Chapter 6 - Mara
By the time I’ve made it to the top of the hill behind the hotel, my cheeks are flushed and my heart is pumping. I’m tired, but it feels good to breathe deeply and to get my blood moving. I stand on the crest and look out over the town of Lang Creek. I can see Harold’s Pub, just a few streets down from my parents’ hotel. People are milling into the pub already. It’s Friday, and Harold will have a live band on later.
My eyes drift down Main Street towards the edges of town. There’s a small tendril of smoke coming from the cabin just on the edge of town.
It’s from Dominic Clarke’s workshop.
I stare at the smoke as it curls and sweeps upwards, finally dissipating into the sky.
Dominic Clarke burned down the new luxury hotel that was supposed to be built last year, and in the process he ruined my chances with Vincent. I watch the smoke, mesmerized by the wispy streak in the sky.
I should be mad at him. Or at least, I should resent him. But as I watch the smoke curling into the sky, and I imagine him working on the gorgeous furniture he makes, all I feel is gratitude.
He didn’t ruin my chances with Vincent. Instead, he saved me from a loveless marriage. He exposed my parents for who they really are.
I take a deep breath of fresh mountain air and stare at the smoke for a while longer.
I wonder what Dominic is doing right now? I wonder if the sweat is staining the back of his shirt, and if he’s pushing his thick hair off his forehead. I imagine his face, as best as I can remember it, and something shifts inside me.
This feud – whatever it is – between our two families… it’s ridiculous. It’s silly. For the past ten years, ever since Mr. Clarke died after saving me, it’s split the town in two.
For a long time, the Clarkes were the outcasts. My parents own the local hotel and the trucking company that dominates the area for a hundred miles. They have a lot of pull in town.
When the new luxury hotel burned down, everything changed. Now people look at the Clarke brothers with respect. I heard one man calling them the ‘Keepers of Lang Creek.’
A breeze sweeps through the trees and sends a chill through me. I shiver, snapping out of my daze and finally looking away from Dominic’s workshop. I start back down the path that takes me down the hillside, back towards town.
With every step that I take, my heart feels a little bit lighter. I’m not a coward, or a fool. I trusted my parents, and I trusted my fiancé. I can’t fault myself for that. This could be my chance to reach out to the Clarke brothers and make things right.
I could end this feud, once and for all. That could be my atonement for Mr. Clarke’s death. Maybe, if I can find peace with the Clarke brothers, I can finally let go of this dark cloud that’s followed me for ten years.
Aiden is married now, so maybe he’ll be ready to forgive me for falling in the river that day. Even if he isn’t, I can do my best to distance myself from my parents’ reputation.
By the time I make it back to flat ground, and the McCoy Hotel looms up in front of me, my whole demeanor has changed. The corners of my lips are tugging upwards and there’s a bounce in my step. I glance over my shoulder and look at the small peak that I just climbed.
I smile for real as I look over the scenery around me. The familiar feeling of awe and reverence fills me, and I whisper a quiet thank you to the mountains. It’s not until I slide open the back door that the smile fades. Even through the closed bedroom door, my mother’s voice screeches down the hallway. I poke my head out into the hallway and she calls me over.
“Mara! There you are! Come talk some sense into your father!”
I walk slowly towards them, finally rounding the corner to see them on opposite sides of the front desk. My father nods at me. He’s a big man, with a round belly hanging down in front of him. His big paws are resting on the counter in front of him and his grey whiskers are trembling as he looks at my mother.
“I was just telling your father that we need to make some sort of change around here.”
“We don’t have the money, Karen,” my father growls.
My mother huffs. “Tim, please. We got four hundred thousand dollars in the insurance settlement. That should be going towards improving this place or expanding it! Our business is stagnating!”
I watch the two of them face off, flicking my eyes from one to the other. They almost look like strangers to me. My father’s hair is more grey than it was before, and I see the wrinkles in my mother’s face when she frowns at him. It’s like someone’s wiped the sheen off them, and now I can see their true selves. They’re still my parents, but they’re not the decent, hardworking entrepreneurs I thought they were.
My mother turns towards me and lifts her hand towards my father. “Will you tell him? Will you tell him that we need to do something?”
“We can’t just go spending the entire insurance money on this place! We should be investing it in the trucking business. That’s where the money is!”
My mother makes a noise, and my father stops talking. The two of them turn to look at me, and suddenly it’s like I’m the one who’s supposed to come up with the answers. I clear my throat and glance from one to the other.
“Well,” I answer, choosing my words cautiously. “The hotel is a bit… dated. It could do with some freshening up.”
My mother makes a satisfied noise and my father huffs. I hold up my hands.
“It doesn’t have to be anything extreme. Didn’t the state government expand their budget for National Parks this year? Maybe we can get listed as approved accommodation with the Park?”
“We’ve tried that,” my father says, shaking his head. “There are all kinds of requirements that we don’t meet. We need to have the hotel represent ‘local culture and heritage’, whatever that means.”
I try to contain the smile that’s drifting over my face. “I could put this expensive Interior Design degree to good use. I worked on a heritage hotel in California, remember? I’m sure the New York requirements will be similar.”
Both of them look at me, eyebrows raised. My mother opens her mouth and closes it back up. She blows air out of her nose and shrugs her shoulders as she looks at my father. They exchange a look and then turn back towards me.
“What is it?” I ask. “You don’t think I’m good enough to work on this place?”
“No! Of course not, darling,” my mother croons. “It’s just…”
“That’s a good idea, Mara,” my father says. He doesn’t even try to hide the surprise in his voice. I ignore the flash of annoyance inside me. I’ve always known my parents thought I was vapid and thoughtless. These things don’t surprise me anymore.
The two of them exchange a glance, and finally my father nods. “Alright. We’ll put a hundred grand into it.”
A grin spreads over my face and I dip my chin down. “I can work with that.” I brush past them before they can change their minds. “I’m going to Harold’s, I’ll be back later. We can go over the details tomorrow.”
I don’t catch my mother’s words as the hotel door slams behind me. Laughter bubbles up through me, and I glance back at the old hotel. This is either the best idea I’ve ever had – or the absolute worst.