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But when they were growing up his father was gone long hours. Days, sometimes weeks, creating his brand and hosting grand openings. Sheila Weatherly had brought the kids to attend many of them, but as he and Ginger matured, conflicting schedules were the rule of the day. Maybe having a cook and a housekeeper wasn’t an indulgence. Perhaps it simply allowed his mother to be present at all those other things. Ball games and dance recitals and tennis matches for Ginger.
He’d always thought his mother was a little spoiled, and maybe she was, in a way. But perhaps she was doing what she needed to do to be a good wife and a great mother.
That made the slap in the face sharper when the lawyer read Ginger’s will out loud. His sister’s choice had hurt his mother, and when he wouldn’t sign Addie over to his parents, a rift had formed. It was better now…but not fully healed. He wanted that healing. He wanted anguish and grief and hurt feelings to be old news. Addie deserved to be surrounded by positive emotions. She’d had more turmoil than any young child should ever endure.
He came down the main stairway, checking things as he moved. A glorious lobby rose up to an overarching ceiling. The massive chandelier had been completed, and the entire effect welcomed guests to something bigger and bolder than they’d seen on the lake before. And yet, tucked to the northern edge, was a local treasure, a barbecue dive to draw in locals while the steak house upstairs might be preferred by some of the inn’s more formal guests and business functions.
Either way, this newest Carrington resort was his favorite. He spotted Josie moving toward a side door and called her name. “Got a minute?”
She moved his way. She should look out of place with her tank top and light khaki capris, but she didn’t, and he realized she had just enough moxie to fit in anywhere, a quality he admired. “Just,” she told him. “My cousin is in labor and my mom and I are watching little Davy while she’s in the hospital. Mom’s on her way here now. She’s having an old hardwood floor refinished today. For the moment, her house is uninhabitable.”
“Want a coffee while we wait for her?”
“I never say no to coffee. Especially on someone else’s dime. And while I offer a true Louisiana chicory mix for customers who’ve acquired a taste for the stuff, I need coffee that tastes like coffee.” She fell into step beside him, and he couldn’t help himself. He leaned over and sniffed, on purpose.
She laughed. “I know, I smell like smoke and seasonings and all things Cajun and Southern right now. Hazards of the trade. Sorry.”
“Wasn’t complaining, ma’am. More like appreciating.”
Color rose to her cheeks. Not pink like fairer skin would show, but a deep rose that blended with her tawnier complexion. “So, back to coffee.” She aimed a firm look to quash his flirting, which only made him want to flirt more. “I put a one-cup dispenser into the kitchen this morning, with a big—” she stretched her arms wide “—box of pods because when it comes to coffee, this New Yorker doesn’t mess around.”
“Nor does the Southern gentleman by your side.” He held the door open to the first-floor administrative office suite. “Is your mother going to be here for a little while?”
“Not by choice, but yes.” She followed him to the sophisticated but visually simple coffee machine in the second room. “She can’t have the little guy at her house right now, and of course Aunt Kate is at the hospital. It’s too nice a day to send them to my apartment, and Davy will love the beach. I figured I’d feed Mom, and she can watch Davy play in the sand until I’m cleaned up and out of here. A beautiful day like today shouldn’t be taken for granted.”
“I’m not sure I appreciated ‘soft weather’ like I should have in the past,” he acknowledged as he pulled out his phone. “And while I didn’t mind the winter, I didn’t mind seeing it end, either. Now I get where the phrase came from.”
“Wishing winter over is a common observance up here, but you didn’t run screaming, so that’s a plus.”
He smiled. “I’ll call my parents and see if they can bring Addie back here for food. She’s a born potato lover. Doesn’t matter how we fix them, Addie’s on board.” He hit speed dial and the speaker icon as he maneuvered the coffee machine. “Hey, Mom, you there?”
