Page 18 of Here With You

Hugh pointed to the house behind the resort. “There’s a dumpster over yonder.”

“I got it.” He placed the shovel on top of the cooled ashes and spent logs and lifted the handles. He hated being late to work, but Hugh was too old to do this kind of work. “Isn’t there anyone else to help you?”

Hugh shook his head. “I’m the ash man.” He gave him a sly smile. “Seventy years ago, I could have dropped the h and added an s.” He chuckled. “The mind is still willing, but the body gave up long ago.”

His hearing might have faded, but his sense of humor remained. “Why are you working? You’ve got to be eighty.” He was being conservative with his guess.

“I’m ninety-two, and I work because my Mabel tells me she’d murder me if I stayed home. Besides, she’s got an expensive QVC habit that needs my paycheck to support. There’s not a lot I can give her, but I can provide her with Today’s Special Value money.”

“They say, happy wife, happy life. I’m sure Mabel is an amazing woman and incredibly happy.”

Hugh grinned. “I keep telling her that, and she makes me spaghetti and meatballs.”

Miles wheeled close to the dumpster and evaluated the situation. Once the wheelbarrow was full, Hugh had to bring it to the dumpster and then transfer it by shovel. That was a lot of shoveling for an older man, and from the wheelbarrow to the dumpster, he had to lift the shovel nearly to his shoulders. As a strong man, even he dumped a few ashes sideways.

“Not an ideal setup here.”

Hugh shook his head. “Nope, but this is how it’s been done since I can remember. No sense changing something that doesn’t need it.”

Ollie sidled over to Hugh and looked longingly at his left boot. “Not today, Ollie.”

Hugh pointed to the dog. “Has Em seen him? There are no dogs allowed at the resort.”

Miles sighed. “You’re right. I should get him back to The Kessler, where fur friends are appreciated.”

“The Kessler?”

Miles leaned the wheelbarrow and shovel against the house before turning toward The Kessler. He was already ten minutes late. “I’m managing the property for Carter and Brie while they’re on their honeymoon.”

Hugh’s bushy white brows rose an inch on his lined forehead. “And Em knows this?”

“She does.”

“And she’s okay with it.”

“Nope, but we don’t always get what we want.”

“You remember Em, right? She’s a woman who always gets what she wants.”

Miles considered Emmaline for a few seconds. “She’s trained you to believe that. But I don’t know if she understands what she truly wants. I think Emmaline has been told what she wants, and she doesn’t know any different.”

Hugh, Ollie, and Miles walked back toward the front of the resort.

“You might be on to something there. I’m trained to want what Mabel wants.”

“Which is fine if you want the same thing.” The problem for Miles was he wasn’t sure what he wanted. He thought it was Emmaline, but there would be no room for him as long as her number one priority was the resort. She’d chosen it over him years ago, and he refused to come in second in her life again. “Have a good morning, Hugh. Don’t work yourself to death. If you need help with something, just come and ask.” He nodded behind him to The Kessler. “I’ll be right there.”

He and Ollie left Hugh standing on the sidewalk. To wait for him would make him another fifteen minutes late, and he didn’t want to set a poor example. Though Margot was training him, he was, for all intents and purposes, the manager there.

As he passed the parking lot, he saw Charlotte and Marybeth exit a car. They both stopped and stared.

“Good morning, ladies.” He nodded and walked up the steps and into The Kessler.

“You’re late,” Margot said as she glared at him. “You’re not setting the best example, and I’ll have to let Em know because she’s paying my salary and asked me to keep a close eye on you.”

“What will it cost me to keep that bit of information secret?”

Margot tapped her chin and smiled. “I’ll leave it out of my daily report for twenty bucks.”

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