Page 17 of Making New Plans

“Fine,” I grunted, taking a sip of my water. “It’s the lesser of two evils at the moment, I guess.”

She appraised me with a knowing gleam in her eye. “Which am I less evil than, the lodge or Chloe?”

Not even wanting to surmise why she mentioned Chloe, I shrugged. “It shouldn’t be any big surprise that I hate being in that place. Don’t know why I’m being forced to stay. And don’t give me that stipulation bullshit,” I added when she opened her mouth.

“I wasn’t going to, smartass. I’m just curious if you ever thought maybe your dad wanted to make amends for how things ended between you two?”

I snorted, gulping down another bite of chili before answering. “By forcing me to basically be an unpaid intern at the place neither of us wanted? Yeah, I can really feel the love.”

Monty swept by and set a mug of tea in front of Sal, avoiding my eyes. Ah, so he gave me up to Sal. Pushover.

Sal sipped her tea, gazing at me like an opponent in a sparring match. “Why do you hate Pine Grove?”

I choked on my chili and had to swallow half my water. “Are you serious? You don’t even like that place.”

“Bah. That lodge replaced me as your grandfather’s most-loved possession. Of course, I don’t care about it. I’m asking why you don’t.”

“I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I had a dismal childhood there with two miserable parents.” Sarcasm wasn’t my favorite comeback, but staring into the eyes of the biggest contradiction in my life had me out of sorts. She’d been my favorite person growing up. But now we were strangers. Worse, related strangers.

“Your parents are gone, Hunter. The lodge is just a lodge.”

My father’s funeral flashed in my mind. He’d been buried next to my mother, who had died five years before him. I’d cried for her but not for him. Sal hadn’t either, but neither had she spoken a word that entire day. The only person I remember crying at his funeral was Chloe. Odd, that. Why did she care?

“Hunter?”

I snapped back to reality. “I hate it because it reminds me of everything my life was and what I never want it to be again.”

Her thin eyebrows drew together, but her expression remained unreadable. I wished I could call the words back and keep them locked up. Not for her sake, but for mine. The last thing I wanted was a heart-to-heart in Monty’s Diner. Glaring at my chili, I plotted my escape from the conversation. But my head shot up at Sal’s next words.

“So, torch it.”

“Excuse me?”

“Not the entire lodge and maybe not literally, but give me one example of something about the lodge you hate.”

I blurted the first thing that came to mind. “That stupid duck painting.”

She nodded. “Torch it. Anything else?”

I barked out a mirthless laugh. “You’re crazy.”

“How about the moose head? Chloe already tore it down for you.”

I shook my head. “Speaking of Chloe, I can’t go around destroying things in the lodge. She’d probably suffocate me with sticky notes.”

A small, secretive smirk deepened the wrinkles around Sal’s mouth. “I think you have more in common with Chloe than you think. Go ahead and suggest some changes to her and see what she says.”

I remembered our moment earlier when I’d made her laugh with my moose head comment. Maybe Sal was right.

A new feeling bubbled in my stomach, and it had nothing to do with the chili. Hope, maybe?

Sal studied my expression and nodded. “Monty?” She waved her cane to get his attention. “We need a to-go box and the bill.”

7

Chloe

I glanced at my phone for the tenth time in the past hour. After Hunter had vanished, I’d been at a loss. Whatever had triggered his sudden need for something to eat had completely thrown off my groove mid-monologue. I’d trudged back to the front desk, figuring I’d take care of some paperwork and check out Ms. Bergenstein while waiting for him to come back. This whole training thing wasn’t going well. Judging by the last two days, I sensed a theme.

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