Page 1 of Hargrave Health Kick (Brookwell Island)
Chapter One
Veronica Hargrave stared at the email that popped up on her computer monitor. Alone in the house, she let her eyes roll. “No,” she muttered. “Absolutely not.”
She repeated the refrain, even though she knew she had to say yes.
Of course she did.
She was caught in the middle—the literal story of her life. The middle Hargrave sister, she couldn’t truly complain that she’d been overshadowed by her older sister, Celeste. Neither had she been forgotten once their baby sister, Natalie, had arrived.
She’d just had to figure out how and where to shine on her own terms. It hadn’t always been easy, but she’d found her place in sports—where she could compete with people who weren’t her sisters.
But here she was—caught again—between her personal career and the Hargrave Hideaway B&B on Brookwell Island that she co-owned with her sisters.
A physical therapist and personal trainer, she’d scheduled today for editing new content for her blog and Instagram.
Personally, she would rather workout all day on the hottest day of the year than sit in an air-conditioned office polishing each video.
The tedious nature of the process put a pinch between her shoulder blades.
She pushed her chair back from the desk. Being a grump wasn’t helping. Setting her phone aside she went to the kitchen for a glass of water. But when she returned to her desk, the email was still staring at her. Daring her to respond the way she wanted to.
Sending a knee-jerk response was tempting, but it would be rude.
Not only would it hurt business, but her sisters would pile on. Celeste would lecture and Natalie would tease her mercilessly for letting a simple errand undermine her professionalism.
Still, as she read the email once more, it was hard not to be bitter.
She had better things to do than chase down uncommon ingredients for some special recipe a stranger was inspired to make during their vacation.
But this was the job. And it was her week to make sure everything went smoothly for the current guests at the Hideaway.
She considered pawning off the errand on her sister Natalie, but that went against their deal. The Hargrave sisters were equal partners in the business and she would carry her load.
“Be a big girl,” she coached herself. “You asked for this week on purpose.”
Their guest this week was Susannah Flaxman, a celebrity chef who’d built her reputation on healthy, nutritious recipes. Veronica had hoped to do some networking during the visit and changed her mind when their first introduction at check-in went poorly.
Flaxman had arrived alone, her team expected to join her the next day.
She’d clearly been travel-weary. Veronica and her sisters were used to that.
But it was the unexpected litany of complaints ranging from the lengthy trek from the airport, to the distance of the house from the private cove that gave Veronica second thoughts about planting seeds for a future collaboration.
“It looked closer in the pictures,” Veronica mimicked Flaxman’s complaint. “She wouldn’t have been any happier if she’d rented a houseboat.”
She pressed her fingers to her temples. “Wrong attitude.” She took a calming breath. “Her issues are not mine. I only need to do my best to make her stay pleasant.” She gave herself a minute to get into a better headspace.
Reading through the email once more, Veronica called over to the Bread Basket for advice on where to find the requested specialty ingredients.
Grateful to learn she’d find most of the items in Charleston, she fired off a short, friendly reply confirming she would deliver everything as soon as possible.
She commended herself for not suggesting Flaxman’s assistants handle the errand.
She saved the edits on the video and closed her laptop. She could come back to it later. Grabbing her car keys, she headed out to shop.