Page 20 of Knockin' Boats
“Well, it’s been a lot easier since the resort took us on as a partner,” Hudson said. “Although I suppose we’ll have to see long-term if we’re busy enough. Otherwise, they might cut us loose again.” He grimaced. “And I already spent most of my savings on the new house with Fisher.”
“See?” I shook my head. “I’ll leave those kinds of worries to other folks. My camper and my boat are enough financial responsibility.”
Not to mention, a lot of my spare income went toward my hobby. I’d forked up for a speedboat, which I was still making monthly payments on. Not to mention all the equipment for wakesurfing and boarding. When I was a kid, my dad had taken me and my friends out, but once he was gone, it had been up to me to pay my own way if I wanted to continue.
There were a few places that rented out equipment or ran tours, but none nearby. I had to drive an hour, and it was expensive to book. It didn’t take me long to figure out I’d bebetter off buying my own equipment and recruiting friends to go out with me.
None of them were into it at the same level Ash had been, but?—
I cut that thought short. I didn’t want to think about those days.
Hudson stood and edged out from behind the desk. “The applications are in the bottom drawer,” he said. “I’ve got to get out there.”
I nodded, shifting aside so he could get to the door. It was averysmall office. Sky had offered Hudson a nicer one in the resort, but he wanted to be accessible to the public.
“When should I schedule the interviews?” I asked.
“For as soon as possible,” he said. “If I’m not here, you can just cover them. I trust your judgment. Hell, if you find a good candidate, just hire them. The sooner we get fully staffed, the better. Business is already starting to pick up.”
I nodded. We’d had two booze cruises this month, but soon it’d be every couple of days.
“Okay, I’ll get started.”
I pulled a thick file folder from the bottom drawer. It was full of applications, but some of these were a couple of years old.
I skimmed the details, separating them into piles. I’d start with the best and most recent applicants, because I figured the odds of finding someone who was still interested would be better. Then I separated those into most and least experienced and started making calls.
I’d gone through half a dozen, leaving messages for half of those and crossing others off the list because they’d relocated or already gotten a job elsewhere, when something caught my attention.
Bling-bling-bling!
Shit, that was our bell at the ticket counter.
I blinked out of my fugue state and checked our schedule with a quick glance. There was nothing scheduled outside of the tour Hudson already took. But we occasionally got walk-ups. Not usually this early in the season, but once the resort was booked, it would probably happen a lot more often.
One more reason to get fully staffed now.
I hopped up and skirted around the desk, then ducked into the ticket window just as the bell rang again.
“Hi, how can I help?—”
I stopped short. Ash stood there, a sheepish grin on his face, his beard hiding the dimple I knew he had.
“Uh, hi. I expected Hudson…”
“He’s on a boat tour,” I said shortly. “He’ll be back in two hours.”
I turned away.
“Wait,” Ash called. “I just need the key.”
I paused. “Key?”
“To the food boat. Skylar said it was here, so…I’m just going to take it out for a test drive. You know, I want to see how it handles.”
I nodded. “Fine. Wait here.”
We had a rack of keys behind the desk. I found the one labeledfood boatand returned to the front counter. Ash was waiting, but his head was turned toward the water. He squinted slightly in the sun, and there was something about his position, one elbow propped on the counter, that made a sharp sense of déjà vu slam into me.
