Page 23 of #Resort Romance
He nodded. “I’m not making any promises, but I think you’ll be able to enjoy yourself a little more if you know what’s going on around here and why.”
Launching herself into his arms, she held him tight. “Thank you, Jayce,” she whispered fiercely. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to remind her she might not like the outcome, but he figured that wouldn’t help anything right now. Instead, he held her close for a moment longer before letting her go. “Go,” he said quietly. “I’ll catch up as soon as I’m done.”
“What should I tell everyone?”
“Tell them I…” Stopping, he realized he didn’t need her to make excuses for him. “Mom? Dad?” he called out. “I need to make a business call. I’ll meet everyone up at the lodge, okay?”
They all nodded and continued to walk. When he met Kelsey’s gaze, he saw a myriad of emotions playing in her beautiful eyes. Without a word, she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him before walking away.
Letting out a long breath, Jayce pulled out his phone and walked over to one of the benches along the path and sat down. Pulling up Walker’s number, he hit send and prayed he wasn’t making a mistake.
“Holy cow! Jayce Nash!” Walker Bradshaw said excitedly when he answered. “To what do I owe the honor?”
Laughing softly, Jayce shook his head. “Hey, Walker! Guess where I am right now?”
“If you’re at my front door, you’re out of luck. I’m out of town at the moment.”
“Nope, not at your door, but I am someplace that’s possibly like a second home to you.”
Groaning with amusement, Walker asked, “What in the world are you doing at Lakeview Harbor Resort? Of all the places in the world you could be vacationing right now, why there?”
“Well…funny story,” he began, and then told him about his grandparents’ anniversary. “How could I say no, right?”
Walker chuckled. “No, you definitely had to be there, but…wow! Kind of crazy that they still go back year after year.”
This was his opening.
“I heard this is going to be their last, though. Word around the resort is you’re closing the doors at the end of the summer.”
Silence.
Crap! Did I piss him off?
After a long moment, Walker let out a loud sigh. “Yeah, it’s been kind of a shit show where the resort is concerned. My grandparents can’t handle running it anymore. They’re still very active, but…it’s a lot of work and they’re tired. They’ve been talking about retiring for the last five years and they’re finally doing it.”
“That’s awesome for them! I mean, they’ve obviously worked hard all their lives, and they’re entitled to enjoy themselves.”
“Exactly.”
“But…?” Because Jayce could already hear the but.
Walker laughed again. “But…there’s been a lot of discussion about closing the place. You’re there so you can obviously see how much work it needs. They’ve let things go for so long and unfortunately, we all stopped going there years ago just because…I don’t know…my brothers and I grew up and so did my cousins. Going to our grandparents’ lake resort just wasn’t as appealing anymore.”
Glancing around, Jayce could totally understand that.
“They’ve been approached by real estate developers—or, vultures as my grandmother likes to call them—and they can make a freaking crap ton of money by selling it, but my grandmother is devastated just thinking about everything being demolished.”
“Have they reached out to other hospitality companies? There have got to be other resorts who could take it over.”
“Not really. The place was great back in its day, but…think about it, Jayce, are you having fun there? It’s a niche market. Between doing the upgrades just to bring the resort into this century, and then expanding everything to make it more appealing to today’s vacationers would require way more resources than anyone’s willing to invest.”
“I know you’re working for a big luxury resort company. Have you asked anyone there if maybe they want the property?”
Walker laughed. “Dude, the company I’m with is known for luxury, extravagance, and providing five-star, top tier comfort and service. My grandmother doesn’t want to see the property torn down and my bosses are not in the business of rustic campgrounds.”
“Okay…what if you had a team of investors?” he carefully suggested.
