Page 13 of Love, Naturally
He couldn’t stop the bark of laughter. “Not particularly, no. But I do like many aspects of it. I’ll go start the grill.”
She said nothing as he walked out to the back deck. The air was cooling off, the sun sinking further into the lake. He loved the peacefulness of it. They’d grown up in Smile. It wasn’t exactly a bustling city. Hell, it was barely a city. But he’d never known the quiet that existed here on this island. Once he started the grill, he walked to the edge of the deck, leaned on the railing, and called Jill to tell her he was sticking around for a bit.
“How long is ‘a bit’? You know you can’t sleep with her, right? She’s a guest. We’re not that kind of full-service resort.” Jilly’s tone was a blend of humor and one hundred percent serious.
Beckett whipped around like somehow Presley could hear his sister’s words through the phone. He ducked his head. “What the hell, Jilly? I’m just trying to help her settle in. I think she didn’t want to be alone.”
“But she doesn’t know you.”
He sighed. No. She didn’t. But that hadn’t stopped her from asking or him from willingly agreeing. “Listen, she asked me to stay. She seems vulnerable. I’m going to make her some food and get her settled. If she feels more comfortable after dinner, I’ll come sleep on your couch.”
“Okay. Ollie is already on her way down there. You can send her back.”
Beckett looked out at the water again, letting it soothe him. It was beautiful here. Every cabin needed work, the boats were money pits, some of the guests were needy and demanding, but damn, this placewas perfect. Or it could be, if it wasn’t falling apart. He shook his head. They’d make it work.
“Beck?”
“We’ll see,” he said into the phone.
“Sorry to throw all this at you.”
“Not your fault. Call Tevin and see if he knows someone for the AC. I thought it was a good thing each of the rooms had their own controls. Might end up being a pain.”
“Already called him. And he got the part for the boat early, so it’ll be back day after tomorrow.”
“I’ll text you later.”
They hung up. Beckett scraped the grill, his stomach growling loudly. He turned on his row of twinkle lights—Ollie’s special touch. It made him smile when the railing of his small porch lit up. In the yard, there was a small firepit with chairs around it. When the guests were all tucked in, the four of them would sit around the fire and just hang out. Soon, his parents would be here and would join them at the fire.
They should be renting this cabin out, but they weren’t exactly bogged down with reservations. Which was both good and bad. They needed reservations to make money and they needed money to make repairs, but they couldn’t fully accommodate guests while they still had those needs. If there were more than two things, was it still a catch-22?
The lodge had ten rooms between two floors. Including Presley’s room, they had four booked, three out of commission, and three just about ready for guests. Grayson and Beckett could double up in one cabin as soon as they got some work done on the two they were in. They’d thought bunking in one each would allow for them to do some repairs and updates after the day ended. But instead, by the time they were ready to call it a day, they were exhausted.
Fully running and at max capacity, they’d turn a profit. They just needed to get there.
Feeling a wave of excessive fatigue, he let himself back into the cabin. He froze when he saw the sight before him.
“I told Uncle Gray I want to plant a garden. We should be able to grow some of our own food,” Ollie, who stood on a stool he kept for her, said as she washed lettuce.
“I’ve never grown my own anything. I can’t even keep houseplants alive,” Presley said, chopping peppers.
“Mom says you have to baby them. She babies everything. Especially me.”
Even though Beckett was looking at her profile, he could feel the fullness of Ollie’s smile. Presley had a soft look in her eyes, like she was enchanted by his niece. It made his heart shift in his chest.
“Hey,” he said, announcing himself before he shut the door.
“Uncle Beckett, you stole one of the guests,” Ollie said, shaking the lettuce and getting water everywhere.
Presley flinched, and he started toward them, but then she laughed and he stopped in his tracks, because holy hell, could a woman’s laugh curl inside a heart and make it beat faster?
She tipped her head back with her laugh. “You’re giving me a lettuce-water shower.”
Ollie stopped, giggled, and looked at Presley. “Sorry.”
Presley shook her head. “It’s okay. Why don’t you grab some paper towels and we’ll dry it?” She looked at Beckett. “We couldn’t find a salad spinner.”
He frowned. “A what?”
