Summer In Stanton (Stanton Falls #3) (3 page)

“Back already?
 Ready to try another serving from the kitchen?”

“Not quite.  Listen
Libby, you seem pretty nice so I don’t wanna blow up on you.  Can you get
me the manager?”

Tessa saw Libby look
down at the suitcase.   Moments later the expression on Libby’s face
changed to one of more concern.

“Manager?
  You’ve got your . . . suitcase.  Is everything ok?”

“Not really.  I
just want to speak to the manager please.”

“I’m sorry but we don’t
have a manager here.  Just the owner, Connor, and he’s not available right
now.”

“Come on Libby.
 I’ve heard that before.  Pretend the manager isn’t here until the
angry customer goes away.  I’m from New York.  I know all the
tricks.”

“No, really.  He
isn’t.  He runs a youth camp in the summers and he just headed out a few
minutes ago.”  

She watched Libby look
down at her watch.  

“He’ll be at least two
hours, maybe three.  I promise that when he comes back, I’ll send him to
your room right away.  But I can most likely take care of whatever the
issue is.”

Tessa really would
rather deal with the manager over something like this but she didn’t want to go
back to a rain soaked room.

“Alright.  As long
as I can still talk to him later.  My room has a leak and all of my
clothes are soaked.  The worst part is that there were documents in my bag
and the rainwater made the ink bleed all over my clothes.  Everything in
there is ruined and I am going to need it all replaced.  You think you can
handle that?”

“I’m so sorry.  We
didn’t know there was a leak.  You were in the Abeline suite right?”

“Yes.”  

“Wow.  We thought
all the rooms with leaks were accounted for.”

“Apparently not this
one.”

“I know for sure that
there aren’t any leaks in the Josephine.  We had a guest in there last
night and it was pouring worse than this.”

“Fine.  I will take
it.  Now what about my clothes?  I have nothing to wear but this.”

She motioned to the
swimwear she was clothed in.

“I’ll have to let Connor
talk to you about that.”

“Yeah.  And tell
him that I am seriously thinking about just cancelling my trip.  This is
turning out to be the worst vacation I’ve ever taken.”

“I’m sorry Ms. McGuire.
 I’m sure that Connor will make this all right if you give him a chance.
 If you stay, you’ll like your time here.  I just believe that.”

“Yeah . . . well tell
that to my clothes, and food, and everything.”

Tessa followed Libby to
her next room and, to Libby’s credit, it didn’t seem to have a sign of any
leaks even though the rain was still falling outside.  Still, Tessa didn’t
want to get her hopes up for the place.  It had already tricked her two or
three times in less than half a day.  

If she was going to stay
longer than the night, things were going to have to get a lot better pretty
soon.  

***

Connor was glad
that the thunder and lightning stopped.  Since he was the football
coach for Stanton Falls high school, he could always use the gym for his camp
but unless they were doing basketball time, he preferred getting the kids out
in the sunshine with games like kickball, baseball and the like.  He
figured video games kept kids in the air conditioning enough.  

The more he considered
things, the more he realized that he enjoyed coaching--even more than some of
the kids who were playing.
 
And that was
because of the kids.  They all had a chance for a really bright future
ahead of them.  Most of them wouldn’t have to take over a struggling
business and work hours on end just to barely make it.  And half of the
time that didn’t even happen.  

The hardest part about
running the bed and breakfast was easily that he had employees.  People
who counted on the results of the decisions
he
made.  It was a huge
burden on him to know that people could suffer because of him but that was the
reality of being the boss.  If things continued to go south, it wouldn’t
just be him out of business.  It’d be people like Ms. Celia and Libby--two
people he practically considered family.  They’d have to find new work
too, and probably not in Stanton Falls.  

That was the problem
with a town this size.  He hated the idea of seeing them leave town like
chef Alvin did simply because they wanted to make a decent living.  It
wasn’t so easy though and it seemed like everything was imploding around him.
 A lot of the time, the only reason he didn’t give up on the whole thing
was because of them.    

Connor looked around as
he pulled his pickup truck to a stop at the light.  To his right he
saw Reverend Remy standing under the church marquee with a sign pole,
exchanging letters.  The reverend smiled when his head turned up and he
saw Connor.  He quickly waved him over which led Connor to sigh inside.
    

Jeez.  I am not in
the mood for one of his mini sermons.  

Connor rounded the
corner and pulled his struck into the grass on the side of the road.  Of
course, he could have just pretended that he didn’t see the other man but Connor
wasn’t that type of guy.  Besides, he and Reverend Remy were old buddies.
 They grew up together in Stanton Falls but had taken different routes.
 Remy went to seminary school and got deeper into his faith.  He had
come back to town a few months ago and had taken over as the youth pastor and
music minister at the church.  To Connor it always seemed like his friend
had everything easy.  

Connor’s path up until
now was anything but easy.  With his parents dying when he was in his late
teens, he didn’t have much of a choice in what he wanted to do with his life.
 His grandma ran the bed and breakfast and he helped her out there until
she passed a few years back, leaving him with no real family in town and a
business to run.  He didn’t have the luxury of waiting on faith to make
things happen like people with stable lives did.  

That didn’t mean he
resented the reverend.  They had always been good friends and that didn’t
change too much over the years, even with his friend growing further into
religion.  They might have each changed some but Connor didn’t consider
himself a bad guy, even compared to his pastoral friend.  He thought of
himself as a down to earth guy who wasn’t really into craziness anyways.
 Not big on drinking, smoking, or general foolishness.  On many
occasions his old friend told him that he seemed to be always on the fence with
his faith.  Halfway into calling himself a Christian and halfway into just
not really caring.  He would tell Connor that he couldn’t help but try to push
him a little since he was so close to making the decision.  

Connor would humor him.
 He didn’t dislike Christianity.  He just didn’t see how it had made
a difference in his life.  Regardless, each time they met, he would let
Remy have his say about the matter really quickly and then they’d have a
regular conversation.  That was just how things went with them and as long
as Reverend Remy respected Connor’s boundaries, they would continue to do so.
 

He got out of his truck
and closed the door before walking across the grass to stand beside his friend
under the old church sign.

“Connor.”

“Reverend Remy.”

“Reverend Remy?
 Wow.”

“Well that’s what they
call you now, right?”

“Them.  Sure.
 But not the guy who had me sneak onto his dad’s tractor with him at midnight
and going for a joyride down the streets of Stanton Falls.  He can just
call me Remy.”

The two looked at each
other before Connor smiled slightly and embraced his friend.  

“That was your idea
Remy.”

“And don’t you tell
anyone.  I have a reputation to uphold around these parts.  Speaking
of which, where you been buddy?  I haven’t seen you in church in a few
weeks.”

“Yeah, I know.
 I’ve just been kind of busy running the bed and breakfast and all.”

“Come on Connor.
 You can’t be too busy to take one day out a week to attend a
service.”

“Right.  Listen
Remy, with all due respect, you don’t really know my situation.”

“Doesn’t matter.
 We all have situations.”

Connor was surprised.
 That was a little bit pushy, even for Remy.  He looked at him and
tried to hold back his words.  Maybe he was getting a bit tired of the
whole holier than thou routine with Remy but his thoughts slipped out verbally.
    

“Well, Remy, it might
not matter to you but it certainly matters to me.  And if my situation doesn’t
matter to God, then I have no idea why you think I’d come there.”

From the look on Remy’s
face, Connor could tell that he’d surprised him.  Remy was quick to
apologize.  

“I’m sorry Connor.
 You know I didn’t mean it like that.  You’re just a good friend.”

“I know.  I didn’t
mean to snap at you.  I just have so much on my mind right now.”

“I hear you buddy.”

“I’ll see if I can make
it one day soon.”

“Hey, that’s all I can
ask.  Besides, between all the cutting of the grass and the helping out you
do when we need just about anything fixed, you’re here as much as I am.”

It was true.  Even
though Connor didn’t go to church regularly like other people, he still
volunteered his services at times.  He’d seen his dad do it all the time
when he was a kid.  Connor might not have been the most deeply religious,
but he did his little bit.  If God was real, then that would have to be
enough.  

“Just doing my part. “

“Good.  So it
sounds like you’re stressed.  Anything I can help with?”

“Not unless you know a
way to turn the bottom line of my business around without any money, visitors,
and a building that is in need of a lot of reinforcement.  Lately it feels
like I’ve been struggling just to patch up the holes in the place.”

“Well it’ll work out.
 I’m sure of that.”

“I know but speaking of
the house, I gotta get going soon.  We finally got a guest and from what
Libby just called and told me, it’s some city girl who is demanding to speak to
management right away.”

Remy slapped him on the
shoulder and laughed.  

“Sounds like a fun time
for you tonight.”

“Yep.  See you
later.”

“Yeah.”

Connor walked back to
his truck and got back in.  Before driving off, he saw Remy grabbing more
letters and putting them on the sign.  Even though it wasn’t complete, there
were only a few letters missing and anyone could tell what Remy was spelling
out.  Connor only shook his head while reading it softly.  

“God is still in the
miracle business.”  

Connor didn’t doubt that
God still did miracles.  It was just that he’d never seen them.  He
was big enough into church when he was younger to know the multitude of miracle
stories that were constantly recounted, but he was starting to become the kind
of person who just didn’t think that was something that happened these days.
 No.  If God wanted Connor to believe in miracles--He’d have to show
him to his face.

The new room Tessa got
seemed to be better than the old one.  At least in the leaks department
but she didn’t want to call the new room a success just yet.  Who knew
what could possibly blow up on her next.  The bottom line was that this
was the last way she wanted her first break from work in years to start.  

Tessa stood and looked
at herself in the bathroom mirror.  She was lucky that she and Libby were
so similar in size because the other woman shocked her when she lent her a tee
shirt and jeans to wear for the evening.  That was definitely better than
her walking around all night in a swimsuit.  

After sifting through
her bag, she’d found that there were still a few items of clothing that were
salvageable.   She held up her favorite pink blouse and examined it.
 To her dismay, it would be one of the casualties of the leak.  

I’ll never be able to
wear this out again.   Five hundred dollars!

Tessa heard a knock on
the door and began grabbing the clothes that weren’t ruined.  Tessa
shouted out towards the door.

“Coming!”

Libby said she’d be up
in a bit to take whatever clothes she’d found still worth keeping, promising to
run them through the washer and dryer for her.  Tessa opened the door
without thought, still talking.  

“This is all I’ve was
able to f-”

She stopped when she
realized it wasn’t Libby at the door.  It was the gardener from earlier.
 

“Oh I’m sorry.  I thought
Libby would be coming up to get my stuff herself.”  She reached out to
give him her stuff.  “This is all I was able to find.”

“Huh?”

“Did you not understand
what I said?”

“What?”

“Oh. So you do speak
English?”

“Yes I do.”

“Then why are you
looking at me like you don’t understand what I’m talking about?  Are you
here for my clothes or not?”

“Actually no.  You
asked to see me, but I can take care of your clothes for you as well.”

That was when Tessa
remembered that she had requested time with the manager and was promised he’d
be by later.  

“I’m sorry.  Are
you the manager?”

Talk about being cheap.
 He’s the owner and the gardener.

“I am he.”

“Great.  Listen, I
have never been so disappointed in a hotel stay in my life.  This place is
nothing like the brochure that I got.  I mean it’s pretty enough from the
outside but I can’t believe you would expect me to pay for that room I was in.
 My room leaked and it ruined all of my clothes.  The food was
horribly bland and there’s not even a flat screen television in the room.
 It’s like this whole place is in the stone ages.”

“I’m sorry that your
trip hasn’t been--”

She interrupted him.
 She wasn’t just accepting some apology.   Not after what had
happened so far.  

“Sorry.  Yeah that’s
nice and all but I don’t know if I want to stay the rest of my trip here.
 It may be worth salvaging but if I do, I want a refund for tonight.
 Do you think we can make that happen here in backwards Texas?”

“Yes ma’am.  You’ll
be comped for the night and breakfast tomorrow will be on the house.”

“Good.  Now about
my clothes.  I also . . .”  Tessa couldn’t help but notice how
visibly annoyed he seemed.  “. . .  is there a problem?”

“Excuse me?”

“You seem to be
bothered.  I’m sorry if it’s an inconvenience for you to come to my room
but you did give me a leaky room.  I wouldn’t think it would be such a
problem to spend a few minutes making it right for a customer.”

“No ma’am.
  It is no problem at all.”

“Whatever.  Most of
my clothes are also ruined thanks to your leaky building.  How are we
going to deal with that?”

“Yep.  We’ll get it
handled.  Let me know how much it costs before you leave and we will
deduct it from the final cost of your bill.  Anything else?”

Anything else?  Did
this guy not take customer service 101 in his southern hospitality class.
 

“Okay, what’s your major
issue?”  

“Nothing.  You are
the customer and the customer is always right.”  

“I know that slogan but
I’m not stupid.  You’ve never met me before today but it’s obvious you
have a problem with me so what is it?”

“You really want to
know?”

She was barely able to
contain her frustration as she nodded her head.  

“Okay then.  I
can’t stand guests like you.”

“How rude.  You
don’t even know me.”

“Yeah, but I know your
type.  Pretty woman who thinks the whole world revolves around her.
 Probably babied too much by your dad and now you think everyone should
worship the ground you walk on.  You’re probably some rich executive with
a high paying job from a big city.  You’ve been all over the world doing
whatever pointless thing it is that you call work.”

“Wow.  You got all
that from conversation huh?”

“You told me enough when
you opened the door.  You know what.  Ms. McGuire right?”

“Yes.”

“You’d probably be
better off at a chain hotel.  More your speed and you’re in luck.
 There’s one in the next town over and if you decide to leave tonight or
tomorrow, I’ll let the receptionist know to refund you in full.  If there
is nothing else, goodnight. “  

She hadn’t been left
speechless in forever but she had no comeback.  No response.  Not
when she knew that he might be right about her for the most part.  He’d
pegged her in just one conversation.  Tessa was stunned as she watched him
turn and walk away.    

***

Connor made his way back
down to the lobby, chastising himself along the way.  He was not happy
with how he had acted at all.  Sure, she was a bit uppity but he had dealt
with plenty of people like that in the tourism industry.  Being able to
deal with people like that was almost a prerequisite of the job.  And it
wasn’t like she didn’t have reason to feel that way.  She had come to his
place as a guest for a getaway and was running into problems left, right and
center.  She had every right to be a little bit less than cordial to him.
 

She had just gotten
under his skin at the wrong time.  Either way, he needed to fix what he’d
done because in spite of what he told her, he didn’t want her to go to the
chain down the street.  A two week stay by anyone was worth accepting a
little bit of humiliation, especially considering the fact that it was his roof
leak that damaged her clothes.  If he lost her tab
and
had to pay
for her clothes, he’d be in the negative bad.  If he was right about her
in any way, the stuff in her suitcase had the potential to run him a couple
grand.  

He wanted to let it wait
until the morning but he knew he didn’t have the time for that.  She could
be packing right now for all he knew.  

He turned around and walked
back to her door, knocking.  She opened the door up a few seconds later
with a cautious expression on her face.

“Yes?  Are you here
to tell me more that you’ve discovered about me.”

“No.  I came to ask
you to stay the rest of your trip.”

“Really?”

“Well the truth is that
we don’t have the money to cover the cost of replacing your clothes so I was
hoping we could just let you stay for free and we could call it even.”

“What?!  So you
can’t cover the cost of my clothes and that’s why you’re not so high and mighty
anymore.  I’ll have you know that my clothes were not cheap at all.
 I don’t know if it’s even worth it.”

“At least consider it,
please.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you, and you’ll
find that whatever it is you came here for, Stanton Falls is just the place to
find it.  Either way, I don’t want to bother you anymore tonight.
 Just let whoever is at the front desk in the morning know your decision.”

He turned to walk away
when she stopped him.

“Hold on.  You know
what?  I did come here for a reason and I’m going to stay but . . .”
 

He watched as she turned
back into her room. “You are not leaving here a second time tonight without
these.”

She handed him a bag.

“Your soaked clothes.
 Right.  I’ll make sure they are ready for you as soon as possible.”

“Good.  Thanks.”

Moments later she had
shut the door and he was heading downstairs again.  He did a lot of things
here, but laundry was not one of them.   Ms. Celia or Libby would
take care of this.  

As he reached the lobby
area, he was surprised.  He didn’t know why he was so rude to her earlier.
 She really wasn’t all that bad.  Not his cup of tea, of course.
 That didn’t matter though.  He didn’t need to like her or hang out
with her.  He just needed to tolerate her while she was there.  

Just two weeks.