She pressed her lips together and stiffened her spine when she wanted to sink in on herself. But she’d never admit that he’d hit a bull’s-eye.
“But if you’re not careful, you could actually do more damage. Be patient with yourself. If you need something to do, let’s start with a chore less taxing than toting loads of firewood.”
“It’s just one load.”
“Meg printed off the stickers for the brochures yesterday.”
“What stickers?”
He blinked. “Right. It was your idea to update the brochures with stickers instead of purchasing new ones.”
“Oh.” Her brain seemed to have lost every little detail—and all the big ones too. “Stickers.”
“It was a good idea and it needs to be done.”
“Fine. I’ll do the stickers.” She glanced down at the logs. “Knock yourself out.”
Chapter 10
April 15
Jonah peered through the lobby window, watching Lauren run the snowblower down the walkway surrounding the lodge. She was bundled up in a long, puffy coat with a fur hood that left the smallest circle of her face exposed. How could she even maneuver the blower with those thick, pink gloves?
It had snowed three inches last night, but already the morning sun was warming up the earth. If she just waited till afternoon, the snow would melt on its own. But who was he to give advice?
He hadn’t exactly hit it off with their new employee. It wasn’t because she was from Massachusetts as Mom had first assumed. It was true that many New Hampshirites held a certain animosity toward people from across their southern border. Yet Jonah knew plenty of decent Bay Staters—many of the resort’s regulars, in fact. But if he felt the Massachusetts RMV could be more particular about handing out driver’s licenses...well, he wouldn’t be the first to hold that opinion.
No, his problem with Lauren began months before she’d even arrived. November was a slow month for the resort. A few snowmobilers or skiers per week. The extra downtime had allowed Jonah to load up on courses during the semester—for the degree he’d never even wanted.
Dad’s heart attack had shocked them all. Tom Landry was a bear of a man, standing six-two, with strapping shoulders and a lumbering gait.He was a man of few words, but he wasn’t afraid of hard work and he could fix anything as long as it didn’t involve a computer. To Jonah he’d always been strong and invincible.
Dad had been repairing a refrigerator in mid-November when the heart attack struck. A week later he was home from the hospital, a stent in place.
Mom pulled Jonah and Meg into their upstairs living room and lowered her voice. “Your father needs a break from this place. I know we’d talked about both of us retiring at the end of next year, but I guess God has different plans.”
“That’s fine, Mom. Meg and I have got this.”
“Absolutely,” his sister agreed. “I’ll take over your part of the office work. I’ll have plenty of time to do the books for us and Bartley’s.” Meg also did the accounting for a local insurance company.
“And I’ll take over management. Consider it done.” Jonah had been planning to do so in just over a year anyway, right after graduating.
Mom set her hand on his arm. “That’s not what your dad and I want, honey. You need to finish your classes.”
“I can do that later—”
“If you take them one or two at a time... it’ll take forever. We want you to finish up.”
Jonah pressed down the frustration this topic always brought to the surface. After Meg—who’d always planned to help run the resort—had discovered a love of accounting midway through her business degree, she’d shifted course. And this had made his parents worry that perhaps Jonah wasn’t considering all the options for his future. They’d insisted that he, too, get a college degree before committing to managing the family resort.
But with just over a year left, he felt as strongly about it as he always had. Just because he was a good student didn’t mean he had to aspire to something more intellectual. He loved this place. Loved the steady comingand going of familiar people. Loved taking care of a place that was a beloved annual tradition for dozens of families. Loved feeling connected with the family history. It was like opening his home to people who loved it just as much as he did.
He cleared his throat. “I will finish my degree, Mom. But I’m needed here now. I want to do this.”
Mom’s brown eyes softened. She’d aged ten years in the week since Dad’s heart attack. “I know you do. But your dad and I thought it would be good to get some fresh blood in here for a while. Just till you graduate. A temporary manager who might bring new ideas. And come the end of next year, if you still want to run the resort—it’s yours.”
“That hasn’t changed, and it’s not going to.” Mom had it stuck in her head that he should be a schoolteacher like his biological mother and grandmother. Sure, maybe he’d entertained the idea as a kid. But he was twenty-eight now—a man who knew what he wanted. For the hundredth time he wondered if she secretly hoped Meg would change her mind. Did Mom want to pass the resort to her biological child? After all, he wasn’t technically related to Mom—or her parents—by blood.
“We’ve already decided. We’re hiring a temporary manager as soon as possible. We can probably muddle through for a few months on our own. But we’ll need someone full-time for high season next year. Once he or she is trained, your dad and I’ll do some traveling. Heaven knows it’s the only way I’ll keep him from returning to work. This health crisis has reminded us we won’t last forever, and your dad and I want to see something of the world. We were gonna do that the year after next anyway. We’re just getting an early start.”
