Loving Reese (Tremont Lodge Series Book 2) Read online

  Loving Reese

  Book 2

  Tremont Lodge Series

  Marcy Blesy

  Loving Reese

  By: Marcy Blesy

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are a result of the imagination of the author or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, events, or locations is a coincidence.

  No part of the text may be reproduced without the written permission of the author, except for brief passages in reviews.

  Copyright © 2014 by Marcy Blesy. All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Cormar Covers

  Follow my blog for information about upcoming books or short stories. www.marcyblesy.com

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  Table of Contents:

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3:

  Chapter 4:

  Chapter 5:

  Chapter 6:

  Chapter 7:

  Chapter 8:

  Chapter 9:

  Chapter 10:

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12:

  Chapter 13:

  Chapter 14:

  Chapter 15:

  Chapter 16:

  Chapter 17:

  Chapter 1

  Never in my wildest dreams could I have anticipated that my second visit to Tremont Lodge would have changed the course of my life almost as much as the first visit sixteen years ago. But it has. In some respects, I’ve been released from the weight of not knowing why I was left at the lodge all those years ago, but, in other ways, I feel a new burden with new decisions weighing on my mind, like whether or not being groomed to take over Tremont Lodge someday is a healthy life choice or if I should have just let the past lie separate from the person I am now. But who am I, really, if I ignore my past? Then there’s Finn and his decision to give up the fall season headlining his own show on a Caribbean cruise ship, just because I asked him to stay. We’ve known each other barely three months, with the Labor Day holiday weekend wrapping up the official summer season at the lodge starting tonight with a massive amount of check-ins expected. It doesn’t seem right that I should be possibly altering the course of someone else’s life when I can barely chart a straight line in my own.

  “Cherry blossoms,” says Finn, surprising me from behind as I stand in the lobby surveying the new guests that are arriving.

  “I can’t believe I am not put off by my guy knowing the lotion I’m wearing just by a whiff of my neck.” He smiles, his two dimples bouncing up and down in rhythm with the floating butterfly on his neck.

  “Hmm…my guy. Cute, Reese. I like it.” I roll my eyes and push him away from my neck where he is going in for another smell.

  “You are driving me crazy,” I say.

  “Crazy by day and…”

  “Let’s save the crazies for behind closed doors. You know I have to make a good impression when I’m working in the lodge, especially since I’m streamlining the lobby tonight. It’s one of the bigger jobs Ted has given me.” Finn’s face drops, closing his dimples which I love so much.

  “You really care what that old bat thinks about you?”

  “Finn, come on. Be supportive, please.” I touch his arm, and he relaxes. “You’ll have my full attention later.”

  “Promise?” he asks.

  “I promise.”

  “And I can be crazy?” He winks at me.

  “Get out of here,” I say, playfully pushing him toward the doors that will lead to the plush lawn outside where sometime tonight he’ll climb onstage and serenade the guests with his soothing voice, good looks, and melodic guitar. It’s a shame I’ll miss the show to oversee recreation duties, another new assignment from Ted.

  With Finn occupied elsewhere and out of my head for the moment, I try to tend to the job at hand, making sure the guests are happy, the lines to check in are moving, and chaos is avoided at all costs.

  “Excuse me,” says a young woman about my age. “Do you work here?”

  Like the name tag and standard navy blue pencil skirt and navy shell weren’t a dead give-away. “Yes, how can I help you, miss?”

  “My fiancé and I made an error when booking our rooms, and I’d really like to save ourselves the trouble of waiting in this long line only to be told we’re screwed and there’s no solution. If so, we’ll start calling other hotels now. I can only imagine how hard it’s going to be to get a room this weekend.”

  “Sure, I’ll do my best to help,” I say, knowing full well that my knowledge of the ins and outs of Tremont Lodge are limited to a 300 page manual of which I’ve skimmed 25% and a few meetings with Georgia, Ted’s secretary, who keeps covering for Ted who seems not as interested in meeting with his only daughter as he once told me earlier in the summer when I’d learned the truth about my biological parents.

  “We are getting married on Sunday,” the woman says.

  “Oh, you’re the Warren party,” I say, fully aware of my responsibilities when it comes to overseeing the wedding, and hoping very much that the debacle of the last wedding at the lodge I was involved with won’t repeat itself. At least since Tinley is preoccupied with saying goodbye to Murphy this weekend, she shouldn’t have any desire to serve deadly amounts of food to highly allergic people. “What seems to be the problem?” I ask.

  “We booked one room for the two of us for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, but we really want to save our first night together for our wedding night—well, you know, at least we can pretend, right?” says the young woman.

  I smile. “So you need another room for one of you to stay in Friday and Saturday night?”

  “Yes, can you do that?” she asks, her large blue eyes begging for my help. Her fiancé puts his arm around her waist and pulls her closer to his side.

  “We’ll be happy to pay extra. Whatever Sam wants, she gets—no matter the cost.” Sam kisses her fiancé on the cheek but sidles away from him and gives her attention back to me.

  “You heard Anthony. He’ll pay you whatever you need to make this change.” She looks at Anthony again who pulls his wallet out, her eyes now begging him.

  “That really isn’t necessary. Let me see what I can do.” I walk to the office behind the desk to consult with Luis, the day supervisor and the real wheels behind the check-in operation. He’s been super nice, too, now that Lawson has been demoted to a concierge position and isn’t interfering by trying to micromanage his territory, as he refers to the front desk.

  “Sorry, Reese, we are completely booked. There is not one single space available in the lodge to put any more guests. I’d hate to see one of them staying somewhere else when they’re paying so much money to host their wedding here on Sunday….” He runs his hands through his long, wavy black hair and sighs.

  “What about the dormitory?” I ask.

  “Reese, that’s brilliant. Put one of them—I presume, Mr. Warren, in one of the rooms in Wing A where the overflow college students have stayed all summer. It’s mostly full-time staff that’s there now anyway, as so many college kids left for school already.”

  “Great. I’ll get him set up.”

  “And charge the weekday rate. No need to charge weekend rates for those accommodations.” Luis laughs. “But tell him he can still use the lodge pool. Make sure he knows that we don’t expect him to fraternize with the staff.” Heaven forbid, I think sarcastically to myself. Does Luis not remember that but a few weeks ago I was lowly staff, too? It’s like he thinks that the staff carries some sort of plague that will spread t
o guests if they come in close contact for too long. But at least he means well, if his delivery is a bit off. I wave goodbye and walk back to the couple to-be who are sitting on a couch in the lobby seating area which is located just outside the library. Anthony puts his arm around Sam, but she shakes it away when she sees me coming back. I’m wondering if Anthony is reading the same vibes from his fiancé that I am.

  “Any luck?” she asks, clutching her purse, a silver Chanel label front and center.

  “Well, kind of. Mr. Warren, if you are willing to stay in a room in our staff dormitory, which is just across the lawn out there,” I say pointing, “then everything will be great. The room is simple but has everything you’ll need. The charge…”

  “The staff dormitory?” interrupts Sam. A huge smile crosses her face. “That’s perfect,” she says, hugging me before I have a chance to respond. “Thank you. We’ll take it. Anthony, pay the kind lady.” She holds out her hand impatiently waiting for Anthony to pull out his wallet.

  “It’s not necessary to pay me. They will have the charges for you at the counter when you check in. The lines are moving quickly.” I mentally cross my heart because for the last ten minutes I have had no idea at all how smoothly or quickly the line is moving. I guess multi-tasking is one of those areas of management I need to improve. “The rate for the dorm rooms is discounted.”

  “No, no, we should be paying you more because you got us out of this jam. See, Anthony, I told you it would all work out despite your error in judgment. I mean, who sleeps in the same room as their fiancé before the wedding?”

  She directs the question at me, but Anthony answers. “Darling, we live together. I hardly think I made an error.” I am grateful to Luis who is beckoning me to the front desk with an exaggerated hand wave.

  “Excuse me, I am needed elsewhere. Let us know if you need anything else before the big day. I’ll be helping with wedding coordination as well.”

  “Super. And what’s your name?” asks Anthony.

  “Reese. I’ll see you tomorrow at rehearsal.” I direct them to the correct line and slip behind the desk to assist with the next problem.

  “You can’t miss it, Reese,” says Tinley as she zips one of her many bags and sets it by the front door of our room, ready to be taken to the airport for her flight back to California in a couple days. I can’t believe she’s actually leaving. As much as I wasn’t so sure about Tinley when we met over a clogged toilet three months ago, I can honestly say that I’m going to miss her like crazy. And who am I going to rely on to improve my fashion choices?

  “I want to go to the party, Tinley. It’s just not that easy.”

  “Yeah, I know. Daddy’s girl has to prove she deserves to run Tremont Lodge someday.” Tinley pulls another shirt out from under her bed and stuffs it into her next bag.

  “That’s a low blow, and you know it. You have no idea the amount of stress I am under trying to please everyone,” I say.

  “I know. I know. But maybe you should focus on pleasing yourself and not caring so much what Mr. Oakley and his staff think.”

  I don’t say anything as I roll on a fresh layer of deodorant to prepare to go back to work, my half hour break between lobby duty and recreation duty almost over. I can’t believe I’d ever say this, but I actually miss cleaning duty. “Did you know that Ted is sending food up the mountain to the old restaurant tonight?” I ask.

  “I guess you are rubbing off on him after all,” she says.

  “Well, I’d pushed for a full catered meal, but we’re getting bags of pretzels and chips and generic pop.”

  Tinley laughs. “Well, it’s a start. Just make sure you’re there to enjoy it. You will be there, won’t you?” She stops to put her hands on her hips and stares me down. Who can defy Tinley?

  “I will do my best.”

  “And make sure to pencil in tomorrow night, too, because it’s our last night together.”

  “Tomorrow I have to meet with that bride and groom who are getting married on Sunday. Their rehearsal is in the evening.” Tinley snorts and shakes her head. “Stop it. I’ll be there, okay? And I’ll come out to the party tonight, too. Finn’s going, and he is riding my case just as bad as you.”

  “Great.” She pauses. “And wear something cute. Because that yuppy navy suit does your complexion no favors…or that bun in your hair.”

  I smile. “That’s my girl,” I say, hugging Tinley. “I’m really going to miss you, you know?”

  “Aww, don’t go getting all sappy on me,” she says. “It’s only Friday. I’m not leaving until Sunday morning. You better get going. You don’t want to be late.” She rolls her eyes. “I have some serious rays I need to catch before I go home. I’ll be ridiculed if I show up at UCLA with pale skin.”

  She grabs her cover-up, puts it on, and walks out the door.

  Chapter 2

  My first stop is the recreation department office, located near the main lawn where there are small groups of kids and their families playing yard games like cornhole toss and hillbilly golf. A Frisbee flies by my head, and a little red-headed girl giggles as she runs by to catch it. The irony that I have decided to stay in the very place that has brought my life nothing but heartache is not lost on me. All I know is that the outright lies and lies through omission that have filled my head aren’t all sorted out yet, and I need to give it time. Right now I’m figuring out the whole your dad’s not your real dad, but no one really wanted you anyway story. At least I have Bree and Finn to help sort it out with me, or to at least give me support while I’m wading through the new story of my life.

  “There you are,” says Jeremy, the day recreation supervisor. “I’m supposed to meet Bree for an early dinner before her shift starts. Seriously, Reese, you need to take this job more seriously if you expect Mr. Oakley to give you the reigns.

  “S…sorry, Jeremy. I didn’t mean to be late. There were a lot of questions at check-in, and Tinley and I—oh, anyway, just go. I’m here. What do I need to know?” I take a deep breath and squeeze my eyes tightly so I don’t cry in front of Jeremy.

  “There are ten people out on the twin zipline course. Wyatt and Elle are working the platforms. Bobby and Connor have a group of fifteen out on the mountain adventure course. They should be back within a half-hour. Some girl was feeling faint, so keep your phone on in case she needs a golf cart pick up.” He shoves his cell phone in his back pocket and grabs his backpack. “Oh, and set out the s’more supplies so Bree doesn’t have to when she comes in later.” He pauses. “You know, it’d be a nice surprise. Catch you later.” He lets the door of the rec office slam shut behind him, and I wonder why he didn’t just set out the damn s’more supplies himself if he wanted to leave a romantic gesture. Of course, since I’m more in love with Bree than he is, I know I’ll do anything to make her happy.

  The door opens and a group of teen boys wanting to play Frisbee golf come in to sign up for supplies. I wait for them to settle the arguments as to who is taking what Frisbees. Who even cares what weight they are? I seriously doubt these are gifted players. Watching out the window behind them, I see the soon-to-be married couple, Samantha and Anthony, walk on the lawn toward the stage. Anthony pulls two Adirondack chairs in front of the stage. That’s one of the first changes I made when I took over some supervisory responsibilities—ordering more chairs. I mean, who doesn’t want to stop and listen to Finn when they hear his melodic voice? As if on cue, the front door opens, and Finn walks toward me. I shoo the teenagers out the door with promises of the accuracy of any and all of the said Frisbees currently resting in their hands. They mumble acceptance, and as soon as they are gone, I grab hold of Finn’s shoulders and pull him closer to me across the counter. When he’s close enough for our noses to touch, I plant a kiss square on his lips where he lets me linger until the sound of my phone dinging brings us back to reality. “Stupid phone,” I say, ignoring the message. “What are you doing here?” I ask.

  “Just wanted to say hello before I hea
d to my show and to make you promise you’ll meet me at the party on top of the mountain tonight.”

  I sigh. “Finn, I promise. You know I want to be there more than anything. It’s harder now to be on time, so go ahead without me, and as soon as things are wrapped up here, I’ll go home and change.”

  “Thank heavens,” he says, laughing, “because you’re a little overdressed for a party.”

  I look down at my skirt. “Oh my gosh! I was going to put khakis and the Tremont Lodge polo shirt on before coming to the rec department.”

  “How could you forget?” He tangles my hair with his fingers and tucks it behind my ear.

  “Tinley and I were talking, and I got distracted.”

  “You know this is a serious problem when your job is affecting your fashion.” He smiles and goes in for another kiss, but this time I’m so mad at myself for my poor time management skills that I cut it off before I want to.

  “I’d better get back to work. Have a good set.”

  Finn waves goodbye and walks toward the door. “Remember, you promised.” I nod my head and wave.

  Not more than five minutes after Finn has walked out the door, it’s thrust open again by Bobby, another permanent staff member. “Reese! Where the hell have you been?” He’s out of breath and motioning for someone to come in. Connor follows him in the door. He’s carrying a young woman who appears to be bobbing in and out of consciousness as she leans against his chest. “Get me some water!” he yells. I stumble backward and knock a display of tennis rackets off the wall in my attempt to retrieve a bottle of water from the small fridge behind the counter.

  “What’s going on?” I ask. Bobby glares at me as Connor unscrews the lid to the water bottle and holds it out for the woman.

  “Really, I’m okay now. It’s heat exhaustion. I’ll be fine, really,” she says.

  “Our policy is that you are visited by a doctor, miss. Reese will call him down for you, if she can manage to use her phone,” he snaps at me.