“Pearl!” Will shouting my name from the front of the restaurant startles me back to reality. I jump to my feet and retie my apron before shoving my way through the kitchen doors.
“What?” I snap back with my chin tucked against my chest as I finish tying the strings around my waist. I look up to a pair of piercing blue eyes, clear as the sky, staring back at me. Blake Winthrop, Trevor’s older brother. He has the same strong look but with an edge. His jaw is prominent, with a thick smattering of dark, almost black scruff. His hair is shiny and lays an inch or two past his collar. He reaches up a well-worn hand and rubs it gruffly against the side of his jaw, making an audible scratching sound like sandpaper.
“Oh, hey, Blake. What can I get you?” I stammer a little.
“My ma sent me. She wants you to come by the cabin office when you get off. What time can I tell her you’ll be by?” He doesn’t bother with pleasantries. Something I’m used to with him. We haven’t had a lot of conversations over the years, but I often saw him around his parents’ house when I was hanging out with Trevor. He terrified me as a kid. He was big, way bigger than Trevor. He had outgrown their dad by the time he was in eighth grade. I remember he always had a different girl around the house, usually out back in his parents’ hot tub, when they weren’t home.
“Uhh, for what, exactly?” I love their mom, but it is a little strange to have her beckon me over. Why not just call or text me?
“You’ll have to take that up with her. What time?” He shoves his hands deep into his Levi’s without breaking eye contact. I’m a grown-ass woman now and this man still intimidates me. His broad shoulders strain against the fabric of his flannel shirt. He’s the antithesis of Trevor and always has been. He was the star quarterback of the football team growing up. He always had a muscle car he was rebuilding and a big-boobed girl by his side.
My eyes catch a glimpse of the tip of his pink tongue as it darts out to lick across his full lips. I’ve always found him attractive—you’d have to be completely blind not to—
but seeing him standing in front of me right now, I notice things I hadn’t before, like the small thatch of curly dark hair at the base of his throat and the way small lines form around his eyes, giving him a distinguished, sexy appeal.
“Jesus Christ, woman. Are you having a seizure or what? I ain’t got all day.” He throws his hands up in the air, exacerbated, as I snap back to reality.
“Oh, uh, sorry…uh, I’m off at three, so I’ll swing by after.” I quickly turn and race back in the kitchen before the blush on my cheeks betrays me. What the hell was that?
By the time three o’clock rolls around, I’m itching to race over to the Winthrop’s cottages to see what Adele needs. Normally, I’d be worried, but Blake didn’t seem to have any concerns. Speaking of Blake, I wonder if he’ll be there too.
Since when do I care what Blake Winthrop is up to?
I pull my sputtering Beetle into the parking lot of the Grand Lake Cottages and make my way up the steps of the office. A neon VACANCY sign flickers a few times as I knock on the door before letting myself inside. “Knock, knock!”
Adele jumps up and pulls me into a tight hug before gesturing to a small table next to a chair. “Here, I have some tea and a snack for you. I know you’ve been hard at work on your feet all day. Take a seat.” I thank her before diving into the cookies and casually looking around to see if anyone else will be joining us.
“Well, I’ll get right to it, Pearl. I need your help.” She sits back behind the desk and gestures around the room. “We’ve slowly been losing business over the years, and I need a young millennial...is that what you kids are called? I need help with the Facebook and social me...—whatever it’s called. I know you went to school for that, so I’d like to bring you on.”
I can’t help but smile. I’ve been dying for the chance to actually use my degree and finally get away from waitressing.
“Now, before you get too excited, this is just part-time. I need help a few days a week, and maybe if you like it, we can talk about a full-time position if business gets busier.”
“Mrs. Winthrop, I would love to! I am beyond excited for this, so thank you!” I jump back up and pull her in for another tight hug.
“Well, that settles it, then. I’ll have you come in tomorrow and sit down with Blake. He can fill you in on everything.”
“Blake?” I say, trying to sound casual.
“Yes, he’s taking over the business now, so he’ll be your boss.” I swallow down a lump in my throat. Great. The Big Bad Wolf is my boss. “Oh, and before I forget, Trevor is coming back to town this weekend.”
“Really?” This time I can’t hide the excitement.
“Yeah, unfortunately. He broke up with his fiancée, but you didn’t hear that from me.”
Two
Blake
I’m not too excited about the idea of taking over my parents’ failing cabin rental business, and now I have to babysit my brother’s nerdy best friend in the process?
I climb into my truck and run my hands over my face, letting it sink for a moment. I’ve never been the golden child in my family. Even when I was the star quarterback and prom king, my parents were too focused on Trevor’s science fair projects and his accelerated classes. I’m not bitter or angry at Trevor, we always got along just fine, but I felt more like a second father to him rather than an older brother. The nine-year age gap and the fact that I always felt I had to protect him from bullies in school contributed to that. Growing up in a small town, our entire kindergarten through high school was all in one building.
The shrill ringing of my cell phone brings me back to reality. I answer it without even looking at the name. “Hello?”
“Hey, big brother. How’s it going? You sound like I caught you sleeping.”
“Hey, man. When you getting your ass back to town?” I jump back out of my truck and kick at the dirt on the ground.
“I’m actually in an Uber heading to the airport now. My flight gets in around eleven. I was hoping you could set up a cabin for me if there are any available?”
“Ha, yeah, you can have your pick of the litter. We currently have only two occupied, one by me.”
“The business is doing that bad, huh? Man, Mom didn’t let on it was that serious of a situation.” I could hear the worry in his voice.
“Yeah, she’s in denial. Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it under control. You just get your ass home and buy me a beer.” I don’t let on that I’m just as worried. After Dad passed, Mom tried her best, but she couldn’t keep up. I was around to fix things here and there, but my contracting business kept me away and on the road most of the time. It wasn’t until recently that I decided to put my business on hold and take over the cabins. I told my mom this was it. This was a last-ditch effort. If it failed, she needed to consider selling the business.
I hang up the phone with Trevor and get back in my truck. I need to get over to the cabins and get one set up for him. My phone pings again with a text, and I look down to see a message from my mom.