Tonight, when I inevitably woke up before dawn, I was going to scrub the baseboards around my house. Good times.
“Hi, kiddo.” Dad stopped in front of the counter, running a hand along its edge like he was searching for any raised wood that might give a guest a splinter. But as always, it was smooth and polished to a shine.
I cleaned this counter at least ten times a day to erase fingerprints.
“Hey, Dad. What are you guys up to today?”
“Oh, just running errands,” he said. “I told Griffin I’d pick up a couple things at Farm and Feed for him. Save him a trip into town.”
“You’re not babysitting today?” I asked Mom.
“No.” She pouted. Mom often watched my nephews and niece. Three kids, all under the age of two. Only she would be disappointed to have a day off. “Winn had to cover a patrol shift last weekend, so she took today off to spend with Emma and Hudson. And Memphis wanted to keep Drake home today so they could bond with the baby.”
“Ah.”
Memphis, my brother Knox’s wife, had just given birth to a baby boy. Harrison, named after Dad.
Not only was she my sister-in-law, but she was my favorite employee. She’d moved to Quincy for a housekeeping job at The Eloise. That was how she’d met Knox.
She was the best housekeeper I’d ever had, and selfishly, I wanted her to come back after her maternity leave. But I also wasn’t fooling myself. Chances were, she’d stay home with her kids.
“How are things going here?” Dad asked.
“Good. Busy.” With Memphis gone, we’d had to shuffle some staff around to cover shifts. Yesterday, I’d been shorthanded, so I’d done laundry and some general cleaning in the lobby.
Whatever it took to keep this place sparkling and guests smiling.
“We were hoping you had a minute to talk.” Mom shared a look with Dad.
A look that made my stomach clench.
“Okay,” I drawled. This couldn’t be about Jasper. Not a chance. Regardless, my heart climbed into my throat. “About?”
“Do you want to put the sign up? Head to your office?”
A closed-door conversation? Oh hell. “Um . . .”
“We can just visit here, Anne.” Dad checked over his shoulder, confirming we were alone.
The air rushed from my lungs.
A discussion at the desk meant I wasn’t in deep shit. Yet.
The lobby was empty, and every guest who was due to check in today had already arrived. So while we might get the occasional interruption, it would most likely be uneventful until around five. That was when the locals would come in to eat at Knox’s restaurant, Knuckles.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Two things.” Dad held up a couple fingers. “I had to stop in at the bank the other day and was talking to Randy.”
The bank president wasn’t my favorite person in town. Whenever he came into the hotel, he brought with him an air of self-importance.
“He’d like to reserve the annex for the bank’s employee appreciation dinner this summer.”
“Great.”
When Knox had renovated the kitchen and restaurant a few years ago, my parents had bought the building next door for events. In the original projections, the annex had been slated to pay for itself five years after the purchase. But instead of just offering it up for weddings and parties, I’d advertised it with area businesses and organizations too. Just this past week, we’d had a craft show in the annex. Next weekend, the Western Montana Country Dance Club would be here for their annual dance competition.
“Just have Randy go look at the calendar and he can reserve it on the website,” I told Dad.
“Well, I guess he tried and couldn’t find the right spot. He’s not the most tech savvy guy.”
Yet he managed to run a bank? Didn’t Randy have an assistant who could help?
“Would you mind printing off the calendar for him?” Dad asked.
The whole point of me putting the annex’s calendar on the website was so that I could stop printing it out and chasing down payments. But whatever. “Sure. Is he going to stop by to pick it up?”
“Any chance you could run it by the bank?”
No, I didn’t want to take it to the bank and make small talk with Randy all because he couldn’t be bothered to use an intuitive website. But I would. “I’ll do it first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks.”
“Of course.” I forced a smile, dreading whatever else they needed. “What’s item number two?”
“Well, we just wanted to check in and see how the quarter was going,” he said. “We just met with the accountant to review the taxes. Last year was the best year we’ve ever had at the hotel.”
“Oh.” My chest surged with pride. “Really?”
“We’re proud of you.” Mom patted my arm.
“Thanks.” It was a relief to hear those words, especially after how hard I’d been trying to earn them.
To earn Mom and Dad’s approval.
While the restaurant belonged to Knox, the hotel was incorporated as a separate entity owned wholly by my parents. The physical building, they’d split with my brother. Two businesses run independently that shared an address.
Besides the Eden family ranch, The Eloise had always been Mom and Dad’s most time-consuming business venture. Dad had always been focused on the ranch, while Mom had managed the hotel. She’d worked here for years until she’d handed me the reins after I’d graduated from college.
She’d put in her time with this business. What she wanted for their retirement was to be at home, surrounded by their grandbabies. So they’d spent recent years trying to settle their affairs. Dad wanted us all standing on our own two feet and the Eden businesses controlled by his children.
My oldest brother, Griffin, was now running the ranch. The love of Griff’s life was his wife, Winn, and their two kids. But the land was a close second.
Knox was the same. Memphis and the boys came first. If he wasn’t with his family, he was happiest in a kitchen, cooking for those he loved most.
Lyla had her coffee shop.
Talia had taken her inheritance to pay for medical school and buy a house. She was a doctor at Quincy Memorial.
Mateo, our youngest brother, was a pilot, flying planes in Alaska. Of us all, he seemed like the one who was still wandering. Still finding his wings.
But as sure as Griffin was about the Eden Ranch, as dedicated as Knox was to Knuckles, I was equally as committed to The Eloise.
More than anything in the world, I wanted this to be my hotel.
I’d gone to college because Mom and Dad had always taught us that a higher education was important. But from the time I was sixteen, working here as a housekeeper in high school, running this hotel had been my dream. Then I’d become the manager.
I’d thought the next step would be assuming ownership.
Except then they’d offered it to Knox.
Partly because he was older. Partly because he had more experience managing a business and more money to cushion hard times. Mostly because I’d gotten into a sticky situation with an ex-employee.
Apparently, I was too soft. Too gentle.
I led with my heart.