“I did a little research on the place and saw that they basically built the resort from nothing. It was quite a tourist destination for a while.”
He nodded, holding the mug in his hand. “It got to be too much for them, and they let a lot of things go. But they had an emotional attachment to the place and couldn’t bear to sell it. When Walker came up with the idea of getting a group of investors, he came to his friends first. There’s a bunch of us who all met here at the resort as kids, so we all have an attachment to it too.”
“Aww…that’s so sweet!”
“It’s been a wild ride,” he told her. “Anyway, so there’s me and Walker. Connor—who you talked to on the phone—he’s a chef. He comes from a wealthy family. We all used to joke about why they’d come and vacation here when they could go anywhere in the world.”
“Then why did they?” she asked, because her family never would have vacationed at such a rustic place.
“They liked the charm of it, Connor used to say.” He laughed softly.
“What? What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Well, when he would say things like that, it gave the impression that his family—even though they were super wealthy—were just regular, down-to-earth people.”
“And they weren’t?”
He shook his head. “Not really. They were definitely snobs. They just knew how to hide it.”
Yikes.
Unfortunately, she knew a lot of people like that.
Including her own family.
“Anyway, Connor’s a chef, and he’s here to get the entire food end of the business up and running. He wants to train the entire food service staff himself, but we don’t know if he’ll stay on once the resort is up and running.”
She nodded before taking a sip of her tea.
“Then there’s Milo. He’s a tech guy and not the one you want around power tools.” He grinned. “He’s a great guy, but he’s just not skilled at working with his hands. He’s handling all the computers, electronics, and security equipment. If it’s got a microchip in it, Milo’s going to be in charge of it. He owns this mega corporation, and I don’t understand most of what he says he does, but he’s brilliant.”
That made sense. “And the fifth guy?”
“Slater. He has worked with some of the biggest extreme sports tour companies in the country. He’s a bit of an adrenaline junkie. One of the things about the resort before it closed was that the activities it offered were kind of basic. It was great back when Walker’s grandparents opened the place, but vacationers now want a little more adventure. So, Slater’s putting together activities that we can offer—parasailing, tubing, hiking, air tours…”
“Air tours?”
“Yeah, he’s a licensed pilot, and he’s working on plans to take small groups up to see the different mountain ranges. Nothing’s official yet, but that’s one thing he’s been trying to get going. He’d need to have either an arrangement with the local airport or see about buying a seaplane so he can take off and land right here on the lake. But that also requires special permitting.” He shook his head. “I never knew there was so much involved, you know? I just thought we were going to come in and fix the place up and start taking reservations. It’s so much more.”
“I can only imagine. When I was doing my research, I saw a lot of older pictures of what the property used to look like. That’s how I could put together my presentation. I used the information I gathered online so I could come up with an accurate presentation.”
She stopped herself and took a quick sip of her tea—burning her mouth in the process. She hadn’t meant to go there just yet.
Reaching for the package of double chocolate chip cookies, she quickly changed the subject. “So what were your plans for the weekend with this storm?”
“I bought a bunch of groceries and was just planning on relaxing in my cabin. I completely renovated it myself, and it’s got a great setup. Fully furnished, with one bedroom, one bathroom, and a living room kitchen combo. It’s small but fully functional.”
“Sounds very cozy.”
He nodded. “I thought if the rain let up a little that we could head down there, but the more I think about it, the more I think it’s better to be on higher ground. I just wish we had more furniture here. And pillows. And blankets.” He gave her a boyish grin. “I have a feeling we’re going to be stuck up here for the night.”
“What about when our clothes dry? Why can’t we run down to your truck and then drive over to your cabin?”
“Because there’s not a paved path to my cabin and the grounds are definitely flooding. I think we’d get stuck in the mud before we even got close. Plus, with the lake water likely rising, I don’t want to risk us getting stranded or worse if things hit a critical level.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t been worried about that sort of thing before, but she was now.
“We’ll be able to make do with whatever we can gather up from around the lodge. And I can always go back down to the supply room and see if there are pillows and blankets. I want to say I remember Walker mentioning that there were sheets down there, and where there are sheets, there should be blankets and pillows. At least, that’s my theory.”
