“You should let me help. You’re just being stubborn. ” Laura got up from the couch. “When you’re done butting heads, let me know. I’m here. ”
Sorrow gave her a tired look. “Look, I appreciate the offer, all right? But when it comes down to it, you can’t really help unless you live here. ”
“Fine. Whatever. Damien knows the place. You should call him. ”
Sorrow stared at the phone in her lap, wishing everyone would stop pushing her toward Damien. “It seems like all I do lately is lean on him for help. ”
Laura shrugged it off. “Eh, guys love swooping in on their white horses to give a lady a hand. ”
She might not trust her sister with the lodge, but Laura sure knew men better than Sorrow did. Damien did seem to like helping. Besides, whatever their relationship was, he had a genuine affection for her family. Still, she hedged. “It’s taking advantage of him, calling so much. ”
“Damien Simmons is not the kind of man who lets himself be taken advantage of. ” Laura waggled her eyebrows. “Hey, I imagine if any advantage is taken, it’ll be when he cashes in on your gratitude later tonight. ”
Sorrow blushed. “Laura. ”
“Seriously,” Laura said. “Call him. ”
Maybe she was just being stubborn. Finally, she picked up the phone, hating the feel of Laura’s eyes on her as she dialed.
They had a quick conversation, and he rose to the occasion like he always did. Her boyfriend loved saving the day. He was great at saving the day. He did it all day long in his high-powered job at Simmons Timber. A broken water heater was just one more thing for Damien to triumph over.
She hung up and told her sister, “He said we should get a tankless heater to replace it. His plumber is coming out today. The guy owes Damien some favor, so he’s going to comp the labor. ”
Laura gave her a wicked smile. “Like I said. Hot and rich. ”
But Sorrow could only scowl at that, unable to shake the feeling that she and her problems were just more items on Damien’s list to conquer.
Sixteen
Sully wiped his forehead on his sleeve, and the stink of fry grease filled his head. He could probably boil that shirt in bleach, and still the stench would cling to it. He was sick of spending every day smelling like burgers.
He peeked through the window into the dining area. Folks had begun drifting in for lunch, and it’d be mostly burgers and fries for the next two hours.
But he had a job, and he did it. A man didn’t serve in the Army without learning a sense of duty and responsibility.
A wave of laughter swept in, and he scanned the room. He spotted Edith and her two daughters seated at a table. They hadn’t been the source of the merriment, that was for sure. They were showing Laura those old letters, but instead of it being a happy occasion, the tension was as heavy as the stink of fry grease.
Edith was acting clueless as ever, pretending it was all good. But he knew better—she really knew every single thing that went on in the lodge, and acting oblivious was her way of making everyone work out their own problems. Genius, if you asked him.
They’d pulled over a few extra chairs. Would Marlene be joining them? He tuned his ear to their conversation.
“Listen to this part. ” Laura waved one of the letters, and she was practically vibrating with excitement. “‘Sierra Falls is like a bit of gold sparkling in a dry creek bed. ’” She slammed her hand down on the table. “See? We’re the ones who’ve struck gold. We make a Web site and pull some of these Buck Larsen quotes to—”
“That’s not a Buck Larsen quote,” Sorrow said, and Sully heard the steel in her voice. “That’s a Sorrow Crabtree quote. If you just read further”—Sorrow snatched the letter from her sister—“she writes, ‘I don’t understand how you don’t see the beauty. How you could ever leave such a place. How you could leave me. ’ If anything, it sounds like he couldn’t get out of here fast enough. ” She gave Laura a pointed look. “Sounds like some people I know. ”
Laura waved it off. “It doesn’t matter. People will get the gist. ”
“It doesn’t matter? How can you say that? We can’t rewrite history. It’s enough that Buck Larsen lived in Sierra Falls for a time and that he left an illegitimate child behind. We don’t need to make it some misty-eyed interpretation. In fact, I think the real truth is just as interesting as your version. ”
Laura snatched the letter back again. “It’s not as interesting. ”
“Be careful with those,” the younger sister snapped.
“This is called marketing, Sorrow. People love a love story. ”
“I know what marketing is, Laura. I’m not an idiot. ”
Popping grease brought Sully’s attention back to where it should be, and he ducked back into the kitchen. It was just as he suspected—tensions were running high.