Falling For You (Honey Leaf Lodge #1)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Violet

I sat in my usual spot on the worn leather couch tucked in the lodge’s back living area. It was away from guests and reserved for our family.

It was my happy place. The décor felt homey, with the large stone fireplace tucked in the corner and blankets draped over the rocking chairs. My parents often put up a family Christmas tree here, in addition to the one out front for the guests. It was connected to the kitchen, so it always felt like I was close to the heartbeat of the lodge.

Christmas.

It was hard to believe that was coming up next month. First, I needed to get through the upcoming auction. I shoved that unpleasant thought away and stretched my feet in front of me.

My laptop stayed propped open on the coffee table in front of me as I worked away on my food blog.

I’d been going through the motionsandscheduling upcoming posts since I got home from downtown this morning, but my mind wasn’t on the words on the screen.

The protest had left us all fired up but with nowhere to put our energy.

My brothers teased and shouted one-liners between them.

The moodwas riding higher than usual in the lodge. But sitting here and staring at the blog posts I had written left me with unresolved feelings.

Despite my best efforts, my thoughts kept drifting back to Owen. The way he was there, holding up his sign in support of our little town. Not to mention, he braved the crowd of people who squarely blamed him for everything in the first place.

He didn’t have to show up, but he did. I thought back to what Abby told me and wondered if she was more on the money than I wanted to give her credit for.

I sighed and smiled as I listened to all the comforting sounds of Honey Leaf filling the air. The comforting clatter of dishes in the kitchen as Mom baked, the playful banter between Fifi and Sienna as they played cards at the dining table, and the low hum of the stereo filling the rooms.

And then my mind drifted to Owen.

Again .

It was hard to reconcile all the people who had come together to save Buttercup Lake.Then, think about the one person who led us to protest.

Owen.

The guy I fell for.

Somehow, in one week, he had turned my world upside down. He showed a softer side, one that made me reflect on my own dreams and desires. When he started helping me with the blog, I saw a genuine interest in my success. He made me see potential where I had only seen routine. Or was he trying to hand me a Plan B if the lodge shut down?

I shivered at the thought.

The truth was that Owen gave me a confidence that I didn’t even know was lacking.

I tried to push the thoughts awayandfocus on the task at hand.

Yet, every time my fingers hovered over the keyboard, I could only think about Owen. His smile, how he looked at me, and how he genuinely cared.

The way he was there today.

Was it better late than never?

“Violet! You’re missing all the fun in here!” Fifi’s voice broke through my thoughts.

I looked up to see her triumphantly waving a card in the kitchen. “Uno.”

Sienna groaned and shook her head.

“You’re letting her win again, aren’t you?” I teased.

Sienna rolled her eyes and glanced at Liam. “Hey, can I have one of those ciders?”

“My pleasure,” Liam said, standing up and entering the kitchen.

Fifi grinned and threw another card down on the table with a flourish. “Gracious loser or sore loser? Doesn’t matter to me. The point is, you lost.”

I couldn’t help but laugh as Sienna groaned even louder. Her face twisted in mock agony. “I’m being noble in defeat.”

“Sure you are,” Liam chimed. He grabbed a hard cider from the fridge and handed it to our sister.

“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” she teased.

The light-hearted banter eased the tension in my chest. I let myself get lost in the warmth of my family’s company for a moment.

But it wasn’t long before my thoughts slipped back to the uncertain future we all faced.

Sure! The protest had gone well, and we even made the local news, but the weight of Vern’s decision still hung over us.

Mom entered the family room from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her red apron as she crossed the room to sit beside our dad.

She let out a contemplative sigh as her eyes filled with the same quiet worry that had settled over us all.

“How’s the blog going, honey?” she asked.

I shrugged, glancing back at my laptop screen. “It’s… going. I’m just scheduling some posts, but I’m not feeling it today.” I thought back to the word from Owen that stuck out the most.

Persistence.

“But I have to be persistent if I want things to stick.”

Mom gave a knowing nod. “It’s hard to focus on stuff with everything that’s been happening.”

“So true.”

Liam took a sip of his cider. “Well, if the protest was any sign, Vern must be rethinking the whole deal. I mean, the turnout was huge. The town really came together.”

“Exactly,” Fifi chimed in. She threw down another card on the table. She flashed a grin at Sienna’s growing frustration. “He has to see that this isn’t just about money. It’s about what Buttercup Lake means to all of us. No resort can replace that.”

Beck nodded in agreement, but our dad shook his head.

“That news segment was great,” Dad added. He leaned forward in his chair. “Violet, you really nailed it with that speech. You said what needed to be said. But I think in this instance, money has more pull. I can’t blame Vern, but I wish he’d given us a chance.”

Mom leaned over and squeezed my hand, glancing at our dad. “I know it’s hard, but we must trust that Vern has a good heart. He’s been part of this community for a long time, and I don’t think he wants to see it destroyed.”

“I hope you’re right,” my dad said quietly.

Just as the conversation drifted into lighter territory, the phone rang. I jumped about ten feet as everyone in the room fell silent.

Our parents exchanged looks. The tension thickened the moment our dad answered.

He stood slowly, his expression unreadable. He crossed the room to stand near the window and sighed.

“Yeah. Good to hear from you,” Dad said, his voice calm but tense. “Yeah. Quite the turnout, indeed.”

We all held our breath, watching him closely, waiting for signs, anything to tell us what was being said on the other end of the line.

Our dad’s face remained stoic at first, but as the conversation continued, something changed. His shoulders relaxed, and the hard lines of worry on his face began to soften.

He ran his fingers along the edges of an orange and brown wool throw and fell silent for what felt like hours.

“Yes, Vern,” Dad said after a long pause. “I understand. Thank you for calling. No hard feelings.”

That couldn’t be good.

Mom clutched her hands together in her lap. Her eyes never left Dad’s face as he listened to Vern some more.

Beck and Fifi exchanged a nervous glance. Liam, who usually seemed laid-back, looked tense and blew out a gust of air.

The hard cider wasn’t cutting it.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Dad said, “We’ll talk soon. Thanks again, Vern.”

My Dad hung up the phone and turned to face us with relief and disbelief.

The room remained silent.

I glanced at our mom, who looked at Fifi. Liam cleared his throat as Beck stood and sat back down.

It was like we were too scared to ask the question hanging in the air.

My dad let out a slow breath as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Vern didn’t sign the deal,” he said quietly.

His words didn’t register at first. I frowned and shook my head.

Staring at my parents, my mind struggled to catch up. “He didn’t… what?”

Dad’s smile widened, and he nodded. His eyes shone with the weight of the news. “The deal’s off. Vern didn’t sign with the developers.”

Our family erupted into chaos. Fifi’s high-pitched squeal of excitement filled the room, and my brothers hollered like they had just won a soccer tournament.

And our parents just held each other. Our mom rested her head on our dad’s chest, and my heart squeezed at their love.

They didn’t need words. They just knew. They knew what one another was feeling in silence.

My mind flew back to Owen today, studying meand telling me everything I needed to hear with one look anda nod across the street. I could feel it all.

I sat frozen for a moment as the reality of what Dad had just said slowly sank in.

The deal was dead. The developers weren’t getting the land.

We had won.

“He didn’t sign?” I repeated, my voice shaking with a mix of disbelief and relief. “Are you sure?”

Dad nodded, draping his arm over my mom’s shoulders. “He called to tell us first. He said he couldn’t go through with it after seeing how the town came together. He realized it wasn’t just about him.”

I blinked, still trying to process the news.

“And there’s more,” Dad added. His smile only grew. “He wants to sell the land to us. At market value.”

We fell silent again.

The weight of his words hung in the air like a gift we hadn’t dared to hope for.

“He’s offering us the land?” Liam asked, his voice filled with awe.

Dad nodded. “He said it’s only right. He knows we won’t be able to offer as much as the developers, but he wants to ensure it stays in the community. He wants it to be part of the lodge’s future.”

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes as the enormity of what had just unfolded finally hit me.

The land was ours.

We wouldn’t lose Honey Leaf Lodge—the legacy my family had worked so hard to preserve—and it was safe.

Not just at this moment, but also four or five years from now.

The nightmare was over.

“We did it,” I whispered, a shaky smile spreading across my face. “We really did it.”

“No,” my mom said, smiling. “You did it, Vi.”

Fifi rushed over to me, pulling me into a tight hug as tears of joy streamed down her face. “I can’t believe it! We’re going to get the land!”

I nodded, feeling the relief spread through us all, but a little seed sprouted inside me, and I realized there was more to the story.

And I intended to find out…