Taking three mugs down from the cabinet, she sighed. The cocoa was the instant kind, and she wished she had the ingredients to make it from scratch, but for today, it would have to do. When she joined the kids a few minutes later, they were both sitting patiently.
“Wow, you guys are awesome,” she praised, putting their mugs down. “Be careful because they’re hot.” Sitting, she looked at Annabeth. “Okay, what are we reading today?”
Annabeth handed her the book. “It’s like Peter Pan, but for girls! And they get to go to Neverland!”
“Ooh…I like the sound of that,” Lexi assured her, patting the spot on the couch beside her. “Would you like to read first and then me? We can switch off when there’s a new chapter. Would you like that?”
“Um…could you…I mean…maybe you can start first and then if you get tired, then I can go. Is that okay? That’s how my grandma always does it.”
Lexi put her arm around her. “Then that’s what we’ll do.” She looked over at Jonah, who was still happily building. “Do you want to come up and sit with us, buddy?”
“Nope! I’m building a lodge like the one up on the hill.”
“Wow! I can’t wait to see it when you’re done.” Smiling at Annabeth, she asked, “Ready?”
Her only response was another enthusiastic nod.
“Here we go…”
Connor showed up with lunch at 12:30.
He had barely stepped more than three feet through the door when Annabeth started telling him about how they read together and had cocoa and cookies.
“And I even got to babysit Jonah because I’m a big girl!”
Connor gave Lexi a questioning look.
“I was in the kitchen right over there, and Annabeth was sitting on the couch guarding the cookies.”
“Ah. Got it.” Holding up a large cooler bag, he announced that lunch was ready.
“You should have just texted me, Connor. We would have come up to the lodge. I know you’re busy today with interviews.”
But he waved her off. “Two were no-shows, and the two that did show up weren’t a good fit.” He put the bag down on the dining room table. “I’m not gonna lie…I’m feeling more than a little discouraged. I know we’re in a remote spot, but the resort was open and functioning two years ago. I guess I thought some of the employees would come back.”
She grabbed plates and silverware as the two of them set the table. “Two years is a long time to expect people to sit around and wait. They all moved on and got new jobs, I’m sure.”
“And realistically, I know that. It’s just…this whole thing is a lot harder than any of us thought it would be. When Walker called us with the opportunity, it was practically a no-brainer. We all wanted in. But we agreed to it sight unseen. So when Walker first showed up here, we all freaked out at the condition of the resort. And every step of the way, it’s just been so much more than we originally planned.”
“But look what you’ve done,” she reminded him, resting her hand on his arm without even thinking about it. “You’ve created something wonderful. You brought the place back to life in the best possible way. You should be proud.”
His hand rested over hers, and for a moment, neither of them moved. Her eyes locked with his—those whiskey-colored eyes that had haunted her dreams for years—and she had to force herself to slowly pull her hand away.
Clearing her throat, she looked at the kids. “Who’s hungry?”
They both came running to the table, but Lexi stopped them and made them wash their hands first. By the time they were done, Connor had put out an impressive spread—freshly fried chicken fingers, homemade mac and cheese, roasted carrot sticks that looked like french fries, and about half a dozen dipping sauces.
“Oh my goodness, this all looks delicious!” she told him as she helped Jonah onto his chair. “And you hit some of our favorites.”
Connor ruffled Jonah’s hair. “Well, just for full disclosure, Jonah mentioned to me that first night that while he liked the fried chicken, chicken fingers were his absolute favorite.” He grinned at her son. “And I told you I’d make them, right?”
“Yup! Thanks, Connor!”
They all sat down and made their plates. Annabeth told her father all about the book they read, Jonah told Connor about the lodge he was building, and Lexi was more than happy to sit back and enjoy it. When there was finally a break in the conversation, she asked if he’d heard from the property manager about his house.
“The leak was extensive and apparently had been happening in other sections of the house. Today was just literally the breaking point.”
“Oh no! What are you going to do? Can you get your security deposit back so you can move out?”
