Sit. Stay. Love. by Karis Walsh

Author:Karis Walsh [Walsh, Karis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781635554403
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2019-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“Oh, Alana, I thought I heard you come in,” Chip said, walking into the reception area with a jar of dog treats in his hands and craning his neck to look behind her into her office, as if she was hiding the puppies from him.

“They’re at home today,” she said, answering his unspoken question. “I only came in to make a few calls, but I’m heading back to the house to check on them. It’s my day off, remember?”

“Of course,” he said. “Why are you here, again? Isn’t Marcus feeding the horses?”

Alana’s first stop when she had arrived an hour ago was the corrals to make sure the barn chores had been done. She probably should make an appointment for a full body scan to find out what strange, horse-smelling, puppy-sitting alien had taken over her body. On a normal early morning in Philadelphia, her first stop would have been the hotel’s spa for a free manicure.

“The horses are fine. I called the pool service this morning, and someone will be here Monday to check the pump and filter, and then fill the pool. I didn’t realize I needed to give them the serial number from the pump, so I came in to get it.”

“You’re amazing, Alana. Thank you.”

He said the exact same words to her at least once a day, usually after she had taken care of some aspect of his job he either had forgotten about or was trying to avoid. In this case, he had probably thought he could just stick a hose in the pool the morning the guests were due to arrive. “No problem,” she said, before tackling the next item on her list. She tried a tactful approach first. “So the grand opening is getting closer. Exciting, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. I mean, sure is!” He looked more concerned at the prospect of having guests than he ever had at the possibility of never actually opening the ranch.

“We have guests booked?”

He nodded. “Five rooms starting the Thursday before, and ten over the weekend.”

“That’s a good start. Have you decided what to do for the grand opening weekend? Any activities?”

He frowned, spinning the jar of treats. “Well, we’ll have trail rides. I wanted to lead some nature hikes, and maybe some more challenging climbs for the more experienced guests. There are some great walking trails along the Naches. I might not be able to get away from the desk, though, since I’m sure problems will come up on our first weekend.” He sighed, obviously already in dread about dealing with those inevitable issues. “And I was going to get a Grand Opening sign made and hang it over the door.”

“All excellent ideas. Have you considered maybe doing something to involve the community? Some sort of party?”

“No.”

Alana made a conscious effort to unclench her hands and relax her hold on the slim folder she was carrying. The circuitous approach was clearly not working, so she opted for a more direct one. She didn’t want to stand here all day having this conversation.

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