More Than Pancakes (The Maple Leaf Series Book 1)

by Christine DePetrillo

  “Can’t you let me buy Gail’s property?” he asked. “You’ve made it clear that you don’t want it, so why take a total loss? You can’t make any money for your company, but you could walk away with a nice sum for yourself and be rid of Vermont. We would both be happy.”

  “As happy as Rick gets anyway,” Sage said.

  “Zip it.” He leveled his gaze back on Lily.

  “It’s not that easy,” she said. “Utopia is set on this theme, this area.”

  “Well, don’t the current residents have a say?” Rick smacked his hand onto the table, causing the teacups and saucers to jangle. Hope cleared them away, and Sage helped. The two of them gave Lily a nod then disappeared into the kitchen. Aunt Joy slid her hand off Rick’s shoulder.

  “Surely you’ve run into other locations that you couldn’t acquire,” she said to Lily.

  “Never.” Lily tilted her head up a little victoriously. “Every proposed resort design has come to fruition in its originally intended location.”

  “Hate to break your record,” Rick said.

  “No, you don’t, Mr. Stannard.” She stuffed the papers back into the envelope. “I think you rather enjoy breaking my record.”

  “I’m not trying to be a jerk here.”

  “Well, you’re succeeding as if you were born to be one.” Lily jammed the envelope back into her purse as Aunt Joy quietly slipped into the kitchen.

  He silently cursed the abandonment of his family as he battled this… this demon. He stood and said, “Look, how would you like it if I marched over to California, went to whatever lair you call your home, and told you I wanted to knock it down and put up a monster hotel in its place? What would you say to that?”

  “I live in a hotel, so I’d say hurray to progress and offer my design services.” She smiled at him. A poisonous spider smile.

  He paced away from her, his stomach all knotted up and a fire blazing in his ankle. He couldn’t take a deep breath either and that concerned him. He counted to ten.

  Turning to face Lily again, he said, “You need to leave, okay? Please.”

  He expected her to protest, but instead she slipped on her coat—a short, black leather one today—and hiked her purse up onto her shoulder. She took a step closer to Rick, and he smelled that grapefruit-coconut-sunshine scent again. Nothing in Vermont smelled like her.

  “I’ll go, Mr. Stannard,” she said, “but I will be back. When I have a deal to make, I make it.”

  She was close enough for him to reach out and kiss her. Why am I thinking of doing that?

  He took a step back and cursed when his stance wobbled a bit. The hint of a smile at the corners of Lily’s mouth told him she had achieved her goal of making him uncomfortable. Is it her goal to arouse me as well?

  “I’ll see you.” She headed for the door, but stopped in her tracks when Poe rose to her feet and blocked the exit.

  Lily rolled her shoulders, seeming to talk herself into walking past the coyote. Rick could have called Poe off, but why should he? Lily Hinsdale was trying to prove she was a tough businesswoman, and he was prepared to go ahead and let her.

  Her fingers drummed on the sides of her thighs as she moved in slow motion toward the door. She didn’t make a sound as she turned the knob, never removing her gaze from the coyote. Rick wanted to laugh, but something about the scene made him sad.

  What had happened to her? No one should have to be that afraid. He knew about being afraid. It sucked.

  Chapter Six

  Lily stared at the laptop in front of her as the soundtrack for The Lord of the Rings played through its speakers. The sale documents were up on the screen. Sage had been impressed by the amount of money being offered for Rick’s land. Maybe with a slight increase, Lily could get Rick’s attention. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she had his attention on matters not involving his land. He’d watched her when she spoke, as if he were studying the way her lips moved instead of listening to her words. He’d obviously heard what she’d said. He just didn’t want to hear any of it. That had her blood boiling. She wasn’t used to being disregarded.

  “How do I make him hear it?” Tapping her index finger on the J key, Lily examined the top sum Utopia was willing to offer Rick. Not time to throw that figure out. No emergency yet, but close. She’d talked with him twice and gotten nowhere, and she wasn’t keen on the idea of staying in the woods much longer. Her California tan was fading under cloudy Vermont skies, and the list of animals she’d encountered already gnawed at her. Coyote, moose, raccoon.

  How much longer before there’s an… incident? Lily rubbed her hands together in an attempt to warm herself. A fire blazed in the library’s fireplace, but the chill was deep inside her. Down where a ten-year old girl still hid.

  Her cell phone rang, and she lowered the volume on the music to answer it.

  “Lily Hinsdale.”

  “Hello, Lily. It’s Rita.”

  Oh, boy. “Hello, Rita. How’s everything in California?” Small talk will save me. In the past, Lily had avoided whole conversations she didn’t want to have with a little small talk diversionary tactic. It had to work right now, because she didn’t have good news for the vice president of Utopia Resorts. Not yet.

  “You know California. Everything here is always wonderful.” Rita laughed, and Lily let out a small sigh of relief that the woman was in a jovial mood. “We’re planning for the Gems Utopia gala at the end of the month. The Gems ones are always my favorites.”

  “Mine too. So glamorous.”

  “Gives me an excuse to buy something glitzy, and I do love to shop.”

  “No better pastime if you ask me.” Lily hoped Rita didn’t pick up on the nervous flutter in her voice.

  “I’m calling because we want to do a short presentation about the new Vermont Utopia at the Gems gala. Figure we can entice our guests to check it out once it’s completed. No reason our rich customers can’t vacation with the blue-collar folk. There should be something for everyone at the new location. We thought you could put something together for the Vermont project. You know, take some pictures of the area while you’re there.” Rita paused and all Lily could hear was her own heart hammering against her ribs. “You have secured the property, correct?”

  “Almost.” Lily barely got the word out. “Just fine tuning some of the details.” Liar! She rolled her shoulders. “I’ve had two meetings with the owner of the property adjacent to my grandmother’s. It’s…” She paused to check her notes. “It’s over three hundred acres.”

  “Wonderful. Combined with Gail Hinsdale’s land we should be able to build another spectacular resort. Drew shared some of your designs with me yesterday. I forwarded them to the president.”

  Lily sunk down until her forehead rested on the desk. She rocked her head back and forth trying to talk herself out of vomiting.

  “Webster absolutely loved the sketches. They’re so unique. Unlike anything we’ve tried before.” Rita sounded giddy, and Lily so wanted to trade places with her.

  “Great,” she managed. No turning back now that Utopia’s president has seen the designs. Lily stared at the ornate pattern on the Oriental rug under the desk. Why didn’t I propose another resort for China? “I’m going to see the neighbor again and hope to close the deal.”

  “The sooner, the better, Lily,” Rita said. “We need your genius back here. Take care, and we’ll schedule a meeting when you get back. Bye.”

  “Bye,” Lily whispered though Rita was gone. Staring at her phone, she contemplated venturing downstairs to the wine cellar. She hadn’t wanted to go down there, fearing mice or snakes or other vicious monsters, but a glass of wine might do something to settle her nerves.

  “If you don’t close this deal, you’re screwed, Hinsdale.” She straightened in her seat and focused on the sale documents. There had to be a way to convince this Rick character to hand over his land. Nothing had stood in her way before. Nothing was going to stand in her way now. Certainly not an irritating north
ern redneck. A tall, pale-eyed, northern redneck who made flannel look appealing.

  Lily shook her head. Flannel is not appealing and neither is Mr. Stannard. With that decided, she got up and went to the kitchen for a glass of something. She just couldn’t make the trip downstairs. She wasn’t that desperate yet.

  As she reached for a glass in the cabinet beside the sink, she caught sight of two women walking up the front steps of the cabin. One of them held a basket with a checkered cloth over it and the other was holding… a bottle of wine? Lily threw a glance up to the ceiling. There is a God.

  The doorbell rang as soon as she had made her way to the foyer. She opened the door, and Hope and Sage stood there smiling.

  “Hi,” Sage said. “We’ve come to make up for our cousin’s completely Neanderthal behavior.”

  “Oh, Sage.” Hope tapped the basket into her sister’s elbow. “Rick can’t help it. That’s the way he is.”

  “And I am trying to steal his land,” Lily offered.

  “There is that,” Sage said, “but Hope and I weren’t going to let that get in our way of seeing the inside of this house and the fabulous clothes you have in your suitcase.”

  “We don’t get out much,” Hope confessed with a shrug. “You’re the first interesting person that’s happened by in… in…”

  “Forever,” Sage finished. “Nothing exciting ever happens here.”

  “Not that we don’t love it here,” Hope said.

  “Right,” Sage agreed. “We do. We don’t want a huge resort here either, though it could bring hundreds of single, attractive men our way.”

  “Hadn’t considered that,” Hope said as she chewed on her bottom lip.

  “Utopia Resorts does have a habit of employing single, attractive men. It pleases the guests.” If she could get these two on her side and maybe the aunt, she’d have a female force to pounce on Rick. Lily never underestimated female forces. “Come in, ladies.”

  Hope and Sage knocked the mud off their boots and handed Lily the basket and wine while they sat on the iron bench in the foyer.

  “Homemade bread’s in the basket,” Hope said as she removed her boots. “We always do a trial run in the store’s kitchen to make sure all the equipment is still working.”

  “And we figured you needed some wine after dealing with Rick.” Sage stood after placing her boots on the little rug by the front door.

  Lily caught a glimpse of their feet and laughed. Hope had a neon green sock on her right foot and a bright blue sock on her left. Sage had the reverse.

  Hope wiggled her toes. “We try to be trendy, but no one appreciates it here.”

  “No one even looks at us here.” Sage took the wine bottle back from Lily and wandered farther into the house.

  “I’m sure that’s not true,” Lily said. They were both beautiful young women with their slim figures and long, light blonde hair.

  “Okay,” Sage said as she meandered into the kitchen. “The men that look at us here are old enough to be our grandfathers.”

  “Or young enough to be our sons.” Hope lowered her brows as she rested her elbows on the back of one of the bar stools at the kitchen island.

  “There have to be men your age too,” Lily said. Hope and Sage couldn’t be that much younger than her.

  “Not ones we haven’t already tried on for size.” Sage opened cabinets until she found the wine glasses. She pulled down three and brought them to the island where she’d left the wine.

  “None of them were a perfect fit,” Hope said.

  “Perfect fit? None of them were an okay-this-will-do fit.” Sage poured wine for all three of them.

  Lily found herself wondering what kind of a fit Rick would be then quickly picked up her wine glass and took a gulp as if to erase the thought. She didn’t care how he would or wouldn’t fit. He was so in another world from hers. A world Lily didn’t want to have anything to do with. She understood how Hope and Sage felt though. Men were around, but never the right ones.

  “You want to see the rest of the place?” Lily asked.

  “Yes, please,” Sage and Hope answered together.

  All three women took their wine on a tour of the cabin. Hope and Sage ogled every room, touched every piece of furniture, and asked questions about absolutely everything. Lily enjoyed their chatter and for a little while forgot she was stranded in the woods. The sounds of other people filled the shadowy crevasses and made the threat of waiting animals a distant concern. She ended up on the couch between Hope and Sage watching How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. She told tales about Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson, both of whom she’d met with Grandma Gail. She shared her jellybeans and laughed until her stomach hurt.

  Sage leaned her head on Lily’s shoulder. “Too bad we’re supposed to hate you,” she said. “You’re really cool.”

  “Yeah,” Hope said. “Can’t you find another spot for the hotel, Lily? We’d like to be friends, but our allegiance has to be to Rick.”

  “The miserable grump,” Sage muttered.

  “Why is he miserable?” Lily asked. “It’s more than me wanting his land, isn’t it?”

  “Shit, yeah,” Sage said. “He’s been miserable ever since he—”

  A furious pounding on the front door of the cabin cut off her words. Lily popped up from the couch, certain a wild beast was ramming the door down to stampede into the house and gorge her with its antlers. The doorbell rang in several long blasts.

  Do animals ring doorbells? Lily set her wine glass down on the coffee table.

  Hope peeked out the living room window facing the front of the house. “Oops. Sage, we’re caught in enemy territory.”

  “Rick’s out there?” Sage ran to Hope and peeked out. “Shit. Hit the lights. We need an escape plan.” The sisters gripped each other.

  “Don’t be silly,” Lily said as she made her way to the door. “We’re all adults here. You can visit me if you want to.”

  “That’s a nice theory,” Hope said.

  “But it’s total bullshit,” Sage said.

  The two women stood beside the window using the drapes to conceal themselves. Shaking her head, Lily fluffed her hair then hoped Sage and Hope hadn’t seen her do so.

  Squaring her shoulders, she opened the front door. Rick’s body filled the threshold. Filled it well. His hips were slightly offset as he kept the weight off his injured leg, but the rest of him was… appetizing. He still wore the jeans and flannel coat he’d had on this morning, but a few stains dotted the jeans now as if he’d been working with grease or something. One of his hands leaned against the doorframe while the other gripped the cane.

  Lily was about to say something—what, she wasn’t sure—when Rick asked, “Where are they?”

  “Where are who?”

  “Don’t play games with me. I know they’re here.” Rick narrowed his eyes and searched over her shoulder then down to the rug by the door. “Those are so not your boots. Hope? Sage? Get your asses out here.”

  “They don’t have to leave,” Lily said. Who does this guy think he is?

  “Yes, yes they do. They don’t belong in here. With you.” He dropped the hand on the doorframe and shifted his weight. Some of the fury in his eyes morphed into a look of pain instead.

  “Why don’t you come in, Mr. Stannard, and sit down?” Lily moved to the side to make room for Rick to walk in, but he shook his head.

  “I don’t want to come in. I want my cousins to come out.” He raised his voice at the end. “Right now.”

  Hope and Sage appeared in the foyer. “It’s the Big Bad Wolf,” Sage said as she sat to put on her boots. Hope lowered next to her and did the same.

  “I can’t believe you two are actually over here.” He paced away from the front door to the edge of the porch.

  Lily let her gaze travel the length of him, hovering a few extra seconds at the curve of his butt in his jeans. Spectacular, for sure.

  “How did you know we were here?” Hope asked.

  Rick
pointed the cane at the meandering trail of footprints in the muddy driveway. “You don’t need to be a detective. You two have no sense.”

  “Cut them a break,” Lily said. “They were just being nice. Maybe you should try the same. You might like it.”

  Hope and Sage froze in their tying of bootlaces and stared up at Lily as if she had done something truly insane.

  “I am nice.” Rick turned around to face her. “When people are nice to me. My nice is in short supply, however, and I don’t waste it on people who want to make me homeless.”

  “I don’t want to make you homeless,” Lily shot back. “I want to give you enough money to afford a bigger home on a bigger piece of land.”

  “That home and that land,” he pointed to the woods in the direction of his place, “are perfect for me. Perfect. Nothing else will be right.”

  “How do you know if you don’t try somewhere else?” Lily asked.

  “Oh, man,” Sage said.

  “We have to get out of here,” Hope whispered. “Lily, it’s been lovely. Thank you.” They both stepped onto the porch.

  “Yes, we sincerely hope he doesn’t kill you. He’s moving a lot slower with that ankle, so you’ll probably be all right,” Sage said as Rick made a move to go after her.

  “Probably,” Hope added. “Run if you have to. No shame in running.”

  They edged by Rick who half-growled at them, and Lily watched their huddling forms disappear down the driveway. Rick stood for a long, silent moment at the edge of the porch. Lily’s mind scrambled around for a way to get him to come inside. If she could just convince him to sell…

  “I did live somewhere else.” His voice was a controlled whisper as if it took him great effort to utter the words.

  “Where?” Lily stepped out onto the porch and threw a glance to the left and right. Surely no animals would approach with Rick standing there like a fuming human barricade.

  “New York City.”

  Lily wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. New York City? She couldn’t picture him in a tiny city like Providence, Rhode Island, never mind New York City. “What happened?”