to settle in and get ready to go back to school, but the Patriots are playing the four o’clock game Sunday and they don’t want to miss it. So they’ll leave early Monday morning.”
“So you’ll get married Saturday afternoon, then?”
“Yes,” Paige said. “I don’t want half the family sneaking off to get a score check during the ceremony.”
Ryan laughed. “You haven’t even met them yet and you’ve got their number.”
“Speaking of which,” Mitch said to Paige, “I have a quick trip to make this week, but next weekend, if you can get your shifts at the diner covered, I’d like to take a trip over to New Hampshire so you can meet everybody. Aunt Mary said it wouldn’t be right to see you for the first time when you’re walking up the aisle.”
“Will they all be there?”
“She didn’t say, but you can almost guarantee it.”
“It’s like jumping into the deep end of the pool,” Josh said. “There’s no dipping your toe in. You’ve gotta cannonball.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Paige said.
Ryan shoved his empty plate away and leaned back in his seat. “You can either make the drive over with Mitch or, at some point in the next two weeks, the entire family will show up at the diner. Trust me, you don’t want that.”
“He’s right,” Mitch agreed.
Paige threw up her hands in surrender. “Fine, I’ll make sure I can go.”
Ryan sat back and half-listened to the idle banter between the others, sneaking peaks at his phone under the table. An electrical inspection on a key project was supposed to have happened yesterday afternoon and he still hadn’t received a status update on it. He keyed in a second text to the foreman on the job and hit Send. He’d give the guy a couple of hours and then he’d call. After all, he’d been away for only five business days, so if things were falling apart down there, he’d be pissed. They should be able to do their jobs without him looking over their shoulders.
“Ryan, are you playing with your phone at the dinner table?” Rosie was giving him the look when he glanced up.
“Nope.” He set it on the table, since he was already busted. “I’m working with my phone at the dinner table.”
“It can wait until everybody’s done eating.”
He figured she should cut him a little slack since he was doing them a favor, but it wasn’t worth arguing with her. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I think we’re done anyway.” Mitch pushed back from the table and piled his silverware and napkin on his plate to carry it into the kitchen. “I have the preliminary workups for the new website and Facebook page for the lodge, so I thought we could all take a look at those and see what we think. We need to get them up ASAP, because people will be starting to think about reservations soon. It’s getting colder and guys’ll be pulling the sleds out of storage and tuning them up soon.”
“Sounds good,” Josh said. “I have some paperwork for the ATV trails, too. They need reading by somebody a little more fluent in legalese.”
One of their plans for getting the lodge back on its feet was to connect Whitford to the ATV trail system in the next town over. Not only would businesses like the diner benefit, but the lodge could possibly see more off-season business than the occasional hiker or passer-through. If they got the four-wheelers in the spring, summer and fall and got the sledders coming back in higher numbers in the winter, they could double the income. Whether they kept the lodge or ended up selling it, doubling the income wouldn’t hurt.
“Right after you boys are done cleaning the kitchen,” Rosie added.
Ryan groaned and shoved his phone in his pocket so he could carry dirty dishes. Sometimes it sucked being home.
* * *
Lauren was out of words. Because Nick wasn’t talking, any conversations they’d had since she’d gotten the phone call from Drew were more like one-sided lectures on her part. And she’d said everything she
“So you’ll get married Saturday afternoon, then?”
“Yes,” Paige said. “I don’t want half the family sneaking off to get a score check during the ceremony.”
Ryan laughed. “You haven’t even met them yet and you’ve got their number.”
“Speaking of which,” Mitch said to Paige, “I have a quick trip to make this week, but next weekend, if you can get your shifts at the diner covered, I’d like to take a trip over to New Hampshire so you can meet everybody. Aunt Mary said it wouldn’t be right to see you for the first time when you’re walking up the aisle.”
“Will they all be there?”
“She didn’t say, but you can almost guarantee it.”
“It’s like jumping into the deep end of the pool,” Josh said. “There’s no dipping your toe in. You’ve gotta cannonball.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Paige said.
Ryan shoved his empty plate away and leaned back in his seat. “You can either make the drive over with Mitch or, at some point in the next two weeks, the entire family will show up at the diner. Trust me, you don’t want that.”
“He’s right,” Mitch agreed.
Paige threw up her hands in surrender. “Fine, I’ll make sure I can go.”
Ryan sat back and half-listened to the idle banter between the others, sneaking peaks at his phone under the table. An electrical inspection on a key project was supposed to have happened yesterday afternoon and he still hadn’t received a status update on it. He keyed in a second text to the foreman on the job and hit Send. He’d give the guy a couple of hours and then he’d call. After all, he’d been away for only five business days, so if things were falling apart down there, he’d be pissed. They should be able to do their jobs without him looking over their shoulders.
“Ryan, are you playing with your phone at the dinner table?” Rosie was giving him the look when he glanced up.
“Nope.” He set it on the table, since he was already busted. “I’m working with my phone at the dinner table.”
“It can wait until everybody’s done eating.”
He figured she should cut him a little slack since he was doing them a favor, but it wasn’t worth arguing with her. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I think we’re done anyway.” Mitch pushed back from the table and piled his silverware and napkin on his plate to carry it into the kitchen. “I have the preliminary workups for the new website and Facebook page for the lodge, so I thought we could all take a look at those and see what we think. We need to get them up ASAP, because people will be starting to think about reservations soon. It’s getting colder and guys’ll be pulling the sleds out of storage and tuning them up soon.”
“Sounds good,” Josh said. “I have some paperwork for the ATV trails, too. They need reading by somebody a little more fluent in legalese.”
One of their plans for getting the lodge back on its feet was to connect Whitford to the ATV trail system in the next town over. Not only would businesses like the diner benefit, but the lodge could possibly see more off-season business than the occasional hiker or passer-through. If they got the four-wheelers in the spring, summer and fall and got the sledders coming back in higher numbers in the winter, they could double the income. Whether they kept the lodge or ended up selling it, doubling the income wouldn’t hurt.
“Right after you boys are done cleaning the kitchen,” Rosie added.
Ryan groaned and shoved his phone in his pocket so he could carry dirty dishes. Sometimes it sucked being home.
* * *
Lauren was out of words. Because Nick wasn’t talking, any conversations they’d had since she’d gotten the phone call from Drew were more like one-sided lectures on her part. And she’d said everything she
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