Into the Storm (Signal Bend #3)(62)

He looked into her eyes. “I love you, too.” He took another deep breath as she tightened her grip on him and slid down his full length.

Then she remembered that he had staples almost all the way across his belly. “Will it hurt you if I get you off?”

His eyes closed now, his head dropped back on his pillows, and he muttered, “Probably. Don’t care.

Don’t stop.”

She eased down his side and took him into her mouth.

oOo

With record snowfall for the season, the winter had been slow at the inn so far. They’d advertised the beauty of the snow-covered woods, and they’d put the sleigh Lilli had bought in the fall to some use. But the truth was that riding through the woods in a horse-drawn sleigh made an absolutely delightful photo, but actually was just cold and wet. Badger, though, was a trouper, driving Edgar through the wider trails whenever he was asked.

Shannon sat in the dining room on a bright mid-February afternoon, after yet another dump of nearly six inches. But the sun had shone all day, and it looked like they might be in for a thaw. Missouri often got a week or so of ridiculously spring-like weather in February or early March. This year, with so much snow on the ground, a real thaw would turn the town into a swamp, and that wouldn’t do much for business, either.

They were okay, though. She had her laptop open, but she was looking at papers scattered across one of the large round tables in the middle of the room. She worked better when she could see everything at once, and in large scale. They’d had a much better first summer and especially fall than Lilli—or Shannon—had forecasted, and that gave them room to have the extremely quiet winter they’d had. She was able to keep everybody on the payroll, even though they hardly had to work, and that had been important to Shannon.

She knew that not everyone was faring so well. Businesses all around town had been quiet, and not all of the shopkeepers had been as prudent about preserving a cushion as Lilli and Shannon had been.

Though Lilli did not scrimp on building the inn or on keeping it running, she was in fact quite a conservative spender. If there was a good reason to spend money, she didn’t hesitate, but she paid attention to the big picture, and she made sure the important concerns were addressed first. Her interests were in keeping the business running and making it a success, but not in lining her own pockets. In many ways, now that she’d let Shannon do her job and manage the place, Lilli was the best boss she’d ever had. Before Shannon had brought up that she wanted to keep everybody on the payroll, even if they weren’t coming in to work, she had practiced a big spiel of explanation about why it would make good business sense. But she hadn’t been able to use it. She’d said, “I think we should keep paying everybody,” and Lilli had said, simply, “Obviously.”

Getting paid for not working didn’t sit well with these folks, even though they needed it. So Beth kept coming in and cooking for her, insisting she “earn her keep.” When Show had gotten mostly mobile a couple of weeks ago and begun staying with her again, Beth’s visits had gotten regular, making at least two meals almost every day.

Connie and Steve came in about once a week, to do light turns of the rooms and simple maintenance.

They’d have come in more, but there was simply nothing more for them to do. Only Shannon and Badger had actual work when the inn was empty. Badger kept care of the animals. Shannon focused on making sure the spring and summer would again give them the kind of cushion they needed to wait out winter next year.

She’d put a lot of time into promoting the inn, especially as a wedding venue. Weddings were serious money. The inn was too small, and Signal Bend too remote, for the really epic, Bridezilla-style weddings, but Shannon didn’t mind that at all. Huge weddings almost always meant diva brides who honestly believed they should be able to have every single whim met. Shannon knew how to work with people like that, but it didn’t mean she enjoyed it. On more than one occasion, she’d had to lace her hands behind her back to arrest the urge to slap a belligerent princess pitching a hissy over the insufficient sparkle of Swarovski crystals imbedded in $1000 table centerpieces.

Here at the Keller Acres Bed & Breakfast, they could accommodate no more than a hundred guests— and that many only in certain circumstances. Brides who could limit a guest list to that number tended to have reasonable ideas for their wedding, and in those situations, Shannon could really shine, building a rapport with a bride she actually liked, and showing her a perfect day on a reasonable budget. Because the truth of it was, the fewer bells and whistles, and Swarovski crystals, the better the odds for a picture-perfect wedding.

Weddings got planned about a year in advance, on average. Small affairs, more like six to eight months.

The promotional work she’d done after the wedding they’d hosted in September had given them five bookings between April and June, and that was a good return, Shannon thought. Now, though, she wanted to get brides who were planning late summer or fall weddings, or spring weddings next year. She wanted to do a bridal open house.

So strewn in front of her were printouts of their upcoming bookings, and sketches and plans for the open house she saw in her head. Getting the timing right was her biggest hurdle; they needed to keep the inn clear for that whole day, which meant two nights, an entire weekend, without booking any rooms. She had no idea where she was going to slot that into their spring schedule.