Page 46 of #Resort Love (Lakeview Harbor #1)

He looked at her for a moment as a wave of sadness rushed over him.

“Maybe you never did because it wasn’t necessary.

You created something magical. A place where families would come year after year after year, even when things were in disrepair.

No one asked for those upgrades because everything you built was enough. I never should have messed with that.”

“You got that right,” Axel murmured, but he instantly looked away.

“I don’t want the property,” he said, his voice raw with emotion.

“I don’t need the property. Everything was right there in front of me and I took it for granted and believed it wasn’t enough.

And I was wrong. I want what you and Grandpa created.

And not just the resort, but the life. The love.

The family. I was so preoccupied with the image of more that I was looking down on everything that was right. ”

The pinched look on his grandmother’s face eased as her eyes filled with tears.

“I found someone who actually shares your vision, and I wish you could have seen that side of her.”

She sighed. “I still could…”

“Believe me, I don’t think Harlow wants to see either of us right now. I’m pretty sure I ruined everything and I don’t want to hurt her again. I’ve done it too many times already.” He turned to walk away but remembered he drove here with Axel.

So he sat back down with a weary sigh. His appetite was gone.

He cursed himself to hell and back for every stupid thing he’d done since returning to Harbortown.

On Sunday afternoon, Harlow let herself into the office to return all of her open house signs. Today had been an okay showing, but her heart wasn’t in it. All she wanted to do was go home, curl up in a ball, and sleep for a week.

Which is pretty much how she’d felt since she left Walker that day.

She had seen no reports on the sale of her grandparents’ property—no notices of sale, no listing, no nothing.

Not that it mattered. It had nothing to do with her.

Walking around, she put the signs away in the storage closet and put the brochures back in the file cabinet. She grabbed a bottle of water and was prepared to leave when there was a knock on the front door.

“That’s weird,” she murmured. The sign clearly said they were closed, so…

But she went over anyway and froze.

Peggy Bradshaw.

Crap.

It was too late to hide; Peggy clearly saw her. The woman was only five feet tall and her silver hair was styled in a sleek bob. She shouldn’t have looked intimidating, but that’s how Harlow viewed her. With no choice, she opened the door with a forced smile.

“Mrs. Bradshaw, hi! I’m sorry, but we’re closed today. I was just dropping off some supplies.”

“Hello, Harlow,” Peggy said, sounding a bit…contrite, maybe? “I was hoping I could have a few minutes of your time. Please.”

“Oh, um…sure. Would you like to sit down?” There was a small seating area with a sofa and two chairs in the lobby area, so Harlow motioned for them to sit there. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Thank you, but no.” She sat and studied her hands for a moment before looking at Harlow.

“For years, my husband and I tried to pretend that everything was fine with the resort. Things were looking a bit haggard and worn, but we kept saying we’d get to it.

When we closed off the first section, we told ourselves we were going to hire a contractor to come in and make it all look better.

” She shook her head with a small laugh. “Obviously, we never did.”

Harlow had no idea what to say, so she simply listened.

“Anyway, around that time, you called for the first time, and…I took it personally. You weren’t the first, but you were young and eager, and it made me feel like…

like your generation didn’t have a need for a place like the Lakeview Harbor Resort.

I resented your premise that we should sell.

You would think that would have spurred us to make the repairs, but we didn’t. ”

Harlow nodded.

“And every time you called, it was like a reminder that we were failing. I don’t even know why we never did the work.

We had the money; that was never the issue.

We were still getting reservations and we were still a draw to travelers, but we were doing them a disservice by not making the resort the best it could be. ”

“I’m sure it got to be overwhelming at a certain point,” she quietly commented.

“It did. It definitely did. More agents and developers reached out, but for some reason, your name stuck.” She let out a small laugh.

“I honestly don’t know why, but you became the face of everything I hated about those calls.

Even when you came and saw me in person, I couldn’t allow myself to like you. ”

“Oh.” Clearly it was a Bradshaw thing to just be mean, she thought.

“I made a lot of assumptions about you, Harlow, and I wanted to come and say that I’m sorry.”

Say what now?

“It’s come to my attention that had I taken any time to get to know you or even ask anyone in town about you, I would have known that you weren’t someone I should dislike.

If I had put my pride aside, I maybe would have seen that you were looking out for our best interests.

If my husband and I hadn’t been so stubborn—well, mostly if I hadn’t been so stubborn—we could have saved ourselves a lot of time and stress.

We could have gone out on a higher note, instead of one where the people of Harbortown resented us. ”

It was on the tip of her tongue to agree, but she kept that to herself.

“So, I’m sorry. From the bottom of my heart, I am truly sorry for all the grief I’ve caused you.”

“Mrs. Bradshaw, I appreciate that, but you didn’t do anything. You had every right not to want to sell the resort, and I should have respected that.”

“Thank you for saying that, but…I’m also the reason Walker went to your grandparents.”

“Um…what?”

She nodded and then explained the entire situation to her. “So, I took what Betty told me and it only added fuel to my perceived opinion of you and I pushed that on Walker.”

Swallowing hard, she had to remind herself that it was wrong to argue with her elders. She’d done that once already recently and wasn’t prepared to do it again.

“I appreciate you sharing that with me,” she said stiffly, “but I don’t think…”

“Walker’s in love with you,” Peggy blurted out.

“He’s miserable without you. He knows he messed up, but that’s my fault!

I love my grandson and I hate to see him hurting.

He rescinded his offer on that property and he regrets ever reaching out to your grandparents.

But again, that’s on me. I pushed and prodded, and directly got involved, and I’m so sorry. ”

There wasn’t anything polite she could say to that, so she said nothing.

Then, to her surprise, Peggy stood and gently smiled down at her.

“You can hate me. Personally, I wouldn’t blame you.

But don’t take it out on Walker. I promise not to interfere, and I’ll do whatever it is you want to help you with my grandson.

I’m just sorry that I got involved and ended up ruining things for the two of you. ”

All she could do was nod because it seemed wrong to thank her.

“Do you think you could maybe forgive him? He really is sorry, Harlow. We both are.”

Standing, she forced herself to smile. “I appreciate you coming here and talking to me, but…everything with Walker has been…um…difficult, to say the least. I’ve had to defend myself my entire life because of my family, and I’m tired of it.

I need someone who loves me for me and who doesn’t make me feel like the daughter of the town drunk or the daughter of a convicted killer. I’m ready for someone to put me first.”

“Then that’s what I’ll do.”

The sound of Walker’s voice shocked her; she never heard him come in.

“That’s my cue to leave,” Peggy said quietly, and Harlow was wildly confused about what exactly was going on. She gave Harlow’s hand a quick squeeze before kissing Walker on the cheek.

Neither moved nor said a word until the door closed, but then Walker took a tentative step toward her.

“I’m sorry.”

He was sorry? Did he have any idea how much he had devastated her? How his accusations had gutted her?

“Say something,” he quietly urged.

And then…it was like every thought—every bit of anger—was unleashed.

“You’re sorry?” she asked sarcastically. “For what, exactly? For being a liar? For sneaking around behind my back? For being unnecessarily cruel? Or…or…for just being a colossal jackass? And you think just saying you’re sorry is going to make it all okay?”

“Harlow, I…”

“I am so tired of people like you, Walker! People who think they know better or they’re smarter or what they want is more important because I’m a nobody!

I’ve spent my entire life trying to overcome all the shit I had to grow up with, and I had finally gotten to that place until you came along!

And then almost every step of the way, you just kept finding ways to push me down!

Well, I’m done, okay? I don’t trust you, and I don’t need you.

My life is going to go on and be better without you. ”

She was breathless by the last word, and she simply stood with her hands on her hips and hoped he’d take the hint and leave.

But he didn’t.

If anything, his expression softened, and he didn’t seem to be in any hurry to go.

Damn him.

“You know what? I know you don’t need me,” he said, his voice low and oddly soothing.

“You are a force to be reckoned with, and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that you are going to achieve every goal you set for yourself.

You were forced to be independent because of your upbringing, but that doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it all on your own. ”

Harlow swallowed hard as he took another step towards her.