Page 35 of #Resort Love (Lakeview Harbor #1)

“One thing at a time,” Harlow said with a laugh.

When they got back to the office, they each ate their lunch at their desks. Charlene said she had emails to send, and Harlow needed to start her research.

Only…she didn’t.

Instead, she ate and scrolled through several celebrity gossip sites and then did the same with Facebook and Instagram . It was mindless reading while she ate, and she was almost relieved when she got a text from Walker.

Walker: Hey, my brown-eyed girl. How’s your day going?

“Aww…how cute is he?” she whispered, smiling at her phone.

Harlow: It’s good! How’s yours going? Did you get to smash anything today?

Walker: I did! We knocked down a couple of old sheds that were rotting. I didn’t get to smash them with my bare hands, but I got to drive the bulldozer.

Harlow: Good for you!

Walker: I got your email earlier and forwarded it to everyone. They all said they’d look at it later.

Harlow: That’s fine. No rush. This was really just for them to get an idea of what kind of inventory we have in town.

Walker: I know you’re busy, but have you had a chance to look at land? Ever since we talked about it the other night, it’s kind of been playing heavy on my mind.

Crap.

Harlow: That’s what I’m going to work on this afternoon. I’m just finishing up my lunch and that’s next on my agenda.

Walker: Seriously, I’m not rushing you! If you have other things to do, that’s fine!

Harlow: You’re not rushing me, okay? I told you I’d work on it, and I am. No worries!

Walker: Okay. Whew! Thanks.

Harlow: So what else are you working on today? Did you finish meeting with all the contractors?

Walker: We have and we’ve signed on with Dave Anderson and Blueprint Builders.

Walker: And I agree about the nephew. He has no idea what he’s doing and is easily distracted.

Walker: But Dave promised to be the lead on the resort until it’s done.

Harlow: That’s great! I just saw Russell and his fiancée yesterday to show them yet another house.

Walker: And?

Harlow: I think they’re going to end up living with her parents at this rate. They can’t make a decision.

Walker: That’s the impression I got from Russell too.

Walker: Either way, they’re starting on Monday.

Harlow: Wow! That’s fast!

Walker: We’d already been in talks with him, so he knew we were close to deciding.

Walker: Between me and the guys and the landscaping crew, we’ve made a lot of progress all over the place.

Walker: Why don’t you come for dinner tonight and see it all?

Walker: I miss you.

Her heart did a funny little flutter just reading those three little words.

Harlow: I miss you too.

Harlow: Is Connor cooking?

Walker: Nope. We’re all on our own tonight. Jayce and Kelsey are heading to the airport along with Milo, Connor’s going to do a dinner video chat with his daughter, and Axel and Slater are heading out for a guys’ night.

Harlow: So we’d almost have the place to ourselves?

Walker: Exactly.

Harlow: I’ll pick up dinner. What time should I be there?

Walker: As soon as you can. I can’t wait to get my hands on you.

She was already shivering with delight.

Harlow: What a coincidence. I can’t wait for your hands to be on me!

Walker: You’re killing me. Text me when you’re on your way.

Harlow: Deal! See you later!

When she put her phone down, she was motivated to get some information for him. She might not have time to pin down phone numbers and make calls, but she wanted to have at least a little bit of data to present to him.

Letting out a long breath, she began typing in her first search: property by county.

It was slow and monotonous and it felt like she wasn’t getting anywhere after an hour of searching. But with every bit of information she found, she refined her search, tried other websites, and eventually called the county clerk’s office to see if she could get any information that way.

All she got was an instruction to leave a voicemail, so she did.

For another two hours, she looked at maps and property lines and wrote down parcel and lot numbers so she could hopefully share them with the clerk’s office if they called her back.

But then, finally, she had some luck. She found several small lots and the names of the people who owned them.

Hallelujah!

“Okay, here we go,” she murmured, jotting down all the information. Owners’ names and addresses were fine, but what she really needed were phone numbers. That took a little more time and she was getting desperate to find all the contact information for even one owner.

“How’s it going out here?” Charlene asked, this time on her way to grab a bottle of water.

Harlow sighed wearily before explaining everything she’d been doing for the last several hours. “I’m telling you; this is mentally exhausting. I’m seeing Walker for dinner and I’d love to say that I made a little progress.”

“Here, let me see your list.” Charlene walked over and studied the list of names. “Oh, I know some of them. Hang on. Let me get my phone.”

Harlow was on her feet immediately, list in hand, and following her boss into her office. “Seriously? You think you have some of these numbers on your phone? How is that possible?”

“I’ve sold houses to two of them, went to school with one of them, and I think another on the list is friends with my parents, so…let’s see,” she said distractedly, scrolling through her contacts.

Her heart was racing and it was the first time all afternoon that she truly felt optimistic. Even if she didn’t get to talk to anyone today, she could potentially start off strong tomorrow.

“Okay, here,” Charlene said quietly. “Write these down.” She rattled off three different phone numbers for her to match with her list. “This fourth one, I swear I know the name. When I get home later, I’ll call my parents and see if they can be of some help.”

“Thanks, Char. I really appreciate the help. And if I sell any of these, we can split the commission if you’d like.”

“Oh, sweetie, the office already gets a cut, so don’t worry about it. I’m just glad to help.” She sat back down behind her desk. “Are you going to make some calls now or…”

They were interrupted by the sound of Harlow’s phone ringing. She quickly excused herself and ran out to her desk and saw it was the clerk’s office calling.

Wow…my luck is definitely turning around!

“Hello?” she said calmly as she sat back down, and for the next twenty minutes, she went over her requests and gathered as much information as she could.

Honestly, it was more than she thought she would get, and when they came to the last parcel on her list, she was almost afraid to push her luck.

“I appreciate all of your time and help with this, but is there any chance I can ask you about one more lot?”

The clerk, a lovely woman named Leah, said, “Of course! What lot number are you looking at?”

“You are awesome,” Harlow replied first. “Okay, it’s lot number 1702, same road as the others.”

“Hmm…let’s see…the owner is…oh! Oh, this is kind of funny!”

“Really? What is?”

“The owners of lot 1702 have the same last name as you, Ms. St. James.”

“Um…excuse me?”

“Yes, the lot belongs to Alan and Betty St. James! Any relation to you?”

For a moment, Harlow didn’t know what to say.

“Ms. St. James? Are you still there?”

“Oh, yes. Sorry. Um…yes. Alan and Betty are distant relatives,” she lied. “Thank you so much for your help, Leah. You have no idea how much I appreciate you.”

“It was my pleasure. Have a great rest of your day!”

“Thanks. You too.” She hung up and put her phone down before covering her face in her hands.

Her grandparents.

The grandparents who have been less than enthusiastic about re-establishing a relationship with her. The very same grandparents who rarely return her calls.

“Let’s just call them plan B,” she mumbled.

There were plenty of other names on her list for her to work from and, with any luck, she wouldn’t need to reach out to her relatives.

And she was going to keep that bit of information to herself.

Her phone dinged with an incoming text and she nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of it, and then sighed when she saw it was from Walker.

Walker: Hey! Just checking to see if you know when you’re heading my way.

Walker: No rush if you’re busy.

Walker: I really need to take a shower and I kind of thought maybe you’d like to join me.

That made her laugh because the shower in the cabin was barely big enough to fit Walker. If she joined him, they’d be plastered together from head to toe.

Just thinking about it got her all tingly.

Making calls could wait.

Harlow: I’m going to order a pizza right now and then head your way when it’s ready.

Harlow: Don’t you dare get soapy without me!