Chapter 2 #2
“The main thing is you’re safe.” She smiles at me and leans in closer, hugging me.
“I hope you plan to stay for a while because two years has been too long. You’ve left your job, so stay with me at the lodge.
You can work there, maybe do some event planning to bring more tourists into Rusty’s Bend. ”
“But I thought the lodge was mostly for convicts working there for community service?” I breathe heavily.
“Hm,” says Grandma with a smile. “Things have changed. We’ve expanded the main lodge for adventure tours, while still continuing our half way house program.
We have two couples there now, enjoying the great outdoors.
I invested some of my savings. And those working for their community services are still there, but located in the older huts closer to the woods. ”
“Oh, you never told me you did that,” I say, nudging her gently.
She grins cheekily. “I intended to surprise you after I planned to invite you home for Christmas. But you’re home earlier, so now you’ll get to see what I’ve been working on.”
“I can’t wait to see the place. Anyway, I meant to ask you, how do you even know Roman? You sure he’s trustworthy?”
She scratches her head, worry shadowing her eyes.
“He’s always been honest, Lucy. He completes all the jobs I give him.” She folds her hands. “I’ll get the truth out of him.”
She collects the tart box off the table. “I need to eat one of these, as I keep smelling the lemon curd.” She hands me the box, and of course I take one. And soon enough, both of us are devouring our tarts.
I’ve popped the last bit into my mouth when a figure steps into the doorway.
“Eve Rose! Looking better every single day!”
Grandma flinches, then laughs at herself as we both stare at the six-foot-tall man in a striped suit entering the room. An explosion of cologne floods the room, and for the life of me, I don’t know this man.
“Mayor West,” Grandma says, and out comes a smile I know very well. The one she keeps polished for health inspectors. “How kind of you to pay me a visit.”
When I left two years ago, the mayor was an ancient named Whitlock who spent more time fishing than managing the town. This one must be new, I’m guessing.
“And who,” the mayor says, swinging his gaze toward me, “is this?” His attention sweeps over the wheelchair, my bandage and face. His smile widens. “No. Don’t tell me. The resemblance! You have to be the granddaughter.”
“Lucy,” I say and offer my good hand.
He shakes it, and his palm is smooth. “Lucy! Just wonderful that you’ve come back to help your grandmother through all this.” He turns his gaze on her. “It’s always wonderful when family comes to help, especially if you’re looking to divest yourself of that lodge.”
“Divest?” Grandma says, her eyebrows furrowing together.
“What with the weather making it more difficult to reach the place, and how the smallest accident landed you in the hospital…”
My grandma stiffens, chin raised. “I am not letting go of the Crimson Pine Lodge, Gerald. We’ve had this conversation several times. I recall each one. I broke my ankle, not my head.”
The mayor laughs, hands up as if in defense. “Eve. I’m just here to help, but you need to be honest with yourself. There’s a lot of land for you to manage on your own, and you aren’t getting any younger to be alone out there.”
My jaw almost hits the bed.
“She’s not alone,” I pipe in. “That’s why I’ve come home. I can stay and work as long as she needs me. So now you can sleep peacefully at night, Mr. West.”
He turns the greasy smile on me. “Admirable,” he insists. “But between us, is that forest safe for a young Omega on her own? Especially after the terrible incident that happened to you out there just yesterday. Heard all about that attack.” He shakes his head.
I glare at the man playing this game. “News travels fast around here,” I say lightly.
“Small town.” He tucks his hands into the pockets of his pants. “I make it my business to know when one of my townspeople gets injured.”
Before I decide to bare my teeth, a nurse bustles in with a blood pressure cuff and zero patience. “Sorry, folks, I need the room for a few minutes. Visitors out, please, until I’m done with Eve.”
I stand up and walk myself into the hallway, refusing to use the wheelchair in front of this man. He follows.
“You appear to be a sensible young woman,” the mayor starts.
Nope.
“Your grandmother is a wonderful woman but stubborn, and that’s going to get her in trouble, like how she ended up in the hospital.
You can help her.” He angles down toward me, and my skin crawls.
“Help her see reason that if she sold the lodge, she’d never worry about money again, and neither would you. Don’t you want her to enjoy her life?”
My stomach turns as alarm bells go off. For as long as we’ve been living in the woods, we’ve had someone trying to buy it from us, because ultimately, the piece of land my grandma owns boasts acres of untouched forest. She gets a say on how much logging she permits, but of course, everyone else sees dollar signs. The new mayor seems no different.
The problem is that my grandma is getting old, and aside from me, there’s no one else in the family she’d leave the lodge to.
I don’t plan to settle down. I love my grandma, but I decided a long time ago that I’m not a family person.
Because what if I discover I’m a horrible person like my real parents?
What if I abandon my children just like they did with me? I’m not sure I could live with myself…
“I’ll think about it,” I say sarcastically. Then we stand there in silence for a few moments before the nurse pokes her head out. “You can come back in.”
I’m through the door before the mayor finishes straightening his jacket. He follows just long enough to perform his farewell, a little bow to Grandma, then he gives me a knowing look and strolls out of the room.
I grind my teeth and say nothing until I’m certain he’s a fair distance from us.
“You can’t sell to him,” I blurt out the second his footsteps fade. “Grandma, that man is…”
“Oh, don’t worry about him. I’ve outlasted worse men in my life.” She pats the bed until I join her again. “Now, before Ethan arrives, you’re going to tell me all about Miami.”
I laugh softly and lean against her. “I missed you so much.” Then I tell her everything. Losing my job, the parts of Miami I loved, the things I definitely didn’t, even showing her photos on my phone that somehow never made it into our messages.
Being back here, tucked against her side, I realize just how much I needed this.
Grandma has never been like family. She is my family.
The only person who’s ever chosen me every single day of my life.
The lodge is where I learned to bake, climbed trees, and scraped my knees.
If helping her means putting my own life on hold, then it isn’t even a decision. I’ll do anything for her.