Page 11 of Hargrave Health Kick
“Am I allowed to go near the property?
No,” Celeste replied, her voice firm. “Leave that to the experts. You can go over once Susanna and her team have checked out.”
“I want to confront her about those damn cookies. But also, I don’t ever want to see her again.”
“Two things can be true,” Nat quipped. But her gaze was full of sympathy as she wrapped her arms around Veronica. “We’ve got this,” she promised. “Our big sis is excellent at putting out fires.”
“Ha, ha,” Celeste said as she dashed off to deal with the crisis.
She had to give her sisters credit for dousing her fury and redirecting her so easily. To make her calls she had to turn off the live feed. “Shouldn’t we stay tuned to whatever else she’s complaining about?”
Nat wagged her phone. “I’m on it. And hey, if your “not-a-boyfriend” was on last night, maybe you should call him too.”
That was all the excuse Veronica needed to make her exit. She wasn’t up for more teasing where Brayden was concerned. Every time she tried to make Nat and Celeste see logic, it only made things worse.
But reaching out—about the job—wasn’t a bad idea. She parked it on the back burner while she made the calls Celeste had assigned her.
First, she called Nash Billings, only to get the same information Nat had provided. Rats were found everywhere, but Brookwell didn’t have a rat population problem. He reminded her that their pest service protected their investment at the Hideaway.
Next, she called Jess at the office.
When she answered, Veronica asked if the security detail had reported any trouble at the Hideaway last night.
“Nothing that created an alert,” Jess replied. “Let me check the full report.”
Veronica’s jaw clenched while she waited, estimating how much more damage Susannah was doing to their reputation with every passing second.
“All clear,” Jess said. “Is there something specific you’re concerned about?”
“A dead rat near the kitchen slider.” Veronica shuddered. “Our current guest is airing her complaints live on social media.”
“Not cool,” Jess muttered. “I’ll dig in and see if we can find anything from the cameras.”
“Thanks. I called Nash to verify any natural reasons behind it.”
“I’m sure he told you nature does its thing,” Jess said. “Especially out here.”
“Pretty much.” Veronica relaxed a bit. “Still helps to hear it. Thanks for looking into this.
“You’re welcome,” Jess replied. “I’ll be in touch soon.”
With nothing else to do but check on Susannah’s disheartening video, she sent Brayden afriendlytext to check in. If he’d been on duty and something had happened, she was sure he would’ve told herandadded it to the report. She didn’t expecta quick response. He was probably sleeping in after an overnight shift.
But suddenly, her phone was ringing. “Hello?”
“Hey, beautiful. What’s going on?”
Brayden. Not just sending a text, but calling her. Calling her beautiful. Hearing wind in the background, she was instantly transported back to the beach. “Are you running again?”
“It’s a daily thing,” he said with a smile in his voice. “Want to join me?”
Absolutely.
“Um.” Words failed her, vaporized by the memory of his torso gleaming with sweat. Oh, she would find a way to get even with her sisters. Just as soon as she got over this weird, inconvenient attraction.
“Roni?”
“Rain check,” she managed. “Apparently there was more wildlife trouble at the Hideaway. Our guest is currently airing her displeasure on social media. Live.”
