Casper plodded up the beach and sniffed the rocks between the beach and the lawn.
“Hey.” She gave Paulson a hug. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Honestly, I’m not sure I want to be here.” Paulson kicked a rock with one of his dirty Air Jordans. “Dad sent me to assess this property for our newest resort. He thinks Linden Lake needs a hotel with year-round recreation. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in winter, jet skis andparasailing in the summer. He wants to put in a glass-front hotel.”
Oh no. Her heart stopped and then pounded faster. Miles was right. Paulson was up to something. A mega resort would crowd the lake and ruin Camp Luciole. Montressa might not survive despite its national television debut in two weeks.
On Monday morning, she had watched all three hours ofBright and Early, paying extra attention when Miles explained why something called “spaving,” or spending to save, wasn’t saving. Adding things to your cart to get perks like bonus gifts or free shipping was spending. She hadn’t paid attention to his advice because she enjoyed spaving and damn, television suited him. His navy suit and the studio lights had turned his eyes the color of maple syrup. The post-segment banter had centered on the show’s upcoming trip to Maine.
After the show, Victoria Evans called the lodge. The last Friday in June, she and her crew would film four live segments for her series, “Where America Vacations.” She expected a vegan menu and a comped room stocked with three kinds of bottled water: Evian for washing her hair, Fiji for drinking, and Voss for brushing her teeth. Several locations needed to be “on-set ready.” Everything was an order. She assumed Avery knew what she was demanding and didn’t elaborate. She hadn’t said thank you. Victoria hadn’t changed.
That night, Avery posted a sweet photo of the birch bed in the Boathouse to the lodge’s social accounts. Symona Beauvais had immediately shared it on her stories, saying she needed a getaway. Then Hazel Matheson shared Symona’s story with the captionnot if I get there first, which was also the title of one of her biggest hits. Avery had entered the lodge the next morning to find every phone ringing, and thus began a trial by fire for the new front-desk staff. By noon, the Boathouse had been booked for the entire summer and the staff had taken a few reservation requests for the following year. A behemoth resort and its jet skis could undo all of that momentum.
Paulson led her to the flat lawn.
“As usual, Dad changed my entire plan,” he said. “When I pitched the idea of a small resort focused on fishing, I wanted something closer to a river. More in the pines.”
Like Montressa, Avery thought, which wasn’t for sale.
They stood there scanning the property. Smaller classroom-type buildings surrounded a main building, possibly a dining hall. Sweet log cabins dotted the shoreline, with enough space between each one for privacy. The place was perfect for Miles’s camp. So perfect, she’d volunteer to decorate those cute cabins.
Carter Hotels would win a bidding war and knock all of it down. They’d change Linden Lake forever, destroying animal habitats and tarnishing what brought people to natural areas year after year: tranquility.
Casper picked up a stick and ran in circles with it.
“Dad asked me to assess the property so we can outbid the other group that wants it,” Paulson said.
Avery hesitated. It felt like a breach of Miles’s trust to leak details about Camp Luciole, but this was urgent. And Paulson seemed to be searching for a reason to pass on the property.
Casper dropped the stick at Paulson’s feet. Paulson picked it up and hurled it across the lawn, and Casper set out on a chase.
“Paulson,” she said. “I’m telling you this in confidence. It goes no farther than you and me. Miles is the other person trying to buy this property.”
Paulson studied her, as if deciding what to do with that information. His choice would reveal whether he was the sweet guy Avery had faith in, or the devious, self-serving person Miles made him out to be.
“He wants to open a bereavement camp here. For people who’ve lost loved ones. With therapists and support staff and”—she felt a tinge of guilt ripple through her chest for spilling secrets—“quiet.”
Paulson faced the sun, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips into a thin line.
“Miles has always been such a good guy.” His voice wavered, and he cleared his throat. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “He’s a lot like maple syrup. Every drop is pure and good.”
He paused and Avery tensed, anticipating a huge “but” filled with bravado and vitriol.
“But he bottles up so much. When he came back to school after his mom died, I tried to reach him, but he didn’t want to talk about his pain.”
“That sounds like Miles.” Avery smiled as Casper dropped the stick at Paulson’s feet.
“Well, I wasn’t mature at twenty-one.” He threw the stick again. “So maybe I came off like a know-it-all. I thought we had something in common. In a way, I lost my mom too. She’s alive, but she’s gone. Miles didn’t see that as the same. I guess we never truly understand someone else’s pain. And maybe I was being selfish. I wanted someone to help me through my grief, and I thought he might do that. Or we could do it together.”
Paulson had hinted at his mother last time they talked. Avery wondered what had happened, but didn’t ask. He should decide what he was comfortable revealing.
“I was ten when she left.” He cleared his throat. “She moved to a compound in the desert, convinced my father belonged tothe corporation, which in her mind was evil. Dad traveled out there and tried to get her to come home. She refused. My last semester of college, I found her. I got my diploma, ditched my graduation trip to Base Camp Everest, and drove cross-country instead. She met me at the gate and told me Dad had tainted me and nothing could be done. She sent me away without so much as a single tear. And it messed me up. I don’t know if I can trust another person enough to have a relationship. It affects friendships too.”
Avery didn’t know what to say. She had no frame of reference forPaulson’s experience. But it was a loss. Avery wondered if Miles knew Paulson sought out his mother only to have her reject him. He must not. Miles would treat Paulson differently if he did.
“Paulson, I’m so sorry.” She reached out and rubbed his arm. “Can I give you a hug?”
“Yeah, no one ever offers that.”
