Page 5 of Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge

‘I’m Lily Wilson,’ she replied. ‘Hannah’s friend.’

‘Oh, yes,’ he said, suddenly recalling what his sister had told him over breakfast that morning. ‘Of course.’

He had heard all about Hannah’s best friends over the years but had only met Beth and Ella since he had moved back home. Lily, according to his sister, was the busy career woman and seemingly never appeared to have any spare time to see her friends.

Hannah had also reminded him that her friend was an interior designer and his sister was hoping that they could use her to redecorate the hotel. Ben had googled the interior design firm where Lily worked and found himself impressed. Their style was minimalistic and modern, just what he wanted for the hotel. The hotel needed a new updated look that was sleek and stylish and would match their competitors’ décor exactly. He just hoped the bill wouldn’t be too expensive as his funds were seriously depleted.

He was about to ask her about her work when there was an ominous rumble of thunder overhead and he realised that the sky was becoming darker once more with the threat of yet more rain.

‘I think we’d better get indoors into the dry,’ he told her.

‘I agree,’ she replied, walking over to her stricken car to gracefully lean forward to grab her handbag from the front passenger seat and then a larger overnight bag.

As she straightened up, Ben was about to offer her a lift in his car but she had already strode away from him towards the clearing of the hotel car park.

Ben decided to leave his car behind and walked swiftly to keep up with her. She didn’t seem to mind being in bare feet in the forest which he found himself surprised at. Most of the women he had dated over the years would have shrieked at the muddy floor and possibility of insects crawling around on the ground. This woman appeared to not worry about anything as trivial as that, he noted.

As soon as they reached the car park, Lily stopped to stare at the view. He couldn’t blame her. It was the most spectacular setting, he thought, staring across the lake. Even on a dark and rainy day, the wide expanse of sky was reflected in the large body of water. There were gentle rolling hills surrounding the lake, as if hugging it and keeping it safe from any outside foes. Thenthere was the lake itself, sparkling even on such a dull day. It was surrounded by trees and large swathes of forest, all of which was owned by his family.

He then watched as Lily turned to stare up at the hotel with wide eyes. He followed her stare to the large building in front of them. His great-great-grandfather had felled many trees to build the original lodge and the future generations had followed suit so that the outside walls of the hotel were layers of huge logs, giving the place a solid but warm look. Vast brick chimneys hugged the outside walls all the way up to the slate-tiled roof, where spires of smoke were trailing upwards into the air.

Despite the beauty of the hotel, as usual these days, Ben could only see the sheer amount of money that it had cost him so far with the renovations. He had used the majority of his profits from selling his business to underpin the hotel which had been revealed early on to be in danger of subsiding into the lake. That expensive building work, along with new double-glazed windows, doors and an entire new roof had pretty much emptied out his bank account.

With the plumbing and electrics still being brought up to date, Ben still had no idea whether the hotel would survive even when everything was completed. But he had to try for the sake of his family.

However, the changes had caused him to butt up against his grandad every step of the way. His stubborn grandad was set on leaving things as they were. But Ben knew that couldn’t be an option, otherwise the place would fail and they’d lose their home anyway.

He looked over to where his sister had just appeared at the oak-porched front door and rushed towards them.

‘You made it!’ said Hannah, a wide smile lighting up her face.

Ben realised that it had been a while since he had seen his younger sister so happy to see anyone and found himself smiling as he watched her embrace Lily in a hug.

Sweet Hannah, he thought. It was good to see her smile again after such a sad time following the loss of their father.

She was always such a quiet but calming presence. Unlike Ben, she had failed spectacularly with her studies at school, never finding anything academic easy. She had cracked under the pressure during her exams and had never returned.

With no qualifications, she had taken a job in a local restaurant at sixteen until finally, at Ben’s urging, she had taken the plunge and headed to London. She was an extremely skilled baker but he had since realised that placing Hannah in the cut-throat world of the capital city was like placing a country mouse on an African savannah. He still felt guilty that he had put her under so much pressure, especially when neither the job nor her romantic relationship worked out and she rushed back to the sanctity of Cranley four years later. And she had remained there ever since.

Hannah was always happiest in the kitchen, behind the scenes. Baking was her favourite thing in the world. She was currently working in a local pub restaurant in the evenings to make money whilst the hotel restaurant lay empty during its renovations.

‘It’s been too long but you look gorgeous as usual,’ Hannah told Lily as she stepped back from their hug. Then Hannah frowned as she looked her friend up and down. ‘Except you have a leaf in your hair and where are your shoes?’ She looked wide-eyed from Lily to Ben.

‘I had a small accident,’ said Lily, with a laugh. ‘I ended up driving into a pond on the way in!’

‘What?’ Hannah didn’t laugh, merely looking horrified instead. ‘Are you OK? Are you hurt?’

‘I’m fine,’ Lily told her. ‘But I could probably do with washing my feet!’

Hannah looked relieved and put her arm around Lily to take her inside. ‘You’d better tell me all about it,’ she said.

Ben was about to follow them when his grandad appeared from around the side of the hotel. Even from that distance, Ben could sense his grandad’s scowl after yet another argument that afternoon.

Walter Jackson was stubborn but still filled with great determination and spirit, despite his seventy-nine years. Ben knew that his grandad only wanted the best for the hotel but at the same time, any new ideas were met with resistance and another battle would begin. So Ben’s idea that each of the bedrooms had wireless internet, as well as new flat-screen televisions and LED lighting in each room, had been met by yet more grumbling about losing the soul of the place.

At one time, Ben and his grandad had had a good relationship but ever since his father had died, it felt to Ben as if he were a constant disappointment to Walter. That nothing he had done to the hotel met with his grandad’s approval.

Ben had been left the hotel in his father’s will but it was a constant stress hanging over him. The finances just didn’t add up and hadn’t done for a very long time. It was a mess which he was desperately trying to keep from his family, who were still grieving his father’s sudden death.