Read The Heart of a Hero for Free Online Page B

stay at Silvia Pinkham’s camps down in Turtleback. Um, you do know that if Nicholas finds out you’ve been handing guests your number,” she said, nodding at the card on the table, “he’s probably going to give you a two-hour lecture on resort security.” She suddenly tapped her forehead with her hand. “What am I saying? He’ll make one of his men give the lecture, because three sentences appear to be that man’s limit.”
    Julia felt her face draining of color again, and Olivia leaned back in her own chair with a laugh.
    “I’m kidding—at least I hope I am. Let’s just agree not to tell him, okay, and you’ll stop handing out the cards?”
    Julia looked down to hide her scowl. Darn it, those cards made her tips.
    “How about,” Olivia said, leaning forward and reaching across the table, “if I instruct the front desk to send the specific housekeepers to the cottages and hotel rooms they’re assigned?” She tilted her head. “I guess I should have questioned why you asked Bev to always give you the same cabins each week.” Olivia shrugged. “She and I thought it was because you liked zooming around in our little housekeeping carts instead of doing the hotel rooms. But I think you’re onto something here, Julia. I like the idea of our housekeepers feeling proprietary toward their rooms week after week, and I’m going to tell Bev to make that a new policy.” She leaned back and crossed her arms. “So, what else have you got?”
    “Ah . . . got?”
    “Your ideas to make our guests deliriously happy to pay the
exorbitant
prices we charge. You said you have a notebook full, so give me a couple of examples.”
    Julia went back to scowling at her lap. “Well, I thought we—I mean
you
,” she said, looking up with a grin, “might like to get some pull wagons. You know; the big metal wagons with the all-terrain tires? I found one in a yard sale in Millinocket that I use for collecting my pinecones at home. Anyway,” she rushed on, “I think if you parked one on every cottage porch, the parents would take longer walks on the foot trails since the toddlers could ride when they got tired. And you could get some for each of the hotel segments, too. When I’m looking for cones up here, I never see families more than a mile out, but some of the best views of the fiord are two and three miles away.”
    “We’re on a
mountain
,” Olivia said with a laugh. “The wagons wouldn’t be here a week before we started seeing them racing by full of older kids looking for a thrill ride.”
    “Oh. I hadn’t thought of that.”
    “What else?”
    Okay then; instead of Olivia wanting to set up an interview, it appeared they were having it now. Too nervous to sit any longer, Julia stood up and walked to the large front window. “Well, I remember that at Inglenook you used to have—” She stilled when her cell phone started ringing and snapped her gaze to Olivia.
    “Gee, I wonder who that could be,” Olivia drawled. “You have guests staying over in Pine Tassel and Elderberry, don’t you?”
    Julia nodded as she pulled out her phone. “It’s the front desk,” she said with a frown as she answered it. “Julia Campbell. Wait, slow down. What?” One minute later she snapped the phone closed and headed to the desk on the far wall. “A woman just called the resort and said something about my father and Trisha. They said she was screaming and not making much sense,” Julia added, picking up the cottage phone, but then just looking at it. “What number do I dial to get a direct line out?” she asked, turning to Olivia. “Don’t I need a guest code or something?”
    Olivia walked over with her hand outstretched. “My cell phone will be quicker.”
    Julia then stood staring down at the cell, which was nothing more than a solid black screen. She thrust it back at her. “I don’t know how to use this. I have to go home, Olivia.” She rubbed her forehead, trying to clear the black fog that had