didn’t look native to the island had overgrown the entrance to the resort, blocking a view of the building from the road. It had only been a fluke she’d spotted the place at all. The driveway was cracked, with tufts of triumphant grass growing straight through. Viola hopped off her scooter, but didn’t want to leave it along the roadside. She pushed it carefully over the cracks and through the bushes, feeling very much like the prince in Sleeping Beauty , until she made it through to the other side. When she finally laid eyes on the resort, she sighed.
The place was a dump.
The paint peeled on the weathered resort sign, half buried in the bushes, making it look at least fifty years old. The building itself was filled with broken windows and crumbling bricks. The three-story building was only a fraction of the size of the newer resorts, and would never qualify as a Way to Go resort, even with extensive external repairs.
Despite its condition, there were about twelve people all working around the outside of the building. Some looked to be yanking weeds from the garden, while others were trying to board up the broken windows on the bottom level of the building. All of them looked to be locals to the island, except for one. A man in his late twenties or early thirties was helping lift a large beam onto a sawhorse. From the look of it, he was the one 77
doing most of the lifting and everyone else was making a good show of helping. One of the others saw Viola and said something to him.
The young man looked up at Viola, waved, and made his way over to her.
He was cute, but not as good-looking at Jerod. Bill! She chastised herself. He’s not as good-looking as Bill . Viola pushed all thoughts of Jerod from her mind, instead concentrating on her approaching companion.
“Hello.” His voice was deep and smooth. He sounded like he belonged on the radio, reading the top news stories of the day.
“Hi there.” She waved back. “I take it this place isn’t open for business.” The man spun his faded ball hat around so the rim now shaded his face.
“Actually, it is, in a way. I’m here to help some of the locals fix up their home.” Viola must have looked as surprised as she felt, because he chuckled.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too when I discovered this place a month ago.”
“The hair dresser at the resort mentioned that some of the older places were used as shelters. Even said they needed repair, but I didn’t think they’d be this bad.” She flicked the kickstand to her scooter and made her way over to the building. The closer she got, the more damage she saw. This place wasn’t fit for rats, let alone people.
The roof sagged in several places. The concrete pillars were cracked, large chunks having fallen off and crushed the flowers and shrubs underneath.
“Apparently it wasn’t this bad a year ago. But after tropical storm Dora last summer, a lot of the weaker parts of the building were damaged. I’m Ryan, by the way.”
“Viola.” She smiled as they shook hands.
Ryan was a handsome man. And if she wasn’t in love with Bill, she’d consider asking him out to supper. Even though blond hair wasn’t normally her thing, she’d make an exception for his blue eyes.
She definitely had a thing for blue eyes.
“How many people live here?” she said and turned away, feeling a little silly for staring.
“About twenty. Four families and a few singles. The owners of the resort have pretty 78
much forgotten about this place. In fact, I’m surprised you’re here. Not many people remembered it when I was asking around about it.”
“Actually, I just happened to spot the sign as I was driving by. Wasn’t intending on finding this place, but I’m glad I did.”
“Well, it’s nice to see someone take an interest, regardless of how you got here.”
“So why are you here helping?” she asked and hoped she wasn’t blushing too much.
“I do some work for Habitat for Humanity. I was
The place was a dump.
The paint peeled on the weathered resort sign, half buried in the bushes, making it look at least fifty years old. The building itself was filled with broken windows and crumbling bricks. The three-story building was only a fraction of the size of the newer resorts, and would never qualify as a Way to Go resort, even with extensive external repairs.
Despite its condition, there were about twelve people all working around the outside of the building. Some looked to be yanking weeds from the garden, while others were trying to board up the broken windows on the bottom level of the building. All of them looked to be locals to the island, except for one. A man in his late twenties or early thirties was helping lift a large beam onto a sawhorse. From the look of it, he was the one 77
doing most of the lifting and everyone else was making a good show of helping. One of the others saw Viola and said something to him.
The young man looked up at Viola, waved, and made his way over to her.
He was cute, but not as good-looking at Jerod. Bill! She chastised herself. He’s not as good-looking as Bill . Viola pushed all thoughts of Jerod from her mind, instead concentrating on her approaching companion.
“Hello.” His voice was deep and smooth. He sounded like he belonged on the radio, reading the top news stories of the day.
“Hi there.” She waved back. “I take it this place isn’t open for business.” The man spun his faded ball hat around so the rim now shaded his face.
“Actually, it is, in a way. I’m here to help some of the locals fix up their home.” Viola must have looked as surprised as she felt, because he chuckled.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too when I discovered this place a month ago.”
“The hair dresser at the resort mentioned that some of the older places were used as shelters. Even said they needed repair, but I didn’t think they’d be this bad.” She flicked the kickstand to her scooter and made her way over to the building. The closer she got, the more damage she saw. This place wasn’t fit for rats, let alone people.
The roof sagged in several places. The concrete pillars were cracked, large chunks having fallen off and crushed the flowers and shrubs underneath.
“Apparently it wasn’t this bad a year ago. But after tropical storm Dora last summer, a lot of the weaker parts of the building were damaged. I’m Ryan, by the way.”
“Viola.” She smiled as they shook hands.
Ryan was a handsome man. And if she wasn’t in love with Bill, she’d consider asking him out to supper. Even though blond hair wasn’t normally her thing, she’d make an exception for his blue eyes.
She definitely had a thing for blue eyes.
“How many people live here?” she said and turned away, feeling a little silly for staring.
“About twenty. Four families and a few singles. The owners of the resort have pretty 78
much forgotten about this place. In fact, I’m surprised you’re here. Not many people remembered it when I was asking around about it.”
“Actually, I just happened to spot the sign as I was driving by. Wasn’t intending on finding this place, but I’m glad I did.”
“Well, it’s nice to see someone take an interest, regardless of how you got here.”
“So why are you here helping?” she asked and hoped she wasn’t blushing too much.
“I do some work for Habitat for Humanity. I was
Similar Books
