Chapter 11 Cindy #2
“I bet it’s beautiful in the spring,” he said, looking at MJ like the “it” he was talking about might be…the woman in front of him.
“Everything comes alive,” MJ told him, her blue eyes glinting like…like she was the one coming alive.
Well, well, well.
Cindy sat quietly and watched the exchange, her jaw gaping as she realized Matt hadn’t even noticed she was in the room. But he certainly noticed MJ—couldn’t tear his gaze away, in fact.
Cindy studied the guest who, up until now, had just been the guy who was paying full price for their most expensive cabin. He had rented a black Escalade, which he took out fairly frequently, but he didn’t ski and he didn’t…say why he was here all alone.
Matt Walker was probably sixty-six, maybe sixty-seven years old, with a few silver streaks in short chestnut hair. He wore glasses, had a mustache, sported the healthy glow of a tan, and had broad shoulders that looked like he’d been no stranger to hard work during his life.
Matt took a few steps closer, ignoring the tree but looking directly at MJ. “I’d love to see this place in the spring. Can I book for April?”
“Absolutely!”
Cindy sat up a little bit, the movement enough to pull Matt’s attention.
“So nice to see you out of your office, Ms. Kessler,” he said.
“Oh, it’s just Cindy, please. Yes, I’m the family workaholic. Guilty as charged.”
“You have a great lodge,” he said. “And you…” He turned back to MJ as if he simply had looked elsewhere for too long. “Run the best kitchen in these mountains. I might have to walk an extra mile, but those scones were worth it.”
MJ’s cheeks turned even pinker. “I knew you liked them, so there’s a small container of a few extras next to your gloves.”
“Thank you,” he said, eyes twinkling as he turned back to the tree. “You certainly have your work cut out for you. Do you want help with the top?”
“We’ll get help when my grandson shows up after school. With the ladder and a lot of direction, he’ll get the star up there.”
“Ah, Benny,” he said. “The resident smarty-pants.”
MJ laughed, but Cindy was just a little surprised that this guest had been making friends and getting to know the people at the lodge. She’d hardly talked to him. Admittedly, she’d been a little preoccupied with Jack.
“Well, then, I’ll let you get to work,” he said, gesturing toward the tree. “I’ll grab those gloves—and scones—and slip out the back. Have fun, ladies.”
With that, he disappeared toward the kitchen, with MJ smiling even after he was gone.
“My, my, my,” Cindy said, tucking her feet under her on the sofa. “Where have I been this past week?”
MJ reached into a box. “Getting reacquainted with Jack.”
She’d walked right into that. “While you’re flirting with Matt Walker of Cabin Five.”
She shot straight up. “I do not flirt, thank you very much.”
“No, you just make extra scones and…blush.”
“Stop it.”
“No,” Cindy said on a laugh that only a sister would understand. “He likes you, MJ, and I’m going out on a limb to say it just might go both ways.”
MJ shot her a look. “No one likes me, Cin.”
“Everyone likes you,” Cindy corrected. “How much time have you been spending with that guest?”
“A little, here and there. You don’t have to act like I’m fraternizing or something.”
Cindy snorted. “Whatever that is. And I think it’s great.”
“Oh, look.” MJ dangled an ornament. “Mom always liked these miniature ski poles shaped as a Christmas tree.”
“Change the subject much?” Cindy pointed at her, pushing up to rehang a bright red ball because seeing where MJ put it actually hurt. “He’s nice, though. Where is he from? What does he do? Does he have a family?”
“He doesn’t talk much about that,” MJ said. “I think he’s from Florida. Mostly we just chat and…”
“Fraternize.” Cindy gave a playful elbow jab. “Hey, it’s nice to have the heat off Jack and me for a change.”
“It’s not off,” MJ quipped as she reached for her phone and read the screen. “Gracie’s on her way with Benny. They’ll be here in half an hour.” She pressed the small of her back. “Time for a break and some tea.”
“Good. I want to talk to you about something anyway.”
“Please drop the subject of Matt Walker.”
“Maybe,” Cindy joked. “But sadly, what I want to talk about is not your favorite subject.”
MJ frowned. “That sounds like…money. I thought things were looking up.”
“They are,” she said. “Let’s have tea and I’ll tell you.”
A few minutes later, they sat alone at the big farmhouse table, with MJ’s elderberry tea and two of those scones Matt raved about. Late afternoon winter sun poured over them as Cindy told MJ about the man Gracie had met who was interested in investing in Snowberry.
“So, he’d get a piece of the business?” MJ asked, breaking her pastry. “Like a percentage of our profits?”
“Which are so meager it doesn’t amount to much,” Cindy assured her.
“But if we use his money for big ticket items—like all new bathrooms in the lodge and the cabins, work on the roof, and some improvements in this kitchen—we’d still have enough left over to run a really aggressive ad campaign and pay next year’s taxes. ”
“And this year’s?” MJ asked.
“I think we’re going to cover them,” Cindy said, crossing her fingers. “Think about this, too, MJ. After we’ve done the renovations, we can charge more, we’ll get more business, and he’ll make his investment back faster. He has to have ‘skin in the game,’ as he says.”
“But that kind of money?” MJ lifted her brows. “That’s a lot of skin.”
“Which is why a ten percent partnership is really a good deal for us. It’s way less than what a bank would charge for interest. And we both know we can’t get to where we need to be without some fat cash, and this is it.”
MJ sipped her tea, looking out the windows, considering it all. “What do you know about him?”
“Henry? He’s very nice, has tons of property investments. And Gracie liked him so much she introduced us.”
“My daughter is usually a good judge of character.” She made a face. “Except for Sam Sutton. We all make mistakes.”
Cindy rolled her eyes at the mention of Benny’s father.
He’d been a serious boyfriend who grew shockingly unserious after he found out Gracie was pregnant.
She thought they were going to get married, but he took off for a “job” in Las Vegas and told her the best he could do was send some money now and then.
“But we got Benny,” Cindy said, thinking of how that was all the same year Jack left—such dark days. “And he’s a win.”
“He is, although I’ve barely seen him this past week.” MJ turned her phone over to see if Gracie had texted. “I can’t wait to get him working on that tree.”
Cindy broke off a bite of scone. “You’ll need to agree to this deal before I go through with it,” she said. “We own this place fifty-fifty, and I can’t—and won’t—go forward if you’re not comfortable.”
“Oh, Cin, I don’t understand business like you do.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. You know every person who’s ever stayed here, what their favorite dessert is, and how fast they ski. Your memory for our guests is downright freaky.”
“Because of my photo albums. Which reminds me…” MJ leaned in with a playful smile. “I need to get Matt Walker’s picture and add him to the collection.”
Cindy laughed and pointed her scone at her. “I knew you liked him!”
“No, I don’t. You know I take a picture of every guest who stays here.” She gestured to the row of albums. “Why would he be any different?”
“Because he makes you blush.”
MJ looked down at her own pastry, that color rising. “So, what do you want to do about the Henry person?” she asked, obviously changing the subject.
“Make a decision together, I guess,” Cindy said. “As I understand it, we’ll each get five percent less from our profits. But since the influx of capital would allow us to renovate and potentially double our business, I think it really means much more security for us and for the girls.”
MJ lifted a shoulder. “I might be interested. But, goodness, Cindy. No one has ever owned an inch of this place but a Starling.”
“I know,” Cindy said. “And part of me thinks that’s how it should stay. But another part of me—the one with the spreadsheets and sleepless nights? She thinks this might be the answer.”
“I need to consider it,” MJ said. “And I’d like to meet him.”
“You might have met him already,” Cindy said. “He said he came over here and scoped the place out, walked the property, went into the ski shed.”
“I don’t remember that,” MJ said. “But we have had a lot of walk-throughs with the sleigh. Can I set up something more official?”
“Of course,” Cindy said. “That’s the next natural step.” A movement outside the window caught her eye—a flash of red as Benny zoomed by.
A second later, the back door burst open. “Let’s decorate a tree!” he exclaimed, rushing to MJ. “Did you save the star for me, Grandma?”
She hugged him and kissed his head, straightening his little glasses. “I sure did, Benny. Where’s your mommy?”
“In the ski shed. Nicole asked her to work this afternoon.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Cindy said, remembering that Nicole was going to try skiing again, this time with Brianna. She’d asked Cindy not to mention it to Jack, hoping she could surprise him with good news when she finally got her ski legs back.
“Can I see the tree?” Benny pleaded. “I heard it’s huge!”
“It is that.” MJ got up, scone, tea, and investments forgotten in the face of her darling grandson. “I’ll be right back, Cin.”
“Take your time,” she said. “I’ll finish this scone and send a text to Henry. Benny, don’t let her do haphazard decorating.”
“I don’t know what that means,” he said in his boyish voice as they walked off.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say those words.” Cindy laughed. “Just look at the tree and you’ll know.”
She heard their laughter and chatter as they walked back to the great room. Cindy sat for a moment in the quiet, picking up her phone to text Henry. The conversation had gone well, and she was one step closer to getting all she’d ever wanted—security.
Just then, she heard the sound of bells and looked outside.
There, Jack was bringing in a sleigh full of happy riders—wearing his full 1800s regalia, top hat and all, making the event memorable and Instagram-perfect.
Even from here, he looked handsome and dear and familiar and wonderful, and that same old ache filled her whole body.
So maybe security wasn’t all she wanted in the world. Part of her—a big, emotional, romantic, lonely part of her—wanted a second chance with Jack Kessler.