“There’s blood and demons and—”
“She’s played it a million times,” Emery assured her. “We all know the only nightmares April’s ever had were about how her mother died.”
“It sounds like she’s doing better with that,” Jules said, turning to smile at me. “She told me all about her therapist and I understand you have a friend who’s a surgeon in Chicago.”
I gestured at her as I sipped the amazing French roast Mal had given me. “You could have done the same thing.”
“And I told her that today when she told me. I said if she had more questions, with Emery’s permission, I could answer them.” Jules sighed, reaching over to slip her hand over my forearm and squeeze gently. “If Emery and I had been talking, I could have helped.”
“So maybe don’t not talk anymore,” I said softly, patting her hand. “You all should make certain you stay constant in each other’s lives.”
“I agree a hundred percent,” Mal said, standing at the stove making huevos rancheros, which was, he told me, his specialty. From the whimper that came out of Emery after Mal revealed what was on the lunch menu, I was guessing it was pretty good.
It was nice when Jules leaned over out of the blue and hugged me, and then smiled at me like I was a gift she couldn’t believe belonged to her.
“So,” she said tentatively, wincing, turning to face Emery. “How was the breakup scene with Lydia Cahill?”
He groaned and clunked his head down onto the table in his folded arms.
“That good, huh?”
“It was horrible,” he muttered, speaking into the table so his voice was muffled.
She cleared her throat. “You’ll remember at the town meeting that your friend, the councilman, did suggest an alternate path.”
“Shut up.”
Her eyes flicked to mine, and she widened them for a moment before returning her gaze to him. “So what exactly is your new plan here, Mr. Dodd?”
He lifted his head up off his arms. “To do what your husband suggested.”
Her smile was evil as she waggled her eyebrows at him. “It’s all right, Em. What fun would life be if we actually took good advice the first time it was offered? Then we would never have to live and learn. We could simply bypass pain and misery.”
Her sarcasm wasn’t lost on any of us.
“Yes,” he sighed, bumping his knee with mine under the table. “That wouldn’t be any fun at all.”
Mal picked that moment to serve Emery as Jules dissolved into relieved laughter.
It turned out that Anne Stratton, Grant Cahill’s companion, was, in fact, a real estate developer who specialized in resorts. As Whitefish was already a scenic travel destination for people who wanted to hike and fish and hunt and spend the winter in a cozy cabin, Anne had suggested that the town of Ursa, and, in particular, Emery and Darrow Holdings, step up and add a luxury ski resort to that mix.
Since ski season in the mountain town of Ursa was typically between December and March, falling off sharply by mid-April, there would be peak times when every room would be full, and during nonpeak times, there would still be that which drew nonskiing visitors year- round. But what Anne had pushed Emery to see was the possibility to capitalize on the one hundred and forty or so days that the ski season offered. And she knew what she was talking about.
Anne Stratton had built some of the most exclusive, high-end ski resorts in Vail, Colorado. More importantly, she knew what amenities people wanted, what they were looking for in a romantic getaway, family vacation, or corporate retreat. She had made the offer to Emery and Darrow but not Grant because Cahill Lumber was a thriving business that already employed hundreds of people in the town of Ursa. Emery’s land was used for grazing, but only the area in the lower valley. The rest went unused and untouched.
Initially, Emery had been concerned about the indigenous wildlife, but Anne had explained that there was quite a lot of federal land between Darrow’s parcel and the Canadian border, not to mention the fact that the resort itself would be big, yes, but not ten-thousand-acres big. Anne had made him an offer for three thousand acres of overall skiable terrain. The resort would be built and managed by her company and owned by Darrow Holdings. It was, she said, that once-in-a-lifetime venture that was a sure thing. They would make money hand over fist. People wanted more options, and Ursa could offer one. It would also be a boon to the community.
Sitting there, gazing at the man I loved, I was compelled to reach across the table and smack him on the side of the head.
“What the hell was that for?” he snapped at me as Jules scowled at him and Mal carried two plates over, serving me and his wife.