Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Jasper
The next morning, waking up to Sheridan in a bed that wasn’t in a guest room in the resort was even better than the first time we’d fallen asleep together.
After breakfast, I left a chipper Sheridan under the guise of going home to change before I helped her tackle a few closets.
Then I went home, did what I had said I would, and went right to Aunt Linda’s.
For some reason, I looked over my shoulder before I knocked on my aunt’s door. Was I scared someone would see me? No one else knew about the trust outside of my family, and it wouldn’t make it back to Sheridan. Would she think I was coddling her by doing this? I just needed information.
Uncle Darren opened the door, dressed like he was about to head to the golf course. Behind him, my aunt was putting her shoes on.
“Jasper. This is a surprise.” He assessed me and probably guessed at why I was here.
I never stopped by otherwise. I liked my aunt and uncle well enough, but my dad had gotten all the charm and the knack for small talk.
Linda was quiet, and Darren, for all his many opinions, really did keep them to himself.
He might frown disapprovingly. Whenever they gave us an excuse for missing any family gathering, I suspected it was because they wanted to skip the inevitable awkwardness.
Unfortunately, none of us minded. “Sorry I didn’t call first. I was just hoping to talk for a minute.”
Linda straightened and gave me a tight smile. “Is it about the cabin?”
“How’d you guess?”
Darren gave her a knowing look, and she nodded. He stepped to the side.
In their little ranch home, the scent of bacon surrounded me. I had just come from a tidy breakfast with Sheridan of the leftovers of what we’d made last night.
Linda crossed her arms. “Is there something about the rules that you have a question on?”
No. She would recite them if any of us brought up the trust. “It’s about the sale. Am I right in assuming that you’re going to sell?”
She lifted her chin. “Are you asking on behalf of Miss Bishop?”
Linda was astute. She’d put two and two together. “I think she’s deserving of it.”
“Yes, well.” Her expression flicked back to Darren.
My uncle rubbed his chin. “Can Miss Bishop make the same offer the Recreation Expansion Group made?”
“Who?”
“REG,” Linda said. “They want to build a hotel and retreat area.”
Shock slapped me across the face. They’d already talked to her? “The people who want to turn the bay into a party area?”
Darren frowned. “They don’t describe it like that.”
“They wouldn’t, would they?” When his frown deepened, I dropped my head. Reel it in, Jasper. “I was only trying to do right by Sheridan.”
“I should hope so.” Linda put her hand over her chest. “It’s not worth a little land to break the girl’s heart.”
What if she had broken mine?
According to my mom, Linda’s concern about the trust and signing off on our marriage came from her own broken heart. Before she met Darren, she had been married for monetary gains and it had devastated her. The whole restriction was Grandma Annie’s failsafe for us. Or some shit.
“She really cares.” My aunt valued honesty, so that was what I’d aim for. “She wants to do right too. By the property, by the guests, by her employees, and by the town. Bishop’s Landing is important to her. If you sell to RPG, she’ll have to sell.”
“REG,” Darren said.
I didn’t care.
“It’s definitely something we’ll consider,” Linda said softly. “But, Jasper, their offer was life-changing money.”
“Yeah. I know,” I countered, frustrated that money was Sheridan’s real rival. “Sheridan’s changed her life with no promise of income. She’s already done a one-eighty to save everything.”
“You care about her.” Linda wasn’t asking a question.
A whole lot. I couldn’t quit thinking about her either. I might want more, I might be a realist like Sheridan, but it didn’t mean I’d ignore how I really felt about her. “Yes.”
She let out a sigh and cast another glance at Darren. “Truth be told, Jasper, I’m tabling any decision until I’m released to sell. Who knows.” She tossed her hands up. “You might still get married.”
My stomach was lined with lead. “I asked her. She said no.”
Linda snapped her mouth shut. “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it had progressed that much between you two.” She brushed her hair behind her ear. “Seems to be how it is with the Dukes.”
“Right?” My laughter came out weak. So far, we’d all been lucky at keeping the more duplicitous details of all the relationships from our aunt and uncle. “I should let you two go. I know we’re both helpless here, but I thought I’d plead Sheridan’s case.”
Linda’s expression lightened. “Just keep doing right by her, and it’ll all work out.”
I doubted it. I’d already fucked up, and it’d cost me the job I kept telling myself would be temporary. It might cost me the woman that I was obsessing too much about.
Sheridan
After Jasper had returned from changing clothes, he had more condoms. We used sex as a reward for cleaning. Only two closets had gotten done yesterday, but I hadn’t been tied up in emotions and not one tear had been shed. The only crying I’d done was Jasper’s name.
Now I was in my office, catching up on orders from the weekend and cruising through books.
I tapped a pen against my desk and studied the numbers.
They were down. Summer was half over, and the number of reservations was also down five percent.
The number shouldn’t be concerning, and each week could bring new reservations, but… shit.
I rubbed a painful thump at my temples. There was a knock at the door.
Hope rose when I lifted my head, but it was Paola hovering in the opening.
“Hey, Sheridan.” She pointed toward the restaurant. “There are some people here who would like to talk to you.”
“Oh.” I rose and smoothed out my jean shorts. Of course it was the day I decided to dress down after a weekend of packing. I’d had an exhausting, in a good way, but also emotional weekend. “Do you know who they are?”
“Two guys and a woman. Business casual. They didn’t give me any info.”
Dang. I followed Paola to the dining area and plastered on a big smile when I walked toward the group. They were dressed nicer than I was, yet they were sitting casually, waters in front of each of them. I wouldn’t get answers from staring at them. “Hello, I’m Sheridan Bishop.”
One of the men stood. He was about my age with thinning blond hair and a cleft chin. “Hi, Miss Bishop. We’re really sorry to bother you, but we wanted to stop in and give you our card. I’m Lawrence, and this is Leon and Melody. We’re with Recreational Expansion Group.”
He handed me a business card. I peered harder at the familiar background. A lake with a sharp cliff on the other side. Bishop’s Bay. It was like they’d claimed it as theirs already.
Suddenly territorial, I almost flung the card back. “You guys are trying to build out here.”
He ducked his head. “We’re trying to do exactly what our name suggests.”
“But Bishop’s Landing is doing it.”
Leon scooted to the edge of the booth, his dress shirt stretching over his chest. There was a fine crack in the leather behind his leg. I pulled my gaze away in case none of them had noticed the worn state of the property.
“I’m a big fan,” Leon said, interest lighting his brown eyes. “We used to come up here and visit my aunt. My dad insisted on coming here each time too.”
“I probably waited on you,” I said woodenly. Pride resonated inside me.
Lawrence clasped his hands together. “I know you might not be thinking of selling, but if you ever are, please keep us in mind.”
They were just the right kind of pushy, yet pleasant.
Worse, they seemed genuine. The kind of considerate that would make me think seriously about things like offers and closing dates.
Yet they didn’t have a family legacy driving them.
They likely didn’t harbor the same sense of obligation to the area and the people in it. I had that going for me.
Not much else.
“We’ll make it worth your while,” Melody said as if she knew what was coming was increasingly tempting. “This area is lovely, and we want to keep it going forever.”
So did I. “Yes. Okay.”
Would I be able to continue? They had money. They had assets. I was a washed-up real estate agent who could barely keep my real estate going. I was a failure.
They were all looking at me. I flipped the business card through my fingers. I closed my hand around it, crinkling the edges. I had time. My doors were still open, and I’d keep ramming myself into them until they stayed that way permanently.
“Thank you. Enjoy your meal.” My smile might’ve looked unhinged, but I attempted one before I walked away.
When I pushed out of the restaurant, I didn’t go back to my office. REG’s visit solidified some decisions while upending everything else. I continued out the front door and through the parking lot. Clouds banked in the distance. A storm was coming, but the temperature hadn’t dropped yet.
I continued over the grass to the shop. The side door was open. He closed the big door when the sun was shining in. I didn’t bother to knock. Was he even in here, or was he inside working on the bed frame Landon had reported as busted?
Clinging heat surrounded me the further in I got. Jasper’s wide shoulders were at the workbench. My cheeks heated even more when the memory of looking up at him rose up. Had I really done that?
But seeing his strong back and the way the denim molded over his ass, I’d do it again. It’d take my mind off what just happened.
He cranked his head to glance over his shoulder. “Hey, boss. I thought I heard something.” He turned from what must be part of the wooden bed frame. “But I figured you’d had enough of me over the weekend.”
“I got this goddamn business card,” I blurted out.
His grin faded when his gaze dropped to my outstretched hand holding the business card.
His boots thudded against the floor as he crossed to me. His jaw flexed when he read it. “REG.”
There was a finality to his tone. The sense of betrayal I thought I had dealt with cropped back up. “You’ve heard of them?”
“Uh, yeah.” He took his ball cap off and pushed a hand through his hair. “I talked to Linda and she told me. They made her a life-changing offer.”
A maniacal laugh left me. “They didn’t even throw a number out. Just said to give them a call.” As if it was a foregone conclusion.
Was it? Was it obvious to everyone but me?
He plucked the card out of my grip and tossed it behind him. Then he pulled me into him for a hug. I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest. His comforting warmth surrounded me, totally different from the heat of the day.
Still, this wasn’t enough to soothe the splash of reality I just got. “I had just been looking at numbers too.”
“Not good?”
“Is trending downward good?” I squeezed my eyes shut and burrowed further into him. His heart beat steadily underneath my cheeks. “I don’t care. I’m hanging on to the bitter end.” I might believe it if I repeated it enough.
“You’re turning around a ship. The resort is small, but it’s not a speedboat. You’ve only been at this for a couple of months.”
“Mom could do it.” She’d kept the resort alive with less. But she didn’t have this type of competition.
He rubbed his hands up and down my back. “Your mom sounds like an amazing person, but you’re not her. You’re going to see this place through different eyes.”
I just grunted my reply, soaking up the soothing rhythm of his touch. “She had a lot of skills I don’t.”
“Do you think that maybe your family got down on you just because you didn’t do it their way? That your way is perfectly fine and can also work?”
“My way is flat broke.”
“Well, there’s that too.”
I laughed against him, loving how the rumble of his chuckle passed through me. “It’s not time to give up yet, and that’s good enough.”
“If they buy your property—”
“It’s not my property,” he said calmly. “And it’s not theirs either. So what are you going to do, boss?”
I tipped my head back and trailed my fingers down his hard jaw. The stubble tickled my skin. He always had my back. “I’m going to clean out the house and get it up for rental.”
His brows lifted. “Where are you going to stay? I can ask Alder about some rentals.”
“No renting. I need every advantage right now. I’ll stay in whatever room is empty in the resort.
” I’d sleep in my office if I had to. “I need to talk to Maria.” A long list of tasks downloaded in my head regarding the physical work and logistics.
Determination lined my bones. “Starting with cleaning all of Mom’s stuff out and finding storage for it. ”
“There’s plenty of room in the shop.” His hold on me tightened. “Are you sure you’re okay with that?”
“Yeah.” I didn’t have to think about it. It gave me something to do besides despair at my desk. “It’s not to make room for someone else but for the resort, and that feels right. It didn’t feel right for me to live there.”
Packing Mom’s things had been cathartic, but the only time I didn’t feel like a guest was when Jasper had been over. I tried stepping away, but his hold wouldn’t budge.
“I should get to work.” Even though I would be content to stay. Right here, in this circle, the outside world was muted.
“You sure you’re okay with the change?”
I nodded. “It’s either give up the house to rent or lose it altogether.”
“Let me finish up here.” Finally, his arms loosened, and I nearly cuddled against him harder.
I was giving up my home. Again. But it was for a reason. Again. To keep going. Again.
“I’ll grab something from the restaurant and be over to help.”
“You don’t have to—”
“With both of us, it won’t take much to get it ready to rent.”
He was right. I could tackle the process alone, maybe cry a little when I got to Mom’s personal possessions, but with him there, it wouldn’t seem so bad. Nothing ever did when I was with him.