Page 32 of Just One Chance

Working with wood helped keep me sane, and I was going to need that now more than ever. Why had my parents thought it was necessary to bring in an outsider, someone from Miami no less?

She had to come up with something crazy like a snow room to justify her job. When my parents told her no, she'd tell everyone that we were opposed to change and didn't know how to run a business. But this was Colorado, not Miami. Two very different markets. She had no idea what she was talking about.

At home, I buried myself in work, cutting the legs for the new table I was making. It was easy to forget about Kennedy and what she was doing. With every careful measurement and cut, I felt calmer.

It was dark when the door opened.

I pushed my safety goggles to my forehead as Callum walked in.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking at the table top I was in the process of sanding. "Mom said that Kennedy's been walking the property by herself."

"She's a big girl. She can take a walk by herself." I set my jaw, annoyed that everyone thought she was my problem.

"Mom and Dad asked you to be her guide. You're supposed to make her feel welcome."

I grunted because I'd made her feel very welcome the last two nights.

He looked around the space. "But you're hiding in here."

"I'm not hiding." I was definitely hiding.

"I don't like having some outsider here either. But this is what it will take to make Mom and Dad feel comfortable about retiring. They want to know that they renovated the inn before they go, and that it's in good shape. And for some reason, they need this woman's opinion."

I took off the goggles, setting them on the work bench. "She wants to build a snow room."

His brow furrowed. "A what?"

"A room where it snows so that guests can sit and enjoy it."

"You're joking."

I shook my head. "I wish I was. Since we don't have a pool or a fitness room, she thought this would be the next best thing."

"I've never even heard of that. Is that a thing?"

"It's real and usually built for celebrities in warmer states to escape the heat."

He frowned. "Why would we need that here?"

I leaned against the counter behind me and folded my arms over my chest. "That's my point."

He gestured outside. "We have snow outside most of the year."

"It's expensive, and then what? We only use it two or three months out of the year? She said something about it being the perfect place for couples to get engaged. You know, because it doesn't have the wind."

He'd pulled out his phone and scrolled through pictures of snow rooms. "Huh. that's kind of a neat idea."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I see the appeal. It's temperature controlled, so just cold enough to maintain the snow without being too chilly."

I rolled my eyes. "I can't believe this."

He put his phone away. "Mom and Dad want her here. We have to defer to their judgment."

I had a bad feeling that they were going to do whatever Kennedy told them to. "They think they're doing the right thing, but I'm not so sure."