Kindred Souls (The Sable Inn Series Book 1)

by D. Camille

  Lana smiled down at him, then picked up a fork and began to feed him from one plate. He took the offering and they watched each other until he swallowed.

  “I was thinking…” he began.

  “Oh, you can think now?”

  Derek laughed. “Yeah, I’ve sampled the chocolate buffet.”

  Lana took a bite of food. “I think you did more than sample.”

  He kissed her cheek. “I can’t wait to do more than sample, again.”

  Feeding him some more food, she asked, “So what were you thinking?”

  “I can take you over to Grand Rapids for a day or so, to make some contacts for the Inn,” he suggested.

  Lana paused and looked at him. “You’d take me there?”

  “We can mix business and pleasure. You can take care of your business and I can take care of you,” Derek told her.

  Lana smiled and kissed him. “Thank you. I’d like that.”

  “When would you like to go?”

  “In a few days? Let me set everything up.”

  He nodded and she continued serving him. “I’ll drive so you can just relax,” he informed her.

  “I’ll pay for our accommodations,” Lana said firmly and he frowned. “No discussion.”

  “One room?” he questioned.

  Lana lifted the fork to his mouth. “Of course.”

  He accepted with a smile. “Okay,”

  “We’ll stay for two days,” Lana announced. “I want to make sure I handle all my business there.”

  She gave him a look as she ate from her plate and he squeezed her hip.

  “Two days sounds perfect,” Derek agreed.

  The couple finished their breakfast and cleaned the dishes before heading over to the Inn. Derek held her hand as they walked underneath the rising sun. He looked around at the scenery and inhaled the fresh air.

  “It’s beautiful here,” he commented.

  Lana looked over at him. “I think so.”

  Derek turned his gaze on her. “There’s no doubt.”

  Hand in hand, they moved across the dewy grass. “So you used to run barefoot across here?” Derek asked surveying the land again.

  She nodded. “Yep, me and my sisters. Sometimes the boys in town would come for the weekend for Daddy’s boys’ camp and we’d have races,”

  “None of them could beat me,” she bragged.

  He laughed. “I see that humility is not your strong suit.”

  “I’m just saying, I was really fast.”

  “Well, we won’t be racing anytime soon,” Derek told her.

  Lana smiled and looked around at the familiar land. “My Daddy says he can’t wait to see his grandchildren running around here, the way my Granddaddy watched us. I can’t either…”

  “So your daughter can beat all the boys?”

  “Yep,”

  He swung their joined hands a little. “I can envision a little brown girl with a bunch of hair running around here.”

  “And how does that look to you?” Lana queried.

  Derek pulled her closer. “It’s looks amazing.”

  They stopped and she looked up at him. “Last night was amazing,” she whispered.

  Touching her face, he stared down at her. “Last night was the beginning of many amazing times with you, Lana.”

  Leaning down, he kissed her then stepped back and gazed into her face. Lana placed a hand on his chest and felt his strong heartbeat.

  “I’m looking forward to every single one,” she said with a soft smile.

  Kissing her one last time, he said, “I’d better let you get to work.”

  “I guess so…the guests need to eat too.”

  “When you need a break, you know where to find me,” Derek told her.

  Lana put her arms around his neck. “I’ll always find you.”

  They both turned as Lena rapidly approached. Lana looked concerned at her sister’s expression as she and Derek broke apart from their embrace.

  “Hey you two, I hate to interrupt but I need to speak with Lana,” Lena said urgently.

  “Hey Lena, no problem.” Derek said then turned to Lana. “I’ll see you soon.”

  Lana nodded at him. “Okay, get some rest.”

  Both women watched as he continued to the Inn and Lana turned to her sister. “What’s going on?”

  “Willie checked in a guest last night,”

  Lana gave her sister a look and started towards the Inn. “That’s his job as the Night Manager. Did something happen?”

  Lena followed. “The guest is Robert Gross.”

  Lana froze. “Robbie?”

  “Yes, Robbie is here.”

  “Why?”

  Lena nodded. “He’s asked to see you.”

  Lana put a hand to her head. “What does he want?”

  “I guess you’re about to find out,” Lena told her. “Willie said you’d left with Derek last night, so I didn’t want to bother you.” She gave her sister a once over. “And looking at you now, I can tell that you certainly wouldn’t have been open to being disturbed.”

  “Don’t go there Lena,” Lana warned.

  Lena smiled. “Hey, I’m just giving you a heads up. You’ve got that good loving glow all over you.”

  Lana touched her face. “Really?”

  “And your hair in a bun? Girl, dead giveaway.”

  Patting her hair, Lana frowned. “It’s the best I could do because it was a mess.”

  Lena smiled. “I’m sure it was. Your girl Nadia is going to have a field day on you.”

  “I need to deal with Robbie right now,” Lana said hurrying to the front door with Lena in tow.

  They entered the Inn and headed to the lobby where Lana stopped in her tracks.

  “Here she is right now,” Willie announced, and the two men standing with him turned in her direction.

  Derek stepped forward with a smile. “Yes, here she is…Miss Lana Sable.” He glanced back at Robbie who stood with Willie.

  “I was heading upstairs when I heard uh…Robert, asking for you. So I told him you were with your sister and would probably be in shortly,” Derek explained.

  Lana listened, staring up at him. “Thank you.”

  Derek nodded. “He then went on to tell us how he knew you from college.”

  Willie chimed in. “I had no idea this was your old boyfriend when I checked him in.”

  “Thank you Willie,” Lana said firmly. “I’ll take it from here.”

  Willie looked from Robert to Derek then shrugged and went to gather his things while Lana looked at Derek. Robbie then crossed the room to where they stood.

  “Lana, I’ve missed you!” he said, hugging her gently.

  She pulled back. “Robbie, this is a surprise. What are you doing in Grayling?”

  He smiled. “You know that Lana Sable is the only reason to visit Grayling, Michigan.”

  Lena frowned and Derek caught her expression before Lana turned to him.

  “Can we talk later?” she asked quietly.

  Derek nodded. “Yeah, you should take care of…Robbie.”

  Robert held out his hand to Derek. “It was nice to meet you. Hopefully, if you’re ever in LA, you can visit my hotel.”

  Derek shook the hand. “I’m not out that way very often. Most of my business is in D.C.”

  Robbie shrugged after they finished their handshake. “You never know.”

  “I kind of prefer Inns,” Derek told him and glanced at Lana while Lena smiled.

  Robbie laughed. “You sound like Lana,” he turned to her. “But I’m here to change her mind.”

  Derek lifted a brow. “Really? How so?”

  “Yeah, I want to take the country girl to the big city.”

  Lana frowned at Robbie. “What are you talking about?”

  Lena piped up. “Yeah, what the hell are you talking about?”

  Even Willie froze and looked at the man.

  Robbie reached for Lana’s hand. “I’ve come for the one that got away.�
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  Chapter 10

  Lana finished the breakfast hour making sure all of the guests had been served either in the dining room or their private rooms, before she went to her office to meet with Robbie. What he’d said earlier had startled everyone present. Derek, to his credit, had taken it in stride and after assuring Lana that they would certainly talk later, he’d retired to his room and she hadn’t seen him since.

  From her office, Lana called up to Robbie’s room and invited him down to meet with her regarding his visit. She wanted to get this over with as soon as possible and let him know that she was far moved on from their previous relationship.

  Lana had no regrets of her night with Derek and looked forward to the next time she could be with him intimately. His tender care and compassion drew her to him like a moth to a flame. She could resist him just about as much as she could her next breath.

  The knock at her door brought her out of her musings and back to reality. Taking a deep breath, she stood and went to open the door. Robert stood on the other side with a warm smile.

  “Hey beautiful,” he greeted. “I’d almost forgotten how beautiful you were.”

  “Come in Robbie,” Lana invited and walked back to her desk.

  Robert closed the door and took one of the empty seats across from her then sat studying her.

  “You really do look amazing. I don’t ever recall seeing you look this aglow.”

  Lana looked away. “Why are you here Robbie?”

  “I’ve got a fantastic opportunity for you, Lana.”

  She frowned. “What kind of opportunity?”

  He leaned forward. “The hotel where I work is looking for a new Hospitality Director. I was able to put in a good word for you, even though you only have this local experience and they’re willing to fly you out to interview.”

  Lana sat back in her chair. “Tell me you didn’t come all the way out here to tell me that.”

  “I came in person, because I knew you’d say no over the phone,” he admitted.

  “I’m going to say the same thing to your face,” she said agitated.

  He put his hands up. “Listen, I didn’t come to rile that Sable temper. I came to make your life better, to make our lives better,” he explained. “We broke up because you wanted to run this Inn and I didn’t want to stay in Grayling.”

  “Now you can run a luxury hotel and we can be living our dreams together,” he finished passionately.

  Lana put her hands to her head. “It’s been years, Robbie.”

  “It’s not like we haven’t keep in touch,” he rebutted.

  “Through Christmas cards and special occasion text messages?” Lana said incredulously.

  Robert frowned. “We both had to build our careers, and to be honest, I’m surprised this place is still open.”

  “It’s open because my family works their asses off,” Lana replied. “And I never said I wanted to run AN Inn. I said I was going to run MY Inn.”

  “And thank you for your confidence in me as a Manager running this establishment,” she told him flatly.

  Robert recovered. “Okay Lana, I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m sure you get your share of business here, but you can’t be making that much of a profit.”

  “We’re fine and going to be even better,” Lana snapped.

  He looked around her office. “I can admit this is nice but you could do so much better. I honestly don’t understand why you just haven’t put pictures of you and your sisters everywhere. You’d draw in customers in droves. You know for yourself that sex sells…everything. We learned that in college.”

  Lana stood to her feet. “First of all, my sisters and I are not prostitutes and this is not a damn brothel! We don’t have to flaunt ourselves to increase business and even to suggest otherwise is a complete insult.”

  Robert stood as well. “I’m in no way insinuating that you and your sisters should offer anything other than room and board. I’m just suggesting that you use what you have. You’re beautiful women.”

  She put up a hand. “Stop. Now. If you go any further, this conversation will not remain cordial.”

  He placed his hands on her desk. “I didn’t come to talk about your Inn. I came to talk about us.”

  “There is no ‘us’ Robbie. You know that.”

  “Only because we couldn’t compromise. Now we’ve been given the opportunity to both do what we love and to be together like we wanted,” he told her.

  Lana sat back in her chair. “It’s not what I want anymore.”

  Robert frowned then took his seat. “I’m here for two weeks. Let me try to change your mind.”

  “You won’t.”

  “You can’t stop me from trying.”

  She shook her head. “Robbie, two weeks or two years…my answer won’t change. I’m not leaving Grayling and I’m not getting back involved with you.”

  He nodded slowly. “Is there someone else?”

  “He’s not someone else,” Lana corrected. “He’s the only one.”

  Robert lifted a brow. “So it’s serious?” He looked at her hands. “I don’t see a ring.”

  “We’re not at that point.”

  “So until then, you’re still available,” he confirmed. Sitting back, he smiled. “How’s your father?”

  Lana studied the man across from her. “He’s fine and he won’t be of any help to you.”

  Robert smiled. “I never needed any help with you Lana. We were always a perfect fit.”

  She stood again and placed her hands flat on the desk. “You’ve paid your money to stay here, so I won’t put you out, but understand this Robbie…the answer to all of your questions is a resounding ‘no’.”

  Lana walked around her desk to the door. “Enjoy your stay at the Sable Inn.”

  Before she could open the door, there was a light knock and she turned the knob to reveal Jamal on the other side with another bouquet of flowers.

  “Hey Lana, here’s your daily delivery.”

  She smiled at the arrangement. “Thank you Jamal, you can put them on my desk.”

  He nodded and stepped inside. Seeing Robert, he paused and looked back at Lana. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were meeting. Lena said I could bring them back here.”

  Lana smiled. “I’m sure she did. It’s no problem. You did great on the arrangement.”

  “Your dude is paying good money. I want to keep him happy.” Jamal sat the flowers on the desk and nodded at Robert.

  “Sorry to interrupt,”

  Robert looked from Jamal to the flowers. “No problem.”

  Jamal left the office and Lana remained by the door. Instead of joining her at the door, Robert plucked the card from the vase.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Lana demanded.

  He read the card quickly and handed it to her when she got to his side. Lana snatched it from his hand and glared at him.

  “Get out.”

  “I just wanted to know if this guy is real,” Robert said quietly.

  Lana folded her arms. “Whether he is or not is none of your business, but I guarantee you that he is. In fact, you met him this morning.”

  Robert stared at her for a moment thinking back. “The guy in the lobby?”

  She nodded and he frowned.

  “So you’re dating guests now?” Robert questioned. “Because the Night Manager said he was staying here.”

  “Goodbye Robbie,” Lana said pointing at the door. “Be sure to check out the new amenities while you’re here.”

  Robert came to smile down at her. “I’ve always loved your hospitality. No one is as…sweet and warm as Lana Sable.”

  Lana was about to respond when her father stepped into the doorway. He turned a dark gaze on Robert as he entered the office.

  “Robert, I heard you’d checked into the inn,” Lloyd came to stand in front of the man.

  “Mr. Sable, how are you?”

  Lloyd nodded. “I’m good. What brings you to our neck of the woods?”
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  “I’m here to see Lana.”

  “Did you have a reservation?” Lloyd asked. “That’s a long way to come without letting anyone know.”

  Robert shrugged. “I’d just hoped you’d fit me in here or Lana would offer her hospitality at her home, since we have such a history.”

  “History is in the past,” Lloyd counseled. “Next time, make a reservation.”

  “Yes, sir.” Robert agreed. “It’s good to see you again.”

  Lloyd turned to his daughter. “Are you two still meeting?”

  “No, we’re done.” Lana confirmed.

  He turned back to Robert. “Enjoy your stay at the Sable Inn.”

  Taking the hint, Robert gave Lana one last look and exited the office. Lloyd closed the door behind him as Lana sank into her seat.

  “What’s this all about?” he asked taking the seat that Robert had vacated.

  “He came to offer me a job,”

  Lloyd sat up straight. “A job?”

  Lana nodded. “At his hotel in LA. He thinks we’re going to get back together and live our dreams in California.”

  “What has given him that impression?” Lloyd questioned. “I thought you were involved with Derek.”

  She scratched her neck. “I’m very involved with Derek and I think Robbie intends to make himself a nuisance.”

  Lloyd shook his head. “He’d better not anger Derek. I can already tell that young man does not play games.”

  Lana smiled. “Derek’s taking me to Grand Rapids to do some networking and meet some contacts for the Inn.”

  “Who’s idea was that?” Lloyd asked.

  “It was Derek’s. He gave me some feedback on improving the Inn.”

  Lloyd sat back. “I like him.”

  “He’s mine Daddy, you can’t have him. You have Lavender,” Lana told him with a smile.

  Lloyd smiled himself. “She’s coming to visit soon, since I had to cut my trip short.”

  “You really didn’t have to,” Lana pointed out.

  “No, I think I need to be around.” Lloyd disagreed. “Seems like I need to monitor things around here.”

  “I’m glad you’re here, now I don’t feel bad leaving for a few days.”

  He stood and walked around the desk. “You don’t ever have to feel bad about leaving here, Lana. This is your home, not a ball and chain around your ankle.”