Sean held up his hands as if in defense. “Hey, don’t aim that anger at me. I’m all for it. Her parents were my friends. Her uncle and aunt”—he tapped the note from Colin— “not so much.”
Cade relaxed slightly. “How can two people be so…”
“Selfish?” Sean finished for him.
“I was going to say stupid, but they both apply. I mean, the man practically signed his name to a death threat.” Cade waved his hand, motioning towards the note.
“Which is why I’m going to head over there and have a nice chat with him right now.” Sean stood up.
“You’re heading to Redding?” Cade stood as well.
Sean’s eyebrows shot up. “Redding?”
“Isn’t that where they’re staying?”
“No, Colin and Roslyn rented the old Ellington place just outside of town,” Sean answered.
“You mean, they’re staying only a mile from the resort?” Cade felt his entire body shake with anger.
“Yup.” Sean nodded. “They moved in yesterday.” Sean stopped him from storming out by placing a hand on his arm. “Son, let me deal with them. You head on into work. I’ve got this.”
Cade wanted to argue, but he knew better and instead headed to work.
Chapter Nineteen
Life, like a fire, begins in smoke and ends in ashes. ~ Arabian Proverb
Raven stayed too busy during the week to really think about anything other than work.
David had hired a special certified crew from Redding to start replacing the fire system in the west building. His workers moved up and started on all the guest rooms.
There were five massive dumpsters delivered to the back entrance of the building. In just two days, most of them were filled to the top with the old carpet they had pulled out of the rooms.
She couldn’t wait to see what the rooms would look like with the fresh paint and flooring. They had received a massive shipment earlier that week with all the new bedding, furniture, and room accessories. The huge boxes were all sitting just inside the loading dock, along with the rest of the modern furniture that would fill the lobby and other public areas.
Some had been immediately unpackaged and put into place. She had happily helped with the work and enjoyed seeing the new furniture in the lobby.
Already, the resort was looking classier and more modern, and she could feel the excitement from the employees. She couldn’t wait to start having guests walk through the doors.
She was looking forward to it as much as she was looking forward to her date with Cade on Saturday night.
So much had changed since she’d returned home. There was so much she hadn’t planned for. Cade being at the top of that list.
Even though her aunt and uncle were huge problems, she remembered that they had always been the black sheep of the family.
Her grandmother had told her stories of how Colin had been growing up. There was one thing that had been obvious from the moment she’d returned: Colin hadn’t changed.
She had been thankful when she’d heard a rumor that her uncle and aunt had moved all the way to Redding. Then Cade had mentioned that they’d moved back into town the morning after the break-in.
After that, she was fairly sure it had been her aunt who had broken into her rooms. She couldn’t see her uncle trashing the place out, but her aunt? Totally.
She doubted that her cousin knew about it. It wasn’t in Liza’s DNA to trash anything. Other than human souls. Besides, Liza never did anything if there was a possibility that she might break a fingernail.
In one of their calls one day during lunch, Cade had mentioned to her about the note he’d found on his windshield.
He hadn’t told her what it had said, only that it had directly threatened her. He’d asked her to be on a lockdown of sorts.
Whenever she left the resort, Cade wanted her to text him and let him know where she was going. Not that she had any place to be. Other than a few errands or quick runs into town to get more personal items, her entire life centered around the resort.
Not that she was complaining. At least for now. Once the doors opened, she was hoping to have some sort of normalcy.
Such as more time to go on dates with Cade. Maybe a few trips into the city? Or someplace tropical?
Either way, until the resort was back under control, she was staying put. She hadn’t expected to love the work or to fall back in love with the resort itself.
Every time she turned a corner, memories of her childhood played in her head. The nostalgia was so strong, and she wished she had more pictures of her childhood. Her grandmother had given her a handful of pictures, which she kept on her phone. The originals were tucked away in a safe back in San Diego, along with her great-grandmother’s pearl necklace and earrings and the deed to the resort itself. It had legally been changed over to Raven’s name shortly after her parents’ deaths.
The bar area restoration had succeeded in bringing people in each night. Normally, Raven didn’t enjoy the bar scene, but she spent Thursday night sitting in the bar area, her eyes scanning the room and the guests as she tried to figure out what improvements would enhance the place even further.
After the first busy night, the staff hinted at the need for another beer fridge behind the bar. The next morning, she’d ordered one, along with more custom printed coasters with funny little sayings or games on the backside. They had been a huge hit. She even thought about starting a trivia game night once a week to drag in more of the locals.
Word had gotten out around town about the resort’s amazing new chef, Tim, and a steady flood of locals streamed into the newly opened dining area in the lobby and bar. The main dining hall was still being worked on and would be shut down for at least two more weeks.
She’d found an antique chandelier at an online auction that was perfect for the center of the dining hall. The old chandelier was beyond repair and too outdated for Raven’s tastes. The plan was to place the grand piano directly underneath it, in the center of the room, with the tables in a circle around it and the massive two-story stone fireplace, which was being converted to gas.
The chandelier was being delivered early next week, which meant that the rest of the dining hall had to be ready by then.
David’s original crew were working quickly on getting everything ready. Each day when she walked through, she was even more impressed with how well his team worked.
Rachelle kept proving to her just how invaluable she was to the resort. She always lifted the morale of the employees. Just before her weekly meeting with Rachelle early Friday morning, Raven made a quick determination to give the woman a raise.
She clearly deserved it. Besides, Raven knew that she had been seriously underpaid over the years while her aunt and uncle had been grossly overpaid.
“Morning,” Rachelle said, knocking on Raven’s open office door. “Coffee and muffins?” She held up a mug and a plate of muffins.
“Yes.” Raven motioned her inside. “I didn’t get a chance to head down to the kitchen and eat anything yet.”
“I figured as much.” Rachelle sat down and handed Raven the coffee as she set the plate of muffins down on the desk. “So, I’ve heard from the bar crew that the new fridge was set up before shift last night. It should be helpful for the crowd that we’re expecting tonight.”