Sheriff Thompson nodded, jotting down a few notes. “We’ll do an investigation and let you know if anything turns up. You can go ahead and clean the place up, we have plenty of pictures to document the damage. I have to be honest with you, though—we might never know who did this. It could have been a drifter, passing through. Have you noticed anything else unusual since you’ve been here? Anyone hanging around you don’t recognize? I know there’s another resort around the bend, so it isn’t like you’re totally alone out here.”
Renee flashed back to her horror the previous night when she found the dead squirrel in the middle of the kitchen floor.
“This is probably totally unrelated . . . but we did have something weird happen last night, too.” Renee told him about the dead squirrel and the open door in the other unit.
“Hm,” the sheriff said, nodding. “You’re probably right. Maybe your dog dragged the squirrel in when you weren’t looking and a careless teenager didn’t shut the door tight, but good to know. Be careful, OK? If you have anything else strange happen, here’s my card. Call me direct right away. It’s just you and your two kids out here, then, along with whoever is renting your cabins?”
Renee knew what he was asking without coming right out and asking it.
“I’ve been a widow for ten years. We don’t usually have a man out here with us. But this coming week, my family is coming for the Fourth, so my dad and brother will be here. I also rented out one of the other cabins to my brother-in-law and his daughter for the month of July.”
“Good, good to know. We should know in a month’s time if the trouble has passed. Why don’t you go home and get some rest now? I’ll walk you back and we’ll be in touch.”
Hopefully, the next time we talk, it’s so you can tell me you caught the bastard that did this, Renee thought. There would be no more sleep tonight.
Chapter 48
Gift of Expansion
Renee considered calling Matt after everyone was settled in for what was left of the night. But they had talked so often over the past few months, he would do a quick mental calculation of the time difference and know something was wrong. She didn’t want to worry him, so she would wait. She would probably talk to him in a couple of days regardless, and she needed to get some rest. Her first order of business in the morning would be to figure out what to do about her renters for Cabin #3 for the upcoming week. After a couple hours of restless sleep, Renee gave up and headed downstairs. All was quiet. She made a quick list of all she needed to accomplish. She was expecting her family to start arriving midday.
Knowing her dad always got up early, she called him.
“Hey, Dad, hope I didn’t wake you. We had a little problem here last night,” Renee started to explain. She gave him a quick rundown on the vandalism.
“Well, shit—is everyone OK?”
“Yeah, I called the sheriff. He came and took a report. Everyone is fine, but the cabin is a mess. I have a full house this coming week, with it being the Fourth. To be honest, I need a little extra help. I know you and Mom were coming later today, but . . . any chance you could come earlier? I could use you.”
“Of course, of course, Renee. You don’t have to ask twice. I’ll wake your mother right now. We will pack up and be there as soon as we can. Everything will be OK, kiddo.” And with that, George hung up.
Ten minutes later, her cell rang. She expected it to be one of her parents, but it was a number she didn’t recognize.
“Hello, this is Renee Clements at Whispering Pines. How can I help you?”
“Hello, Mrs. Clements. This is Joe Anderson. Sorry to call you so early. My wife Mary Beth and I are renting one of your cabins this week. Unfortunately, I had a bit of a fender-bender yesterday and our car is in the shop. It won’t be fixed until Monday, so we aren’t going to be able to get to the resort until later that evening. I was calling to let you know we won’t be there today.”
With a silent fist pump for this unexpected reprieve, Renee told Joe how sorry she was to hear about the accident and assured him she would hold his cabin.
The Andersons had been slated for Cabin #2. Since #2 and #3 were a similar layout, she was going to flip them around with the renters for #3. This gave her two extra days to get Cabin #3 back in shape. When the other renters arrived this afternoon, she would put them in Cabin #2 instead.
Problem temporarily solved.
***
George and Lavonne arrived at ten that morning. Ethan and his kids got in a half-hour later—George had called him immediately after talking with Renee. The plan had always been for the week to be a combination of work and relaxation; now they were going to have to work a little harder than expected at the front end.
Thank God for family, Renee thought.
Emma and Anna were scheduled to go home, as were Ben, Denny, and Craig, but given everything that happened the night before, they all wanted to pitch in to help clean up before leaving. Ethan brought his enclosed trailer back so some of the items they couldn’t salvage were hauled out and stowed there. The sofa was ruined, but there was a similar one upstairs in the lodge. Celia or another previous owner must have gotten a discount and bought them in bulk. Craig and Denny wrestled it down the stairs and replaced the one taken out of the cabin.
Renee was thankful the floors hadn’t been damaged. She had enough paint left for the walls to cover the black markings. George painted on a quick coat of primer first, and once that was dry, Ben re-painted the wall. It was a huge improvement. The nasty message on the mirror had been scrawled with red paint of some kind. It was tedious work, but Robbie managed to scrape it off with a razor blade.
Whoever had done this didn’t leave either red or black paint cans behind.
It would take one last coat of paint to erase all traces of the black, then the room could be put back together. Luckily the new mattresses weren’t damaged in the tirade.
Mid-afternoon, the teenage visitors loaded up their vehicles. Everyone gathered in the lot for a last goodbye. Renee enjoyed the college boys this past week and hoped they would be back. Emma and Anna already had another weekend planned later in the summer. There were hugs all around; Renee thought one shared by Ben and Julie might have lasted a bit longer than the others but she couldn’t be sure.
I’ll have to ask Julie about that later.
***
Renee suspected it had been a long time since the resort had hosted this many people at once, especially with family. Two cabins were full; two more would be filled by late Monday, leaving only one more cabin to get up and running. It was Cabin #5—the Gray Cabin, as Renee had come to call it, the one she visited in her dreams.
All bedrooms in both units of the duplex were also full, plus overflow in Val’s camper.
It was all fun but overwhelming. Almost all of her family members were helping to get Cabins #3 and #4 ready for guests. Will, Jess’s husband, was the only one not pitching in. He was on his cell phone most of Sunday morning and spent the afternoon out on the dock, fishing for pan fish. He didn’t interact much with anyone. Renee noticed, was surprised that he had even come, but she was too busy to worry about him. He had always been aloof, as if he thought he was better than the rest of his wife’s family.
Val kept everyone fed. They were all splitting the cost of food, but she was kind enough to plan the meals, cook the dishes, and get the food on the table, along with help from various “kiddos,” as George called everyone.
Grant and Grace arrived Sunday afternoon. Cabin #4 was clean and ready for them. After they were settled, Renee gave them a tour of the resort and introduced them to her family. Grace’s complexion had more color than before the transplant. Grant had warned Renee his daughter was fed up with the struggle to get her strength back. They were both hopeful time in the sunshine and fresh air, away from doctors and hospitals, would help.
The two of them joined the family for a barbeque in Renee’s backyard their first night at the resort. Renee, Julie, and Robbie recounted th
e events of Friday night for everyone. Most had heard bits and pieces of the story but Renee thought it was important they all knew what had been happening. She wanted the kids to know, too, even if it scared them. She was hopeful they wouldn’t have any more trouble, but she needed everyone to keep a watchful eye.
The three of them then shared other, admittedly less exciting stories from their first month of renting. George couldn’t believe that old canoe could still float. When Val’s boys heard there was a volleyball net in the shed, they jogged off to string it back up. Jess asked how Renee handled the no-show renters, pointing out they should clarify their policy on the website so they could still charge when a cancellation wasn’t received on time.
As the discussion continued, the rest of the kids wandered off to join the volleyball game. Will disappeared, too. Grant and Grace turned in shortly after they finished eating; Grace still tired easily, and it had been a busy day.
This left Renee, her parents, her brother, sisters, and Luke relaxing in the backyard. With the smaller group, Renee felt comfortable sharing some concerns she’d been holding onto.
“I don’t know, guys, I thought I was up for this. I was excited to start something new and thought Aunt Celia’s gift was what I needed, when I needed it. Oh, I knew it would be a ton of work, but I don’t think I fully appreciated what I was taking on. I don’t know that I’m cut out for this.”
Renee took a hefty gulp of her gin and tonic for some liquid courage and continued.
“I couldn’t be more appreciative of the love and support you’ve all given us . . . but I’m starting to wonder if this is all worth it. Wouldn’t it be easier to go back to a desk job? I had a call last week from someone at my old company. A job opened up in Minneapolis, and they think I might be a good fit for it. I can apply if I want to. I don’t know what to do.”
No one said anything at first. Renee had clearly caught them off guard. They knew she’d been working like a mad woman, and that she’d encountered some frustrations, but no one had any idea she was thinking about quitting already.
Her father finally broke into the silence. “Yes, honey, it might be easier if you went back to work. It certainly might be easier . . . but my fear is it would be much less rewarding in the long run. Think back to how you felt in December. You were furious at the company you had devoted so many years to, but you were disappointed in yourself for giving up the reins to your own life for so long. I think I speak for the whole family when I say this place has become a labor of love for all of us. While you might feel like you’re in this alone some days, you always know we have your back. You need only to call and we will help however we can. Hell, this morning is proof of that! And that’s just the thing—here we can do that. But if you go back to the corporate world, you’re on your own there.”
The others were all nodding their agreement with George’s words.
Renee sighed. “Dad, you have been so awesome through everything—you all have. I felt so helpless Friday night, so violated. It scared me. I don’t want to put anyone at risk out here.”
“Stop right there, Renee,” Luke scolded, his harsh words softened by the squeeze he gave her hand. “You’ve worked too hard to let one crazy idiot take this away from you. That could happen anywhere. It could happen back at your home in Minneapolis. It could happen at the resort down the way. Shit like this happens, like it or not, but you can’t let the bad guys win.”
“And I would hate to see you go back to your old company, Renee,” Jess added. “If they cut you once, it could happen again. Why would you put your family’s financial well-being back in their hands? I’ve been so proud of you these past few months. You dove right in, learning everything you could, as fast as you could, about running a business you knew nothing about. Most people don’t have the guts to try something like that. You need to give this time. Dad said it, and I want to be sure you hear what he’s saying: We are all here for you.”
More emphatic nods.
Jess went on, “You have had some tough blows through the years and you always rose to the challenge. Yes, it’s hard right now, and it will probably continue to be hard. Most new businesses take a few years to find stability. This could be even tougher given the short summers around here. Maybe what we need to do is some brainstorming around how you can tweak your business model to make this place more financially lucrative.”
“I know everything you guys are saying is true, and I love all of you.” Renee laughed. “Nothing like family to tell you to stop whining and suck it up!”
“Got that right,” Lavonne chimed in.
“Tough love, big sister!” Val joked.
Ethan piped up. “Renee, you mentioned Julie and her friends did lots of work in the lodge this last week. They must have had some ideas how you could use the space, something that excited them enough they took the initiative to work on it on their own. Did they share any ideas with you?”
“A few . . . but the cute college guys took up most of their spare time, so we didn’t talk about it at length. They thought the upstairs could be fixed up and used for dances or exercise classes. Maybe some type of limited service restaurant or bar could go downstairs. They wanted to help get the place cleaned up as a starting point.”
“OK, everyone, let’s think,” George ordered. “What could Renee do with the lodge to help generate more income?”
They started throwing out ideas. Renee ran into her kitchen, grabbed a notebook, and came back out. She captured some of the less ludicrous ideas on paper. They kept coming back to the limited number of summer months here in Minnesota. How could they turn her business model into something sustainable all year round? That became their first guiding principle. A theme that started to emerge was a desire on Renee’s part to help other women. She had been widowed young, a single mother for years, and unceremoniously dumped from her long-term place of employment. She had weathered some storms and come away with lessons learned she could share with others.
Renee kept thinking about all of the other areas in her life where she still wanted to make improvements. This included her finances, her health, and her relationships, to name a few. If she was looking for ways to improve in all of these different areas, others were, too. How could she help them?
A thought occurred to Renee and she shot up as if struck by lightning. “Oh my God! Why didn’t I think of this before?”
Everyone stared at her expectantly.
She stood up, too excited to sit. “Remember when the kids and I flew to Fiji for New Year’s? I met this amazing woman on the plane. Her name is Susan Metzel. We had a great visit. I also ran into her at a party on New Year’s Eve. She told me all about how her sister almost ruined her life through a series of poor decisions after her husband died. He left her with a young family and no life insurance. But instead of giving up, her sister eventually found a way to thrive. She started helping other women in similar situations, found ways she could help them before things were too far gone. Eventually, with the help of her family, Susan’s sister created a retreat business for women where they could teach life skills to help them become strong and independent. What if we did something like that here? I know Susan would help us!”
“Hmm, you know, you might be on to something, Renee,” Jess said, staring thoughtfully into her margarita glass, still containing an inch of melting pink slush.
“What if we reconfigured the lodge so you could hold retreats there?” Ethan asked. “Right now the main level is pretty much just a couple of large open spaces. Same upstairs. I would have to draw up some sketches and take measurements, but we could maybe add some dormitory-type bedrooms and expand the bathroom area on the main level. I think we could still fit a gathering area near the kitchen, but it would have to be smaller. The kitchen isn’t too bad now. With some adjustments to the layout you could probably serve meals out of there to larger groups. Upstairs you could still have a big open space, plus maybe a library.”
The idea was getting some legs. Renee
could feel her spirits lifting. Discussions continued, with everyone adding thoughts and points of view.
Lavonne spoke up, playing the devil’s advocate. “But we don’t know anything about the retreat business.”
“You’re right, we don’t,” Renee said. She took another sip of her drink. “But Susan does. Once they had their retreats up and running, they realized there was more demand out there than they could handle. So in addition to running their own retreats, they travel around the country and help others set up similar businesses. I’m sure I would have to pay them a fee, but I bet it would be reasonable. I can find out. I got the sense from Susan they’re passionate about reaching more women. I don’t think they’re in it for the money. Of course, they have to make a living, too. If they have knowledge and a system they can share to help others get up and running quicker, that’s value added, and they should get paid for it.”
“Very true,” Val said. “You know, Renee, it’s only a forty-five-minute drive for me to get here from home. Maybe I could help you run the kitchen. I’ve been thinking about using some of my inheritance from Aunt Celia to start a catering business. She encouraged me to explore ways to capitalize on my love for cooking and serving in some way.”
George clapped his hands together. “That’s the way to do it!”
Renee beamed. “We could feature healthy meals, healthy cooking. Heck, maybe you could even offer a course on it, Val. Not as many people know how to cook these days, especially healthy meals.”
“I’d be happy to give you some pointers on the business end,” Jess offered.
“And I could help out with the lodge,” Ethan said, “if you decided you wanted to offer overnight retreats. The cabins alone don’t offer enough space and would need some serious work to winterize them. I could get you materials at cost and do at least some of the labor for you.”
Whispering Pines (Celia's Gifts Book 1) Page 27
