Page 1 of Hargrave Health Kick
Chapter One
Veronica Hargrave staredat the email that popped up on her computer monitor. Alone in the house, she let her eyes roll. “No,” she muttered. “Absolutely not.”
She repeated the refrain, even though she knew she had to say yes.
Of course she did.
She was caught in the middle—theliteralstory of her life. The middle Hargrave sister, she couldn’t truly complain that she’d been overshadowed by her older sister, Celeste. Neither had she been forgotten once their baby sister, Natalie, had arrived.
She’d just had to figure out how and where to shine on her own terms. It hadn’t always been easy, but she’d found her place in sports—where she could compete with people who weren’t her sisters.
But here she was—caught again—between her personal career and the Hargrave Hideaway B&B on Brookwell Island that she co-owned with her sisters.
A physical therapist and personal trainer, she’d scheduled today for editing new content for her blog and Instagram. Personally, she would rather workout all day on the hottest dayof the year than sit in an air-conditioned office polishing each video. The tedious nature of the process put a pinch between her shoulder blades.
She pushed her chair back from the desk. Being a grump wasn’t helping. Setting her phone aside she went to the kitchen for a glass of water. But when she returned to her desk, the email was still staring at her. Daring her to respond the way she wanted to.
Sending a knee-jerk response was tempting, but it would be rude.
Not only would it hurt business, but her sisters would pile on. Celeste would lecture and Natalie would tease her mercilessly for letting a simple errand undermine her professionalism.
Still, as she read the email once more, it was hard not to be bitter. She had better things to do than chase down uncommon ingredients for some special recipe a stranger was inspired to make during their vacation. But this was the job. And it was her week to make sure everything went smoothly for the current guests at the Hideaway.
She considered pawning off the errand on her sister Natalie, but that went against their deal. The Hargrave sisters were equal partners in the business and she would carry her load.
“Be a big girl,” she coached herself. “You asked for this week on purpose.”
Their guest this week was Susannah Flaxman, a celebrity chef who’d built her reputation on healthy, nutritious recipes. Veronica had hoped to do some networking during the visit and changed her mind when their first introduction at check-in went poorly.
Flaxman had arrived alone, her team expected to join her the next day. She’d clearly been travel-weary. Veronica and her sisters were used to that. But it was the unexpected litany of complaints ranging from the lengthy trek from the airport, to thedistance of the house from the private cove that gave Veronica second thoughts about planting seeds for a future collaboration.
“It looked closer in the pictures,” Veronica mimicked Flaxman’s complaint. “She wouldn’t have been any happier if she’d rented a houseboat.”
She pressed her fingers to her temples. “Wrong attitude.” She took a calming breath. “Her issues are not mine. I only need to do my best to make her stay pleasant.” She gave herself a minute to get into a better headspace.
Reading through the email once more, Veronica called over to the Bread Basket for advice on where to find the requested specialty ingredients. Grateful to learn she’d find most of the items in Charleston, she fired off a short, friendly reply confirming she would deliver everything as soon as possible. She commended herself for not suggesting Flaxman’s assistants handle the errand.
She saved the edits on the video and closed her laptop. She could come back to it later. Grabbing her car keys, she headed out to shop.
Chapter Two
Veronica’s shoppingrequired a bit of time and patience with traffic on the bridges but she managed to collect everything Flaxman had requested with only three stops.
Intrigued by a few things herself, she picked up some items for sister-night tomorrow. More and more, she enjoyed the extra time with her sisters, reconnecting and bonding in new ways as adults. They would never agree on everything—she wouldn’t want that anyway. Their differing opinions amused her, and she often got a kick out of setting off debates between Celeste and Natalie. She considered it a middle-sister imperative.
Of course, they would turn on her when they caught on, but the entertainment value was still worth it.
According to their new sister-night habit, she would pick tomorrow’s movie. Right now, still annoyed by their guest, she was feeling all kinds of violent action film vibes.
She needed to change-up her mood. Parking on the street in front of the Hideaway, she realized she only had a few minutes to adjust her attitude.
Deep breath. Big smile. Happy thoughts.
She sent a text message to the contact number to let Flaxman know she was here. Then she gathered up the shopping bags andstarted toward the house. Just down the street she recognized a compact pickup truck—charcoal gray with a South Carolina state flag plate on the front. The driver would be part of the Guardian Agency security team. She and her sisters had hired the extra security after someone had snuck onto the property and burned down their outdoor kitchen.
No one had attacked the Hideaway since, though the police had yet to identify the arsonist. Though the case remained open, the authorities admitted they weren’t sure the culprit could be found.
Personally, she hoped it was just some dumb kid who’d been bored during a vacation. Thinking of it as mischief that got out of hand was easier for her to accept than contemplating something more deliberate or sinister. The police had interviewed everyone with the loosest connection to the house and found no whiff of a motive.
