19. Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Nineteen
Willow
Waking up with Gunnar’s arms wrapped around me is a feeling I don’t want to give up. The warmth and weight of his body give me a sense of safety and security I've never had before. If I thought I had a crush before I am full blown falling for him now after watching him with his family and spending the night with them fixing up the inn.
His siblings were so welcoming, and I love seeing them interact together. It makes sense why Gunnar can give me shit just as bad as I give him.
I slip out from under his weight and walk out to the balcony with my phone. I haven’t even looked at it since we got here yesterday. I have at least twenty text messages from my sisters and mom in our group chat. There are so many, I don’t even scroll up. I just read the last few messages.
Addy : Um hello? Are you alive? How was the date?
Scarlett : She’s busy, Ads. Maybe the date spilled into a whole weekend in bed!
Mom : Girls. No need to be crass.
Lacey : Ok seriously Willow. Where are you? I mean you need to come up for air at some point.
Mom : Willow? I’m coming to The Bar.
Addy : Willow, answer us!
Lacey : I just popped over to The Bar. There was an emergency with Gunnar’s Dad, Willow went with him.
Addy : Thank god that she’s alive but what happened?
Scarlett : I’m glad she’s okay, but do we know if they made it? And what was the emergency? This really doesn’t help my worrying.
Me : Sorry guys. I’m alive. I just haven’t looked at my phone and work was busy the night after our date then Mr. Keaton fell off the roof of their inn and is in the hospital. I’m at the inn with Gunnar now. I don’t know when we’ll be back but service is kind of spotty. I’ll let you know before we head back. P.S. it did spill into breakfast. ;)
Mom : Ugh. I’m leaving this chat.
Mom has left the group.
Addy : Ha! She actually left us. Glad to hear you’re okay, but how is his Dad? How are you after going to the hospital?
My sisters are sensitive to hospitals just like me. The fear of getting that call is something that will never leave us. I let them all know that he had surgery and will make a full recovery. I give them the address for the inn, Lacey is going to go to the florist to send an arrangement for Mrs. Keaton .
As nosey and annoying as they can be, their hearts are always in the right place.
I hear Gunnar stirring in bed, so I head back inside to crawl back into bed and slide under the covers, snuggling into his chest.
He reaches out and pulls me tight against him. “Mmm, good morning, darling. Where’d you go?” He places a kiss on the top of my head.
“Just to answer the millions of texts from my family who I forgot to text after our date, and before we left.”
I snuggle closer, running my hands over his back. He stiffens when I reach the scars on his back. He did the same the other night. I never thought about how the scars still affect him. I splay my hand over the largest spot and kiss him.
It doesn’t take long for him to relax against me, and after that it doesn’t take long for there to be a knock on the door.
“Get up, G, or out. Whatever. But it’s time for breakfast. Let’s go!” I don’t know which brother is at the door but Gunnar groans and releases me.
“Hunter won’t go away. It’s best to appease him and go downstairs.”
He leans on his elbow and looks down at me, his gaze rakes over my body. “Fuck, I don’t want to.”
He lays over me, trailing kisses down my neck and collarbone.
I pout up at him, I don’t want him to leave this bed either .
Hunter bangs on the door again. “Let's go! I’m going to stay here and yell at you until you open this door, try getting off to my voice!”
Gunnar groans.
“I don’t know, Hunter, it might actually help me get off, could you keep going?” I yell back.
“Fucking Christ, G. Where’d you find this one?” I can hear the hint of laughter in his voice.
“I’m not fucking sharing, get outta here,” Gunnar answers his brother for the first time. He stares at me before finishing his response. “She’s mine.”
I laugh and slide out of the bed, throwing some clothes on and brushing my teeth. When I get out of the bathroom Hunter is perched on the bed, laughing at Gunnar, who looks like he’s about to murder his brother. Whatever Hunter said had Gunnar’s fists balled up at his sides and his nostrils flared.
I can’t imagine dealing with five of these heathens growing up.
“Let’s go boys. No fighting before a family meeting.”
I lean down to take Gunnar's lips with mine before whispering, "Besides, I'm yours."
I walk out the door with the two following me. I can hear them pushing each other and bumping into the walls in the hallway behind me.
I walk downstairs to find the sad dining room without any breakfast food. I run my finger along the edge of the table. A layer of dust coats the table and chairs. I assume that no one has cleaned or enjoyed a meal at this table in quite some time .
Gunnar looks at me and shrugs.
Emma comes in with a bottle of cleaner and a rag. She must have made the same observations as me.
I can’t understand how this place is even running with the few guests it has. I hope Liam at least cleans the rooms before the guests get here.
“Is this really how we’re starting the meeting?” Liam asks angrily.
“What? By having a clean surface to sit at?” Emma bites back.
Liam storms by her into the kitchen. We hear the coffee pot start and cabinets slamming. I place my arm on her shoulder as I follow Liam into the kitchen. I know he’s angry but they’re here to help him so I hope his attitude will improve.
I grab a few coffee mugs for everyone, inspecting them before placing them on a tray. Luckily they’re clean and I don’t have to offend Liam by washing them. I open the refrigerator to find a bare minimum in supplies. Coffee creamer, milk, and a few old soggy vegetables.
“I only drink coffee here. No one eats, I don’t have a chef. Or a maid. But they usually go to Rebels, and he’ll deliver takeout here for guests.” He reaches around me to grab the creamer and I shut the door.
“That’s nice of him.” Usually I would have a smartass remark, but it seems like Liam needs a friend.
“Yea, he’s saved my ass a few times.” He puts the lid on his coffee and walks back out to his siblings .
I fill each of the mugs, add creamer and sugar to the tray and follow behind him. Emma sits at the table with a pen and notebook out, and the guys are surrounding her, leaving the only open spot next to Gunnar.
I slide the tray onto the table. Thanks ring out from all the Keaton siblings.
Wyatt comes in at the last second with a box from Sweet Violets, I’m assuming their local bakery.
“Wyatt, you’re a lifesaver. Tell me there’s a donut from Margaret in there.” Emma is practically drooling at the box.
He walks over and opens the box. “You know I did. Only for you, baby sister.” He winks at her and hands her the donut before setting the box down for everyone else.
That donuts do look amazing, but I’m eyeing the cinnamon rolls the size of my head.
“Willow, you got to try these cinnamon rolls from Sweet Violets, you’ll never find a better one, I promise. Margaret has been making them since before we were even born. The day she retires will be a sad day in Balsam Cliffs.” He hands me a plate and I’m suddenly very thankful for Wyatt.
Gunnar glares in his brother’s direction.
“Careful, Wy. G here is a little territorial over his woman.” Hunter rolls his eyes.
“Mmnot his wuman,” I mumble around a mouthful of food.
“Oh, honey, you’re for sure his woman.” Hunter laughs .
My cheeks redden.
“Okay, can we get down to why we’re here?” Gunnar asks, still glaring at his brothers.
“Yea, so you can all tell me what a shitty job I’m doing.” Liam lifts his fist like he’s going to slam it on the table but then stops.
Emma takes charge, ignoring Liam’s comments, and goes around the table asking each brother for their five action items. Most are duplicates of the others but shortly Emma has a list of items sorted, and dates for things to be done, and who is going to come help. Hunter is going to ask some of his crews if they’d be open to a side job to help out with the bigger, more complicated tasks. The stairs to the cove are number one and to be done before we leave. No one wants a lawsuit on top of all the repairs.
“Okay, that leaves the books, marketing, and meals.” Emma looks around, “And probably a cleaning lady.”
“Mom was cleaning. But she slowed down when her arthritis got too bad,” Liam answers flatly.
“I’m going to put myself down for cleaning, I’ll come home every weekend and help you clean until you can find a more permanent solution. Maybe Jessica can help you out too, at least until I'm home more. I think she has a cleaning business.” She pulls out her phone and starts typing, presumably to Jessica.
“The books are a mess. And I don’t do any marketing or cooking.” Liam looks at his hands .
I wonder if he was prepared to take over the inn, or if he just thought Mr. Keaton would be more helpful. It makes me wonder what a mess this was before he took over. It seems like more than too much for one person.
“Can you do books too, Em?” Cooper asks. “You can do them from school as long as Liam emails everything to you, you’re almost done with your degree so you should be able to know what you’re doing right?”
She writes more on her notepad. “Yea, I’ll do that.” She chews on the tip of her pen.
“I don’t mind helping with marketing,” I say quietly.
“Really?” Emma asks.
“Yea, I mean I know my way around a marketing plan, and social media. I bet my sister Scarlett would be willing to help with the marketing too. If I offer to help her do the actual work she’d probably give you a good deal. She just opened her own business.” I pull out my phone to text Scarlett.
“Oh, good idea. I didn’t even think about using her.” Gunnar squeezes my hand under the table. “Scarlett runs a marketing firm that specializes in helping small businesses. She lives in Lupine Valley but has clients all over. Willow and I could manage the day to day stuff with her, and you guys could probably send anything she needs for the social media.”
Emma jots more down on her notepad.
“Ok, that leaves meals.” Emma taps the table .
“You should see if Margaret could provide some breakfast pastries.” Wyatt shoves almost a whole donut in his mouth. I can’t imagine feeding this group.
“Mmm, that would be an excellent idea. I would stay here just for the cinnamon rolls.”
“Oh yea, and what about Roman, could he cater some dinners maybe just on weekends until we can hire a chef?” Cooper asks.
“I’ll ask him. I’m going to go by and see him this afternoon to order some new beers for The Bar,” Gunnar says.
“I’ll come too,” Hunter adds.
We get the rest of the details down, and organized before splitting up to start on the list. The guys are on yard duty. Emma and I are on social media content.
With my social media presence already established, we shoot some videos and photos that we can use to post later. I texted Scarlett before coming down to the beach to ask her about helping, and of course she’s already in her research phase. Another benefit to using Scarlett is that she refuses any money for the project. She picks one business a year to help pro bono, and The Balsam Cliffs Inn just got chosen.
We work in the cove for a while, giving the guys time to spruce up the rest of the property. Gunnar was not happy that we jumped the boards to get down here .
But what choice did we have? The property wasn’t ready for filming yet.
Emma films me singing a few covers on the rock slabs, and we take a bunch of photos on the beach with some props that she had in her parent’s house, showcasing all the uses of the cove.
After a long morning of creating content, we head into town to make a grocery run. Filling the kitchen was on us.
There are still a few guests on the books and it would be nice for them to be able to choose from a few breakfast items and snacks during their stay. We also grab stuff for lunch and dinner. We can’t survive off coffee alone, even if I try daily.
Emma leaves the kitchen to go tell the guys that lunch will be ready soon.
I’m working on making sandwiches for everyone and placing a big tray together of all the condiments when arms wrap around my waist.
“Hey, darling.” His deep voice whispers in my ear.
I spin in his arms, and face a sweaty, dirt streaked Gunnar. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find it sexy. A man who works with his hands is always sexy.
“Hi.” I smile.
In his signature move, he grips the hair on the nape of my neck and tips my face closer to his. I can taste the salt on his lips from a hard day of work in the summer sun.
“Ugh, gross. Over our lunch, seriously?” Emma walks back into the kitchen .
Gunnar pulls away from me while still gripping my waist.
I pout at the loss of his lips, now that I know where his kisses can lead, I don’t ever want to be interrupted.
“Don’t worry, darling. I’ll get you bent over this table tonight.” He winks at me and walks away, snatching a sandwich off the tray.
“I thought you were different, Willow. I thought you were stronger, immune to the Keaton charm.” Emma shakes her head at me.
“Who says he isn’t under my charm?” I ask.
“The fact that you look like I stole your puppy.” She laughs and grabs one of the trays to bring to the table.
I furrow my brow before shaking it off. I’m totally under the Keaton charm, and I don’t want to get out from under it.