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I grab my coat, zip it up to my neck, and then slip my gloves on. I live in one of the smaller cabins that sit on each side of the lodge, meaning I still have to walk outside to reach the main building, and this predicted snowstorm is trying to get a head start.

I try to push the article out of my head, but I can’t.

The thing is, this place is built on family love and trust. All of which my father broke last fall.

Last I heard, he was overseas with some new fling. We all know that won’t last. Finding out he’s been cheating on my mother for years and bringing a new woman into his life every six or seven months was shocking for me, to say the least. I’m still not over it. I’m so mad at him. And my mother knew. She knew! And she never left. My example of what love and trust mean in a relationship is fucked up right now. Hell, my faith in anyone but myself is low. If I want something to get done and get done the right way, I’ll have to do it myself.

Trust is not something I have to give away anymore.

It sort of fades when you realize that even those you love most will screw it up.

I guess that’s the silver lining for now, that my father’s not around to start any more drama and continue to tarnish our name.

It’s fine.

Everything is fine.

I rush into the main building using the back entrance, shake off the snow covering my hood, and head straight for my office.

There are four offices in this hallway. The one that used to belong to my father’s; my oldest brother Dutton’s vacant one; my second-oldest brother Gavin’s, with its lights off; and mine.

Someday, our youngest sister, Wren, might come back and help run this place, but until then, Gavin has been helping me, while also raising a daughter on his own.

I drop my phone on the desk and strip out of my winter gear.

The heat in this room is welcome and even makes me feel a little better about this day.

My cell phone vibrates against the desk, and Gavin’s name appears along with a picture of him and my niece, Layla, back when she was a baby. She’s a teenager now, and while I love this stage of her life, I don’t think my brother feels the same.

“Hello,” I answer.

“Hey, sis, it’s Gavin.”

“As if I didn’t know that from the caller ID.”

“Well, I’ve called you three times in the last half hour, and you didn’t answer those two, so I was beginning to think that you deleted my number.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Considering every article about the lodge in the last five months has been shit and a new one just came out this morning, I imagine you’re ignoring everyone.”

I roll my eyes at how well he knows me. I might be an adult, but siblings can annoy you at all ages.

“I’m not ignoring anyone.”

“Come on, Grace. You don’t have to lie to me. I’m in this with you, remember.”

I sigh and sit at my desk.

I’m in this with you.

Words he shares with me at least once a week.

Lovers Lodge has been in the family since my grandfather started it. Until last year, my brothers Gavin and Dutton and I were being groomed to take over. After everything happened with our father, Dutton quit, leaving Gavin and me to run this place together, even if I’m the legal sole owner.

Gavin and I are the first Richfords in charge who aren’t happily married. And that is something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the rest of the world. Why that matters anymore in this day and age, I have no idea. But everyone has their opinions, and they aren’t afraid to share them.

The name alone is a huge hint at what our lodge is known for. Weddings. Of course, the fact that our lodge is quite large and has dozens of cabins on either side of it, with the lake right behind it and mountains behind the lake, means that our lodge has something for all guests. It’s a photographer’s dream landscape for any event.