But in the light of day, he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Katie wouldn’t leave her mom, especially while Rose’s life was being turned upside down, or the barbershop to go wander around the country with Josh.
Two hours later, he watched the last group of guests disappear into the woods on their sleds, and took a deep breath. Ryan and Sean would probably appear any minute, because it wasn’t easy to sleep through a pack of snowmobiles firing up in the morning. Rosie had been in and out of the kitchen, fussing over things, but she was in a quiet mood, so they hadn’t said much beyond exchanging good mornings.
Josh had just finished washing the guests’ breakfast dishes when Mitch walked through the door. Because it looked like he’d slept about as well as Josh had, Josh filled the carafe to start a fresh pot of coffee.
“I see Ryan and Sean’s trucks out there,” Mitch said, wiping the traces of a fresh snow dusting off his boots. “They still in bed?”
“Haven’t seen them yet. There’s some banana bread left, but the guests demolished the muffins.”
“Where’s Rosie?”
“I think she’s doing a quick check of the guest rooms. Making sure nobody used all their shampoo or clogged the toilets.”
“I’ll go say hello while the coffee brews.”
Left alone, Josh picked at a slice of banana bread, not really tasting it, but knowing he needed something in his stomach besides caffeine.
As if they were waiting for the last spurt of coffee into the pot, Sean and Ryan appeared just as it finished brewing. Josh said good-morning, but didn’t bother to get up. They both knew where the milk and sugar were.
“Thought I heard Mitch,” Ryan said as he picked through the mugs in the drying rack until he found the biggest.
“He’s here. He went to say hi to Rosie.” Once his brothers fixed theirs, Josh got up to pour another cup of coffee.
“I’m going to hit the trails when this is over,” Ryan said. “I haven’t been out in…I don’t even know how long.”
“That’s what happens when you live in the big city.” Sean broke off a chunk of banana bread and popped it into his mouth. “I’ve gotten out a couple of times, but Uncle Leo’s starting to give me a hard time about borrowing his sled.”
“Throw yours in the back of your truck and take it home,” Ryan said. “I’ll give you a hand after we put some miles on.”
Sean snorted. “That thing’s older than dirt. If I keep borrowing Uncle Leo’s and Emma has to listen to me bitch about him giving me shit, maybe she’ll tell me to buy a new one just to shut everybody up.”
“You’ve really got the hang of this married thing.”
Josh drank his coffee, trying to focus on the conversation, but it was hard to pay attention when they’d essentially be deciding his future any time now. It was pretty early in New Mexico, but Liz had always been a morning person and she’d said she wanted the call over with before leaving to work a double shift.
“You guys better not have eaten all the banana bread,” Mitch said as he walked back into the kitchen.
“Left you two slices.” Josh handed them to him on a napkin.
“Gee, thanks.”
“Hey, your wife owns a restaurant. You should have brought us food.”
Mitch laughed. “She brings me food all the time. In Styrofoam to-go boxes.”
“Rose didn’t find any problems with the rooms, did she?” Josh asked, surprised she hadn’t joined them in the kitchen.
“No. She said she was going to go upstairs and read for a while,” Mitch told him, and Josh nodded. She’d gone to her room to wait for the verdict.
He tried not to imagine her up there alone, staring at the pages of a book she was only pretending to read while waiting to learn her fate. For three decades, her life had been as wrapped up in the lodge as his was.
When Mitch’s cell phone finally rang, Josh almost dropped his coffee mug. He wasn’t ready for this. How could he not be ready for something he’d been waiting for most of his life?
“Hey, Liz,” Mitch said, setting the phone in the middle of the table, and they all echoed him.
“Hi, guys. I wish I was there with you.”
Josh set his cup on the counter because his stomach was too jumpy now for any more caffeine, then took a seat at the table while Mitch recapped. A retired couple wanted to buy the Northern Star and the offer was very generous. They wanted to take up residence in the spring and it would be a private home. Evidently they had a bunch of kids and grandkids and it would be perfect for them.
They talked it out for a few minutes—what the property was worth. How long it would take them to vacate. The attic alone, which was the repository of several generations of family memories and debris, would probably take weeks. They talked about the impact on the town, with regard to the ATV trails, but in the end they all agreed it was a good offer.