The man ignores him, looking around with distaste written on his face. Another man exits the helicopter, heftier, with the buttons straining on his suit. He smiles at Axel, at least before turning to look at the lodge.
“Come on, this way.”
Both men follow him into the lodge, and he can hear the helicopter powering up again to take off. He shakes his head, rich fucks. They think they can dowhatever they want.
Once they’re inside, he takes a moment to really look at them. Are these the guests he was expecting? The thinner man looks around with a grim look on his face, like everything he sees is upsetting him. The rounder man does the same, and the smile from earlier is gone.
“How can I help you, gentlemen?”
“We have a reservation for a cabin, Harvey.”
Axel recalls that Harvey is the name the rooms are under, and he begins to gather their information. The thinner man is Russell Brown, and the bigger man is David Green, neither is Harvey.
“If the helicopter is picking you up again, you’ll need to clear it with me. We keep that pad for medical emergencies and can’t have someone landing without confirmation first.”
Russell nods, and Axel pulls out the maps of hiking trails and the list of activities, beginning to show them what’s available for their stay. David leans forward, looking everything over, but Russell pulls back with a sneer.
“I think you misunderstand why we’re here, Mr. Henderson,” Russell says with snark in his voice.
Axel looks between both of them, confusion evident on his face.
“We are from Harvey Development Group. We are here to evaluate your lodge,” which Russell says as if it’s a bad word, “and the land you have.”
“Development group? I’m not...it’s not for sale.”
“Everything has a price,” the sneer is back, “and also we have come into your financial reports and your business is failing. You have maybe six more months before you close.”
Axel is shocked. Who could have leaked the details of their business? He’s the only one who really knows how bad it is.
“Why are you here?”
David speaks up, clearing his throat. “We are here to do an evaluation. See what the land is worth. Evaluate the lodge, both the structure and how you run it. See if it’s worth keeping the structure or tearing down.”
At this, Axel sees red. He feels his bear rear up, and he has to physically restrain himself not to shift. Russell looks amused, like he’s waiting for Axel to lose his shit. But Axel reins it back in with deep breaths.
“Again, it’s not for sale.” The lodge and the land have been in his family for generations. It is owned outright, and even if the lodge were to fail, he and his brothers would continue to live on the land. This is infuriating. Who do these people think they are?
“Who do they think they are?” Raif practically roars. He knew his brothers would be just as upset as he after finding out two people from a development group were there to see how much they were worth.
Jack paces the kitchen, and Gunner sits quietly on a stool. Almost too still and quiet, and it makes Axel nervous about what his ex-military brother is thinking.
“How bad is it? The finances?” Gunner asks.
Axel knew this was coming. Knew he would have to answer to his brothers sooner or later. It wasn’t hisfault, he wasn’t running the lodge poorly. They just didn’t have the guests they needed.
“It’s bad. Six months to a year, maybe before we have to close.”
“What about the fund Mom and Dad left us? We can use that to stay open?” Jack asks, he’s almost frantic, and Axel knows this next part isn’t going to go over well.
“It’s gone, most of it at least. I’ve been using it to keep us afloat. It’s how I pay salaries every month, how we keep the lights on.”
At that, Jack finally sits down and lays his head on the counter. Axel knows what this all means, he’s in charge of their family. He’s the leader of the bears, and he failed them. He thinks his father would be rolling in his grave if he knew how bad things had gotten. And his mother...it would break her heart to know this is where they are now. His bear curls up in his chest, no longer on the defensive, just tired and sad.
Chapter Eight
Chloe
Chloe and Danielle are rocking on the big deck at the back of the lodge when Danielle turns in her seat towards Chloe with a grin.
