You’re out of control. We’ve all noticed it lately, but this is the last straw.
What exactly did that mean? How was he out of control? And who noticed it?
“I hate when people are vague.”
Quietly, he stepped up to the door of his cabin and let himself in. Everything was peaceful and quiet, but he still went to the door to Annabeth’s room to check on her. She was his entire world, and everything he was doing here at the resort was to ensure that she would have a good life. He wanted her to have stability and to be surrounded by people who loved her and were good influences on her.
In a nutshell, not his family.
Sure, they were wealthy and they meant well, but their values were not the ones he wanted his daughter to grow up around.
So here he was back in Harbortown renovating and re-opening a resort that was a central part of his childhood.
And doing it with the best people he knew.
He and Slater, Walker, Axel, Milo, Jayce, and Kelsey all met here at the resort as kids and stayed friends all these years. Now they were breathing new life into the place that meant so much to all of them.
Annabeth stirred a bit in her sleep, but once she was quiet again, Connor stepped away from the door. Their cabin was the largest of all the ones he and his friends were using, but it was still small compared to how he and Annabeth were used to living.
The Winslowes were an old-money family from Boston. Connor had grown up on a magnificent estate where everything was expensive and nothing was off limits. He went to the best schools, traveled the world, and whatever he wanted, he could have.
Well, almost.
Sighing, he went to their small kitchen and did his best to quietly clean up. He’d done most of it while the cake was baking, but there were still a few things that needed to be wiped down and put away. He loved cooking but hated the cleanup.
“I can’t wait to have a staff up at the lodge.” Next week he was going to start interviewing prospective chefs and kitchen staff. It was something he was both looking forward to and dreading. For starters, he had no idea the kind of people their ad was going to attract. He was used to owning restaurants in Boston, Dover, and Cambridge. Big city, high-end restaurants got you top-of-their-class chefs. But a resort in a small town in upstate New York? He honestly had no idea.
Yawning, he wiped down the counter before shutting out the light and padding to his bedroom.
His tiny bedroom.
He’d been house hunting for what felt like months and nothing felt right. He’d almost closed on a house, but it failed inspection and put him back at square one. So, he had just purchased a piece of property and hired an architect and contractor to build him exactly what he wanted. Annabeth had given her input as well, and all she wanted was a bedroom where she could have sleepovers with her friends, a playroom for all her toys, a room where she could dance, and a backyard with a pool.
It didn’t seem like much, but those few requests were just a small portion of why they needed to build. Of course, that also meant they were going to be living in the cabin for at least six months. He hadn’t mentioned it to his daughter, but that wasn’t going to work for him. As much as he hated the idea of renting something short-term, it seemed like the most logical solution.
Actually, Walker’s fiancée Harlow—who was an amazing real estate agent—had suggested the rental scenario from the start, but he had been too stubborn to do it. And now look where he was.
Another yawn. Stripping down to his boxers, he slid beneath the blankets and felt all the tension leave his body. He was tired, exhausted even. And yet…he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something he was forgetting to do. Or maybe a sense of impending doom. Either way, he’d been feeling on edge lately, and maybe that’s what Slater was referring to.
“Yeah, I’m going to have to apologize to him tomorrow,” he said, rolling onto his side. “And try to remember boundaries.” His eyes drifted shut, and before he knew it, he was asleep.
The alarm went off way too early, but that wasn’t anything new.
In the distance, he could hear Annabeth running across the cabin right before she slammed the bathroom door shut.
“Note to self, tell the architect to put her bedroom on the opposite side of the house.” Knowing there was no time to linger, Connor stretched and climbed out of the bed, shutting the door as he grabbed his robe.
Their morning routine was fairly consistent. Alarms went off, Annabeth got first dibs on the bathroom while Connor got up and made her breakfast. While she ate and got dressed, he’d grab a shower. Once he was dressed and ready, he’d drive her to school. As much as he loved to sleep in, he enjoyed their time together on the way to school. He loved hearing about what she thought was going to happen during the day and then hearing how it actually went on the way home.
Simplicity at its best.
Connor stepped out of his bedroom just as Annabeth ran by on her way back to her room.
“Morning, Daddy!”
“Morning, Princess!”
And so it went. Today’s breakfast was a veggie frittata and toast, and when he stepped out of the bathroom after his shower, he saw she had eaten all of it.
