CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“What’s the date of this wedding again?” Reese asked.
“October twentieth. Exactly four weeks from tomorrow,” Scarlet said.
“I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. “There’s still a lot to do. I’d say the biggest stumbling block would be getting the kitchen in shape. How could you feed guests without a functioning kitchen?”
“Where would people stay?” Cam asked. The idea of hosting a wedding had come out of left field, but he found himself rooting for the bride.
Scarlet’s gaze briefly met his before skittering away. “I know they can’t stay at Miller’s that weekend. I checked, and they’re completely booked. Maybe they could stay at one of the other resorts or hotels in the area.”
“If the guests are staying at another resort, they might as well hold the wedding there as well,” Ethan said. “If we’re going to do this, it’s all or nothing.”
Harper nodded. “I agree. If we go ahead with this, we can’t cut any corners just to get done. The project can’t suffer. So how can we make this happen?”
Cam had to admire his sister-in-law’s can-do attitude. The whole renovation project was a testament to her tenacity and spirit. But even Harper might have to concede that this tight timeline would be a challenge.
“All the equipment and appliances for the kitchen have been ordered. I can check with our supplier to see if they can deliver in the next four weeks,” Maggie said.
“That’s a good place to start,” Ethan said. “If we can’t get the commercial appliances in time, I don’t think there’s any point pursuing this further. Let’s call the supplier right now.”
Maggie retrieved the paperwork for the items that had been ordered along with the business card of the salesman. She punched his number into her phone and put the call on speakerphone.
“Pete Barker speaking.”
“Hi, Pete. This is Maggie Lindquist from the Solace Lake Lodge. We placed an order with you for our commercial kitchen equipment almost three months ago. At that time, we told you we wouldn’t be ready to take possession of the equipment until early in the new year, but something has come up and we’re wondering if it’s possible to take possession immediately.”
“Immediately?”
“Yes, as in right away.”
“I can find out for you,” the salesman said. “What’s your purchase order number?”
Maggie read off the number. The salesman repeated it back to her and then asked her to wait while he checked.
Cam found himself holding his breath while they waited. If they went ahead with this wedding, Scarlet would stay another four weeks. Despite knowing the best thing for Scarlet would be for her to go, he couldn’t help hoping she’d stay. When he’d seen her packing her car to leave, a piece of his heart froze inside his chest. Though it was agony to see her every day and not be able to touch her, he couldn’t imagine her gone either.
“Hello, Maggie. It’s Pete here again. We have the commercial refrigerator, the dishwasher and the freezer you ordered in stock, but the range is on back order with the manufacturer and we don’t expect to receive it for several weeks. I talked to my manager, and what we can do is offer you a floor model from our store. But it’s a higher end range.” He gave her the name and model number of the range, and Maggie wrote it down. “It has all the features of the one you ordered and a few more, but it costs nearly a thousand dollars more, even with a floor model discount. If you’re interested, we can deliver it to you in the next few days.”
“Can you give us a couple of minutes to discuss this, Pete? I’ll call you right back.”
“Sure thing.”
Maggie hit the off button, then used her phone to look up the commercial range Pete was proposing to sell to them. “I remember this one. I’d even considered it.”
“Why didn’t you buy it in the first place?” Ethan asked.
She shrugged. “The money, I guess. This range is a real Cadillac and since the reviews on the range I ordered were very good, I didn’t think it was necessary to get the most expensive range they had in the store.”
“So you’re okay with it?”
“More than okay.”
“Okay, we know we can get the equipment for the kitchen,” Ethan continued. “The dining room should able be to accommodate a ceremony and a dinner for the small wedding Meredith wants. Can the kitchen itself be ready in time? What about guest rooms? What do you think, Reese?”
“I know for sure we can’t get everything done in time. But maybe if we put all our resources into a couple of key areas, we might be able to pull it off.”
“What do you propose?” Harper asked.
“I’ve had the crew working on the event center for the last couple of weeks. If we concentrate on the kitchen and on the new wing of guest rooms instead, we might be able to get them finished.”
Ethan nodded. “Cam, what about you? Do you think you could get one or two of the new cottages ready in time?”
Cam hesitated. To this point, his priority had been to finish the exteriors of all eight cottages so that his crew could finish the interiors over the winter. But if he had to, he could change gears to completely finish two of them in the next few weeks.
But should he do it? He could tell Ethan it wasn’t possible to complete two cottages. Then Scarlet would go back to Chicago.
“Yeah, we can get a couple of the cottages ready,” he said. He hoped he was doing the right thing.
“Good.” Ethan turned to Scarlet. “Will you be able to help? We’ll need you to work with the bride. And Harper will need help getting fixtures and furniture for the guestrooms and cottages. What do you say? Will you stay?”
Scarlet stared at Ethan, her face pale and her blue eyes wide with what looked like anxiety, or possibly indecision. She’d only said a few words through the whole discussion. Her gaze slid to his, before quickly shifting back to Ethan. “Yes, I can help.”
Cam let out his breath. Conflicting emotions swirled through his head – elation, trepidation, fear. She was staying four more weeks. He’d see her, but there’d be no closeness between them, no sharing of confidences, no touches. He’d made sure to stomp out any tender feelings she might have once had for him.
A powerful craving for a drink nearly brought him to his knees. He recited the Serenity Prayer to himself and concentrated on breathing. He only had to get through the next four weeks.
One minute at a time. One hour at a time. One day at a time.
Harper and Ethan looked at each other.
“I think we’re doing this,” Harper said. “Are we crazy?”
“Probably.” Ethan pulled her into his arms and laughed.
Maggie picked up her phone. “I’ll call Pete back and tell him we’ll take his deal. When should I tell him to deliver?”
“As soon as they can,” Reese said. “The appliances can be stored in the dining room until we’re ready to install. That way, at least we know we have them.”
Maggie nodded and headed to the other room to make the call. Reese left the cottage to go back to work. Harper turned to Scarlet. “I guess you can call the bride and tell her the wedding is on.”
“Yeah, I guess I can.” She didn’t look happy about the prospect. “I should call my manager, too and let him know I won’t be coming back to work next week after all.”
“I’m sorry, honey,” Harper said. “Do you think he’s going to be difficult?”
“I’m not sure.”
Cam clenched his fists. If the man dared to say one unkind word to her…
“If he gives you a hard time,” Ethan said, “I’ll tell him where he can stick his job.”
That made Scarlet smile. “Thanks Big Brother, but I can take care of it.”
“You’re sure you’re okay with staying?” Harper asked.
Her smile disappeared. “Yes, of course. After all, I’m kind of responsible for getting us into this predicament. The least I can do is help out.”
Her gaze once more briefly landed on him. It was obvious his presence made her uncomfortable. He headed for the door. “I’d better let the crew know there’s been a change in plans.”
“Why don’t you join us for dinner tonight? About six?” Harper said.
He glanced at Scarlet. If his coming to dinner upset her, he’d stay away.
“You should come.” Scarlet’s smile appeared forced. “Maggie said she was making something special tonight.”
They were going to have to get used to seeing each other. And besides, the evenings were long and empty in his house. The silence weighed heavily on him. “Okay, thank you. I’ll be here at six.”
He left the cottage and closed the door softly behind him. Once on the other side, he exhaled. The next four weeks would test his strength. He hoped he passed the test.