Whispering Pines (Celia's Gifts Book 1)

by Kimberly Diede

  Waiting was always tough. Renee continued to contact additional companies over the next week. She also kept exploring ideas for her lake property. She made lists of things that needed to be fixed, ways she might be able to reopen the resort—while not going broke in the process—and possible impacts if she were to not open the resort this coming season. If all she did was hire a company to do maintenance on the property, would the buildings continue to slowly deteriorate due to lack of use?

  On Thursday, a FedEx delivery man knocked on her door. After signing for a package, Renee poured a fresh cup of coffee and took the manila envelope out back on the patio, hand shaking a bit as she opened it. The return address was MNC, the company she interviewed with the previous week. Inside was an offer letter, along with information about the company’s benefits package. The salary was 15 percent higher than what she’d been earning at her old job. There was an array of insurance products to choose from, and the position came with three weeks of paid time off, which would accrue monthly.

  Which means no time off for the first few months, she thought grimly. Fiji flashed in her mind, and she sighed.

  As she wandered back into the house, a blinking light on the answering machine caught her eye. She hadn’t noticed it earlier. She pushed play—and recognized the voice immediately.

  “Renee, this is Katy Harper, calling you back from MNC. Sorry I missed you. We’re impressed with your credentials and think you could bring a certain maturity level to the role that has been missing. You will be receiving our offer letter in the mail shortly. Please review the information and call if you have any questions. I look forward to hearing back from you Monday and hope you are as excited to come to work for us as we are to invite you to join our team.”

  Staring down at the sheaf of papers in her hand, Renee wondered when that spark of excitement might hit. She had the weekend to decide.

  So why was that old song “Take This Job and Shove It” playing in her head?

  Chapter 37

  Gift of a Girls’ Day

  “Oh God, I’m sorry I’m late, Tabby!” Renee apologized as she rushed up to her waiting friend outside an auction house early Saturday morning. “Robbie needed a ride . . . and then I couldn’t find a damn parking spot. There are a ton of people here!”

  “Hey, no worries—let’s just get in there so we can look around before the auction starts,” Tabby said, giving Renee a push toward the door. A good four inches shorter than Renee, Tabby had always compensated for her small stature with a slightly aggressive nature. Renee laughed at her friend’s typical impatience. Nothing had changed.

  They entered a vast, noisy room that smelled of coffee and exhaust fumes.

  “No wonder parking was tough,” Renee said. “This place is packed! When you asked if I wanted to go to an auction, I figured it was some kind of estate sale . . . but look at all this furniture!” She motioned at row after row of desks, couches, and beds.

  “Actually, it’s a hotel liquidation. Remember me telling you my sister might try to go off on her own and open a deli?” Tabby asked, and Renee nodded as the earlier conversation came to mind. “I’ve been encouraging her to take a chance and she finally decided to go for it. But she doesn’t have much capital, so she needs to be really smart with her money. She had to work this morning—hasn’t quit yet—so I told her I’d check and see if there were any good deals.”

  Renee wasn’t surprised Tabby was here to help Jill out. Ever since they lost their parents in a car crash, Tabby had been watching out for her baby sister.

  “Since we’re getting a late start, I better find the dishes they advertised and see if any might work for the restaurant,” Tabby said, scanning the room.

  Renee pointed. “Looks like kitchen stuff is back there,” she said, heading toward a corner of the room. Together they wove through the crowd, skirting the auctioneer’s pickup parked at the end of one row. Indeed, there were multiple tables of dishes, glassware, and pots in a back corner. Tabby started hunting through the stacks, sending pictures of possibilities off to her sister.

  Renee wandered back over to check out the furniture. A long row of mattresses leaned against an outer wall. Some of the sets still had tags and were wrapped in plastic. There were full, queen, and king sizes. A long row of various bed frames stretched in front of the mattresses. Renee’s interest piqued, remembering the musty beds back at the resort. What if these sets went cheap? Mattresses were so expensive. She always loved the thrill of picking up an auction treasure at a great price. But be careful, she reminded herself. It was way too easy to get caught up in the thrill of it all and pay too much.

  Renee pulled out her phone and reviewed the pictures she’d taken of the bedrooms in the cabins. They contained a wide variety of beds, probably replaced as needed over the years and arranged to increase the sleeping capacity of the cabins.

  Why am I even considering this? I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do with the resort yet. I have no business buying mattresses for the place. Besides, there were so many people at the auction—there was no way the sets were going to go cheap.

  She wandered between tables stacked with towels, sheets, blankets, duvet covers, and comforters. All the linens looked to be in good condition.

  Renee jumped at the crack of a loud speaker coming to life. “Thanks, everyone, for comin’ out this morning,” the auctioneer’s booming, sing-song voice rang over the crowd as he attempted to make himself heard over the cacophony of voices. “We have a great sale for you today. Got lots of quality items here. Be sure to get your bidding number from the gals over at the front table.”

  Renee saw three women wearing blue T-shirts emblazoned with the auction company’s name across the front. Probably his wife and daughters.

  “Gonna have to ask y’all to keep your voices down. Have those numbers ready if you plan to do any bidding—which I hope you all plan to do, and often,” he teased, drawing a couple of laughs from the crowd. He went on to announce the order of the sale and housekeeping topics such as the need to remove smaller purchased items by the end of the day’s sale. Furniture would have to be picked up within the week.

  Bidding commenced at a flat of tools and cleaning supplies. Neither Tabby nor Renee were interested in anything on the first trailer.

  “Come on,” Tabby suggest, “let’s grab a cup of coffee and a donut and catch up.”

  Together they bought the treats and found open spots at an aluminum picnic table.

  “All right, girl,” Tabby started, “I need updates—updates! Last time I talked to you, you were heading to your parents’ for Christmas. Not something you usually have time to do. What’s up?”

  Renee smirked. “How much time ya got? This probably isn’t the time or place to get into everything, so the abbreviated version: I got laid off.”

  Her friend, who seldom stopped talking, was momentarily speechless.

  “But,” Renee added, “that’s not all. I also inherited that place my folks used to take us every summer as kids—”

  “Wait, wait, wait,” Tabby finally cut in. “Back up a minute. You got fired?”

  Renee laughed. “Well, technically, our roles were ‘eliminated’ in mid-December and I received a severance package. I prefer the term ‘laid off’ to ‘fired,’ though.”

  “You have got to be kidding me! And you didn’t think to tell me all this until now?”

  “I’m sorry, Tabby, I know I should have called. But everything’s been so crazy, and I guess it’s still hard to talk about. I’m still trying to figure out what I’m gonna do. I wish I was gutsy like you, wish I had the balls to see if I could re-open Whispering Pines.”

  “Whispering Pines?” Tabby was having trouble following.

  “Sorry, I’m blabbing. Whispering Pines—it’s the resort I inherited from my aunt.”

  “And again,” Tabby bristled, “you didn’t see fit to tell me about this until now? What the hell, Renee?”

  “I know, I know, I should have c
alled sooner. Actually, that’s why I called you yesterday to see if you wanted to do lunch today. I was going to tell you everything. When you already had plans and invited me along today, this sounded fun. So here we are, and here I am, dumping all my crap on you.”

  Tabby shrugged off Renee’s concern, her interest still piqued by Renee’s mention of a resort. “Got any pictures of the place?”

  “Of course.” Renee laughed, relieved to be so easily forgiven by her friend for not reaching out sooner. “We went out to tour it Easter weekend. Here, I took a ton of shots. Feel free to flip through them.”

  Tabby took Renee’s phone and started checking out her friend’s new property. “Hmm . . . interesting,” was all she muttered at first. She took her time looking through the pictures and handed the phone back to Renee. “The lodge and those quaint little cabins have some real potential,” she finally said, arms crossed in front of her chest, eying Renee carefully.

  Renee laughed again. “Of course you would say that. You’re the interior designer!”

  Tabby held up a finger. “Hold that thought, they’re moving back to the kitchenware.” She bounced up and grabbed Renee’s arm, pulling her back toward the corner. “We aren’t done with this discussion about the resort,” she warned.

  But Tabby wanted moral support if she was going to spend her sister’s hard-earned cash on a pile of dishes. They inched as close to the front of the crowd as they could. The auctioneer was working fast and bids flew. Most of the bidders acted as if they knew what they were doing. Unwilling to be intimidated, Tabby and Renee held their ground as others tried to jostle their way in front of them to see better. They enjoyed the competition between bidders and the camaraderie of the auction team.

  Finally, the dishes came up for bid. The first few sets went too high and Tabby held back. But as bidding progressed, she jumped into the mix. Her hands were shaking after, but her eyes sparkled as she rechecked her math and, with great relief, confirmed she was able to stay below Jill’s $1,000 budget. Renee stayed with Tabby’s dishes while her friend found a cart and a teenager willing to help get the sets out to Tabby’s truck. The dishes were safely stowed and the helpful kid sauntered off with a $20 tip in his pocket.

  By the time they were done dealing with the dishes, the auctioneer was halfway down a row of desks and armoires. Next, a row of couches were sold.

  Finally, they reached the mattresses.

  “I’m just gonna watch,” Renee reminded Tabby.

  The auctioneer tried to get an opening bid of $500 a set, but no one was interested at that level. He had to go all the way down to $100, still searching for that opening bid.

  Oh, what the hell.

  Renee couldn’t help herself—she felt her right arm wave at the auctioneer, and he took her bid. After that, a few others jumped in the fray. Renee thought she had the bid at $240, but at the last minute, an ornery old woman gave another bid at $245.

  Not today, granny.

  Renee threw one last bid out there at $250.

  Stop, she told herself.

  But despite the efforts of the persistent auctioneer, the granny was apparently tapped.

  Renee won the bid.

  “Oh, shit,” Renee half-whispered to Tabby. Was she stark-raving mad?

  The auctioneer was waiting for her to declare which sets she wanted at $250 apiece. Waving her hand at two stacks of plastic-wrapped sets, she held up all the fingers of her left hand, but couldn’t bring herself to say a word. She hoped others thought this was something she did all the time, no big deal. Her head was spinning.

  “The lady is taking these five new mattress sets, two kings and three queens. And you, ma’am,” the auctioneer said to the other bidder, “would you like any at that price?” Just like that, he’d moved on and the clerk labeled the sets with the same number as the bidding number Renee still clutched in her right hand.

  “I need to sit down,” she said to Tabby, and walked off, Tabby close on her heels.

  “Now Renee, don’t freak out,” Tabby said. “You know those sets would be closer to one thousand dollars each retail, and all five of them are new. Even if you ultimately decide not to do anything with the resort, you could resell these individually at a profit. There are so many sets here . . . you got a great deal!”

  Renee knew Tabby was right but wasn’t over her mini panic attack yet. She had just spent $1,250 . . . and she didn’t even have a job. The resort needed a ton of work and mattresses might not have been the wisest place to start. Sitting down wasn’t helping with her lightheadedness. She started to hyperventilate. Tabby pushed Renee’s head forward, down between her knees, and rubbed her back until Renee gave her a thumbs-up. Tabby stepped back.

  Renee sat up, a sheepish grin on her face.

  “Oh, God, Tabby, I’m so sorry I lost it there for a minute,” Renee apologized. “This doesn’t feel like a smart move at all right now . . . but I guess there isn’t anything I can do about it at this point. I hope the bed frames at the resort will work with these mattresses. Otherwise, I’ll either be switching all the mattresses out in our house, with one to spare, or I’ll learn how to use Craigslist.”

  Tabby laughed. “If you start selling on Craigslist, let me know. I have crap I want to get rid of, too.”

  They meandered back to the auction. The rest of the furniture was sold off, leaving only the linens. After the furniture was gone, the crowd thinned measurably. The remaining tables were full of piles of towels, sheets, and blankets. When the auctioneer struggled to get a bid higher than $17.50 per pile, Renee raised her number to his request for $20. It was already four o’clock in the afternoon and the auctioneer was ready to be done. He hollered “Sold!” and Renee found herself again having to decide how many lots to purchase. Since she’d bought five beds, she selected ten sheet sets in king and queen sizes so she would have two sets per mattress. She also took ten sets of towels, five blankets, and five duvet covers.

  And just like that, it had taken her a total of five minutes to drop another $600.

  Tabby was ready for another panic attack, but surprisingly, this time Renee wasn’t upset.

  “I made up my mind. This was a wise investment in my property,” Renee stated when Tabby looked at her questioningly.

  Again, they used a cart and the same teenager to transport all of Renee’s linen purchases out to her Toyota. The mattresses would have to wait. Renee was almost positive Ethan would help her out with his enclosed trailer.

  The auction was quickly winding down. Tabby and Renee were starving and decided to go out for an early dinner before heading their separate ways. Renee called Ethan on her way to meet Tabby at the restaurant but got his voicemail. Figuring she better explain to him in a real conversation, she left him a short message, asking him to give her a call on Sunday.

  He would probably think she was nuts. She knew she was nuts.

  Renee turned in to the restaurant’s lot and parked next to Tabby’s tall white pickup. Tabby walked in with her, having used the running boards to jump down from the driver’s seat. People always assumed the pickup belonged to Gary, Tabby’s husband. Renee found her friend’s choice of vehicle comical but also knew Tabby needed the truck for her interior design business.

  The hostess showed them to a table by a crackling fire and they requested their favorite bottle of wine. Knowing they couldn’t drink too much on empty stomachs, they ordered an appetizer to share and dinners of steak and potatoes.

  “What a crazy day,” Renee said.

  Tabby nodded, laughing. “Girl, it sounds like you’ve had a crazy few months.”

  Renee nodded soberly, then took another sip of wine to change that. “Sharing a glass of wine and conversation with an old friend is exactly what I needed.”

  “So, spill it,” Tabby insisted.

  “Well, let’s see . . . I’ve spent lots of time with my family . . . I experienced a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Fiji with my two favorite people in the world . . . we met extended family we nev
er knew existed, I inherited valuable property, and I’ve started making changes in other areas of my life.”

  “Is that all?” Tabby joked before bluntly pointing out most of it wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t been laid off. “So you should stop feeling sorry for yourself and recognize your many blessings, girl.” Tabby took a sip of wine. “I’ve had my share of struggles, too, you know. Gary and I are in a good place now, but you know how bad we wanted to have kids. It just wasn’t meant to be, and that was hard on us. When I couldn’t get pregnant, I threw myself into my work. I was scared to death when I opened my own business, what? Five years ago?”

  Renee nodded, smiling.

  “There have been some lean times,” Tabby continued, “but I’m finally getting some traction, and just hired my second assistant last month. It isn’t always easy, but I love having my own business.” She looked into Renee’s eyes, holding her gaze. “What I’m trying to say is . . . don’t be afraid to try something different.”

  “I know, I know . . . I’m scared, but I’m ready for change too.”

  As they sat around the fire and continued to catch up on each other’s lives, Tabby shared funny stories about rich, hard-to-satisfy clients. Finally Renee had to insist Tabby stop; tears were running down her face and she was afraid she would wet her pants.

  Shifting the conversation, Tabby broached the subject of the resort. Renee showed her the pictures again, taking time to tell her more about the property.

  “You know,” Tabby mentioned, looking closer at the photos, “I might have a few tricks up my sleeves as to how we could give the cabins and lodge an inexpensive facelift. This old furniture and the tired surfaces don’t scare me.” Renee shot her a skeptical look, but Tabby continued. “Paint some of the wooden pieces, maybe use a light-cream chalk paint to lighten up the interiors. The old dark-green, nubby-textured fabric on the sofas isn’t that bad. If you throw on some funky pillows, it could work. Maybe you’ll get lucky and find wood floors under the grungy carpet. Did you check?”