“I hate the thought of you having to go outside again. I can’t believe there isn’t any access anywhere inside to get to it.”
“Yeah, we probably should have done something about that while we were doing the renovations, but…” He shrugged. “Besides, I don’t mind running down there again if it means we can get even a little more comfortable.”
He reached for a pack of oatmeal raisin cookies, and they ate in companionable silence for several minutes.
“If I hadn’t shown up and you got back from town and went to your cabin, would you have stayed there or come up here because of the storm?”
“Good question. With the way it was already raining when I got back, I probably would have tried to drive closer to the cabin.” He paused. “But I think I would have packed up some necessities—clothes, pillows, blankets—and come right back up here. I guess this all could be a good thing.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because I’m going to see how the property reacts to a storm. We’ll know what areas are going to need more work to be prepared so we don’t have as much flooding, or it will take down trees that would have been an issue later…”
“That makes sense. Plus, you should have a plan in place for severe weather. Where are the safest places for guests to go? When does the generator kick in?” Then she stopped and studied him. “You have a generator, don’t you?”
“Yes, we have a generator. We had to upgrade it because the one that was here was so outdated that it barely powered anything. Now there are generators throughout the resort property. We have four of them in the main building. One powers almost everything on the main floor, but the others handle emergency lighting, fire alarms, security systems, elevators, and the ventilation systems. Milo researched it and made sure that the power went to the critical areas like the front desk and kitchen—you know, so that the food won’t go bad—and in the best-case scenario, even the Wi-Fi will stay on.”
“Wow! That’s impressive. I would have thought a rustic resort wouldn’t do all of that.”
“Walker’s in the luxury hospitality business and had originally wanted to upgrade the resort to be a bit more…um…snooty.”
She laughed. “Snooty? Seriously?”
“You know what I mean. The kind of upscale place that the average person can’t afford to stay at. He totally got vetoed, but we still wanted to make sure that there are things in place that can provide an elevated experience.” Then he laughed. “I’d never heard that phrase before in my life, but it got thrown around a lot in the early stages of the renovation.”
Then they went back to eating cookies and drinking their tea and coffee. She had almost tuned out the storm when a boom of thunder shook the entire building, and the lights went out.
Chapter Three
“Don’t panic,” he said calmly. “We tested the system multiple times. The power should come back on in fifteen seconds.”
And while he knew that was true, he was still doing the countdown in his head.
Three…two…one…
“Voilà!” The kitchen was lit up once again.
“That’s kind of impressive,” she said. “And now the entire resort has power?”
Shaking his head, he explained, “When we’re open, it will. But for now, it’s just the main floor of the lodge and the section of cabins where the guys and I stay.”
“It’s nice that you could customize the zones like that.”
“It was Milo’s idea. He worked out a system so we could make that happen. And with most of us living here while the work is going on, it was important that we have power to certain areas even when work was being done on others.”
He popped one last piece of his cookie into his mouth and wondered what they were supposed to do to pass the time. It was almost dinnertime, but his plan had been to grill a steak. He supposed he could do it here in the kitchen—Connor had ordered the best equipment and swore you could make a steak taste like it was done on a grill—but Axel hadn’t tested that theory yet.
“Will we run out of power if we do anything?” she asked. “Like reheat the tea water or cook?”
“No. We should be fine. And with any luck, the power will come back on soon. Are you hungry? I bought a couple of steaks—one was for tonight and one for tomorrow since it’s just me here—but I can easily make them both tonight. I’m sure there’s other food in the pantry and freezer, but…”
“Steaks are fine. But I feel bad taking your food that you bought for yourself. I’d be okay with a can of soup, honestly. I’m already imposing so much.”
She wasn’t wrong. He’d really been looking forward to hanging out in his cabin and relaxing. He’d been working nonstop for months and every once in a while it panned out that he had time to himself. Now he was stuck up here in the lodge with no bed, no blankets, and no actual furniture.
Oh, and Maisie, who was a virtual stranger to him.
“I’m fine with sharing the steaks,” he assured her. “Just know that cooking isn’t exactly my thing. I mean, I do okay, but it’s nothing like what Connor can do.”
