Page 45 of #Resort Love (Lakeview Harbor #1)

Chapter Fifteen

Alan and Betty St. James were pains in his ass.

For two weeks he’d been playing phone tag with them and he was getting tired of the runaround.

Fortunately, that’s when his grandmother decided to step in.

Not that he was thrilled with having anyone else fight his battles for him, but time was money and he wanted to lock in this deal before they had the chance to find a higher bidder.

He hadn’t counted on that, but he supposed anything was possible.

It was a Friday afternoon and Connor had left this morning to head home to see his daughter for the weekend, Slater was also taking some time off to handle a tour to help a buddy out, and all the work on the resort was at a standstill because of some permit issues that Dave Anderson promised he’d have resolved by Monday.

That left him and Axel with nothing but time on their hands, since they technically weren’t allowed to do any work.

“Hey, let’s go into town and grab something to eat,” Axel suggested.

“If I stand around here, I’m going to want to pick up a hammer or a drill, and I don’t want to risk doing anything that will get us in trouble.

Maybe we should just get away for the weekend.

Want to go to Foxwoods? Slater and I had a blast there. ”

“Nah. I told you my grandmother’s in town helping me out with that property deal. But I could definitely go for a burger. Want to hit the pub?”

It wasn’t like he was going to avoid going into town to avoid Harlow. Hell, he didn’t care if he saw her. He was glad he found out the truth about her before he fell in love with her.

You made me fall in love with you and then got even with me for whatever it is you perceived I did to you and your family.

He almost missed that admission because he was so freaking livid with her, but it wasn’t enough for him to change his mind.

She loved him? Pfft. He called bullshit on that.

You don’t love someone and then lie to them and keep important information from them.

When you love someone, you want to help them achieve their dreams, not block them from them.

Good riddance.

Only…

If he were being totally honest, now that the smoke had cleared—metaphorically—he could admit that something about the entire situation didn’t feel right. Like he couldn’t put his finger on it, but something felt off.

Maybe if she had fought harder or had some proof or…

“Dude? You ready?” Axel asked, interrupting his thoughts.

“What? Oh, uh…yeah. You driving?”

“Sure!” They got into Axel’s truck and were halfway to town when his phone rang. Smiling, he answered. “Hey, Gram! How’s it going?”

“Good! I just finished a meeting with Alan and Betty and everything’s on track. I was calling to see if you wanted to meet for lunch?”

“Axel and I are on our way to the pub. Want to meet us there?”

“Sounds like a plan! And I can’t wait to see the resort and all the work you’ve done! This is going to be a good weekend! See you soon!”

“See you there, Gram!”

“So, your grandmother’s joining us?”

“She is.” He glanced at Axel. “That’s not a problem, right?”

“Hell no! I love your grandmother! I can’t wait to see her reaction when we take her back to the resort!”

“Yeah, I’m pretty psyched to see her face when she sees how it’s all coming back to life.”

When they arrived at the pub, his grandmother was already there. She waved to them from a booth and they each took turns giving her a hug and a kiss. Walker slid into the seat beside her.

“Look at the two of you!” she gushed. “It’s so good to see you both! And I’m not going to lie; I’m really looking forward to having one of the pub’s famous burgers! I’ve been thinking about it all day! Maybe the bacon cheeseburger? Hmm…”

Walker instantly thought of Harlow, but forced himself to push it aside. “I thought you always liked the mushroom and Swiss one, Gram?”

“I do, but I’m in the mood for some bacon.” She grinned and then her focus turned toward the door. “Walker? Do you know this woman? She’s heading straight toward you.”

He looked up and saw Harlow’s boss walking this way.

Shit.

He was about to slide out of the seat, but she was right there, blocking him. She never looked at his grandmother or Axel, just him.

“Walker Bradshaw, I want you to know that I think you are despicable,” she said lowly, but firmly.

“If you took even a minute to talk to anyone who has lived in Harbortown for more than twenty years—and there are a lot of us—they’d be able to tell you about the St. James family. The good and the bad.”

“Charlene,” he began.

“No. You don’t get to speak. You’ve said enough,” she warned.

“Walker? Who is this woman? And why is she talking about the St. James’?”

“I’ve got this, Gram,” he told her before glaring up at Charlene.

“Everyone knows what Harlow’s father did.

Just like everyone knows her mother was a raging alcoholic and her grandparents did nothing to help her.

That poor girl had to navigate a hell of a lot just to survive.

She was the only reason there was a roof over her head.

She worked her ass off from the time she was sixteen, and I know it because she worked for me. ”

He repeated her name, but it fell on deaf ears.

“I never told Harlow this, but her mother came to me and tried to sell Harlow to me. Sell her, Walker. She asked me for a thousand dollars and said Harlow could be my daughter because she was tired of all the responsibility.”

He tried to be detached, but he wasn’t completely heartless.

“After that, I made sure Harlow was with me as much as possible, but a few weeks later, her mom came into the office drunk off her ass and threatened to have me arrested for kidnapping her daughter. To say that the woman was unstable would be an understatement.”

She paused, but her gaze never left his.

“I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that Harlow never knew about that property. Never. She was devastated when she found out they were the owners when she was researching property for you. You!”

And yeah, she pointed her finger at him for emphasis.

“So whatever bullshit story Alan and Betty gave you? I hope you realize they are the same people that raised a man who bludgeoned two men to death and did nothing to protect their granddaughter from an alcoholic and abusive mother. You think you’re such a smart businessman?

Well, you clearly don’t know shit about telling the good people from the bad.

You may have your property, but you’re the one who really lost here.

Harlow’s the best woman I’ve ever known, and everyone in this town would attest to it. ”

And with that, she turned and walked away.

“Damn, Walker,” Axel murmured, shaking his head. “What the hell did you do? Harlow’s been helping us out since I got here. You know she’s a good person. Why would you…?”

“Walker, why didn’t you say anything?” his grandmother demanded, completely interrupting what Axel was saying. “Harlow’s nothing but a troublemaker! I knew it! Look at the scene she just caused here! When will it ever be enough?”

Turning his head, he said, “Now. Now it’s enough.”

Shaking his head, he tried to control his rage because maybe—again—he was listening to the wrong people.

“What do you mean?” she asked, and for the first time ever, Walker noticed the slight snap in her voice.

“Gram, how well do you know the St. James’?”

“Like I told you, Betty and I were in a few church groups together. Of course we all knew about her son and the awful things he did, but…”

“Were you close friends? Acquaintances? Did you work on committees together? Did she and her husband visit the resort?”

“Well, they never came to the resort, and I guess we were more like acquaintances.” Her eyes narrowed. “I know what you’re thinking, Walker, and I don’t like it.”

He narrowed his gaze right back. “I don’t either. I’d like to think that you weren’t so desperate to hold a grudge against Harlow that you believed, or maybe even twisted, what Alan and Betty told you!”

“How dare you! I was merely passing on information that was beneficial to you! She was keeping you from getting what you wanted!”

“No, Gram, she was what I wanted!” Muttering a curse, he slid out of the booth. “Do you even realize what you’ve done?”

“I haven’t done anything! Betty said the property was Harlow’s and she knew about it! Why would I think she was lying?”

She had a point.

Unfortunately.

The thing was, he had no idea who was telling the truth at this point. All he knew was that he didn’t believe Harlow would do all the things he accused her of.

You made me fall in love with you…

Yeah.

The resort. This whole damn thing felt like it’s just been so much work and he’s found very little joy in it.

I would have offered it to you. Hell, I probably would have donated it so I could be a part of the resort because this place means a lot to me.

There was a time when he thought it meant a lot to him too, but there’s been so much negativity, backlash, and even miscommunication between him and the guys, that he almost feels like it’s all jinxed.

Swallowing hard, he had the sinking feeling that he was the problem.

He was the jinx.

All his fighting to get his way had done nothing but cause problems.

And it cost him Harlow.

“Walker, Alan and Betty are meeting us at the resort later this afternoon with a contract. You need to calm yourself down and focus on the big picture. You’re going to get to have your expansion!

You’re going to do all things with the Lakeview Harbor Resort that your grandfather and I never even considered doing! ”