Page 12 of Unpacking Secrets
“No,” she snapped. “But this view is phenomenal and if we’re going to offer dinner service, we should take advantage of that.”
“This is a small town. It’s generally frowned upon totake advantageof our customers.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, that’s not what I meant,” she muttered under her breath, jaw clenched as she slammed the sketchbook shut and shoved the chair back so she could rise.
Hearing her curse was almost enough to make me smile, but I fought it back down. “Isn’t this a business decision affecting the inn, likeyousaid we should discuss?”
“There’s nothing to discuss. You want the inn to stay exactly as it was until the end of time, be my guest. Message received, loud and clear. I’ll stay in my lane, you stay in yours.”
“What a productive discussion.”
I waited for whatever tirade she was about to unleash, but she simply nodded at me before gathering up her dishes and pushing past me, her shoulder jamming hard against my chest.
“Have a lovely day,” I called after her.
Had her hands not been full, I was sure she would've flipped me off on her way to the kitchen. As soon as she cleared the doorway, I bolted toward my office—between Sally and my grandfather, I didn’t need another lecture. I’d tried, hadn’t I?
The olive branch had been extended. Juliet Morrison caught that sucker in her bare hands, froze it into an ice spear, and threw it back in my face.
I sank down into my chair and groaned, trying very hard not to think about the redheaded firecracker who was probably plotting my demise with Sally right this minute. I didn’t want to see those red curls or that fierce blue gaze every time I closed my eyes, but the image persisted, a reminder that my grandfather was absolutely right.
She belonged here. She was Nan’s legacy. There was no denying it.
Still, Juliet mightlooklike Nan, but what good would that do us? We needed someone who couldthinklike Nan, someone clever and cunning and able to keep things moving around here.
Until she proved she had a brain in her head, had the intelligence to match Nan and not run this place into the ground with her lack of experience, I would attempt to withhold judgment.
From where I was standing, the greatest threat to the inn’s success wasn’t the death of its founder. It wasn’t even the archaic website or lack of any kind of online reservation system, as I’d lamented plenty of times since I came on board a few years ago.
It was a young, clueless artist from Minnesota.
Six
Juliet
Imutteredafewchoicewords under my breath as I left the inn, grateful that I didn’t pass Gerard or Mrs. Gregson on the way out. As I shoved my way through the heavy front door, I imagined it was Henry's broad chest.
Not that I’d noticed the firm muscles beneath his dress shirt when I shouldered past him in the dining room. Or noticed again how damngoodhe smelled.
This was definitely not how I'd imagined the morning going.
As I stalked through the gardens, I cursed Henry for obliterating every shred of peace the walk along the lake had instilled in me. Every doubt I'd about coming here bubbled rapidly back to the surface.
Maybe he’s right,I thought glumly.Why the hell did I ever think this was going to work?
I kicked a rock along the path to the cottage, wincing as my toe connected with it. To my surprise, it struck something with a metallic clang when it rolled into the grass. I bent down to see what it was, wondering if I’d find another painted rock.
There, in the lawn at the edge of a flower bed, lay a heavy brass circle about the size of my palm.
I brushed the blades of grass aside and saw that it was engraved with a dragonfly, my grandmother’s name, and the dates of Nan’s birth and death. I laid my hand over the plaque, closed my eyes, and took a few deep breaths.
This is why you’re here.Because of family, not business.
Inheritance or no, discovering I had this family history would have brought me to Spruce Hill to learn more.
Hopefully the lawyer would be able to find some loophole regarding the ownership of the inn so I wouldn’t have to interact with Henry Walker ever again, then I could focus on learning more about Nan, my own mother’s life here, and what had caused such a rift between them.
With a sigh, I stood and forced myself to shake off Henry’s negativity. This was my legacy, dammit, whether it was a complete surprise or not. I would not let some nasty accountant ruin it for me.
