Читать книгу Paradise Cove - Stephanie Haefner - Страница 5

Chapter 1

The crash of ocean waves echoed in Shelby Saunders’ ears while a soft steamy breeze blew the chocolate-colored strands of hair trailing from her twisted up-do. Her body tingled and her stomach flip-flopped in a good way as she placed a cashier’s check written for the entire balance of her savings account on the table.

Mr. and Mrs. Espinoza sat across from her with their lawyer grandson, Gabriel, who’d flown in from San Antonio to assist with the real estate sale.

“Here is the rest,” she said as she placed another cashier’s check on the table, half of the loan she’d taken out for the purchase of the resort. The rest of the loan–the biggest in her life–would hopefully be enough to refurbish the twenty-room resort, its kitchen, dining room, lobby, and the concrete patio the four of them sat on.

Gabriel shook his head. Every button of his crisp white dress shirt had been secured and his tie sat firmly in its place. Who would wear that suit in ninety-degree weather? The jacket looked like it weighed a hundred pounds and just the thought of it draped across her shoulders made Shelby sweat even more. Her body hadn’t acclimated itself to the Cancun heat yet and even in a spaghetti-strap sundress, perspiration dripped from her pores.

“I don’t agree with this at all, Papi,” Gabriel said to his grandfather. “This place is your life, my life. You raised your family here–your grandchildren grew up here. How can you sell it? And so cheaply? There’s still time to back out.”

Shelby understood Gabriel’s hesitation in letting The Paradise Cove go. The emotions she’d quickly developed for this quaint piece of Mexican heaven surprised her. When she’d first arrived more than two months earlier, its overgrown shrubbery, sun-bleached upholstery and the missing letters on the resort sign almost made her run away without looking back. Never again would she let Chloe talk her into booking a bargain trip online. But something about the place tugged at Shelby’s heart. She easily imagined the resort in its heyday: tanned bodies lounging, laughing, sipping on cocktails rimmed with pineapple slices and colorful parasols poking out of the frosty concoctions. Heaven in a tropical paradise.

Well, except for Chloe’s incessant complaining.

Shelby’s feelings for the Espinozas came as a surprise, too. She’d watched the sweet old couple and could see they loved their work. The Espinozas welcomed guests like old friends, even if it was their first meeting, and cared for them as if they had known them their entire lives.

“Gabriel, she loves it just as we do.” A man who showed no fear in expressing his emotions, Mr. Espinoza put a hand to his grandson’s shoulder, eyes staring intently. “Shelby is an amazing young woman. She will do right by us.”

Shelby’s seven days of bliss with the Espinozas had elapsed in the blink of an eye. This couple filled a spot in her soul that had been achingly empty and the thought of returning to a life of nothingness a world away felt like a stroll down death row. She had no man. No real family. A couple of friends and a depressing job were all that waited in New Jersey. While sitting outside the resort for her ride back to the airport, a crazy idea had floated into her brain. Instead of getting in the taxi, Shelby had sent Chloe on her way, alone, marched back inside, and made an offer to the Espinozas. They’d accepted without hesitation. Together they’d taken the first step in reclaiming the glory of The Paradise Cove, and Shelby began a whole new chapter in her life, something she desperately needed.

“But Grandfather, why such a small amount of money? How can you live the rest of your lives on this?” Gabriel pointed to the checks laying in front of them.

Mr. Espinoza stood, walked to the edge of the cracked and crumbling patio, and looked out at the beach. When he turned back, Shelby watched his eyes pan over the rotted wood of the bar and the torn awning above them. “So much work to be done. She’s probably giving us far too much.”

“The memories, Papi. How can you sell our memories for such a small price?”

“You can’t sell memories, Gabriel. They’re inside you. No one can buy them, even for double or triple the cost.”

Gabriel sighed and turned his attention to Shelby. “Are you happy? You’ve swindled an old couple out of thousands of dollars!”

“No,” Mrs. Espinoza said, adding her two cents to the conversation. “Shelby is a wonderful girl. She made our last moments in this haven pure joy. She is the right person. She will return it to what it once was.” Mrs. Espinoza smiled. Her continuous stream of faith reminded Shelby of her mother.

“Find your dream world!” she’d always said, and encouraged Shelby to search out happiness and follow it wherever it led her. Who would have known that path to happiness would cause her to leave the safety of a one-bedroom apartment and bank teller job to buy a Cancun resort?

With Mrs. Espinoza’s wide smile and a gentle pat of her hand, the “what have I gotten myself into?” thoughts disappeared from Shelby’s mind. She’d left everything she’d ever known, but this venture would pay off. It had to. After the sudden death of her mother and step-father, she’d battled with her only step-sibling for her share of the life insurance policy. This once-inseparable pair of stepsisters had duked it out for months and Shelby had never expected to lose someone so close to her over something as trivial as money. She cursed her parents for leaving them without a will and creating the situation. In the end, she’d gotten what she deserved and wasn’t about to waste the chance she’d been given. She would make this happen.

Gabriel sighed. “I can’t change your minds, can I?”

The elderly couple shook their heads.

After shuffling some papers around and getting Shelby’s signature on about a hundred of them, Gabriel stood and hugged both his grandparents. He walked off without a single glance in her direction.

* * * *

What were his grandparents thinking? It made no sense at all. Why they would sell the resort to a stranger? This girl had no idea what she was doing. She barely looked old enough to be out of college and couldn’t possibly know anything about running a business. Sometimes his grandparents let their hearts make decisions, rather than their heads. Gabriel had seen it a million times over the years, giving far too many discounts and complimentary drinks.

A free piña colada was nothing compared to this. Yes, the resort needed some major work, but with a sponge and bucket and a few coats of paint, it was a goldmine. They could have easily sold it for double or triple what they’d gotten from this Shelby woman. What were they going to do when their minuscule nest egg ran out?

Shelby woke the next morning, and after her eyes adjusted to the blinding sun, her gaze moved to the sliding patio door of the resort room she’d taken up residence in. She’d left the glass open to allow in the soft breeze and the lullaby of crashing waves. Was this for real? The tattered linen curtain danced as the salty scent of the ocean drifted in and she knew she would always enjoy these simple moments.

With the Espinozas having moved to their new casita, being alone at The Paradise Cove felt quite surreal. It was no longer a resort she vacationed at–it was her resort.

Shelby stretched and sat up, recalling the events of the night before. She’d lit candles and played soft tropical music.

After a dinner together on the patio of The Paradise Cove at sunset, Mr. and Mrs. Espinoza took one last stroll to the ocean’s edge. They’d held each other and kissed, as Shelby had sat by, watching them give a tear-filled goodbye to the home they’d known for nearly five decades.

Shelby hoped they were happy with their decision and vowed to make them proud of her and what she did with the place they loved.

Now it was time to get to work. She had given herself a two-month deadline to fix up the main building housing the lobby, kitchen, dining room and patio, and then the two buildings on either side, each with four guest suites. Her goal was to re-open the resort while continuing to work on the rest of the suites.

After a quick and not-so-hot shower, her first order of business was stripping the guest rooms. She tossed every piece of thread-bare bedding, along with ancient lamps, ice buckets, and alarm clock radios that probably hadn’t worked in a decade. After moving one of the beds and finding a rat and her babies, she screamed and ran from the room. No wonder she had been the only guest.

Several hours of labor and eighty jumbo-sized garbage bags later, she grabbed a bottle of water and relaxed on the only remaining fabric-covered beach chair without a gigantic hole in it. As she twisted the cap on her water, she debated dumping the entire contents on her sweat-spattered body. Instead, she downed half of it in one gulp.

She watched the tourists walk by–lovers with hands intertwined, playfully pushing each other into the water as it lapped at the sand. Jet skis zoomed past, along with a boat pulling a parasailer. Faint sounds of a steel drum band drifted out from one of the neighboring resorts–a typical day of sun and fun in Cancun.

The Paradise Cove’s beach sprawled out in front of her, rough and unkempt, and surely most people barely gave it a glance when they walked by. If they did focus on it for more than two seconds, they’d scrunch their noses at its random pieces of driftwood, some half-buried and pointing in all directions, and clumps of wet seaweed with miniature clouds of hovering insects. It wouldn’t win any “Prettiest Beachfront” awards, but this small piece of earth held much potential.

She stood and trotted toward the water, and as a small wave tumbled over her feet, her toes sunk like she’d stepped in quick sand. Oh, that felt great! After bending and splashing herself with the cool water, refreshing her body, she turned and looked back at the resort. A fresh coat of paint was a must and the awning needed to be replaced. There was a ton of work–no surprises there–but now that her name was printed on the deed, the pages of the to-do list seemed to grow exponentially.

Luckily for her, lack of a life back in New Jersey had lent her obscene amounts of time to watch do-it-yourself decorating shows. This favorite pastime gave her tons of information that she’d stored in her head precisely for this sort of situation. Even though she had never done it, she knew she could spackle and paint like a pro. And doing it herself was a must. It wouldn’t be easy, but she had a positive attitude and a vat of elbow grease. Surely it would equal the assistance of at least two, maybe even three more bodies.

If she wanted to cross off any of the items on her extensive list, she needed to get back to work. She entered the second guest building and began filling more huge black plastic trash bags. They accumulated one by one onto the walkway and in no time, an Everest-sized mound had been formed. She grabbed two bags and dragged them straight to the garbage Dumpster, which looked to be filling quite quickly. After climbing up on a rusted metal lounge chair, she reached inside to rearrange the bags and squish them in as much as possible.

Standing on her toes, she still couldn’t reach one of the bags. After carefully placing a foot on each arm rest, she leaned over the edge once again. The chair began to tip and before she could right it, it toppled over, leaving her balancing on the edge of the metal box. The weakness of her over-worked arms couldn’t take the strain and she fell head-first into the garbage.

Sinking between the bags, Shelby scrambled to gain some kind of footing, but the poking and prodding of random pieces of wood and rubbish hindered any kind of progress she made.

“Let me help you,” a man said.

She finally steadied herself on top of an archaic air-conditioning unit and when she peered over the edge, she found Gabriel Espinoza standing there in a dark navy suit.

Great. Her rescuer had to be the one person who hated her.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, and in what looked to be quite expensive leather shoes, he sprinted to the tool shed at the far end of the resort. He came back with a ladder, opened it and climbed up. Reaching for her hands without saying a word, he helped her onto the ladder.

The two climbed down as Shelby tried her best not to let on she had intense pain radiating through her right ankle.

When both of her feet were planted in the sand, Gabriel folded the ladder.

“You should be more careful, you know. You’re lucky I was here.”

“Thank you for your help.” She avoided his eyes as she wiped her hands on her shorts, waiting for him to walk ahead. He couldn’t see her limp.

“Where do you want the ladder?” he asked.

“Anywhere is fine.”

He rolled his eyes and lifted the dull metal apparatus, then walked toward the main building. Suddenly he turned and looked at her.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

“I can see you’re in pain.” His impatience came charging through. “Is it your ankle?”

Shelby sighed and continued to move forward. “Yes. I must have twisted it.”

Gabriel set the ladder down and stepped to her. “Come here.”

“I’m fine. I can do it.”

“No, you’re not fine.” He wrapped his arm under hers and supported her weight. A flock of butterflies and ice water surged through her body as his hand curled around her, every one of his fingers pressing into her side as he held her tightly.

They hobbled to the lobby, where he set her down on the rattan sofa, its floral patterned cushions devoid of fluff.

Gabriel retrieved a first aid kit from behind the front desk.

First he surveyed the damage to her legs, which were riddled with cuts and scrapes. “I don’t think any of these are too bad.” He rummaged through the rusty metal box. “How is your head?”

“It’s fine.” Shelby ignored the throb at the back of her skull. “Um, thank you, again. For helping me out there. And for getting all this.” She motioned to the kit. “I didn’t even realize there was a first aid kit behind the counter.”

“Well, I’ve spent nearly my entire life at this resort. I know everything about The Paradise Cove.”

“I hope to learn.” She took the antibiotic wipe he’d offered and tore it open. He then handed her a few large bandages.

“You sure you know what you’ve gotten yourself into?” He took out a long stretchy bandage and wrapped her ankle with it.

“I think so. I’m putting everything I’ve got into this place.”

“You better. This resort is very special to my family and I’m not happy about it being owned by an outsider.”

Shelby sat quiet as she cleaned her wounds, Gabriel’s eyes burning her skin. If this place was so special to his family, why were Mr. and Mrs. Espinoza here all alone? Surely they’d needed help taking care of guests and doing repairs. Where was the family when the resort fell into despair? And if this place meant so much to Gabriel, why was he in San Antonio instead of Cancun?

“Well, I care about this place enough to give it the attention it deserves, even if I’m not an Espinoza.”

“Are you implying that I don’t care?”

“If you did, why weren’t you here years ago, helping your grandparents take care of the place?”

His top lip curled and his voice rose a few decibels. “I was making a career for myself.”

Apparently she had nicked a nerve.

“If I had the sweetest grandparents on the planet, I would have dropped everything to be at their side when they needed me.”

“I was doing what I had to do. You have no idea what you’re talking about.” He slammed the first aid kit onto the table and the sweat beads on his forehead began streaming down. The constraints of a suit, dress shirt and snugly fitted tie had to be excruciating. “If you had minded your own business and left my grandparents alone, none of this would be happening right now. I’ll be shocked if you don’t run this place completely into the ground.” He stood up.

Shelby stood too, matching the fire in his ocean blue eyes, set off by his bronzed skin and onyx black hair. “You just wait. I’ll make your grandparents proud.”

He marched past her, got into his rental car and sped away.

* * * *

Damn that woman! Gabriel punched the gas, probably a bit harder than he should have. Dust and rocks sputtered from the back tires of the rental. That woman infuriated every last cell in his body. The Paradise Cove was supposed to be his someday, not sold off to some city transplant who had no idea how to run a business, let alone one in a completely different country. Why did this have to happen now?

In another year or two, he would have been able to take over and make sure his grandparents’ legacy flourished. He’d been planning it for years. But now it was too late. The resort had a new owner and he was not in a position to change it. He’d have to sit back and watch his birthright sink into the sand with Shelby at the helm. It was inevitable. She would destroy The Paradise Cove.

And the fact that she looked amazingly beautiful while doing it made it a hundred times worse.