Page 29 of Wild Hearts

"When we drew up the documents for the business recently, you were given part ownership of the resort. This place is yours now too."

My throat tightened. I hadn't allowed myself to think about what that meant when my cousins told me their plans. I never expected them to give me ownership of anything. I always thought the resort was theirs. "You didn't have to do that."

Eli sobered. "This place is the family's legacy."

I nodded. "I'll let you get back to work."

"We'll get together soon."

"Sounds good," I said as I walked out. The Wilde Brothers usually got together to do some kind of excursion. I joined them when I was home, but now I'd be included more often. If I wanted Dakota to feel like part of the family, I needed to start acting like I was too.

Ispent the rest of the week getting familiar with the computer system for making reservations for the cabins, and the schedule for cleaning and prepping the cabins for new guests. I also reviewed the hotel's policy for providing services to guests in the cabins. I wanted to ensure that cabin guests got the same level of service as those in the lodge.

Otherwise, I handled any maintenance calls and scoured the reviews for smaller things that might be an issue. When I spotted a negative review, I responded on behalf of the resort, thanking them for their input, indicating I'd fix it, and I hoped they'd join us again. I'd need to talk to Eli about other ways we could reach out to anyone who had a negative experience.

I knew Eli wanted the resort to have high standards. The reviews indicated there was room for improvement at the cabins. Guests didn't have an easy way to report any issues.

I thought about ways that guests could reach out during their stay. It would need to be easy, and the process as painless as possible. I spent time brainstorming ideas to increase customer service.

After school on Friday, Dakota breezed through the door without greeting me.

"Hey, what's going on?"

She paused at the bottom of the steps, but then continued up. "Nothing."

It didn't sound like nothing. I debated going after her orgiving her space, but figured I should make one more attempt to talk to her. I knocked on her door.

"What?" That one word had a bite to it.

I knew this was coming, but it was hard to hear that tone directed at me. "Is everything okay?"

She was quiet for a few seconds and then said, "No."

"Can I help you with something?"

The door opened slowly. "I need to talk to Addison."

My heart skipped a beat as terror shot through me. "Why do you need to talk to her? I can help you."

Her gaze dropped from mine. "You can't."

"I want to help." I didn't want to involve Addison because I wanted to prove I could handle this parenting thing on my own, and this was my first real test. I figured it was probably some kind of fight at school or maybe even a bad grade. Surely, I could handle that.

"I need to go to the store."

"If you need anything, just put it on the list I shared on your phone. I have access to it and can pick up anything you need."

She just gave me a look.

I gestured toward the stairs. "I can go now if it's an emergency."

She bowed her head, typing something on her phone.

I pulled up my list to see she'd added pads.

I started to sweat, but I wasn't backing down from this challenge. For some reason, a thirteen-year-old's period needs hadn't come to mind. "Can you take a picture of the kind you prefer, and I can pick it up?"

Her mouth dropped open. "You're actually going to go to the store and buy pads?"

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