Page 21 of #Resort Love (Lakeview Harbor #1)

Chapter Seven

Two hours later, Walker had to remind himself that he asked Harlow to do this with him. But as she argued with him for the umpteenth time about his design plans, he was ready to escort her to her car.

“You’re not being practical!” she said with a huff of annoyance.

“Do you even remember what it was like to stay in one of these cabins with your family? If you’re going to try to bring back some of the long-time guests, you are going to have to provide accommodations for the ones with more than one child! ”

“That’s what the rooms in the lodge are for!” he argued, and not for the first time. “There will be plenty of rooms with two beds up there! Why can’t the cabins just be for couples?”

“Because for all the years the resort has been open, families have stayed in these cabins! How are you not getting this?”

“Oh, I’m getting it. I’m just saying that it’s not like a freaking law! We’re allowed to do things differently now!”

Her shoulders sagged, and she let out a long breath.

“Okay, think of this as real estate,” she began after a long moment.

“Different people come to the table with different budgets and needs. Not everyone is going to want a singular hotel room or adjoining rooms. Some—especially with kids and if they’re on a budget—they’ll want a cabin because it has a kitchen.

They can bring their own food and make most of their own meals without spending a lot of extra money.

If you turn all of these cabins into romantic little tiny homes, you’re alienating an entire demographic.

Plus, if I were here for a romantic getaway, a kitchen would be pointless!

I wouldn’t want to cook! I’d want to go out for romantic meals! ”

Damn. He hadn’t thought about that.

Although…

“Then I would eliminate the kitchen and turn it into a small kitchenette with a mini fridge and coffeemaker, and make the bathrooms bigger! Ha! Problem solved!”

Harlow’s only response was to groan. “I knew we shouldn’t have done this.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s just reinforcing all the ways I disagree with your plans for the resort. If you would just talk to people around town…”

“Harlow, the people who live here aren’t our target audience, okay?

You told me yourself how your parents didn’t find the need to come and stay here because you only lived a few minutes away.

The locals will come up to use the amenities and get a day pass, but they’re not the ones who are going to be staying here.

Trust me. I’m in the hospitality business. I know what I’m doing.”

She held up her hands in defeat. “Okay. Suit yourself.” With a weary sigh, she glanced around the cabin before walking outside and waiting for him.

“That was too easy,” he murmured, following her out. She was slowly strolling toward the next cabin, and he caught up with her.

“Who did you hire to do the construction and renovations?” she asked.

“We did some preliminary interviews and have meetings lined up with several companies when some of the guys arrive. The top three are Harbor Construction…”

“Bob Donnelly is the owner. I sold him and his family their house last year,” she said. “Actually, that was the second house I sold them, besides helping them sell their previous homes. He’s got a small crew that works for him, but he’s got a high turnover rate. Sometimes it’s just him on a job.”

“Um…okay.” He had no idea why she felt the need to share that, but whatever. “Next is Blueprint Builders. They…”

“Dave Anderson is the owner. They’ve been in business for over thirty years.

Dave’s getting older and is currently training his nephew to take over, but none of us thinks he can handle it.

But his nephew—Russell—is getting married this summer and he and his fiancée are looking for a house and I’m their agent. ”

“O-kay…” Walker watched as she stepped onto the next porch and peered in through the window. “And the last one is…”

“Ooh! Is it Cornerstone Construction? I love them! I recommend them to a lot of clients who want to do renovations! Marshall Reynolds is the owner and his sons all work with him. Great family! I went to my senior prom with Andrew, the youngest son.” She let out a happy sigh as she faced him.

“He was my first love, but we were just too different, you know?”

“Um…”

“I’ll be surprised if you can book them for something of this size. Last I heard, they were working with a residential builder on a massive new neighborhood that’s going up over in Pineview.”

Walker ducked his head and mentally counted to ten before looking at her again. “Is there a point to all of this?”

She shrugged. “Just commenting on your choices. I didn’t think it was a big deal. I thought you’d appreciate the input.”

“Oh.”

“I know all the owners and their crews personally,” she went on. “They’ve all got strong ties to the community, and they all knew your grandparents. I’m sure they’ll all help you come to some decisions on what needs to be done and what can…you know…be skipped.”

“Harlow, that’s not anyone’s place but mine and the other investors, and we’ve already discussed it! We’re not looking for anyone else’s input, okay?”

Another shrug, followed by a weary sigh. “Walker, I think it’s safe to say that while we are definitely physically compatible, everything else is a total miss,” she said sadly. “It’s probably best if I just go.”

He hated to agree, but…she was probably right.

“I’ll walk you back to my cabin so you can get your things,” he said quietly, and together they did just that.

Once Harlow had her belongings, he walked her out to her car. It felt weird—like he wanted to kiss her goodbye, but that seemed inappropriate. Shaking hands felt too impersonal. So where did that leave them?

She surprised him by coming close, getting on her tiptoes, and kissing his cheek. “Good luck, Walker,” she said softly as her hand gently caressed his jaw. She took a step back and even though she was smiling, he knew she wasn’t happy.

Just like he wasn’t.

“Take care of yourself,” he told her, hating how gruff his voice sounded. “Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah, maybe.” And with a small wave, she turned and got into her car, and Walker stood there and watched her drive away.

It was all for the best, but…damn if he didn’t hate seeing her go.

When he finally turned away, he wasn’t sure what exactly to do with himself. He could keep walking through the cabins, but now he wasn’t in the mood. Maybe he should think about the lodge.

Or maybe he should find something he could demolish because he was so freaking frustrated right now that breaking something would probably be good for him.

He began to walk up toward the lodge when his phone rang. Pulling it from his pocket, he grinned when he saw Axel’s name. Thankful for the distraction, he quickly answered.

“Axel! Hey! What’s up?”

“Hey, how’s it going? How was the first night in the creepy cabin?”

“Ha, ha. You’re hilarious. And no one said creepy.”

“Dude, you didn’t have to. We all saw the pictures you sent. Do I need to bring my guns with me for protection? Have you had any run-ins with wild animals?”

Walker rolled his eyes and contemplated whether to keep going toward the lodge or back to his cabin.

He wasn’t ready to deal with the unmade bed and all the dishes from his morning with Harlow, so he trudged up the steps to the lodge.

“No wild animals,” he assured his friend. “And the grounds crew is going to come on Monday and start doing some work. I’ll ask them to be on the lookout for any wild animals, okay?”

“I mean, I’m not going to tell you not to ask them,” Axel teased. “But I’m calling because I’m thinking of coming out next week. I know it’s a little earlier than we originally planned, but…”

“Do it!” he quickly interrupted. “God, please, do it!”

Axel laughed. “Going stir-crazy, are you?”

“A little bit,” he admitted. “And I’m second-guessing everything, and I think if someone else were here to bounce ideas off of, it would go a long way in saving my sanity.”

“Then consider it done. I’m essentially bringing a large moving truck with me.”

“Bring whatever you need. And there are plenty of different cabin sizes to choose from.”

“Nah, it’s not all personal stuff—although there is a decent amount of that. What I’m bringing is a ton of tools and any excess materials I had on hand that I think we can use. Plus, my motorcycle. I figured it might be nice to get away every once in a while and go on a long ride.”

“You don’t need to bring any materials, Axel. We’ve got everything worked into the preliminary budget.”

“Look, everyone else is coming into this project with a big cash investment. I didn’t have nearly anything.

My foster parents were the ones who used to bring me up to the resort when I was a kid, and when I left them at eighteen, I had nothing.

But I’m good at building stuff and that’s my primary contribution to this project, Walker.

So…believe me, there aren’t a lot of things that I’m bringing, but it’s all stuff that’s going to be put to good use. ”

Yeah, when Walker had pitched the idea to his friends, Axel was one of the first to want in, but he didn’t have the money like everyone else did.

He had thought it wouldn’t work out, but then he pitched the idea that his investment would be in labor.

He had been working in construction since he was a teen, and he was great at what he did.

It was a no-brainer to the group, and even if Axel didn’t come and put in the sweat equity, they still would have included him.

“That all sounds great. When do you think you’ll get here?”

“Next weekend. The plan is to be to you sometime Saturday afternoon. Will that work?”