by Kaci Hart
“Tessa I’m not trying to belittle your situation but you know I’m a straight shooter. I call ‘em how I see ‘em and I know for a fact that you didn’t love the job. Whenever I talked to you, it always seemed that you were less and less satisfied with it. I just believe that this is a critical moment for you. You can do anything you want to right now. I hope you understand that.”
She knew he was right.
“I do dad. I hate to admit that I’ve spent so many years of my life doing this only to not care that much when I got fired. Let me correct that. I do care about what I do but I think the company was getting tiring. It wasn’t the same any more as when I first started. Something about the joy of it all got . . . I don’t know . . . lost along the way I guess.”
“Exactly. That’s what I mean. Now you have a chance to change all that, so I guess I should just ask if you have any plans yet.”
“Not really.”
Tessa was no mind reader but she knew her dad well. There was no doubt in her mind that her well-meaning father’s momentary silence would be followed by a suggestion or two that involved her spending a few days back home.
“Then you need to get away from it all. How about you come home for a little bit of time and gather yourself before you make a decision.”
Tessa scoffed.
“Right. And have you and Antoinette hovering over me all the time. Thanks but no thanks dad. How is she by the way?”
“She’s great. Still married to me so the luckiest woman I know but stop trying to change the subject. I have an idea that you shouldn’t be able to hate too much and it doesn’t involve coming here.”
“Let me hear it.”
“You never had a chance to use the hotel room Annie and I got for your birthday weekend last year and they don’t do refunds but they hold the money towards a reservation for up to two years. I think this might be as good a time as any to use it.”
Tessa vaguely recalled the place her dad was talking about. She remembered thinking that it looked like a cozy spot for a getaway if she ever really did take time off from work.
“You know you might be on to something. I think I still have the brochure that you sent me lying around here somewhere. Gimme one sec.”
Tessa came off the phone and rummaged around in her home office desk before returning.
“Yep. You know this place doesn’t look half bad at all. “
“It’s even nicer than it looks. When your Annie took me there, it was really nice. Fishing, golfing, and enjoying real nature with my wife. That’s the kind of life God intended for these old bones.”
“Old bones? Dad, you’re barely fifty-three and you retired early. There are no old, weary bones there so stop looking for sympathy from me.”
“Oh yeah. Well the memory is the first thing to go right? Coulda swore I was older than that. Probably tired from spending all that time running after two girls who grew up way too fast.”
“Dad, you wanted us to stay kids forever.”
“True. Which father doesn’t though? The answer is none. Anyway, Tessa go check it out. I promise you will love it.”
Tessa found herself considering it the more she looked at the pamphlet.
“I haven’t had a real vacation in forever.”
“Understatement.”
“I think I will go then.”
“Good for you. You know you deserve it. I mean, you work like a dog and . . . hold on honey. . . that’s your Annie calling’ on the other line. Just a second. “
“Actually dad, I need to go anyway. I’ll call you back later.”
“Okay.”
Tessa hung up the phone and gave the brochure the once over again. It would be a good getaway. Besides, it wasn’t like she could get up and get a job tomorrow. The worst thing about getting fired in her position was that it would be pretty high profile. Everyone in her industry would know that she’d been released from her position. In truth, she’d been on the other side before and she knew that as far as most of them were concerned, she was tainted goods. No reputable company would want to hire her. Whoever decided to take that chance would want her services at a discount.
Maybe she should start something of her own. If she had to make her way up from nothing, at least she wouldn’t have to do it while working for someone else. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. She knew people. She had developed real, valuable connections during her time in the city and she was going to put them to good use.
Just not yet. Her dad was right this time. It had been too long since she had a breather. She’d decided that for the first time in forever, she was going to take a little time for herself. After over two years, she most definitely deserved it.
Chapter Three
Tess looked around as she drove down the streets of the town.
This place is unreal.
As a marketing executive from New York, the city was a direct contrast to the concrete skyscrapers and traffic congested streets that she was used to. The town itself looked small but she knew from the drive in that there was a lot of land on the outskirts. They just hadn’t done much development. She could never understand places like this one with people who had the space and opportunity to build something grand but chose to stay with a homely, small town look.
Tessa shook her head as she took in her surroundings. She took a mental note of the town on her way in. If she ever needed to shoot a video with a location that had an everything-is-clean-and-pure look to it, Stanton Falls would be at the top of her list. Of course she would need to actually get a client first but there would be plenty of time for that after this getaway. She’d called ahead and set up her room, adding enough days to make up two full weeks. She might as well enjoy it as much as possible. If she was going to start her own company, who knew when she would really get another day off after that.
Tessa pulled the compact car she rented to a stop in the miniature parking lot and stepped out of the vehicle. She looked around before she grabbed her bag out of the trunk of the car and made her way towards the building. The first thing that caught her eyes was the landscaping. The finely trimmed green trees and shrubs were accented by flowers in almost every color of the rainbow. She saw a guy on a mower riding across the grass in the unforgiving Texas heat and assumed he was the one that so masterfully took care of the grounds.
She watched as he stopped briefly and took his baseball cap off to wipe his brow. The momentary removal of his hat revealed curls of rusty brown hair along with a young, attractive face.
Tessa nonchalantly stopped walking as she watched him. She didn’t mean to stare but there was something about his look that caught her eyes. He really did have a unique look. Of course, he was attractive, but there was more. He had to be at least one hundred feet away from her but even at that distance his strong build and sun kissed bronze skin revealed a life spent working hard. She was used to categorizing people in her mind and if she had to describe him, she would say he was a blend of the clean cut look of a Brady Bunch son and the rugged countenance of an outdoorsman.
Not half bad looking. He could use a shave but he’d be a great model. What a waste as a groundskeeper.
When he smiled at her and waved she slightly blushed. She hoped he hadn’t seen it. The last thing she wanted to do while she was there was have some local guy running a lawn service thinking she liked him. Come to think of it, he might not even own the lawn service. No point in getting his hopes up.
Regardless of how pretty he made the flowers or how perfect his smile was, the two of them were the most improbable of matches.
She drove a hybrid BMW back in New York and he drove a riding mower. Even with her being unemployed right now, she was probably out of his league.
Tessa waved back at him briefly and picked up her pace and continued her journey to the door. She dragged her bags up the two stairs and headed for the receptionist desk. By the time she walked inside the building, the welcome-to-my-house look told her that she was in a
special place and the unbelievably warm smile that greeted her from the front desk only confirmed it. A young brunette came around the front of the desk and spoke to her.
“Hello, welcome to the Cammelia. My name is Libby. You’re Ms. McGuire, right?”
“Yes I am.”
“Great! We’ve been expecting you. Is your stay for business or pleasure?”
“Oh a little of both.”
“Well this is definitely the right place. Let me go ahead and get you checked in and then I’ll show you to your room. I’ll just need a major credit card for incidentals and some photo ID.”
Tessa reached into her bag and pulled out the requested items, handing them to the girl.
“Of course. By the way, is there food on the premises? After that flight, I’m starving.”
“I can imagine. We’ve got you covered Ms. McGuire. We have ready-made meals in the kitchen daily or we also have a cook that can prepare something of your choice for you. You’ll find a menu in your room and you can have whatever you want delivered there or you can come downstairs to eat.”
“Great.”
A few minutes later and Tessa was all checked in. She opened the door to her room and smiled. It looked just like the brochure. She wanted to call her dad and tell him he was right about how nice the place was but she could feel her stomach’s angry protest so she decided that he could wait as she grabbed the menu. Looking over it, she saw that Tuesday’s ready-made lunch was a pulled pork sandwich and baked beans.
I am definitely in Texas.
She felt her mouth watering already at the prospect. She left her bag at the foot of her bed and turned quickly to go to the dining area. When she got downstairs, she walked towards one of the four large wooden tables covered with burgundy tablecloth and sat down on a carved wood chair. Moments later Libby came up to her.
“What’ll you be having?”
“Huh? You do this too?”
“Yeah. Well around here, everybody wears a few hats.”
“Oh really.”
“Yep. I don’t know if you could tell but business isn’t exactly booming around here.”
“I hadn’t noticed. What’s going on with business?”
“Tourism. Not enough of it. It’s gotten so slow around here lately that it’s just been hard. Anyway, let me not inundate you with the problems of Stanton Falls. Regardless of any issues, I wouldn’t want to work or live anywhere else. The town has a way of growing on you. Anyway, what will it be Ms. McGuire?”
“Well, first of all, it’s Tessa. I’m only Ms. McGuire at work.”
“Okay Tessa.”
“I’ll have the Tuesday special and a coke.”
“Pulled pork and baked beans. Got it. It’ll be up in a jiffy.”
Libby walked off and Tessa looked around. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed what Libby was saying beforehand. As good as her eye for detail usually was, Tessa hadn’t noticed at all. She was really just enjoying being a carefree guest for at least a couple of weeks. Still, when she thought about it she realized just how empty the parking lot was and how she’d only seen one other person in the building besides Libby and herself.
A few minutes later and a delicious looking plate of food was placed in front of her. She felt like her belly itself would have leapt out and grabbed the sandwich if it could have. That’s how good it looked. Whoever was in the back preparing the food knew exactly how to present a meal. Tessa picked up the sandwich and bit into it. Too bad it didn’t taste anywhere as good as it looked. She got up and made her way to the front desk.
“I’m sorry Libby but is there a shortage of salt in Stanton Falls?”
“I forgot that this is your first day here. A few months back, the chef we had left so Miss Celia took over the kitchen duties part time since the owner couldn’t afford a new professional chef. She tries really hard but, as you can see, she’s not the best cook. I don’t think she uses enough of any seasoning. Here.” Libby reached up under the counter and grabbed some salt and pepper packets, hanging them over. “They won’t make it perfect but hopefully it’ll get better.”
“Thanks.”
Tessa was so looking forward to the sandwich that she was really disappointed. She could have cooked better in her sleep. The salt and pepper helped a lot; it was pork after all. It didn’t really need much. Overall it wasn’t a bad meal but it could have been much better. She tolerated it but had made her mind up that more than likely she would be eating at the diner she drove past earlier. After she finished her meal, she headed back to her room and sat on the bed. She was full and she was tired. All she wanted to do was take a nap but she refused to sleep the whole vacation away. Instead, she would relax out by the pool.
Who cared if she fell asleep taking in the warm rays of southern sunshine? She pulled on her swimsuit and cover-up and headed downstairs to lounge by the pool. She walked through the hallways then through the sliding doors to the pool deck. There was plenty of space for lounging. The pool was beautiful with its sparkling blue water, naturalistic waterfalls, and the lush landscaping surrounding it. If she weren’t so tired, she would have taken a few laps in the pool.
She walked towards a brown wood chaise lounger and proceeded to stretch out on its cushion. Pretty soon she was fast asleep on it as the long morning and relaxing warmth sapped the last of her reserves. The last thing she remembered as she fell asleep was that it was a really nice day out.
Hours later it was the thunder that woke her up. It was probably the single loudest rumble of thunder she’d ever heard in her life and she screamed as she jumped out of her seat. She felt a single drop of precipitation hit her arm and looked up at the angry grey clouds in the sky. She was no weather expert but she was pretty sure she didn’t want to be out in that when it got serious. In the minute it took her to gather her stuff and head inside, it had gone from one drop on her skin to a full-fledged downpour. She was lucky to get inside barely wet.
“Sorry.” Tessa apologized. “Should have warned you that the weatherman was calling for rain today. In my defense, they work off of percentages.”
“I’m not worried about it. I was out by the pool after all. People typically get wet there.”
“True.”
“I just didn’t expect how it just came down so quickly. It’s like someone really made the clouds mad out there today and they decided to take it out on me.”
She chatted with Libby in the lobby for a few minutes before heading back up to her room. By the time she headed up, she could hear the rain beating on the walls outside like the world’s fastest drumroll. She strolled into the room.
What in the world?
There was water dripping from the ceiling onto the bed and onto her suitcase.
She reached for her bag and grabbed its wet handle. She zipped it open and started going through its contents. She hoped that all of her things weren’t wet—but they were.
When she left her house early that morning, she’d grabbed a couple of fliers and magazines. Tessa was really big on visualizing and these were some of the first things she worked on when she was hired for the company. Her plan was to take the first week and just relax. The second week, she was going to use these to remember why she went into marketing in the first place. Unfortunately, not only did all the fliers and magazines get soaked, but apparently they were not printed with the best surfaces because the ink was running. Badly.
She groaned as she looked at the ink winding like a thin river all over her wet clothes. Every expensive item of clothing she had was most likely ruined and it seemed like the only thing she was going to have to wear for the rest of the night was her swimsuit.
Just my luck. My dream vacation is turning into a nightmare by the second.
Tessa was really upset that they had rented her a room with a leak. Maybe they didn’t know but they should have. She couldn’t imagine what kind of hotel would even have leaks. She was going to have to talk to her dad about how utterly wrong he was about the place lat
er. First she needed to get this all taken care of. She got up and headed downstairs with her bag in tow. When she reached, Libby looked at her, and Tessa read the surprised look on the other woman’s face.
“Back already? Ready to try another serving from the kitchen?”
“Not quite. Listen Libby, you seem pretty nice so I don’t wanna blow up on you. Can you get me the manager?”
Tessa saw Libby look down at the suitcase. Moments later the expression on Libby’s face changed to one of more concern.
“Manager? You’ve got your . . . suitcase. Is everything ok?”
