Thirty-nine
It was all hands on deck—or, more specifically, luggage—the next day as the lodge opened for the season. Levi shouldn’t have been surprised by the efficiency and hospitality of the Keller family, but he was. They moved like a well-oiled unit, checking guests in, showing them around, organizing activities and events. For his part, Levi pitched in where he could and kept things running in the kitchen with Chef Shane. They’d chatted a fair amount and the older man was looking forward to this being his last summer at the lodge. Though, he did say he might bring his husband for a couple of weekend getaways.
Levi and Jilly had woken early this morning, and after greeting the day in a way that felt more like a dream than reality, they’d re-dressed the room and made it to the staff meeting with time to spare.
The lodge was fully booked for the entire first week and many of the weeks after that, with check-ins and check-outs overlapping each other. Mr. Keller and Grayson took care of ferrying guests over while Jilly and Ollie got everyone to their rooms. Mrs. Keller helped one of their high school students answer phones and work the front desk. Mateo, who seemed to do a little of everything, helped bring dishes in from the dining room after the lunch service.
Levi thanked him as the kid switched gears to take a group on a short hike. Ideas swirled in his head for how to streamline what they offered for each of the three meals and snacks. Shane was making him a list of suppliers that he currently used.
“Busy day,” Shane said. “Once those muffins come out of the oven, we’ll put them aside for snacks. Between those, your granola, and the individual snacks Jilly picked up, there’ll be enough for guests who get hungry in between.”
“This place is amazing,” Levi said, tossing a cloth over his shoulder. They’d served an easy lunch of sandwiches on homemade bread with an assortment of salads that were packed with protein for those heading on the hike.
“There’s no stopping the Keller siblings when they set their minds to something,” Shane said with a pseudo-fatherly pride.
“It’s pretty inspiring,” Levi commented, starting to clean the counter. They’d do a family-style dinner of spaghetti and meatballs with salad and garlic bread, and apple turnovers for dessert. He had a lot to learn about creating larger quantities while still putting his own twist on things. He’d cooked for more people at one time—one of the dining rooms he’d worked at sat 150 people—but this was different. People wanted hearty, solid meals that provided comfort and tasted delicious.
Not wanting to get in Chef’s way as he took the muffins out of the oven, Levi took the hallway down to the laundry room. He had a load of dishcloths in the dryer. Once that was folded and put away, he’d see if he could help in another capacity, since he was prepped for dinner. He was changing a few things in the small office off of the kitchen that Shane used, making it his own. If no one needed help, he might take a look at the suppliers and ven dors. A few changes could cut costs and make things more locally sourced. A lot of what they used could be ordered online, so he wanted to set up accounts. Shane was old school, preferring to head to the mainland, but Levi didn’t want that time commitment.
Unloading the dryer contents onto the makeshift countertop over the appliances, he began folding as Jilly walked in.
She stopped when she saw him, laundry basket in hand. “Hi.”
His heart did a weird little two-step. “Hi.” He stepped over to her, took the laundry basket, set it down in front of the washer.
She laughed, and though he knew she was tired, he also knew neither of them was sorry for it. He hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her close, kissing the laughter out of her. She kissed him back, her hands moving to his hips, then slipping under his shirt so her fingers could dance over his skin and drive him nuts.
He couldn’t stop the little growl that left his throat when she pushed into him, sending him back a step into the washer. His fingers tightened on her hips and he considered lifting her up, barely remembering that it wasn’t the right time or place when a loud beeping startled them both.
Jillian jumped back. “What is that?”
Keeping one hand on her waist, he turned, saw he’d run into the buttons on the washer and activated the midcycle pause button. He pressed it off, turned back to Jillian.
“Everything okay?” Shane called from the kitchen.
Jillian covered her mouth with one hand, laughter shining in her gaze.
“All good. Sorry. Wrong button,” Levi called. He pulled Jilly close again, brushing her hair away from her face. She looked so pretty with it down around her shoulders. The pale pink Get Lost Lodge crewneck sweater was a little baggy on her frame. The humor in her gaze was enough to brighten up the dimness of the laundry room.
He poked her arm playfully. “What are you laughing at? If my boss catches me in here making out with his sister, I could get fired.”
She put her hands on his chest, went up on her tiptoes, and kissed his cheek. “No way. You’ve blended in seamlessly. The guests are raving about the food already. I think he’s stuck with you.”
Levi hugged her tight. “You’re stuck with me, too.”
He was pretty sure both of their grins bordered on being silly, like they couldn’t believe what they had between them was real.
“I like being stuck with you,” she whispered into another kiss. It was too short for his liking. “I’m going to take Ollie home, much to her disappointment. She’s going to help my mom start sorting through old boxes in the basement to clear space. Do you want a ride back to Smile with me? I’ll be back before dinner.”
“Yes, please. I’ll be ready to go in about twenty minutes. Just want to get the dishcloths and towels put away.”
“Okay. Ollie is out working on an herb garden with my mom. I’ll tell them we’ll be ready to go shortly.”
He stepped aside, because if he wanted things to work, he should actually work while he was supposed to. Folding the laundry as she started her load of towels, he glanced over at her.
“My dad wanted to go over some ideas for the basement with your parents, but I know everyone is busy so I thought I could meet with him tonight. I chatted with them for a while last week and have an idea of what they want. If his preliminary sketches are guided by that, it might make things move quicker.”
Jilly started the washer and smiled at him. “That sounds perfect. I’m glad things are going better with you and your dad.”
“Me, too. It’s not perfect, but what is?” He said the words out loud but answered them in his own head. You. You’re perfect for me, Jillian Keller.
“We’re going to grab a beer at Bros’ after I’m done here tonight. If we can sort through ten years of misunderstandings, maybe those two can as well.”
“Let’s hope so,” Jillian said thoughtfully. He liked her thinking face. He liked everything about her. She picked up one of the cloths, folded it, and set it on the pile he’d started. “I think we each get wrapped up in our versions of how we expect things to go, and then when others don’t fall in line, we feel a disappointment we shouldn’t.”
Levi set the cloth down, focused only on her. “What do you mean?”
Jillian met his gaze. “With your dad, he obviously thought you’d grow up and work alongside him. When you didn’t, he wasn’t disappointed in you but the loss of what he’d imagined. I don’t know what happened between Leo and Liam but I would imagine it’s similar. And when I fell apart last week, I was thinking about how I owed it to Ollie to make choices that would lead to the least amount of conflict.”
“I don’t have experience as a parent but I can understand why you’d want to save her heartache and pain.”
Jillian stepped closer. “I think that’s true when you care about anyone, but it’s not realistic. Instead, I realized I need to show her how to embrace life and all it offers, and that includes learning to pick up the pieces if it falls apart.”
With a hand on her waist, he pulled her close, bent his knees so he could stare into her beautiful eyes and so she could see the truth in his. “We won’t fall apart, Jilly. I love you too much to let that happen.”
“I know. I realized that, too. I feel so lucky that I can believe in that and in you. Loving you and letting you love me back makes me stronger, and it makes me sure that there’s nothing we can’t do together.”
Levi grinned, happiness like a vibration running through him. “There’s so much I want to do together .” He kissed her, backed her up to the dryer with his hands gripping her hips.
“You get lost back there, Bright?” Shane’s loud voice called from the kitchen.
Levi pulled away and stared into Jillian’s eyes. “Be right there,” he called back, pulling Jillian into his arms again. There was no one on earth he’d rather get lost in, or with.