Page 19 of The Wedding Twist

“You know what? I’ll take care of it. Just tell me what time and where.” There were a couple of smaller portable heat lamps in the garage she could get Mariana, their head of housekeeping, to help her put into the back of the truck. “And your rate?”

“Four-fifty per guest for the half-day workshop,” Jack said. “But I’ll knock off 15 percent if you give my company a shout-out on your social media.”

“Deal.”

They spent a few more minutes covering logistics, and Celeste started to feel increasingly confident that this was going to be a good backup.

“Thanks again for this. I think it’s going to be great,” she said.

“You going to join us?” Jack said, a glint in his eye. “You’re practically an expert at fly tying now.”

“Uh-uh,” Celeste said. “This is a guys’ day. I’ll be there to drop off lunch, but otherwise I’ll be here, slinging mango margaritas and spinning Mariah Carey records.”

Jack took the last gulp of his coffee and set his mug on the table. “So, how about that tour?”

“Right this way.”

He followed her lead as she led him to her favorite spaces in the lodge. The sun was shining outside, so she took him to the artist’s gallery. Jack was complimentary throughout the tour, noting small construction details and craftsmanship. Celeste felt a mixture of pride tinged with sadness. This was supposed to be her forever home, and soon it would be in the hands of perfect strangers, and all of the things Jack was pointing out as being unique and memorable could be forever changed.

“And here,” she said, stopping in the puzzle room, “is the final stop on today’s tour. Which was the truncated version. I, unfortunately, have to source some red snapper for tomorrow’s dinner.”

“Why not serve rainbow trout?” Jack said. “It’ll be fresh caught and much tastier than some imported, overrated catch. Plus the guys can show off the result of their work. I have a great recipe I can share with you. Super simple.”

Celeste almost swooned. This was the second problem of hers that Jack had solved in a matter of hours. “You’d better be careful, or I’m going to have to hire you on staff,” she said. “You’re making yourself indispensable.”

“I’m more of an outdoors guy. But it seems like a pretty great place to work.”

She tried to smile, but a lump formed in her throat.

“Or not?” Jack said, studying her expression.

“No, it is. It’s just that my parents are selling the place this summer. So, I’m going to start looking for somewhere new to work. Any interest in owning your very own lodge?” she joked, trying to deflect attention from the waver in her voice.

When she looked back at Jack, his expression had softened and his chocolate-brown eyes were filled with concern. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said. “But I’m sure whoever buys it will want to keep you on. You seem…” He paused, and Celeste was on pins and needles waiting for the rest of his response. He cleared his throat. “You’re clearly good at your job.”

Warmth filled Celeste from her feet to the end of her ponytail. “Thank you. So this,” she said, motioning to the room, “is the puzzle room.”

Jack took a few steps in, surveyed the room, and grinned. “This is awesome.”

“Books are organized by subgenre. Police procedurals on that wall. Classics over there. Cozy mysteries beside the fireplace. Legal thrillers by the window, historicals beside that. And then it’s classic noir, romantic suspense, and supernatural.”

Jack laughed. “This is unbelievable!” He walked around the room, looking the shelves up and down. “You literally own every mystery novel ever published. Have you read them all?”

Celeste smiled. “Let’s just say I have some creative ideas for where to hide a dead body.”

“Noted,” said Jack. He took a step closer to the classics shelf. “Is this…” He pulled a leather-bound book and looked at her, amazed.

“Yep.Death on the Nile, first edition.”

She watched as Jack turned it over in his hands. “Agatha Christie is my favorite of all time. My grams had every single one of her books and would read them to me way before it was ever age appropriate.”

Grams?Celeste had to stifle a giggle at the sound of such an adorable term of endearment coming from a rugged outdoorsman.

“My dad bought it at auction, like, twenty years ago for what he thought at the time was a small fortune. But I think it was a good investment,” she said.

“I’ll say. But wait, so you just keep these out here? Where anyone could take them?”

“We’ve been lucky. Our guests are pretty awesome.” If Jack looked a little more closely, he’d see that there was also a camera surveillance system in most of the common rooms. They really only used it so that whoever was at the front desk could see when there were guests using the spaces so staff could offer them service, but she supposed it would also be helpful in the event of a book heist.

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