Chapter 46
Chapter Forty-Six
Jude
Later that afternoon
My day was hectic. We were falling into a rhythm at the resort.
We’d all grown up here and taken part in helping our parents run it, but it had been so different then.
Except for Haven and Bree, the rest of us kids had still been in school at the time.
Our version of running the resort back then was similar to Tommy’s now—tagging along when we could, helping on trips that fit around school and life.
We’d been so worried about getting this place running and bringing income in.
Now, we had more business than we knew what to do with.
That afternoon, Lincoln and I took a group for a snowshoe hike up above Heartfire Falls.
A group of photographers had wanted to catch pictures precisely when the sun angled across the falls to create the famed look of fire.
It was even more beautiful in the winter.
The water kept moving, but strands of it were frozen, glittering under the red and gold of the sunset.
“I don’t even know how you guys did this while I was gone,” Lincoln said, kicking his feet out and leaning his elbows against the bench in the gear storage room.
I let out a snort. “I’m glad you’re back—because I am glad you’re back—but yeah, we need all the help we can get.”
“What’s the plan for building the extra rooms upstairs?” he asked.
I shifted my shoulders, easing the tension bundled from carrying gear all afternoon.
“We’re gonna have to mostly hire out to get them built.
While we built this, we were just doing the firefighting trips for extra money while we worked on this.
Now that we have guests, there’s no way we can build and run this place at the same time.
That’s a conversation to have with Mom and Haven about budgeting and whatnot. ”
Lincoln let out a wondering chuckle. “Thank fuck Haven doesn’t mind the paperwork.”
“Oh, I don’t think it’s that he doesn’t mind it,” I said dryly.
Lincoln barked a laugh. “No shit. But he’s a good sport about it, and he can handle anything legal we need.” He paused, tilting his head to the side as he considered me. “Going to see Kendall tonight?” he asked.
My hesitation stretched just long enough that he narrowed his eyes.
“Dude, what the fuck? I get your whole thing around her brother, and I know it hurt you that it was right before we left. But he’s family.”
“I know.” I blew out a breath. “I’m not sure why I reacted so much to that.”
“Okay, so tonight?” he pressed.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m going over. I understand why she wants to be there for her brother.”
“Yeah, I fucking hope so. Blake’s a good guy. He went through some hell in high school, none of it his fault. And, sure, he’s got to own his own mistakes, but it seems like he’s trying. I’m not so sure he would’ve gotten to a place where he could try, if it weren’t for Kendall.”
My chest tightened just thinking of her. “I know.”
“You’ve been in love with her since, what, middle school?”
“Not since middle school,” I replied defensively.
“Okay. Maybe you didn’t grasp how much she mattered to you then. But since high school for sure.” Lincoln wasn’t letting up on me.
I rolled my eyes. “I have owned my feelings for her.”
“She knows how you feel?”
“I hope she does.”
“Then get over there. You missed her like hell while we were out there freezing our asses off. I’d like to put in a word for a limit on how many winter camping trips we offer, by the way.”
I threw my head back with a laugh. “Seriously? Hotshot firefighter? Tough guy?”
“Yeah, I don’t do that full time anymore. Winter camping is fucking freezing. Damn. The only people who want to do that are the fools who want to train for something big like climbing Denali. Here and there, others might want to, but not usually.”
We finished putting away the gear, and I hustled to take a shower in the ones we’d installed downstairs. I’d originally thought these were unnecessary. Now, I knew the plan had been smart.
After that, I got pulled into helping Haven and Asher work up a schedule for the next run of day trips. I left my phone in the storage area, not even thinking about it until Tommy came running into the kitchen.
“Kendall needs help!” he announced.
“What?” My head whipped toward him.
“She’s stuck,” Tommy explained.
“She’s stuck?”
“Yes.” He bobbed his head rapidly.
“Where?”
“In the barn.”
I was running before I could think. As I bolted past the hallway leading to the showers, Asher came walking out. “Got your phone, man,” he said.
“Why didn’t Kendall call me?” I muttered to myself as I snagged the phone from Asher and kept on moving.
“Well, she can’t. She’s stuck.” Tommy looked at me like I was an idiot.
“I’m driving!” Lincoln called, catching up as we jogged down the front stairs.
“I can drive, you know.” I couldn’t even keep the irritation out of my voice.
“Yeah, of course you can. But you don’t need to. I got it. What happened, Tommy?” Lincoln asked, calm as ever.
“I don’t know. The bus dropped me off like usual. I went into the barn and didn’t see her. But that new pig? She was squeaking, and Travis was howling over in the corner. I looked up at the hayloft and Kendall’s caught up near the top.”
Alarm jolted me. “Caught?”
“Uh-huh,” Tommy replied.
“Could you please gun it?” I said to Lincoln.
“Dude, I’m driving on a gravel road and going as fast as I can. We don’t want to spin out.”
“Is she hurt?” I asked Tommy.
“Maybe. She told me she was okay and to go get help. Before you ask, I don’t have a cell phone,” Tommy pointed out.
Lincoln stayed quiet while Tommy kept chattering. Based on what he explained, Kendall had somehow gotten lodged near the hayloft railing.
“Did she finish repairing the railing yet?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but I don’t think that’s where she fell.”
“Let’s just get there,” I muttered.
“Almost there,” Lincoln said as we neared the barn.
That half-mile from the main resort to the rescue barn felt like a hundred.