Page 90 of Worth the Fall
A REAL ASSET
BROOKLYN
I’d been lost in a sea of emails for days now. As if Sugar Mountain didn’t bring in enough tourism dollars already during the winter and summer months, the addition of our wedding barn was going to take it to another level altogether. Even I had to admit that it was pretty impressive to see how a single new event building altered the entire town’s dynamic.
All it had taken was one well-written article posted online, and the emails had started flooding in. Even though we were still months away from the potential grand opening, this was going to be huge for the resort. And the town.
I’d just finished sending off what felt like my fiftieth response of the day when I heard someone walking quickly down the hall.
“Brooklyn,” Thomas said as he poked his head in my office and knocked on the door at the same time.
“Come in.”
He looked so stressed as he closed the door behind him, and my heart started pounding.
“What’s wrong? Is Clara okay?”
“Yes. She’s fine, but my brothers and I have that meeting with my dad to discuss the extra lodging we want to build for when the barn opens. We’ve had this meeting on the books for weeks now. I don’t want to push it back, but Mrs. Green is sick again.”
He sounded so frazzled, and my man was typically so composed.
“Oh no. Again? Poor thing. Do you need me to go pick up Clara from school?” I opened my bottom drawer and started pulling my purse free.
Thomas looked so hesitant, like he was afraid to ask me to do this simple task even though it was the exact reason why he’d come to me in the first place. “I know it’s not your responsibility. And I shouldn’t ask you.”
“Thomas,” I said softly, hoping to calm whatever storm was currently raging inside his mind. “We’re together now. Of course I’ll go get Clara. I’d get her even if we weren’t dating.”
He stepped over to my desk and planted a soft kiss on my lips. “You’re the best. Thank you.”
“Do I need to do anything? Will they let her leave with me?” I asked, assuming that there had to be some kind of rule about that sort of thing. No one should be able to simply walk into school and take a child out of it.
“I’ll call them right now. And I’ll repay you later.” He winked before he started to hustle out, and I was instantly replaying scenes from our night together. Thomas’s way of repaying me would be very satisfying, I knew at least that much.
“Thomas, wait!” I shouted, and he stopped before looking over his shoulder at me. “Good luck with your dad. Tell him we need the chalets. As many as he’ll let us build,” I said with a smile.
He’d asked my opinion about the extra lodging, and when he told me Patrick’s idea for building multiple freestanding chalets versus putting up another hotel building, I was fully on board. The resort definitely had enough land that chalets wouldn’t take away from the charm in any way; they’d only add to it and look like they’d always been there, if done right. I’d told him that Patrick’s idea was brilliant and that most guests would prefer it to a hotel room.
This would solve a lot of potential future issues as well. And while there were other places in Sugar Mountain for people to stay, it didn’t make sense to at least attempt to keep them on the property if at all possible. I hoped the guys convinced Mr. O’Grady to say yes.
Smiling to myself, I looped my purse around my arm and headed out of the resort with my car keys in hand. I drove the quick distance to Clara’s school and made a mental note to get Mrs. Green’s phone number from Thomas so that I could check in on her. I knew that she lived alone, but I didn’t want her tofeelalone.
Look at me, all integrating into the O’Grady life like I’m one of them already.