Page 15 of Worth the Fall

“Barring any unforeseen delays in weather or materials, I’d say we’ll be ready by early March to complete inspections and get all our permits.”

I nodded. “That’s good news.”

“But I wouldn’t book anything until mid-April. And even that might be cutting it close. I really won’t know firm dates until storm season hits.”

Winter could be a builder’s nightmare. Forecasters who promised a mild season tended to be wrong on more than one occasion. And a quick snowstorm could dump feet of snow that stayed on the ground for weeks. Mother Nature made planning difficult.

“That makes sense.”

“Sierra and I have already started building a list of interested parties. We have their emails and contact information.”

This was news to me. “Is there a lot of interest?”

Patrick nodded as Matthew chimed in, “We will send out a newsletter as soon as we are ready to start taking reservations. I was thinking no more than a year in advance. Anything else might get us into trouble. We should have certain dates set aside for typical weather-related issues and road closures, so we can move things around if necessary. I’ve already started researching weather patterns for the last three years.”

“That’s really smart,” I complimented Matthew. Sometimes, he was more than just a pretty face, but I thought he enjoyed playing dumb. “I hadn’t even thought of that. I just figured we’d book as far out as someone wanted.”

Matthew shook his head. “Yeah, no. If we’re booked solid back-to-back, it leaves us no wiggle room for potential problems.”

“Okay, well, you guys can talk to the new events coordinator about all that once I hire someone.”

“You mean Brooklyn?” Patrick said her name with a familiarity I didn’t have when it came to the woman.

“Sure. But I don’t even know if she’ll be a good fit. I know you said you think she will, but have you seen her lately? Know anything about her life now? Or do you just remember her from high school? Plus, she might not even want to work at the resort.”

Matthew laughed hard. “Give me a break, Thomas. Everyone in Sugar Mountain wants to work at our resort.”

“That is not true,” Patrick mumbled under his breath, his tone completely changed.

Matthew reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. “Have you heard from her lately?” he asked.

I jerked my head in their direction, surprise written all over my features. If Patrick talked to Addison regularly, it was news to me.

“You two still talk?” I asked, barely able to contain my shock.

I’d been under the impression that once Addi moved to New York, they stopped communicating altogether. I remembered Patrick unfollowing her on all social media because it hurt too much to see her living a life without him. When she unfollowed him in return, I thought he might lose his fucking mind. I’d never seen two people hurt each other more just by doing the right thing. That was when I knew that I’d never loved anyone with that kind of intensity. Not even Jenna.

“Only when one of us drinks too much,” Patrick said in barely a whisper, like he was wrapped up in memories only he could see.

“How often does that happen?” I asked.

“Not often enough,” Patrick said, “and sometimes too often.”

“So, you haven’t heard from her lately then?” Matthew asked again.

Patrick shot him a deadly glare that was a little scary. “No.”

Sometimes, Patrick’s heartache was hard to be around. It filled a whole room and suffocated it without warning. I needed to get us back on track; otherwise, before I knew it, Patrick would be storming out of the house, blaring “Chainsaw” by Nick Jonas—which was our sign that he was not okay emotionally—Matthew would be racing to the saloon to drink away his own issues, and I’d be sitting on my hands, no closer to an answer than I’d been before they came over.

“I don’t know what to say to any of that.” I looked between my brothers. “But back to the barn. I think we all know that with the addition of that event space, we’re going to run out of rooms quicker and for much longer.”

“For sure,” Matthew agreed. “We’re going to have capacity issues.”

“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” Patrick piped up in agreement, his head back in work mode.

“Which is why we need another building, right?” I suggested.

Patrick put up a finger to stop me. “Or which is why we need chalets to accommodate entire wedding parties or larger groups.”

---