Page 5 of Hargrave Health Kick (Brookwell Island)

Chapter Four

After a delightfully crazy sister-night double feature, Veronica was quietly grateful for the mimosas and the French toast casserole in the morning. The sparkle of the champagne magically cleared the cobwebs from the late night.

“Mimosas should be an everyday thing,” Natalie declared from her perch on a counter stool.

“I wouldn’t advise starting every day with this much sugar.” Veronica said.

“You rarely advise sugar in any way, shape, or form,” Nat complained.

“That’s not true. Moderation is the key,” Veronica reminded her.

“That should be your hashtag,” Natalie said. “Do like a #moderationmonday or something. Make it the big draw to your new nutrition content.”

Veronica sipped her beverage and considered it. “Maybe so. When did you get your marketing degree?”

Natalie ignored that. “It wouldn’t take long to figure out if people will jump on it. From what I’ve seen, most wannabe influencers lean into one extreme or another. And you have never been about extremes.”

No, she really hadn’t. Veronica had done everything in her power to just tread water in the middle, maintaining the status quo without getting caught up in any excess drama. “I don’t know. I was feeling pretty extreme about Susannah’s demands until I saw how sick she is,” she confessed.

Natalie whistled. “You are not kidding.” She winced as she turned to Celeste. “It’s hard to look at someone when they’re that weak. My first thought was Mom and I wanted to run away and cry.”

Celeste rubbed Nat’s shoulder. “She should be resting on the beach, not pushing her platform.” Celeste clapped a hand over her mouth. “Sheesh. Aren’t I the judgy one? Sorry. She should do whatever keeps her happy.”

“You’re not judgy.” Natalie shrugged. “We’ve just been through it, right? When the days are so obviously numbered and running out… That was the hardest time for me with Mom. Thinking every goodbye was the last one.”

Veronica was doing her best to pretend she couldn’t hear her sisters. Dwelling on those final days was the fastest way to sap her energy and derail a day. Something she couldn’t afford while she was the point of contact if their guests needed anything.

Taking Natalie’s advice, she searched a few hashtags to see if the content felt right for what she wanted to put out there. It seemed like her little sister was onto something.

Opening another app on her phone, she started making notes as she scrolled, until an alert chimed to let her know Susannah was about to go live on social media. Veronica switched over and tuned in.

“Oh, Roni! Getting spicy morning texts from Brayden?” Nat leaned over Veronica’s phone.

Veronica rolled her eyes. “You’re awful. I knew I should’ve kept all of that to myself.”

Her sisters had teased her relentlessly last night, accusing her of having a wild, uncontrollable crush on Brayden back in high school. None of her protests stopped the nonsense, of course, only adding fuel to the fire.

“Wrong,” Celeste declared. She scooped out another slice of toast from the casserole dish. “You shared because you wanted us to talk you into going for it.”

“Not even remotely true,” Veronica said again. “You’re both delusional.”

Celeste shook her head. “More like hopeful.” She raised her glass.

“Huh?”

“C’mon, Roni. I’m hoping to live vicariously through your imminent romance.” She speared a bite on her fork. “Jump him. Just once. For me?”

Veronica couldn’t believe this. Worse, she couldn’t believe how eagerly her mind rushed toward the edge of that cliff.

Nope. Not a chance. She reeled in her wayward thoughts.

That would be a catastrophic mistake. “Brayden and I are now, and have always been, friends . Full stop.” Veronica leveled a glare on each of her sisters. “I mean it. Full. Stop.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Nat gave her a snappy salute.

“If you need romance, go find it for yourself,” Veronica said to her older sister.

Celeste grunted and dug into her second helping of breakfast. “As if.”

“As if what?” Natalie poked at Celeste. “You’re never too old for a new romance.”

“Who said that?” Celeste asked.

“Someone important probably,” Natalie admitted. “And me. There’s no way you can sit there and tell me you’re done with relationships.”

Celeste cupped Nat’s face. “I am done with relationships.”

Natalie swatted at her hands. “What a load of crap,” she declared.

“Shut up. Quiet!” Veronica’s heart pounded as she watched Susannah on her phone screen. She swore. This couldn’t be happening.

“What is it?” Natalie snatched the phone and turned up the volume, putting it on the center of the table so they could all watch.

The celebrity chef’s voice filled Veronica’s kitchen with harsh words and lengthy complaints about the Hargrave Hideaway.

“We’re not in a third-world country, am I right?

This is coastal South Carolina. A tourist town .

I mean, look at this kitchen.” Susannah spread her arms wide.

“I came here for the kitchen. Instead, there’s been one problem after another.

” She ticked off her points on her fingers.

“Good grocery stores do not exist. We had an entire wildlife ruckus the other night. And this morning when I stepped outside there was a rat on the patio. We all know rats don’t travel solo.

I’m just floored. I booked the Hargrave Hideaway for a luxury getaway and this is the nonsense we got instead.

“Brookwell is lovely and there are other B&Bs on the island. None of them with a private beach. But I can’t say it’s been worth the tradeoff.” She did a slow pan around the kitchen. “There is good news. This gorgeous kitchen has inspired me.”

The camera zoomed in as she held up a breakfast cookie and broke it in half.

“Look at this amazing goodness. Chock full of nourishing ingredients. Yes, there’s a little sugar but everybody needs some now and then.

Did you know that’s what they say down here?

‘Give me sugar’ is a phrase when someone’s asking for a kiss or affection.

Isn’t that the sweetest?” Susannah laughed at her own pun.

Hearts and comments flowed in as she kept rolling. “We had an incredible soup last night, too.”

Veronica exchanged a look with her sisters. Maybe this was where the chef would give them a little bit of credit? But it wasn’t to be. Susannah claimed the recipe as her own, rambling about how easily it went together and how soothing it was when she’d been a little queasy earlier in the trip.

“Unbelievable,” Veronica muttered.

Celeste grabbed the phone and muted the feed. “We took those things over as a gift,” she murmured. “It was her decision how to use them.”

“Go you,” Veronica snarled. “I can’t be as generous.” She shoved back from the table to pace the kitchen like a caged cat. “I know it was a reach thinking maybe there would be an opportunity to chat. The minute I saw her condition I knew that wasn’t a great idea, even if she’d been pleasant.

“But this?” She flung a hand toward her phone. “This is over the top. She’s flat out stealing an idea, calling it her own and then trashing us in the process.”

“Not us, the Hideaway,” Celeste soothed. “We can’t ignore her valid complaints about the rat and wildlife issues.”

“She showed the picture of the dead rat to the world. There must be issues,” Natalie said.

“Well yeah, that’s not great,” Veronica admitted. “There’s no telling how that rat got there. I didn’t even know there was a rat problem on the island.”

“There isn’t,” Natalie said. “I mean, sure, rats are everywhere, but they shouldn’t be on the patio.”

“Then how?” Veronica wondered. Her stomach twisted at the idea of losing the business. They’d been doing so well. Their visitor satisfaction ratings were sky high. And it was gone over something beyond their control. “This is going to require serious finagling to avoid cancellations.”

“Leave all that to me,” Celeste said. “You need some distance. Natalie, you’re in charge of keeping Roni away from Susanna and her team. Give me Marley’s card. I’ll give it back,” she said when Veronica hesitated. “But I’m taking over for the rest of this booking.”

Veronica wasn’t sure changing the liaison at this point would make a difference. The chef was behaving as if everyone beneath her was interchangeable. “I can’t sit here doing nothing.”

Celeste relented. “Call Nash. Ask him why nature is suddenly acting up at our place. For that matter, call Jess too. Maybe the cameras or the security team noticed something weird last night.”

“Am I allowed to go near the property?

No,” Celeste replied, her voice firm. “Leave that to the experts. You can go over once Susanna and her team have checked out.”

“I want to confront her about those damn cookies. But also, I don’t ever want to see her again.”

“Two things can be true,” Nat quipped. But her gaze was full of sympathy as she wrapped her arms around Veronica. “We’ve got this,” she promised. “Our big sis is excellent at putting out fires.”

“Ha, ha,” Celeste said as she dashed off to deal with the crisis.

She had to give her sisters credit for dousing her fury and redirecting her so easily. To make her calls she had to turn off the live feed. “Shouldn’t we stay tuned to whatever else she’s complaining about?”

Nat wagged her phone. “I’m on it. And hey, if your “not-a-boyfriend” was on last night, maybe you should call him too.”

That was all the excuse Veronica needed to make her exit. She wasn’t up for more teasing where Brayden was concerned. Every time she tried to make Nat and Celeste see logic, it only made things worse.

But reaching out—about the job—wasn’t a bad idea. She parked it on the back burner while she made the calls Celeste had assigned her.

First, she called Nash Billings, only to get the same information Nat had provided. Rats were found everywhere, but Brookwell didn’t have a rat population problem. He reminded her that their pest service protected their investment at the Hideaway.

Next, she called Jess at the office.

When she answered, Veronica asked if the security detail had reported any trouble at the Hideaway last night.

“Nothing that created an alert,” Jess replied. “Let me check the full report.”

Veronica’s jaw clenched while she waited, estimating how much more damage Susannah was doing to their reputation with every passing second.

“All clear,” Jess said. “Is there something specific you’re concerned about?”

“A dead rat near the kitchen slider.” Veronica shuddered. “Our current guest is airing her complaints live on social media.”

“Not cool,” Jess muttered. “I’ll dig in and see if we can find anything from the cameras.”

“Thanks. I called Nash to verify any natural reasons behind it.”

“I’m sure he told you nature does its thing,” Jess said. “Especially out here.”

“Pretty much.” Veronica relaxed a bit. “Still helps to hear it. Thanks for looking into this.

“You’re welcome,” Jess replied. “I’ll be in touch soon.”

With nothing else to do but check on Susannah’s disheartening video, she sent Brayden a friendly text to check in.

If he’d been on duty and something had happened, she was sure he would’ve told her and added it to the report.

She didn’t expect a quick response. He was probably sleeping in after an overnight shift.

But suddenly, her phone was ringing. “Hello?”

“Hey, beautiful. What’s going on?”

Brayden . Not just sending a text, but calling her. Calling her beautiful. Hearing wind in the background, she was instantly transported back to the beach. “Are you running again?”

“It’s a daily thing,” he said with a smile in his voice. “Want to join me?”

Absolutely .

“Um.” Words failed her, vaporized by the memory of his torso gleaming with sweat. Oh, she would find a way to get even with her sisters. Just as soon as she got over this weird, inconvenient attraction.

“Roni?”

“Rain check,” she managed. “Apparently there was more wildlife trouble at the Hideaway. Our guest is currently airing her displeasure on social media. Live.”

“Ouch. Is that a big problem?”

“Yes.” She could hear his shoes slapping the sand. “She’s a celebrity chef with a huge following.” Veronica closed her eyes. “Celebrity isn’t the point. If any guest is this unhappy, we need to figure it out.”

“I’m turning around,” Brayden said. “How can I help?”

“Oh, that’s not necessary. Celeste is taking the lead with the guests?—”

“Sounds about right,” he grumbled.

It shouldn’t surprise her that he automatically assumed her sister jumping in would irritate her. “I’m cool with it,” she assured him. “She can build a better rapport with this particular guest.”

“Okay.” He sounded surprised. “And?”

“Did you notice anything weird last night? Were you even there?”

“I was,” he said. “But it was a calm night. I’ll catch up with Jess and see what we can sort out.”

“Thanks, Brayden.”

“It’s what I’m here for.”

She didn’t quite know how to end the call. Because her sisters had messed with her head. Should she ask about dinner plans? Take him up on that offer for a run?

“Take care and don’t stress,” he added. “You’re in good hands.”

The window of opportunity closed with a resounding thud as he ended the call.

Setting her phone aside, she went to her room and changed into running gear. It was past time to get her head on straight about everything—especially Brayden.