Chapter 1 #2
Aiden closed his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Ford ran a hand through his hair, dividing glances between Aiden, Addison, and me. And Beck…Beck just looked resigned.
I may not have worked at this resort, but it was as much mine as it was theirs. And none of them was in the right mind to take the reins, too close to see the forest for the trees. So I did what I did best and stepped up to take the lead.
“Tell us what you need from us,” I said to Addison.
The corner of her mouth twitched—the only sign of her gratefulness—and she nodded. “Ford, I’ll need your help working through a list. We don’t have much of a budget, but—”
“Do what you need,” I said. “I’ll cover it.”
She pursed her lips like she wanted to argue but must’ve thought better of it, because she continued with a short nod.
“I’d like to get as much cosmetic work done as we can.
We need to make this seem like a no-brainer.
That Starlight Cove is the perfect, picturesque location with perfect, quaint residents.
That it’s basically a modern-day Mayberry set on the ocean, and this resort is the perfect getaway for some peace and quiet. ”
Ford crossed his arms and nodded. “That should be easy enough.”
Addison snorted. “Normally, yes. But after Brady cuffed his friend yesterday, I’m not so sure.”
“My friend?” I asked, incredulous. That insufferable woman wasn’t anything remotely close to a friend. “Aren’t you the one who kept telling me not to arrest her again?”
Ford glanced at me, brows raised. “Wait…who are you arresting? And what do you mean again?”
Addison waved a hand to dismiss his questions, her focus still on me. “I know you have some vendetta against Luna doing yoga on our property—”
“For the twelfth time, Addison, she doesn’t have a license,” I snapped.
“And, as you’ve so eloquently put it, we’re broke.
If she’s doing yoga on our property, she”—I held up my hand and counted off on my fingers—“one, needs a fucking license to do so, and two, should pay us for the use of the land, at the very least, considering we’re broke. ”
“That’s—” She cut herself off, her head tipping to the side. Before saying anything else, she pulled out her phone, her thumbs a blur on her screen as she mouthed whatever note she was writing herself. “That’s actually not a bad idea…” she murmured.
“What’s not a bad idea?” Beck snapped. “Jesus, woman, I’m going to cut off your morning coffee if you can’t focus during these meetings.”
“Don’t threaten the person with the contacts to get you your beloved blackberry vanilla bourbon jam.” She glared at Beck, who looked like he wanted to strangle her but finally settled back in his seat with nothing more than a grunt.
“As I was saying…” She raised her eyebrows at us, as if daring us to talk back. When none of us did, she continued, “Right now, I’m more worried about what’s going on at the boundary of the resort. Luna’s latest stunt is drawing negative attention.”
“The development of the land,” Aiden clarified, sorting through his stack of papers before he found what he was looking for and tossing it to the middle of the table.
The glossy, trifold brochure boasted a company called Holton Real Estate Group.
Showcased on the front of the pamphlet was a variety of buildings they’d done, all big-box stores.
Unlike the house flippers who’d swooped in, made their changes, and fucked over the town without so much as a peep, this company had held a meeting in town hall and informed everyone about their plans.
From what they’d shown, this new store would bring more jobs into Starlight Cove—something we could definitely use—and provide a shopping experience we’d usually have to drive an hour-plus for.
It would breathe some much-needed life back into the town, which would bring more revenue, which would be a good thing for all the residents and businesses, us included.
“More accurately, her protesting it,” Aiden said. “Brady took her to the station yesterday for it, but she swore she’d be back.”
I grunted in the affirmative. “The she-devil doesn’t know when to quit.”
“Okay, so what does this have to do with the resort and the article?” Ford asked, brows drawn.
“Any stink that’s raised around town could be a sign to the magazine that Starlight Cove is too volatile of a destination to promote,” Addison said.
“Their whole vibe is rest and relaxation, and driving past a protester chained to a tree with sirens flashing just to get to the resort doesn’t exactly scream peaceful. ”
“I hardly think that old bat Mabel and her Facebook Lives will draw enough negative attention to warrant concern,” Beck muttered dryly.
“Maybe not. But if this journalist shows up and catches wind of it, or if Luna refuses to back down without a fight, that could draw enough attention to be a detriment to us,” Addison said.
I scrubbed a frustrated hand over my short beard and sighed.
With all the work that needed to be done on the resort, the last thing any of them needed to worry about was this thorn of a woman who was hell-bent on making our lives as difficult as possible.
“You guys just focus on getting the resort spruced up as quickly as possible. I’ll handle Luna.
Besides, maybe she’ll surprise us and give up. ”
My radio crackled to life, and my deputy’s voice rang out. “Sheriff, we’ve got a trespasser down at the old Williamson property. Reports claim she’s chained herself to a tree. Again.”
“Well, so much for that.” Beck stood and slapped a hand on my shoulder. “But maybe swing by the diner on your way out. I’ll send you with something to sweeten the deal since your approach can be a bit…brusque.”
That was something, at least, because I didn’t think Luna would be inclined to agree to help us after I’d read her her rights and tossed her, handcuffed, into the back of my patrol car for the second day in a row.