“Should I bring anything?” she asked.
“My grandmother loves red wine,” he answered easily as he turned to head the other direction. “Any red wine,” he called over his shoulder.
As she finished up her shopping, she added a bottle of her favorite red wine to the mix. She saw Cade leave a few minutes before she made her way up to the checkout.
There were two clerks working the front. She waited in line to be checked out, and just as she started unloading her items, the middle-aged woman took one look at her, narrowed her eyes and gave her a terrible look, then set a closed sign on the counter and walked away without a word.
Raven held in her anger and moved over to wait in the next line. When the other woman did the same thing, Raven felt her temper boil. It was obvious they were doing this on purpose. She didn’t know what she’d done to either of the women, but after the last week she’d had, she knew there were still some in town that didn’t want her around. Since she was now the only person waiting to be checked out, she knew their actions were directly aimed at her.
“I’ll just leave my money here then.” She took some cash out of her purse and laid it on the counter.
“Can I help you?” a man said, getting her attention.
She glanced over to see a man walking towards her from the manager’s office.
“Yes, I’d like to check out.” She motioned to her items.
The man glanced around and frowned before heading over to start checking her out.
“I’m sorry about this,” he said easily.
“Don’t be.” She sighed as she read his nametag. “Peter.” Then she frowned. “Peter Eggert?” she asked, a little surprised.
“Yes.” The man frowned at her. “And you are?”
“Raven, Raven Brooks. I used to babysit you when you were…” She held up her hand to her hip. “This high.” She smiled.
“Raven?” He shook his head. “Of course. I’d heard you were back in town. How are you?” he asked as he continued to work to check her out.
She didn’t want to mention the two women. Whatever their beef with her was, she wasn’t going to be responsible for getting them fired. So, when Peter apologized that someone hadn’t been there to help her, she shrugged and told him it was no problem.
The fact was, she’d received the cold shoulder from so many in town. It was one of the reasons she’d had Rachelle doing all the hiring. It was the woman’s job anyway, and so far, it appeared that Rachelle was enthusiastic about the changes Raven was making around the resort.
She’d spent an entire day going over all of the employee’s files and had to admit that Rachelle was the most qualified. There was no doubt that the woman had been the only one working hard in the past few years.
From what Raven could tell, her uncle hadn’t really done much.
After her meeting with Joe Ramsey, she trusted that the man would give her full updates on how the finances looked for the resort.
She knew that the business had been basically cut in half as far as the books went.
The hotel ran year-round and, during ski season, the lifts, rentals, and classes picked up. A glance at the numbers in the outdated system showed a serious decline in the past five years.
She didn’t know how her uncle was making it work—paying the bills, employees, and still maintaining his family’s lives.
One thing that hadn’t wavered in the last ten years had been the checks she’d received every single month. Checks she had placed in a savings account and thankfully had never touched.
Carrying her groceries inside, she passed Cemal in the lobby and waved to the girl. She’d noticed such a change in her. The day after Raven had arrived, Cemal had changed the way she’d dressed and had almost bloomed overnight. It was as if being seen for who she was had unlocked a door.
Raven was happy when Cemal had approached her and asked if it was okay for her to pick her own outfits, instead of wearing the drab uniform her uncle had requested.
Raven had agreed to it since it would be a few days before the new uniforms could arrive. After seeing how stylish the woman was, Raven had let her know that, during off-season, she could continue wearing what she felt comfortable in, just as long as it maintained the quality of what she’d been wearing in the past few days.
She was really starting to like Cemal. The young girl, fresh from high school, seemed eager and excited about the changes as well.
Two employees, at least, on her side. She’d have to drag the rest of them along for the ride, it seemed. Most were courteous, but some were downright rude to her.
She wondered if her aunt and uncle had something to do with the backlash she was getting every time she tried to make a change.
Thankfully, she’d hired a few of the companies in town, which all seemed eager for the work.
She’d been informed that the entire sprinkler system had been disabled years back. It had taken a few thousand dollars to repair the pump and all the underground lines.
Now that it was back up and running, the grass and flowers around the courtyard were springing back to life.
The ski lift maintenance company was having to overhaul two of the lifts completely. The other three just needed the basics. She was assured that, by the first snowfall, all five lifts would be fully operational.
Once the grounds around the resort were done, the crew would hit the slopes to clear downed trees, fallen rocks, and any other obstacles from the runs.
The biggest snafus so far had involved her family. Well, everyone except for Cal, who had made himself scarce after he’d found her in the kitchen that first day.
Every night since her return, she’d found her aunt at the bar that sat off to the side of the lobby. Since the local bar in town was extremely limited and didn’t cater to… a certain class, most couples or people on dates drove up to the resort and enjoyed dining and drinks in the formal dining room and bar area.
It was somewhat of a surprise to see so many people there the first night she’d walked down to look for some dinner. She’d watched people come and go and knew she’d have to reevaluate her plans for the dining and bar.
She’d been expecting to just do a quick overhaul of both areas, but after seeing how things had gone over the past week, she was talking to the local contractor she’d hired about expanding the dining hall and bar.
Currently, the dining area was separate from the bar and lobby. She planned on keeping the formal part separate by adding a more casual dining area for breakfast and lunch between the two areas. The area would surround the fountain and have a more casual atmosphere.
The way she figured it, they could easily take half of the lobby and still have enough room, at least the space around the fountain. They could add tables and chairs for extra seating. With a few minor changes, and some planters with seasonal flowers in them to separate the two areas, guests could choose a more formal atmosphere or a casual one.
Expanding the bar would be a little more challenging.
David Green, the contractor, brother to her landscape contractor, Jake Green, had moved back into town after the fire ten years ago for the work. He had suggested tearing out the back wall behind the bar. He would reclaim the storage room behind the back mirrored wall, which only held a few extra chairs and tables, turning it into a smaller storage area. There were some narrow stairs that led down to another cold storage area where most of the wine and liquor was currently stored. Those areas would be updated in phase two or three.