It Started At Christmas…. Jo McNally

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СКАЧАТЬ road from a tiny park overlooking the lake.

      “Hey, you got this final interview fair and square…” Mel grimaced. “Well, not exactly fair, but you know what I mean. You’re the one who came up with the plans the guy liked.”

      “Yes, but he thinks those plans came from David, not me. He’s expecting a man to show up tomorrow morning. Like I said—stupid.” She looked up at the bright orange coffee shop door. “Come on, let’s get a cappuccino before we head back to the resort.”

      After ordering, they settled in at a table by the window. The café was small, but there weren’t many people inside, so Amanda didn’t have to worry about her personal space. Their table was bright blue. The chairs were each a different color. Nothing in the place matched, creating a chaotic, but energetic, atmosphere. As a designer, Amanda would describe the look as bohemian eclectic. Local artwork on the brick walls displayed widely varying degrees of talent. The place smelled of roasted coffee beans, cinnamon and sawdust. The latter was courtesy of the woodworking shop next door.

      “Amanda, once this Randall guy meets you and hears that you specialize in historic homes and how many projects you’ve already managed, he’ll forget all about that little ‘mix-up’ and hire you on the spot.” Mel smiled and pushed her dark hair behind an ear. Two older men sitting near the counter were openly staring at her, but Mel was used to it. She had cheekbones most women would kill for. And legs that went on forever. And violet eyes that evoked memories of Elizabeth Taylor. Amanda sighed, glancing down at her short legs and…um…curvy figure. Genetics were tricky. That’s why Mel was a former supermodel, while women like Amanda ended up working behind the scenes with furniture and fabric.

      “It wasn’t a mix-up, Mel. It was intentional. I’m a deceiver.” She was so desperate for this job that she’d resorted to unethical business practices. That was so not who she was. But a woman had to eat, right?

      Mel waved off her concerns—easy to do when you were rich and famous. “I wonder what these signs are about? I’ve been seeing them all over town.”

      Mel pointed at a cardboard sign in the window with the word casino across the front in black, and a giant red circle and diagonal line over it. Amanda hadn’t noticed, too occupied with worrying about tomorrow.

      The café’s owner brought their cappuccinos to the table. She was an older woman, with long salt-and-pepper hair and a heavy skirt that doubled as a floor sweeper. There was no doubt where the hippie vibe of the coffee shop came from.

      “Here you go, honeys. My name’s Cathy. Anything else I can getcha?”

      Mel pointed to the sign. “What’s the story with that?”

      Cathy’s smile faded. “Bad news for Gallant Lake.” She shook her head, lips pressed together. “Some big-shot developer bought the old resort a couple years ago, and instead of fixing it up like we’d hoped, he wants to tear it down and build a damned casino. A casino! I mean, what is this, New Jersey? Are we going to be living in one of those De Niro movies now?” Cathy’s face twisted in disgust. “We’re fighting him, though. No way do we want some giant sign of a neon bimbo here in our town, kicking her leg at the sky.”

      Mel smirked, and Amanda knew what she was thinking. Clearly, someone hadn’t been to Vegas lately. Not all casinos were gaudy and gauche. On a more selfish note, Amanda wondered if they’d hired a decorator yet.

      “The Gallant Lake Resort?” Mel said. “That’s where we’re staying. It seems nice.” The sprawling four-story stone-and-timber hotel hugged the shoreline of the lake. The decor might be kitschy and straight out of the sixties, but the place was clean and the views were wonderful.

      “Yeah, the family that used to own it always took good care of the place. But they could never afford to remodel. Still, there’s no need to tear it down.”

      Amanda looked out the window at Main Street, dotted with puddles from last night’s rain. She saw several boarded-up storefronts. “Wouldn’t a casino bring in more jobs and tourists?”

      Cathy shrugged. “But at what cost? That resort’s history is a part of us. Old Blue Eyes himself used to sing there! The whole Rat Pack did. Streisand sang for the governor’s birthday party once. People would come up here from the city and boy, would they spend money!” Cathy brushed some dust off the windowsill with the corner of her apron. “The old resorts are being torn down all over the Catskills, and we don’t want to lose ours.” She perched on the edge of a nearby table. Mel smiled, as if enjoying the small-town lack of pretense. “We think if it was spruced up and advertised more, it would bring vacationers back to Gallant Lake again. Maybe the old ski resort would reopen. And the golf course. Business would pick up for everyone.”

      “But wouldn’t a nice new casino do the same thing?” Amanda couldn’t stand to be in a casino herself, with people pressing in from everywhere. Just thinking about it made her palms sweat. But if it would bring business to the obviously struggling town…

      “Ha! The operative word is nice. Mr. Hotshot wants to build some ugly ten-story high-rise on our beautiful lake. Main Street will be nothing more than a thoroughfare from the highway to his casino. That won’t help my business. He’s buying up houses just to turn them into parking lots. Parking lots!” Cathy laughed and winked. “Of course, we stopped him from turning one of them into a parking lot. We had his big old house declared a landmark and now he’s stuck with it! That boy picked the wrong little town to mess with.”

      Cathy was still cackling when she walked away. Mel gave a low whistle. “Whoever that guy is, I hope he doesn’t buy his coffee here. I’m pretty sure Cathy would spit in it.”

      Amanda giggled, then reached over to squeeze her cousin’s hand.

      “Thanks for coming with me this weekend, Mel. Whatever happens with the job interview tomorrow, it’ll be easier to handle the fallout with you here.” She was pretty sure she knew exactly what was going to happen. She was going to be sent packing. Her stomach clenched. It would be exactly what she deserved.

      “You’ll do great, kid,” Mel said. “No matter who he’s expecting, he liked the plans you sent, and he’s going to like you, too.”

      Her cousin had no idea how close Amanda was to giving up and going home to her mother’s house in Nowheresville, Kansas, with her tail tucked between her legs—a failure.

      “I hope so. If I can get a showcase job like this, it might be enough to start my own solo business.” It would also save her from slinking back home in disgrace after once again trusting the wrong guy. “We should get back to the resort.”

      “Yeah, I want to look at that purse you found at the antiques shop. I still say that little key was for a really fancy chastity belt.”

      Amanda smiled. Despite her budget woes, she’d found something she couldn’t resist buying. She’d fallen in love with the vintage beaded evening bag from the 1920s. To her delight, she’d discovered a tiny ornate key tucked inside. She and Mel had made up some hysterical possibilities for what that key might unlock.

      They grabbed their bags and headed to the rental car parked across the street. Mel was giving another lecture on how Amanda was worrying too much about things. Amanda did her best to tune it out because discussing her worry didn’t make her worry any less.

      Mel grabbed Amanda’s arm with a cry as she stepped off the sidewalk. An enormous black SUV sped by, too close to the СКАЧАТЬ