew.
He hung back and let the Bubbie Brigade shuffle down the trail, before leaving Big Buck. Hoisting Sophia into his arms, he gave her a wet kiss on the cheek. Six months ago, she would have pushed him away and said, “Gross.” Today, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. This was exactly why he moved them to Yosemite Flats.
Grayson could have stayed there all day like that, but the click of a phone’s camera caught his attention. Lex smiled and showed him the sweet photo, complete with the tree in the background. She pulled the phone back and gazed at the screen for a moment before clicking it off and shoving it in her back pocket.
Lucky phone.
“So how’s the build coming along?” she asked him as they trailed the rest of the group.
He set Sophia down and she sprinted ahead to walk with the Bubbies. “Pretty good. The landscapers started this week. We’re still having trouble with this one permit, but I’m sure we’ll get it figured out.”
Tassie James at the clerk’s office had found another reason to delay the parking lot permit. The clock was ticking and the stress of it was eating at him. He refused to ask his father to use his influence to push the permit through. This was Grayson’s baby, from start to finish. Asking for help was tantamount to failure, at least in Richard Conrad’s mind.
“How about you? Any progress on the finances?” he asked, focusing on the loose strand of blonde hair that Lex kept blowing out of her eyes.
“I have to admit, I’d rather take care of Sophia than try to make sense of it all, but I’m seeing light at the end of the tunnel.”
“Then why do you look so worried?”
“Because I think that light is an oncoming train. Pretty sure we’re going to have to take out a second mortgage on the inn for some major repairs and upgrades. That’s going to be a hole I’m not sure how fast Mom will be able to dig out of once The Eyrie opens.”
“Lex, you have to know that I don’t see us as competitors.”
“Nice,” she snorted, shooting him an amused look.
“No, I mean there’s room for both of us in Yosemite Flats. Your inn will appeal to those wanting a more rustic, historic experience. After a couple of months of the marketing campaign I have planned, you’ll be booked solid for six months, I’d bet my life on it.”
“That’s not a bet you should make, because if you’re wrong, I’ll hunt you down and kill you myself.”
Her smile said she was teasing, but the glint in her eyes sent a shiver down his spine.
“Brrr, did the temperature just drop thirty degrees?”
There was nothing quite like Lex’s laugh. It wasn’t overly loud, but it had…girth. It sounded slightly perverted, even in his own head, but he couldn’t think of a better word for it. It spread far and wide, wrapping anyone within earshot in its warm embrace. Sometimes when he came home at night, he’d stand just out of sight and listen to Sophia and Lex giggling. It never failed to ease the tension that had built throughout the day.
Her laugh cut off abruptly, replaced with a yelp of surprise. In a replay of their first encounter, Grayson lunged forward and caught Lex as she tripped, pulling her tight against him before she could fall.
He’d been here before, but this time, the world around them lost all focus. The only thing he could see were her blue eyes staring up at him, searching his face. And her cheeks turning a delicious shade of pink, her lips parting ever so slightly.
His heart thundered in his chest, and he could feel hers pounding just as hard. The idea of kissing — and let’s be honest, a whole lot more — never strayed far from his thoughts, but he’d never acted on them. Partly because she was Sophia’s nanny and he didn’t want to be ‘that guy,’ and partly because he wasn’t entirely sure he’d be able to stop once he started.
Now with Lex cradled in his arms, he couldn’t remember any of that. To make matters worse — or better — instead of trying to regain her footing, Lex slowly snaked her arms around his neck and let her lips tick up into the slightest of smiles. That was all the invitation he needed.
Lowering his head, he let his lips brush against hers lightly. Her eyes dropped closed and she sighed against his mouth, driving him to distraction. His instinct was to crush his mouth to hers, to claim it as his, but teasing her tasted so much sweeter.
Hovering just above her lips, he breathed in her scent, the one that never seemed to leave him, no matter how far apart they were. He searched every inch of her face, a face he’d already memorized and saw clearly in his memory and dreams. His gaze settled on her mouth again. When she whispered his name, he could no longer deny himself.
He held his breath and closed his eyes, ready to take a step that would change things between them forever, when a familiar sound filtered through the pounding of their beating hearts.
“Daddy! Lex! Hurry up, you slow pokes!”
Chapter Six
“You can’t be serious, Mike,” Lex said. “Run them again.”
Lex sat in the tidy office of the family accountant, Mike Hannigan, in utter shock. Sophia sat nearby, engrossed in her phone, a rare daytime treat.
“I’m sorry, Lex. I know you don’t like the answer, but I ran t
he numbers three times before you got here.”
“But how do you know for sure? I mean, the bank might still give us a loan. Right?”
Mike frowned. “I sincerely doubt it. You’re barely making your bills as it is and there’s just not enough equity to cover what you need for all these repairs. I’m really sorry.”
He looked like his dog just died. She felt like it.
“How is that possible? My family has owned the inn for thirty years. There has to be equity.”
“Not enough. Your parents refinanced a couple times back when the banks were handing loans out like candy. I’m afraid they’re not going to touch you these days. Now, if the building was designated a historical landmark, you could probably get a repair loan pretty easily. Is it?”
“No. How long would it take to get that designation?”
Mike grimaced. “Probably a few months.”
Lex scrubbed her face with her hands, noticing for the first time how rough they’d become from all the gardening and work she’d been doing around the inn. Manicures used to be a weekly thing for her, but she hadn’t had one since she came home. Her manicurist would be horrified at her broken and dirt-stained nails, but she kind of liked them this way.
Leaning back in her chair, trying not to scream or cry or punch somebody, she sighed. “What are our options?”
An hour later, the entire Luther clan had settled in the sitting room of the living quarters for a family meeting. Brett and Hale had left work early, and Nash had called in sick for his job at the casino. They were crammed onto an antique sofa that just barely fit them all, concern etched on their faces. Charlotte sat perched on her favorite lavender velvet chair, appearing irritated.
“I know we all have better things we could be doing,” Lex began, craning her neck to make sure Sophia was still hypnotized by The Wizard of Oz, her favorite movie, “but we have some things to figure out.”
“What’s so important that you had to interrupt my stories?” Charlotte huffed.
Lex took a deep breath and reminded herself that she was trying to repair their tenuous mother-daughter thread, and beating her mother over the head with a Nerf bat would probably completely unravel it.
“I haven’t bothered you guys with all this until now because…well, because I figured it was my turn to carry the weight.” She ignored her mother’s sniff. “Over the past few weeks, Grayson’s foreman, Jacob, was kind enough to walk through the inn with me and pointed out some repairs that need to be made.”
“Like what?” Brett asked, his brow furrowed. He owned a construction company and knew the cost of major repairs. He could probably smell where she was headed with all this. Honestly, she was surprised he hadn’t noticed all the problems himself, but that was a conversation for another time.
“Well, to start with, the roof has a few minor leaks. We could probably get away with patching for another year, but it really needs to be replaced.”
“Nonsense,” Charlotte said. “We just did the roof.”
“Fifteen years ago, Mom. Then there’s the furnace that’s on its last legs. Oh, and did I mention that it’s not up to code, and could literally blow this place sky high at any moment?”
“Not up to code?” Brett balked. “How has it passed the fire inspections all these years?”
Lex shrugged. “Luck? I honestly have no idea.”
“Surely, Brett and his guys could take care of most of that,” Nash suggested. Brett shot him a dark look, but nodded somberly. That was just like Nash, speaking before thinking. Brett had bills to pay too, including the paychecks of the guys Nash just offered up for free.
“I’m not done yet. The final nail in the coffin are the termites. The entire place needs to be tented and fumigated. Not only does that cost a bajillionty dollars, but it also means closing the place down for at least a week, probably longer. And that’s not including any other issues that might crop up — will crop up.”
Silence pressed down on them all like a weight. The only noise was the sound of munchkins chirping from Sophia’s phone.
“So what are we going to do, Lex?” Hale looked right at her when he asked, as if she had consulted her Magic 8 Ball and had all the answers. Frustration bubbled up from deep inside her. She’d spent weeks getting them to this point, what more did they want from her?
“How should I know?”
“Don’t snap at him,” Nash snapped back. “You’re the hotel goddess, remember? Isn’t that why Mom and Dad scrimped to pay for you to go to college?”
“What’s that supposed to mean, Mr. High School Drop-Out?” He had no right to rub it in her face that their parents could only pay for one of their kids to go to school, and they’d offered it to her.
Still, her comment was a low blow, and she knew it. Nash was one of the smartest guys she knew — even if he was her dumbass brother — and his lack of a diploma didn’t stop him from going after what he wanted. But it was the only thing he was sensitive about, so she pushed that button…hard.
Nash jumped to his feet and advanced on her. She stood her ground, fists on her hips and ready for battle. If she’d been anyone else, she might have been terrified by the red-faced, blow-hard looming over her, but she knew he was all talk. Nash might be fiery, but he’d rather let a mosquito suck him dry, than kill it.
“It means, little sister, that Mom and Dad paid for that college degree, and it seems to me that you should be able to figure out the next step.”
After a minute of them scowling at each other, neither backing down, Hale gingerly pushed between them. “Lex, what else did Mike say?”
After one final glare, she took a calming breath and told them exactly what Mike had told her. If they didn’t have the cash to pay for repairs, and no bank would touch them for a loan, they’d have to put it up for sale and hope like hell some sucker came along and paid full price.
“Well,” Brett said, scratching his head. “I’ve got some savings. What about you guys?”
They each tallied up their savings, but it still wasn’t quite enough to cover what they’d need for the essential repairs. Regardless, pride swelled in her chest for her brothers, who didn’t hesitate to step up when the going got tough. Family came first, and as she was coming to realize, the inn represented the only missing piece of the Luther clan — their dad.
Her heart tightened remembering his love for this place. If they could keep the Alpine Inn alive, it would almost be like he was still with them. As they brainstormed ways to cut costs and scrape up the extra they needed, it dawned on Lex that they hadn’t heard from Charlotte.
“Mom, how much do you have?” They all turned to her, but she wouldn’t look at them. “Mom?”
Finally, she met their gazes. Her nostrils flared and her eyes flashed. “Sell it.”
“What!” Lex couldn’t believe her ears. She couldn’t possibly want to sell their last remaining connection to Dad.
“I said sell it,” Charlotte spat. “I’m sick of it.”
Hale kneeled next to her chair. “Sick of what, Mom?”
She waved her hand around wildly. “All of it! I’m tired of the guests, the staff, the maintenance, the bookkeeping”—Lex held back her snort at that one, since it didn’t seem Charlotte had so much as cracked the books since her husband died—“hiring, firing, glad-handing…every last bit of it. Sell it!”
Lex blanched. “You can’t sell the inn. We grew up here. It’s home.”
Charlotte leered at her daughter. “It hasn’t been your home for ten years. It’s my home and I don't want to live here anymore.”
“And exactly where do you think you’ll move to?” Lex shot back. “We’ll be lucky to get enough to pay off what’s owed, which won’t leave you anything for buying another place.”
“I’ll live with one of the boys. They take such good care of me.” Charlotte was too busy glaring at her daughter to notice her sons shooting worried glances at each other.
Lex almost laughed at the suggestion. Since his divo
rce, Brett lived in a storage room at his shop to save money. Granted, he’d set it up well enough, considering, but there certainly wasn’t room for Charlotte and all of her stuff. Even if he did want his mother living with him, which seemed unlikely.
Nash, the middle son and a year older than Lex, was the most immature of the Luther siblings. If pressed, she’d have to admit that all of her brothers were handsome — the thought grossed her out a little — but Nash had always insisted he was the best-looking. His ego knew no bounds, and that confidence earned him a lot of attention from the ladies. No way would he want his mom cramping his player lifestyle.
Then there was sweet, sensitive Hale, the baby of the family. Conflict wasn’t his thing — he’d rather buy someone a beer, than get into a brawl. It would be a mistake for anyone to think he was a pushover though. As a tree-trimmer for the power company, the man knew how to handle a chainsaw like nobody’s business, and he had the muscles to prove it. He also had a secret that he didn’t want anyone else in the family to know. He wouldn’t be able to hide it for long if Charlotte moved in.
In fact, they all probably had secrets they wouldn’t want their mom to discover. Lex decided to take mercy on her brothers by changing the subject. “Mom, I know you don’t really want to sell this place.”
“You don’t know what I want,” she said, leaping out of her chair. “You don’t even know me!”
Lex gritted her teeth and wished for a Nerf bat. “Well, at least I’m trying. It’s more than I can say for you.”
“Too little too late, Alexandria.” The hate-filled expression on her mother’s face rocked Lex, but her words cut her heart out. The boys had tried to convince her that Charlotte had been out of her mind when she said those awful things at the funeral, but now she wasn’t so sure.
“What do you mean by that?” she asked, her voice shaking with rage and guilt and grief.