Page 2 of Made for You

“Where are you fuckers?” Gunnar yells from the hallway. He came from Lupine Valley with his fiancée, Willow.

Willow is the best thing that’s ever happened to him, and us. She helps me with the social media for the inn, using her platform as a star in the country world to help us advertise. She jumped right into our special brand of Keaton crazy last summer and hasn’t looked back.

Hopefully soon we will have more rooms at the inn ready for all the attention she’s getting us. Hunter and his crew of workers helped get the cabins ready to open before the weather got bad. Now that we’re fully entrenched in winter weather, the inn is keeping them employed.

“Wow, you got three rooms cleared out and cleaned?” Gunnar looks around the room we’re all standing in now, room number three.

“Yeah, that’s what happens when you don’t sleep until ten in the morning.”

“Hey now, we were up well before the sun and on the way here.” Willow emphasizes how long they’ve been up with a yawn.

“That’s why you’re my favorite.” I pull her in for a hug and glare at my brothers over her shoulder.

“Um excuse me, I was the one driving at four thirty in the morning, and making a hundred pit stops for someone to get coffee, and pee, on repeat.” Gunnar acts offended, but he’d do anything for her.

I reach my arm out to Gunnar, “Aww, does someone else need a hug too?”

He crosses his arms over his chest and pouts for effect. “Maybe I do.”

Wyatt and Hunter jump on him at the same time, pulling him in for some wrestling hug type of move that I never enjoyed partaking in.

“Come on, Wy brought donuts, we can take them down to the kitchen and eat them all before they finish.” I reach over to the table and grab the donuts before Willow and I run down the stairs.

She follows after me giggling.

We hear a loud, “Shit! They stole the donuts!” come from upstairs and then what sounds like a herd of elephants follows.

After two days of working, we ended up getting four rooms completely done. We’re just waiting on some decorations to come in and new bedding that Emma ordered, then we can officially open them for bookings.

The guys are working on moving furniture from rooms five, and six while I meet with Emma to review the books. Without her, I wouldn’t even know what we were making. I was never interested in taking the books over from Pops. I just wanted to run the inn and build my furniture at the end of the day.

“Hey, big brother,” she looks up from the books she’s pouring over.

“Are you ever going to give us our own nicknames?”

“No. Because this way I’m never wrong when I hear footsteps coming.” She smirks at me.

“Okay, hit me with it. How bad is it this week?” We haven’t operated in the black in years.

When I took over, I had so many plans for renovations, for events, for packages, but Dad didn’t have the same grand plans and I got tired of fighting with him over it. And so the money just wasn’t there. And without the renovations, no onewantedto book here except our regulars, or those desperate enough for a room.

“I don’t know if you’re ready for this,” her lips purse together.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

“Just kidding! For the first time, I’m happy to report that we are in the black! No red for us. The cabins being rented outconsistently each weekend have finally put us over the edge into actually making profit.”

I stare at her, in complete disbelief. She can’t be serious.

“Yeah right. Until all those deductions for the decor you and Willow bought come out.”

I shake my head at the idea of how many boxes are coming my way. I am however under strict directions not to open, or decorate until I’m under the supervision of Willow and Emma.

“Nope. They’re already accounted for. You, my brother, are officially in the black.” She smiles so big, proud of herself for her work.

“No shit.” I whisper to myself, still not believing what she’s saying.

“I think you should probably go down to Sweet Violets soon and ask her to add in a breakfast rotation for the main inn too instead of just the cabins’ arrival boxes. Maybe even afternoon snacks to put out?”

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