by Cassie Hayes
He grabbed the hand she was using to smack herself in the forehead. “Hey, no. It wasn’t like that.”
She yanked her arm away like his very touch scalded her. “Of course it was. I should have known you didn’t mean it when you said you’d take care of my father’s legacy. You can take the boy out of the city, but you can never take the city out of the boy.”
Something inside him broke that she thought that of him. Probably his heart. But could he blame her? As much as he hated to consider the possibility, maybe he’d inherited his father’s “asshole gene” after all.
“Lex, I’m not going to tear down—“
“Do whatever you want with it,” she called over her shoulder as she practically ran to her car, her face red and her eyes blazing. “I won’t stand in the way of you and your precious parking lot. God knows that, after this, I’ll never want to come back to this hellhole ever again!”
As angry as she was, Lex still was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. And she thought he’d just betrayed her. He was the idiot.
“Daddy?” Sophia whimpered after Lex tore out of the grove. “Did you do something bad?”
His throat closed up for a second before he could answer. “Yes, sweets, I think I did.”
She squirmed in his lap until she was holding his face in her small hands, staring hard at him with her most serious, grown-up expression. “Remember what you always tell me? When you make a mistake, you have to make it right.”
Staring into his amazing daughter’s eyes, he realized how stupid and selfish he’d really been. As much as he wanted to deny it, he had to admit that his offer to buy the inn wasn’t wholly philanthropic. And when you’re trying to win a lady’s heart, selfishness is not a good quality to put on display.
“You’re absolutely right, sweets.”
Now he just had to figure out how.
Chapter Ten
Grayson felt like the jerk he’d never wanted to become. While he hadn’t actually lied to Lex, he knew he’d screwed up. He couldn’t blame her one bit for no longer trusting him. Yet, after everything, she hadn’t abandoned him. Or rather, Sophia.
After their blow-up at the Nelder Grove, Lex asked him to meet her in her office. Not the homey, romantic lobby of the Alpine Inn, or even the gazebo, where they’d shared some moments he would cherish forever. But he would have met her on the moon if she’d wanted, just for the chance to talk to her.
But she hadn’t let him get a word in edgewise. Every time he tried to explain, to apologize, she cut him off tersely. All she wanted was to tell him that she would continue watching Sophia for as long as it took for him to find a replacement, or until the sale of the inn went through.
His heart had clenched at the tightness of her voice when she explained it to him, and all he’d wanted to do was pull her into his arms and kiss away the pain. Of course, if it hadn’t been for that blasted “Conrad gene,” she wouldn’t have been in pain in the first place.
So he took what he could get, and spent every second he could with her — which were precious few — trying to engage her. It rarely worked. On a normal day, when she saw him return to the inn, she’d watch just long enough to see him hoist Sophia in his arms, and then she’d disappear. It’d been a rough couple of weeks.
“Daddy, will we have high-speed internet at the resort?” Sophia was packing up her room, which connected to his through a door he always kept open.
“It’s not up yet, sweets. Why?”
She huffed in exasperation. “My followers will want to see my new room.”
He still wasn’t entirely sure how Instagram worked, but he knew it was important to Sophia. Lex had assured him that his daughter was perfectly safe on the site. It still bugged him though. What if some perv tracked her down?
“Sorry, Sophia. Besides, I don’t know if it’s such a good idea for you to post to that anymore.”
She froze as she tucked a stuffed elephant into a box. Her eyes grew wide and tears filled them.
Oh no, not tears.
“But Daddy…”
“I’m sorry, sweets. I won’t have time to keep track of it, and since the new nanny is older than the hills, there won’t be anyone to keep you safe.”
Lex had found her own replacement — not that she could ever be replaced — through one of the Bubbies, he forgot which one. The older woman had impeccable references, tons of experience caring for children, and was considered a pillar of the community. Exactly what he would have wanted in a nanny…before he’d met Lex.
Sophia’s lower lip quivered and tears spilled, but he wouldn’t be swayed. After two close calls, he wasn’t about to risk her safety again. Oh, the irony. He’d wanted to leave LA to keep her safe, even though nothing had ever happened to her. Here in Yosemite Flats, she’d ended up lost twice, in a matter of a few weeks. Still, he knew in his heart that this was the place he wanted to raise her. Now if only he could convince Lex to stay.
The slam of a door brought him out of his thoughts. Sophia had shoved their connecting door closed and he could hear her sobbing behind it. Boy, he really knew how to handle the ladies, didn’t he?
Slumping on his bed, he wondered if his father would come through for him. He’d avoided asking his dad for help with any part of this project — including the infamous permit issue — but this time he really needed him.
A knock on his door drew him out of his self-pity. When he opened it, his breath caught in his chest and his heart struggled to beat a regular rhythm. Lex stood before him, looking glorious in a pair of ancient, tattered jeans and a threadbare flannel shirt two sizes too big. Such a far cry from the first time he’d laid eyes — and hands — on her, but it was so…her. Honestly, it hardly mattered what she was wearing, or that she looked like she hadn’t slept in a week. He’d find her breathtaking regardless.
She glanced past him, carefully avoiding eye contact, to the closed connecting door. “Everything okay?”
“Not in the slightest,” he answered honestly, never taking his eyes off her perfect face. It took a monumental feat of strength to not sweep her into his arms and hug her tight.
She hesitated, not knowing what to do. She didn’t seem to want to risk meeting his gaze, but something was on her mind. Finally, she locked her vibrant blue eyes on his and her lips puckered tight.
“So…you’re leaving.”
“Tonight,” he said, nodding and waving an arm around the half-packed room that he’d lived in for the last several months. “I really should be there at all times. Besides, Mrs. Packer will be taking over for you tomorrow. Might as well start in the place we’ll be living.”
Grayson had toyed with the idea of buying a house in Yosemite Flats for him and Sophia. Prices were certainly reasonable by California standards, but he quickly decided that if The Eyrie was going to be his primary focus, he’d need to live on-site. He’d still handle business with The Conrad Group as needed, but he really wanted his resort to be the diamond in the company’s crown.
“Of course,” Lex said, maintaining eye contact. Her nostrils flared, and he wondered if it was in sadness or anger. “Why are you trying to ruin my life?”
Definitely anger.
“Huh?” He only wanted the best for Lex. If she wanted to live in LA, he wanted that for her, but he wanted her to make a fully informed decision on the matter.
She pushed past him and whirled on him, jamming her fists onto those distracting hips of hers. “I had that phone interview with your father a week ago and I haven’t heard back.”
He turned away from her and closed the door softly. Guilt swept over him.
“Okay…”
“It went well and I know it. I also know that I’m probably one of the most qualified applicants for the job.”
Steeling himself, he turned to face her. “And?”
Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “And! And I know you had something to do with this, Grayson. You suggested that I apply for the job at your company. I stupidly assum
ed you’d give me a good recommendation to your dad, but regardless, I nailed that interview. I should be GM of the new hotel in Marina del Rey. We both know that. Yet your father won’t return my calls.”
He didn’t know what to say, so he stayed silent, just staring at her. Willing her to love him.
“I can only assume you’re blackballing me, Grayson. Are you?”
Grayson Conrad had learned from his father, the greatly respected and feared Richard Conrad, how to negotiate while wearing a poker face. He summoned every lesson he’d ever learned from dear old dad and did his best to suppress the flush that tried to creep up his face. But apparently love was never a factor in the boardroom.
Lex’s jaw clenched at his pathetic display of guilt. That, he could handle. What he couldn’t deal with emotionally were the tears that sprang to her eyes. He never wanted to be the cause of those. Yet that’s exactly what he was.
“What did I ever do to you?” she asked. “I really don’t get it. Can you explain?”
He couldn’t. At least, not yet. Lex deserved more than words. Besides, words wouldn’t convince her. That had been proven. She deserved action. So he had to keep his mouth shut. For the moment.
“I’m sorry, Lex.” It was all he could manage. It was all he had. He had no idea if his father would come through for him. If he didn’t, he’d try to figure out something else, but that would be long after Lex left.
She shook her head in disgust, brushing away a tear. “Whatever. Do you at least have a clue when your lawyer will bring over the papers to turn this place over to you?”
He’d told his lawyer to stall, and she was doing an excellent job. But their excuses were running thin after two weeks.
“Um, I think she got sidetracked by another case.”
Lex’s snort was less than amused. “Like I don’t know you have the woman on retainer. Again, whatever. I don’t even need to be here for it, I just thought I’d help through the transition. But you obviously want to drag out my punishment for as long as possible, so I say screw it. I’m leaving tomorrow. You deal with my mom. Good luck.”
She spun on her heel and headed for the main stairway. He hated this, but she’d left him no choice. He had to prove to her how much she meant to him. The connecting door squeaked open.
“Is she still mad, Daddy?”
“I’m afraid so, sweets.” He went to his daughter and kneeled in front of her. He never wanted her to feel alone or abandoned. Growing up without a mother had done a number on her, despite more than one round of therapy. Besides wanting Lex for himself, Sophia deserved a mother who loved her as much as Lex did.
“You said you would fix it.” Tears shimmered in those beautiful, brown eyes.
“I will, baby. I will.”
I hope.
Dawn had barely broken over the eastern rim of the Sierra when Lex crammed the last bag into the trunk of her car. Her once-pristine baby was now dusty and dirt-caked…much like its owner. She grimaced at what her neighbors in Marina del Rey would think about her stained and tattered jeans and the ratty flannel shirt she’d seemed to live in the last few days. Probably that she’d paid top dollar for the “distressed” look.
She finally knew the truth though. Lex was a simple, small-town girl going back to the big city. As much as her brain told her to be excited, her heart wouldn’t obey. She’d survive, maybe even thrive, but for the first time in far too long, she knew she’d miss this place. For all its glitz and glamour, Los Angeles would never truly be home. That honor was reserved for Yosemite Flats.
As she watched the sky brighten in the east, Brett dropped a hand on her shoulder. She hadn’t heard her three brothers and mother join her in the parking lot, but she was glad they were there. Now that she was leaving, she found it hard to say goodbye. She’d miss them all so much. Even Charlotte, who didn’t look particularly happy.
After the family had agreed to sell the inn to Grayson, her mother had become almost bearable to be around. Regardless, they butted heads all too often, and despite her brothers’ encouragement, Lex knew that living with Charlotte would be torture for both of them. Thankfully, Grayson’s payment for the inn would set her mother up in a tidy little condo in town and allow her to retire.
She glanced behind her family to the only real home she’d ever known. The rising sun cast the Alpine Inn in a vibrant warm glow, almost as if it wanted to burn itself into her memory. Gratitude welled up in her for the unexpected gift because it would almost certainly be the last time she saw it.
“Hey, I didn’t mean to make you all wake up so early,” Lex said, trying to choke down her emotions.
“Uh, when your little sister texts that she’s leaving town at dawn, you haul your raggedy ass out of bed,” said Nash, punctuating his point with a mighty yawn. “Even if it is the middle of the night.”
“Only for slackers,” she teased, poking him in the ribs.
“Or blackjack dealers,” he countered, grinning like the little devil he was.
“Sis, I thought you weren’t leaving till the deal was done.” Hale sounded worried.
She shrugged, afraid that speaking would give away her distress. As much as she hated leaving them — even her mother — she needed more than anything to leave Yosemite Flats behind. At least for now. Maybe forever. Her heart was just too raw over losing so much — and not just the inn — in such a short time.
Brett came to her rescue. “We can handle the rest, Lex. Don’t you worry, okay?”
She smiled gratefully up at the big lug and gave him a tight side-hug. “Thanks, bro. I honestly don’t know what the hold-up is. It should have closed a week ago.”
“Maybe he’s stalling to keep you around, you ever think of that?”
Everyone blinked in surprise at Charlotte’s near-compliment. While this couldn’t exactly be called praise, it was as close as she’d come since Lex was twelve and won the school spelling bee.
“What?” her mother huffed, her expression exasperated, which was a constant state of being for Charlotte Luther, at least where her daughter was concerned. “The boy is madly in love with you. Honestly, I don’t know why you’re running away. Oh right, because that’s what you do.”
She sniffed and turned away from them, leaving Lex to gape at her. It was a sucker-punch that delivered the intended pain and made Lex wonder why she’d thought things were getting better with her mom.
Just one more reason to never come back here, she thought, ready to write her mother out of her life permanently. Then she saw something she could scarcely believe. Charlotte’s shoulders shook. If it had been anyone else, she would think they were crying, but…this was her mother. Her mother.
When those slumped shoulders hitched again, Lex’s heart opened up. She couldn’t be sure, but it seemed almost as if Charlotte was…sad. Sad that she was leaving. That didn’t seem possible but she couldn’t think of another explanation. Her brothers stared at her and Brett even jerked his head toward Charlotte, silently encouraging Lex to talk to her. Was it possible that their relationship wasn’t actually doomed?
As she took a step forward, not having a clue what to say, something that sounded suspiciously like a dying moose riding a rickety roller coaster came roaring down the hill toward them. Billowing plumes of smoke trailed a huge, rusty, old truck as it hurtled by at what was probably its top speed, but couldn’t have been more than fifty.
“Bender’s moving like his tail’s on fire,” Nash laughed, as they all turned to watch the junker rattle past, heading toward town. Moments after the truck passed by, the acrid stench of smoke hit their noses. “Wow, what a stinker!”
Lex frowned. Something wasn’t right. That smoke. It smelled more like…
Before her brain could finish the thought, the shrill squeal of sirens reached their ears, approaching quickly from the direction Bender had just gone. In unison, what remained of the Luther family turned to watch Yosemite Flats’ lone fire truck blast by. At the same moment, the head housekeeper, Cherise, to
re out the front doors of the inn, frantically waving her arms. Only when the siren had faded a little could they hear what she was screaming.
“Fire!”
Less than an hour later, it seemed as if the entire population of Yosemite Flats was running around the acre or so of land that separated the Alpine Inn from The Eyrie’s property. Fire Chief Paul Dolan directed his mostly volunteer crew, along with dozens of citizens who had heeded the call for help.
Between evacuating guests, and brewing gallons of Terminator-strength coffee for everyone, Lex barely had time to think, but the show of support filled her with love for this wacky little community. Cars and trucks had packed their tiny parking lot and poured out onto the narrow two-lane road, and they were still coming.
Los Angeles got a bad rap for being callous, but she sincerely doubted her neighbors back in the big city — much less anyone who lived more than two blocks away — would make this kind of effort. They’d let the professionals handle it, as they probably should. But in a place as remote as Yosemite Flats, everyone pitched in to lend a hand, because they all knew that the next person in need could very well be them.
As she poured the last carafe of coffee into an industrial-sized dispenser, Lex peered out a kitchen window that faced the back of the property. Her stomach cramped at the line of fire marching steadily toward the inn and all the people scrambling to contain it. While the fire department worked from Grayson’s property to deal with the worst of it, volunteers frantically hacked a rough firebreak behind the inn using whatever they could find — mowers, shovels, hoes, boot heels. Their job wasn’t made any easier by the neglect the grounds had suffered since her dad’s death.
All three of her brothers worked the portion of the line closest to the fire, with Brett shouting instructions to others who were steadily joining the crew. Lex drew in a sharp breath when she recognized one particular figure. Grayson pulled himself upright and stretched his back, his bare chest and arms glistening with sweat and speckled with ash. He swiped his forearm across his brow and went back to hacking the earth with a hoe. Her heart just about jumped out of her chest and landed in the sink as the muscles in his back and arms bulged and rippled.
