Page 6 of Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge

He knew he had to keep trying to save the place, not only to appease his grandad but because it was their home. Ben was trying everything he could think of to keep Maple Tree Lodge afloat, but he still didn’t know if it would be enough.

3

As Lily let Hannah lead her towards the hotel, her mind was still reeling, mainly from utter mortification.

It had been a crazy ten minutes, from crashing her car into a pond, getting stuck in the mud and then finding herself lying on top of Hannah’s brother.

Hannah had shown her photos of Ben over the years. But somehow she hadn’t made the connection between Hannah’s big brother and the good-looking man she had ended up on top of. She hadn’t expected him to be so attractive, for his eyes to be such a dark brown or for him to be strong enough to pull her free of the mud.

She glanced at him once more. He didn’t look at all like his younger sister. Where Hannah’s hair was golden blonde, Ben’s was dark and still a bit spiky from being out in the rain. Hannah was slim and petite where Ben was far taller and more muscular. She briefly found herself wondering whether he had a girlfriend before she pulled herself together.

She had hardly made the right professional first impression she had been hoping to give, especially as he had told her that hewas the hotel manager. After all, this was a make-or-break job for her career so it hadn’t been a great start so far.

Lily was thrilled to see Hannah though. It had been too long since they had last seen each other face to face and she was grateful to see her friend looking well. She couldn’t wait until they had a proper catch-up, although she knew she had to keep quiet about the loss of her job.

But what a commission Maple Tree Lodge could be, she told herself, looking up at the hotel. It was so warm and rustic looking, and so much larger than she had imagined.

As they drew nearer to the entrance, Hannah called over to an elderly man who had appeared from around the corner.

‘Grandad! Come and meet my friend Lily,’ said Hannah.

Her grandad nodded and held out his hand. ‘I’m Walter Jackson,’ he said.

‘Lily Wilson,’ she replied. She remembered Hannah telling her that they had celebrated his seventy-ninth birthday earlier that year but despite that, he had a surprisingly firm handshake and the blue eyes that studied her were still sharp above the bushy grey eyebrows.

‘Welcome to Maple Tree Lodge,’ said Walter. ‘What do you think of our home?’

He turned with what appeared to be pride on his face as he looked up at the building in front of them.

‘It’s lovely,’ she told him. ‘Really spectacular.’

The warmth of the wood panelling along with the sandy-coloured stone seemed right at home in the middle of the forest. Hannah had invited her to the hotel many times to stay and yet Lily had always been so busy with work that she had never found the time. Now she was regretting not staying before as it was so beautiful.

Walter’s smile faded. ‘Shame you won’t see it at its best inside,’ he muttered, shooting his grandson a piercing look as Ben came over to join them.

‘Let’s go inside and get you cleaned up, shall we?’ said Hannah in an overly bright tone.

Lily wondered whether she was imagining the tension in the atmosphere that had suddenly developed.

She followed Hannah through the oak-framed porch and into a large reception hall. It was a long room, flanked by an ornately carved oak staircase which rose in an arc up to the upper floor.

The whole place was filled with wooden beams along the walls and a grey flagstone floor. It felt cosy and warm, despite the lack of decoration, she realised. There were no pictures, no furnishings of any kind, in fact. But it was in the middle of a renovation as a large scaffolding tower took up most of the room.

‘This is Frankie, our receptionist,’ said Hannah, gesturing at a dark-haired woman in her late fifties who had just come out of a nearby room at the sound of their voices. ‘This is my friend Lily who’s staying here this weekend.’

‘Nice to meet you,’ said Frankie, with a warm smile.

‘And don’t mind the mess,’ added Walter, from behind them as he stepped over some trailing wires to turn and go through a doorway on their right. ‘We’re just having what I’ve been told is yet another update.’

‘A necessary one,’ she heard Ben mutter under his breath.

‘It’s hardly necessary,’ grumbled Walter, before turning to head towards a nearby doorway with Ben in pursuit.

At the sound of their muted but definitely tense voices, Lily hesitated about what to do or say next.

Frankie, the receptionist, looked at her. ‘Don’t mind them,’ she said, with a cheerful smile. ‘They’re just having their daily argument.’

‘The usual one,’ added Hannah, rolling her eyes.