CHAPTER FOUR
The Lilac Lake Cottage was part of the property excluded from the sale of the Lilac Lake Inn the Gilford women’s grandmother, GG, Genie Wittner, had owned.
She’d arranged with the buyers for her family to retain the cottage and a few acres around it, with the understanding that the cottage would be renovated and lived in at least six months of the year.
Though there was room for all three sisters to stay there, it was mostly Taylor, or Taylor and Cooper, who lived there because Whitney and Dani were married and living in town already.
On this May afternoon, the weather cooperated with a sunny, pleasant day.
Hazel parked her car, got out, and carefully carried her tray of brownies and a bottle of wine to share. Walking toward the house, she caught up to Poppy Browning and Blake Loomis.
“Good afternoon,” said Hazel, smiling at them.
“A lovely day for a party,” said Blake. He gave Poppy a meaningful look.
Poppy held out her left hand so Hazel could see the gorgeous diamond sitting on her ring finger.
“Oh, Poppy! I’m so excited for you and Blake! Congratulations! As soon as I get rid of what I’m carrying, I’ll give you a hug,” cried Hazel.
Blake put an arm around Poppy. “She’s made me a happy man.”
“You guys are perfect together,” said Hazel, making room for Whitney and Nick Woodruff to join them.
Whitney and Nick commented on the engagement, and Hazel eased away. She was ecstatic for Poppy, who in her early forties had all but given up on finding the man she wanted to marry. This would be Blake’s second marriage, and this union couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
Hazel’s excitement faded as she realized that everyone else seemed to be moving ahead with a new love. She reminded herself of the importance of staying strong, not falling for someone she knew she wouldn’t be content with for the long haul.
She walked into the kitchen to deliver her gifts and found Mike with Tracy, the beautiful woman he’d been with last night.
“Hi, Mike. Hi, Tracy. It’s so nice to see such a crowd here.”
Tracy didn’t say anything. Mike gave Hazel a quick grin and moved away, Tracy trailing behind him.
Hazel’s self-confidence took a beating. She told herself that this wasn’t the place to discuss business and that it was in her best interest to stay away from them. For some reason, she didn’t think Tracy liked her.
Misty and David walked into the kitchen, and soon Hazel and Misty joined a group of female friends.
Time flew as the party grew bigger and louder, and more food was offered.
By the time Hazel headed home, she wasn’t worrying about her job at the Sports Center. She had a lot of people behind her. She’d get the job or not.
###
At school the next day, Hazel looked out over her class and felt a pang of regret that she wouldn’t continue to follow their progress in school. All of them mattered to her.
Nolan Deere stuck his head into her classroom, walked over to her, and said quietly, “Are you sure you won’t change your mind about staying?”
Feeling as if fate were calling to her, she nodded.
Grimacing, he left the room.
Hazel wasn’t sure what the future would bring. She just knew it was time for things to change. Wasn’t that what life was all about—taking chances and meeting new challenges?
###
Hazel was packing up school papers to take home when her cell phone rang. Ross.
“Hi,” said Hazel, unable to hide the note of hope in her voice.
“Mike and I are wondering if you can stop at the Sports Center on your way home,” said Ross. “We want to talk to you about a position here.”
“Excellent. I’m just about to leave school. I’ll see you shortly,” said Hazel calmly, though her heart was pumping blood through her at an alarming pace.
She ended the call and did a little dance by her desk, thanking her lucky stars she hadn’t been wrong about moving forward. She stopped suddenly, hoping she wasn’t being premature. She had no idea what the job was.
Hazel hurried to her car and took off for the Center, pleased she wouldn’t have to wait long to find out.
She went inside the Center and was satisfied to see that the high school student behind the desk was wearing a Sports Center T-shirt.
“May I help you?” the student asked her.
“I’m here to meet with Ross Roberts and Mike Dawson,” Hazel replied.
“Oh, yes. Let me show you to their office,” said the student.
Hazel didn’t have the heart to tell her she knew the way and dutifully followed her.
When she knocked on the door and opened it, both men stood.
“Glad you’re here,” said Ross. “Mike and I have been discussing how best to use you for support. Please, have a seat.” He indicated the leather chair in front of his desk.
Mike pulled up the other leather chair, and they sat in a circle.
“Ross and I are used to setting up our own classes and private lessons,” said Mike. “But we need someone to handle other details for us.”
“And someone to run the front office, so to speak,” said Ross. “In other words, someone to run the Center. We need someone willing to work all jobs from receptionist to helping camp counselors, to typing up schedules, to working on promotional material.”
“You won’t be involved with the financial end of things. We’ve hired an accountant for that,” said Mike. “He’s someone who will handle all the forms, reports, and payments required to operate a facility like ours with reporting responsibilities to the city, county, and state.”
“But the details of running the administration would be in your hands,” said Ross. “You’d have to be willing to be flexible and fulfill our requests, whether you agree with them or not,” said Ross, giving her a steady look.
Hazel’s cheeks grew warm. “I assure you, I can do that.”
“Good,” said Mike. “But we want you to feel free to speak up when you see a need for improvement. I hope you noticed the changes at the reception desk.”
Hazel grinned. “I did. And I thought it was a commendable way to greet guests.”
“So do we,” said Ross, giving her a thumbs up. “Now for the salary and benefits. The benefits are about the same as you were getting.” He handed her a piece of paper with everything printed out for her to see.
Hazel let out a breath of relief as she went over the numbers. “This is certainly fair. I hope to prove that I’m even more valuable to you.”
Ross laughed. “I like that response. I know you have a couple more weeks of school, but I’m hoping you will be able to work for us on the weekends as we get camps and classes scheduled.”
“Tracy will handle my private student sessions for me, setting up a schedule and assisting me,” said Mike. “She will head the tennis camp for kids. Ross tells me you’ve played tennis on a high school team. Perhaps we can use your help with the camp. We’ll see.”
Hazel nodded agreeably, though she privately hoped she wouldn’t have to work with Tracy.
Ross stood. “Well, then, we’ll have you fill out the employment paperwork and return it to us as soon as possible. Congratulations, Hazel. Welcome aboard.” He shook her hand.
Then it was Hazel’s turn to shake hands with Mike.
His fingers gripped her hand, sending a stream of nervous energy up the length of her arm. At least, that’s how she was willing to accept the sensations that shot through her. The last thing she wanted was to get involved with someone at work. She knew how that went.
###
Hazel left the center and went directly home to fill out the paperwork. The job was much more than what she’d hoped for, both in scope and salary. She knew she’d be busy but felt secure about doing the job, even if it meant she’d have little time for anything else this summer.
After she’d completed filling out the papers, Hazel poured herself a glass of pinot noir and took it out to the deck to celebrate. Sitting in the peaceful surroundings, Hazel felt a wave of relief wash over her. She had the perfect reason not to go home this summer, as her mother wanted.
Rather than wait for the weekend to do any work at the Sports Center, Hazel used the next couple of afternoons after school to walk through the Center, to see what was happening in various parts, and to check for postings on the bulletin board.
Hazel made a list of things she could do from home, and during the evenings there, she set up both weekly and monthly activity schedules to post.
She also started separate files for Ross and Mike, including listings of classes with names, addresses, and phone numbers of participants in their classes, and for individual classes.
###
On Saturday morning, Hazel brought in her computer to show Ross and Mike what she’d done so they would approve of her posting the schedules on the bulletin board and at the reception desk.
Ross wasn’t there, but Mike was in his office with Tracy.
Hazel explained what she wanted to do and showed him her work.
He looked at it. “I’m impressed. This is the sort of thing that needs to be done.”
Tracy shrugged. “I could’ve done that.”
“I’ll look around to see what else I can do to get things organized,” said Hazel, anxious to leave his office.
“Thanks,” said Mike.
Hazel tried not to notice the cold stare Tracy gave her and left, determined not to let anyone ruin her new job.
Though some degree of organization had been set up, Hazel found holes in those attempts.
She discovered she loved the challenge of being in charge, overseeing the operation as one big whole instead of individual offerings, and smoothing arrangements so that everyone could easily see what was happening throughout the Center.
When Hazel’s last day at school arrived, she stood with the other teachers waving off their students. Some of the teachers had tears in their eyes. Hazel, like others, beamed at the idea of having a break from the draining schedule of teaching.
Misty wrapped an arm across her shoulder. “Guess this is it for you.”
“It’s going to be a busy summer, for sure.”
“Have you told your mother about your new job?” asked Misty.