Randy looked at her like she had two heads and finally said, "That's why you jumped at the chance to come back."
"What other choice did I have? There wasn't anything left for me back in Miami. At least here... here I feel like there's something I can be doing, you know? Like I have some kind of purpose, at least for a little while."
Randy nodded. He looked at his eldest sister for a while, and Holly wondered what he was thinking. Finally, he reached out and put a hand on her knee. "I guess there's a lot I was wrong about. Like how Mom felt about me. Your life. God only knows what else."
"There's still plenty of time to fix all of that," Holly nudged her brother gently. "Why don't you stick around for a while? Your girls are with their mother, and it's not that far of a commute to the marina. You don't have to help out around the inn, but I'm sure Mom would love having you around for a little while."
"Maybe I will..." Randy let out a sigh and gave her the barest smile.
She wasn't going to be able to fix all of his problems at once. Certainly not in a single conversation! But they had made some good progress, and really, that was all she had hoped for from this little jaunt out on the water.
Just like Nelly, Randy was back on the right track. It was going to be a long journey and it wasn't going to be easy, but if he worked at it, he could get his life back together.
And just maybe, so could Holly.
She thought about asking him about Dean and why he was loading boxes onto his boat the other day, then decided against it. Things were good between them right then. And after everything else they both had to deal with, it just didn't seem all that important.
There would be time to deal with that later. And now that Randy was around, he could help take some of the stress off her shoulders. She could focus on making sure the inn didn't fall apart, and he could help make sure their mother didn't slip back into depression.
Maybe together, they could salvage the inn.
Chapter Nineteen
"I told you; you don't have to help with this," Holly said as Randy started unloading supplies from the back of his truck. She had taken him back to his place a few days ago, and then he'd driven back with some clothes and other things he wanted while he stayed there.
And when Holly had discussed wanting to spruce up a few cabins that sat along the beach, which were only a short walk from the main inn, Randy had jumped at the chance to help. She wasn't sure what had gotten into him but figured he had his own reasons. She didn't want to pry.
"Gotta keep myself busy," he said with a smirk, hoisting a ladder from the back of the truck as if it were made from paper. Holly let out a low whistle, and Randy's grin broadened. Clearly, he really hadn't let himself go at all! There must've been something in the water around this place. "Besides, you may be Miss Perfect, but something tells me you don't work with your hands very often."
Heat rushed to her cheeks as she pursed her lips. Ever since their chat on the boat, Randy liked to teasingly call her Miss Perfect. That alone didn't bother her, but he was right about her not having spent much time working with her hands.
She knew all about how to fix up a house. You couldn't be a real estate agent and not know what work a place needed to be able to sell for top dollar. And sure, when she had first gotten started, she had done some of the work herself to save a bit of money. But it had been years since then. More recently, she had crews she'd worked with that could handle anything and everything. All her houses had been put on the market at top-dollar.
But it was just like riding a bike, wasn't it? She was certain she could handle the basics of sprucing the cabins up. It wasn't like she was going to completely remodel them. She just wanted to get the easy stuff out of the way, so Jason and Paul's crews didn't have to deal with minor stuff.
With the inn's finances still in flux, she could only afford to pay them for so much. And if that meant she had to get out there on a ladder with a paintbrush or a screwdriver, then that was what she was going to do.
Though truth be told, she did appreciate Randy's help. She just didn't appreciate him teasing her about it.
"Awe, don't pout at me," Randy teased, winking at her. It was strange, the two of them joking around like they were kids again, but Holly kind of liked it. It was a new start for the two of them. "You said this one's empty for two days, right? Then I'll get the ladder set up and work on the exterior, and you can head inside and start touching up the paint in there. How's that sound?"
It certainly sounded faster than doing it all herself, that was for sure!
So she took one of the smaller buckets of paint and a couple of different sized brushes and used her master key to unlock the cabin. The interior didn't look all that bad. It was clean, at the very least, but there were a good number of places where the paint was faded or chipped just from years of wear and tear.
Nothing some good old-fashioned elbow grease wouldn't fix, though!
She had purposely worn an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt she had pilfered from her brother, just, so she wouldn't have to worry about getting paint all over herself. With her hair tied up in a tight bun, she was ready to get to business and breathe some fresh life into the cabin.
Holly wasn't sure how long it took before she had finally finished touching up each of the rooms, but she was dripping with sweat by the end of it. And that had been inside with the AC running! She could only imagine how her brother was faring outside in the sun!
Gathering up her supplies again, she headed back outside. Randy was around the back of the cabin now, and while Holly was sweating, he was drenched. At some point, he had taken off his t-shirt and draped it against one of the window sills to dry, leaving him shirtless in the sunlight.
If Randy was looking to find himself a new woman, all he had to do was keep working around the inn like that! Holly thought with a laugh. She doubted very many of the women on the island, locals or otherwise, would turn down a well-muscled man who was good with his hands!
Randy must've noticed her watching him. He shouted down to her, a teasing lilt in his voice. "See something you like, sis?"
Holly rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to go there. Instead, she just returned his smirk. "Just wondering if that life insurance policy Mom had taken out on all of us was still valid. I'm pretty sure falling off a ladder was one of the covered provisions."
Randy's laughter echoed around them. He finished the last spot he was working on and then headed down the ladder to join her on solid ground once more. "Just remember, Mom had one of those policies on you, too. And after going through the divorce with Patty, I've had lots of time to consider various ways to make a death seem accidental!"
"Oh, please." Holly waved off his comments with a flip of her hand. "We all know you would never harm the hair on a woman, Randall Archer. I'm pretty sure Dad more than drilled that into you growing up!"
Randy pouted. With his brow scrunched up and lips pursed, he suddenly wasn't a forty-two-year-old man anymore. He was the bratty eight-year-old who would always complain if he got left out of anything the girls were doing. "Yeah, that was totally not fair. You three could wail on me all you wanted, and he never said a word. But if I dared get you back for any of it? He tanned my hide from one end of the island to the other!"
"And here you thought you were Dad's favorite. You may have been his only son, but there's nothing quite like the bond between a father and daughter!" Holly reached out and playfully shoved her brother. When he shoved her right back, she stared at him, mouth hanging open.
"It's a good thing Dad's not around to spank me then!" Randy's laughter filled the air, and Holly had the sudden urge to dunk her brother in the ocean like she had done so many times growing up. She had done it to all three of her siblings actually-- more times than she could count.
"Well, if you don't mind putting your childhood revenge on hold, we've got one more cabin to work on today. Number three checked out this morning and the new guests won't be here until late tomorrow night, so we've got just enough
time to get it looking good for them."
Randy let out a dramatic sigh as he shook his head. "And here I thought I had come back home for some rest and relaxation. Now I've got my big sister cracking the whip again. What did I get myself into?"
"Keep it up and I'll really crack the whip!" Holly threatened.
The two of them took their time loading everything back into Randy's truck. Then they each grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler back there and chugged it down. While Holly didn't want to dawdle, she also didn't want either of them collapsing from heatstroke or something.
Besides, it wasn't like the touch-ups needed to be done right that very second. From what Natalie had told her, the new guests weren't due to arrive until at least eight in the evening. That gave them plenty of time to work on it today, then have it dried and aired out for the guests by tomorrow.
When they finally did make it over to Cabin Three, they divvied up the duties the same way again. Holly offered to take the outdoor work this time, but Randy wouldn't hear anything of it. Despite his earlier teasing, he was still too much of a gentleman to let his sister be the one melting in the Florida sun.
Cabin Three didn't need nearly as much paint touch-ups as Cabin One had. Instead, Holly found herself going through the place and tightening various cabinets and doors, oiling the ones that were squeaking. The cabin and the others would need new carpet laid and some other work done, but that would have to be handled by one of her cousins or someone on their crew.
She had just stepped outside for some fresh air and another bottle of water when she heard someone shouting. Walking around to the side of the cabin, she found Randy halfway up his ladder, brush in hand.
"You yell for me?" Holly asked before taking another long gulp of water.
Randy shook his head. "Nope. I was just about to come down and see if it was you yelling for me."
"Probably one of the guests yelling for their kids or their dog or something," Holly said with a shrug. While the entire grounds were pretty calm and relaxing, this was still a prime vacation spot for families. That meant there was a certain amount of noise that was around all day long.
But when the voice yelled again, Holly was pretty sure it was someone calling her name. The furrowed look Randy gave her said he had heard the same thing. She stepped aside as he made his way down the ladder, then the two of them headed back around the cabin, searching for the source of the noise.
Holly could just make out a figure wandering around when the person yelled again. This time, Holly was positive they were calling her name. Part of her wanted to call out in response, but she had no idea who it was calling for her. For all she knew, it was some ax murderer coming to make her his next victim.
But when the figure got closer, Holly realized it wasn't an ax murderer. Well, she wasn't one yet. But after Holly had ignored her calls and forgotten to call her back, she wouldn't have put it past her daughter to be out for blood.
"Gabby!" Holly yelled in her daughter's direction. "What in the world are you doing out here?"
"The woman at the desk told me you would be out by the cabins," Gabby shot back. And even at a distance, Holly could hear more than just irritation in her daughter's voice.
No doubt it had been Natalie who had told her where Holly was hiding out. But that wasn't the issue. The issue was what Gabby was doing in the Keys in the first place. She should have still been back in Miami, not all the way down here.
When Gabby approached, Holly smiled and went to hug her daughter. But the glare Gabby gave her stopped her midway. Gabby was most definitely not happy. Whatever had brought her all the way down here was not going to be good news.
"Mom, I swear to God! I have to drive for hours just to talk to you now?" Gabby said. The anger was evident just below the surface. "I thought you would be back in Miami by now, but apparently not. You had us both scared to death! What's going on that's so important you can't pick up the phone when your own daughter calls?"
Holly flinched, her daughter's accusations stabbing her right in the heart. She should have called Gabby back that night instead of putting it off. Instead, she'd let herself get caught up in everything else going on and had forgotten about it.
Just because Gabby wasn't a child anymore didn't mean she didn't need her mother. Holly wasn't the only one who'd had her life completely turned upside down when Will's schemes had gone public. It had affected both of their children as well, even though they were adults with their own lives.
No doubt, it had led to a lot of uncertainty and confusion. As far as they'd known, Holly and Will were perfectly happy in their marriage. They were the epitome of a happy, successful couple. Watching that all come crumbling down had probably shaken them to their core.
If their parents' perfect marriage could fall apart, what did that mean for their own relationships?
God, Holly should have seen that ages ago. She should have sat both kids down and talked to them, explained everything. She should've been there for them, let them express their fears and concerns so Holly could put them at ease.
And yet, the first chance she had gotten to run away from Miami and not look back, she had taken it. She hadn't told the kids before she had left. She hadn't kept them up to date since arriving in the Keys.
Once again, Holly had let herself get swept away with work so much that she'd neglected her family. Sure, she had been there for her mother and Randy when they'd needed her, but she hadn't been there for her own two children.
Holly locked eyes with her daughter. Gabby didn't need to use words for her mother to understand everything. She might not have been Mother of the Year, but Holly still knew her daughter. She could look into those dark brown eyes and know everything Gabby felt.
And it wasn't because of some super special mother-daughter connection. Holly could tell what her daughter was thinking and feeling because Gabby was just like Holly was. If she had stopped and paid more attention, maybe she would have seen it sooner, but she and Gabby were exactly alike.
This meant Holly had work to do. If she didn't get her butt into gear and fix the hundred and one problems she had created, Gabby might end up going down the same road she had. Holly couldn't let that happen.
Gabby had her whole life ahead of her--a fiancé who doted on her. She had a job she adored, teaching third graders. There was no way Holly could let Gabby make the same mistakes she had made.
"Come on, let's go talk," Holly said, trying to smile. When she glanced over at Randy, he raised an eyebrow. "Can you finish the cabin up?"
Chapter Twenty
The two of them headed away from the family inn. Holly wanted to put some distance between it and herself for this conversation. If she stayed too close, she was afraid some minor problems might crop up and try to pull her attention away once again.
Besides, Gabby had only been to Islamorada a handful of times over the years. Since she was there, Holly figured she might as well let her daughter see some of the town where her mother had grown up.
They headed toward Founders Park. Holly had taken Gabby there when she was a baby or a toddler, but judging by the way Gabby was trying to take it all in, she didn't remember much, if any, of it.
It was a gorgeous place and one of the first sites tourists flock to when they came to town. Maybe once the summer was over and the place settled down, Holly would have her come back, so they could really enjoy it together.
That thought made Holly's breath catch in her throat. She hadn't made any formal plans to stay for any certain length of time, but there she was, thinking as if she would be around for the long haul.
"I'm sorry I didn't answer your calls that day. Grandma... Grandma isn't doing well. I was at the hospital with her when you tried to call, and I just couldn't talk at the moment. But I should have called you back the moment I was able to."
Gabby nodded absently. She listened quietly as Holly filled her in on everything regarding Nelly's incident. Her daughter's anger dissipated and was replaced by c
oncern for the grandmother she had only met a handful of times.
"I'm glad she's doing better," Gabby said, the edge in her voice gone now. Just like Holly, she didn't stay angry for very long. She had a quick fuse, but it was thankfully a short one, a fact that would probably save her from a lot of headaches in the future.
She had known too many people who didn't know when to give up, and they were almost always miserable. That was certainly not a fate she would ever want to wish on her daughter.
They walked in silence for a bit longer, Gabby taking in the sights like a tourist. But then, she was a tourist, wasn't she? Neither she nor Sean had gotten to grow up on the island, and Holly regretted not bringing them back here more often.
The inn would pass to Holly and her siblings. And then, after that, it would go on to Gabby, Sean, and their cousins. It didn't seem right for them not to have grown up around the Archer Inn, learning it from the ground up like she had.
Just another regret she would have to live with, Holly thought to herself.
"Mom," Gabby said suddenly, breaking the silence. "What's really going on with you and Dad? Your lawyers keep calling us and showing up at the houses trying to find you. Sean and I aren't stupid, you know. So stop lying and just tell me the truth, please."
Holly muttered curses under her breath. She had told Will to handle the IRS, but if the lawyers were still hounding for her, that meant he hadn't done it yet. If he didn't do something soon, Holly was likely to end up in prison for something she had nothing to do with.
But how was she supposed to explain that to her daughter? Wouldn't that just freak her out? Worse, wouldn't that just make her angrier with her father? But she couldn't keep lying to her and Sean forever. If the worst-case scenario really did come to pass, then she wouldn't want them to be blindsided by it.
"Your father... You know he was involved in some shady real estate deals. Well, as it turned out, he had been falsifying all the tax records, too, trying to cover his tracks. But once the shady deals came to light, so did the stuff with his taxes..." Holly took a deep breath. How much more did she need to tell Gabby?
The Archer House (The Archer Inn Book 1) Page 11
