Homecoming Reunion (8 page)

She looked like a cute executive.

Orest laughed at something she said, then gave her a hug. With his arm still over her shoulder they walked to the front door. She said goodbye, waved him off then walked back across the foyer.

When their eyes made contact, her warm, open smile was replaced with a tight, polite one.

It shouldn’t bother him, but it did.

When Larissa came into the office Garret noticed the moment Emily saw Larissa. Her eyes widened and then her hand wandered up to her mouth as if to hold back whatever might come out.

“Hello, Emily,” Larissa said.

Emily nodded but before she lowered her hand Garret caught the tremble of her lips. “Hello, Larissa. You’re looking well.” In spite of the tremble, her voice was quiet and reserved.

“Thank you” was Larissa’s even response.

Garret knew he had to take charge of the meeting and defuse the tension he sensed was building. He strode to the desk and sat down, glancing from Emily to Larissa who still hovered in the doorway.

“Emily, can I show Larissa the figures you ran past me as well as the new menu?” he said, reaching for the papers Emily still held.

Emily pulled her attention back to Garret and shoved the papers across the desk.

“Emily gave me a rough budget and asked if we could go over the menu,” Garret said, looking at the papers he knew by heart. He waited for Larissa to sit down on the end of the table and then set the papers in front of her.

Larissa took the first sheet and as she read, the frown on her face deepened as her eyes flicked over the columns of figures.

A heavy silence fell in the office and Garret had to force himself not to fill it.

Larissa put the paper down. “You’ll need a couple of assistants to do all of this. These dishes will require a lot of prep work.”

Garret was surprised she could draw that conclusion simply from seeing the recipes Emily had written out. Obviously she knew more about running the kitchen than he had given her credit for.

“I figured that was part of the deal,” Emily said, a faint note of belligerence entering her voice.

“It was.” Garret intervened before Larissa could protest.

She shot him an annoyed look, which he simply held, not allowing her frustration to seep into his decisions.

“Okay. As long as this doesn’t affect the operating loan to much,” she said. “Because I still need to access that for the day-to-day running of the inn.”

“We discussed this,” he reminded her and she looked back down at the paper a faint nod of her head was the only response he got.

“Okay, then,” she said, folding the papers up. “If that’s the direction we’re going in, I should talk to my father about this.”

Garret caught Emily’s knowing glance and chose to ignore it.

“I better get back to the kitchen,” Emily said, getting to her feet. As she walked out of the office, Larissa was about to follow when Garret called her back.

“There’s a couple of other things I need to talk to you about,” he said before she got to the door.

She stopped, closed the door and leaned back against it.

“So, what do you need to know,” she asked.

Now that Emily was gone, the room seemed suddenly close and intimate. The light from the window cast intriguing shadows over her face and enhanced the sheen of her dark hair.

He cleared his throat, trying to focus on what he wanted to talk to her about. “Couple of things. I’ve been in contact with a friend, Sheila Nixon. She’s worked in the hospitality industry for fifteen years and is looking for a change. I’d like you to consider having her run the front desk to help you out.”

“That’s an unnecessary extra cost,” she protested.

“We have an operating loan.” He said that so easily, as if he didn’t wonder, yet again, what he would do when they hit the end of the loan. The operating loan wasn’t endless. And eventually it would have to be repaid.

But he had been watching Larissa the past few days and she was running herself ragged trying to manage the front desk and supervise the running of the inn. If the plans he was slowly putting into place came together, she would be even busier managing.

If.

He dismissed the second thoughts and the niggle of fear at the uncertainty of his plans.
All part of the process,
he reminded himself.
All part of the challenge.

“Have you talked to my father about hiring her?”

Garret kept his smile intact, stifling his irritation with her need to run everything past her father. “I don’t need to. Not if you agree. You do hold that authority.”

She caught one corner of her lip between her teeth as if she wasn’t convinced. He wanted to push her to make a decision, but knew he had to move slowly. Especially since she would need to be working with Emily.

“I also noticed Orest was here to pick up the financials,” he said, bringing his thoughts back to the matter at hand. “Did you talk to him about the audit? I need to set up an appointment with Albert Grimmon in town and I need to know when it works for him.”

Larissa frowned. “I talked to my father about the audit and he said we don’t need to do that. He thinks it’s like telling Orest we don’t trust him.”

“What do
you
think?”

“I agree with my father,” she said with a frown as if that was a foregone conclusion.

...that girl has always done what her daddy tells her.

Emily’s words of only a few moments ago resonated in his mind and raised surge of annoyance.

He knew he had to tread carefully. If Larissa decided she was running to her father with every decision and if her father was sentimentally clinging to the past as Larissa claimed then any change he wanted to make was doomed. He needed Larissa on board and he needed her to be willing to look ahead and make decisions for the inn separate from her father.

“I told you why we needed that audit done,” he said, trying to stay calm. “It’s not about not trusting Orest, it’s about balance and making sure everything is in order.”

“It always has been. Orest is the most meticulous bookkeeper we’ve had.”

“I heard he’s also the only bookkeeper you had,” Garret reminded her. “And it’s a common business practice that has nothing to do trust and everything to do with proper management.”

Larissa sighed. “I guess I could talk to my father again.”

“Or you could make the decision on your own,” he said, holding her gaze, fighting his irritation with her. “Larissa, I know you want this inn to succeed. So do I. But I also need to know that you and I can work together. I understand you want to consult your father, but at the same time, I need to know that we are moving ahead with our plans to make this inn successful. There are decisions you have the power and authority to make.”

She held his gaze a moment, and he could see her uncertainty written all over her features. Then her cell phone rang and she glanced at it and gave Garret an apologetic smile.

“It’s my dad.”

And that’s all she needed to say as, once again, she made her choice.

Chapter Six

L
arissa sat down in the church pew and eased out a sigh. She was so ready to sit and let the worship service ease away the troubles of the week. Their housekeeper, Helen Rochester, was balking at the extra work Larissa needed done and had insisted on getting help like Emily had. Larissa’s father was calling her every day now requiring constant updates. Orest was balking at getting an external audit saying it wouldn’t give them more information than what they had already and it was an unnecessary cost. Something her father agreed with.

And seeing Garret every day was wearing in a way that both bothered and annoyed her.

Please, Lord, help me to get through all of this. Help me to stop worrying about the money. Help me not focus on Garret and the past. Help me not worry about my future.

The gentle murmur of the conversation of people coming into church counterpointed by the quiet instrumental music of the worship group soothed away some of her worries and concerns.

“Hey, Larissa, haven’t seen you in ages.” Alanna Michaels dropped into the pew beside Larissa and set her oversized purse on the floor. “Guess you been busy with Garret and the inn?”

Larissa caught her friend’s teasing tone, but let the comment slide. “Lots of changes to deal with.”

Alanna brushed back a strand of platinum blond hair that had come loose from the intricate braid crossed over her head. “I heard Emily is back cooking at the inn. How is that for you?”

Of course she would know,
Larissa thought. Alanna’s chocolate shop was right around the corner from Mug Shots. Alanna had lunch there every day.

Larissa pulled her hands over her face, drew in a slow breath, then leaned sideways to whisper in her friend’s ear. “I’m here in church to forget about work. Help me out, girlfriend.”

Alanna’s cornflower eyes gazed into Larissa’s as if searching for the things her friend didn’t want to discuss. She sighed and nodded. “Okay. You got it.”

“Good. Now tell me what I missed at the last Chamber of Commerce meeting.”

Alanna pursed her lips. “You really should start coming yourself.”

The same thing Garret had said.

“Just tell me.”

“Okay. Jack Sorenson did a presentation on using Facebook and Twitter to expand your business. Dan Morrow talked about the budget. The history book came up again and got tabled again. Rene Albertson finally joined. And, well...” Alanna stopped there, pulling her lower lip between her teeth. “The rest is boring stuff.”

Larissa frowned. “What aren’t you telling me? What else happened?”

Alanna scratched her cheek with one long fingernail, still hesitating.

“Just tell me,” Larissa urged.

“Okay. Norman Parkhurst wants to add another wing to his hotel. Put in a couple of waterslides, a pool, another hot tub and a climbing wall. All for his guests. Don’t know how he gets the money for that.” The words came out in a rush, as if Alanna wanted to get them out of the way as quickly as possible.

Larissa felt a clench in her midsection. As if she didn’t have enough trouble filling up the inn. Now she had to compete with waterslides and a climbing wall?

Alanna patted Larissa’s hand. “You don’t need to worry about Norman’s plans. They might not go through. His lot might not be big enough so there’ll be zoning issues.”

Larissa knew Norman and also knew he was the brother-in-law of the county councillor and the cousin of the mayor. Lots of connections he could milk to help him ease the building permit through the necessary channels.

She looked back at the front of the church, reminding herself where she was and why she was here. Reminding herself that her business problems were just part of living on this earth.

Please help me to let go of my worries, Lord
, she prayed.
Help me to focus on what I can do and let go of what I can’t.

“I hear Garret has all kinds of plans for the inn,” Alanna was saying. “Rene from Scrap Happy told me that Garret had talked to her about doing a craft retreat at the inn.”

Why hadn’t Garret talked to her about this?

“I think it’s a brilliant idea, especially now that Emily is back,” Alanna continued. “Women on a retreat love their food.” Alanna gave a mournful sigh, which made Larissa smile. For the past year Alanna had been struggling with her weight and finally, after years of being “the chubby one,” had shed a considerable amount of weight. Then, as if to prove to herself and the world she had conquered this particular Everest, she turned around and bought Chocoholics, a chain store that sold chocolate and specialty gift items.

“Good food definitely contributes to a good retreat,” Larissa agreed, making a note to talk to Garret when she was back at the inn.

Then a movement and the sound of familiar laughter caught her attention and as she turned she felt her pulse step up its rhythm.

Garret stood in the aisle, one hand on the end of the pew, as he chatted with his cousin, Hailey Beck and Hailey’s fiancé, Dan Morrow. A young girl sat on Hailey’s lap. Dan’s daughter Natasha.

But Garret’s presence was a surprise to her.

Garret had not attended church faithfully. When they were dating it had been a stumbling block. Yet, here he was in church wearing a dark blue suit with a white shirt and a gray-and-blue striped tie, looking every bit the successful businessman.

She thought he was staying at the inn today and supervising the new staff member who had been hired to help Larissa run the front desk. Obviously Garret thought Sheila capable enough to manage for a couple of hours on her own.

And she was, Larissa thought. Sheila had worked in a large chain hotel for fifteen years and apparently was excited to be working in a smaller establishment. Though Larissa had initially been angry with what she saw as pushiness on Garret’s part, she had also seen the advantages in only a couple of days.

Then Garret released another laugh, his eyes crinkling up at the corners.

The sight plucked out a memory of Garret standing on the deck of a logging bridge up in Hartley pass, telling her that if she didn’t marry him, he would jump into the raging waters below.

Larissa had almost believed him and had run toward him, pleading not to jump. Then he had grabbed and swung her around, laughing down at her, his eyes crinkling up in the same way.

Just kidding,
he had said.
I’m not the kind to make needless sacrifices.

He was certainly right on that score.

“He is as good-looking as he ever was,” Alanna said with a gentle sigh.

“Who is?” Larissa asked, turning back to her friend, pretending ignorance of her subject.

Alanna gave Larissa a knowing look. “You know exactly who I’m talking about. Don’t tell me he doesn’t make your heart go all pitty pat?”

“Pitty pat? What are you? Four?” Larissa flashed Alanna a tight grin, trying to shift the conversation to a lighter level. Her good friend’s gushing over Garret was not helping.

“Thump, thump. Boom, boom,” Alanna said, glancing back at Garret. “Myself, I prefer pitty pat. It’s not too dramatic and a little bit silly—which is just the way you used to act around him.”