Hope Harbor

  Hope Harbor

  Jill Sanders

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Text copyright © 2020 Jill Sanders

  Printed in the United States of America

  All rights reserved.

  Copyeditor: Erica Ellis – inkdeepediting.com

  No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  ISBN-13: 978-1-945100-17-8

  PRINT ISBN: 978-8-620236-56-5

  Summary

  When Eve inherits the family business, Candlewood Inn, she leaves her controlling ex and her job in Seattle behind to head to her childhood home on a small island on the Canadian border. She arrives to find that her family is in an uproar over her grandfather’s very legal dying wishes. After all, the group of sniveling babies had been living rent-free in the luxurious outdated hotel for years and using her grandfather’s bank account to bankroll their own extravagant lives. But Eve has a business degree and all the power now, and she’ll have to kick her family out of their rent-free, carefree lives if she plans on saving the inn and herself from ruin.

  Single-dad Dylan started his own handyman business a few years back. He’s the only one on Orcas Island who can swing a hammer and not miss. So, when the new owner takes over at Candlewood Inn and hires him to remodel the old place, he jumps at the chance to make his mark on the huge building. Working with Eve is a pure delight, since the woman seems to know what she’s after. The fact that she’s nice to look at, and that Dylan’s daughter, Palmer, is infatuated with her, is a bonus. It’s the rest of the Candlewood family they will need to worry about. Especially, since it appears someone is out to destroy everything they are working for before they even get started.

  To my mother,

  who shared her love

  of a good mystery with me.

  Not a day goes by

  that I don’t miss you…

  1

  A midnight caller

  Eve was once again standing in a boring employee meeting. She felt locked in the never-ending torture as she leaned against the wall of the cramped boardroom in one of the highest buildings in Seattle. She switched her weight from foot to foot occasionally, because she’d just had to wear her new sexy black heels that day. It was a silent stab against her ex, Brent, who was running the meeting and droning on and on about sales numbers being down. Brent had hated it when she’d worn heels, which would make her a few inches taller than his five-seven frame.

  The man had charmed her years ago with his sophisticated sweep of blond hair, those crystal eyes, and the little dimple in his chin. He’d been born a smooth talker into a large family of them.

  He only dressed in the finest business suits and had custom-made clothing for everything else.

  Glancing around the room, she realized that every butt sitting in those expensive cushioned chairs made twice what she did now, and probably would ever make, at Morgan Stein Marketing Firm.

  The job had been one of Eve’s first after getting her Bachelor of Science in marketing from the University of Washington.

  She’d started her job and had fallen for Brent Stein, son of the business owners, Morgan and Ewan Stein, quickly.

  Marrying him within that first year of knowing him had been a mistake she’d fixed by divorcing him nine short months later. Brent had shown signs of being controlling when they’d dated, but she’d been so blinded by all the wining and dining, she’d overlooked them. Being the son of the owner of one of Seattle’s largest marketing businesses had its perks. Of course, she’d gladly signed the prenup his parents had demanded of her. She was in love and nothing else mattered. Brent was, so she’d thought, the perfect man.

  Growing up, she’d been taught to never rely on anyone for anything. She should have listened to those lessons after leaving home shortly after graduating high school.

  Now, however, three short months after their divorce was finalized, she was still struggling with Brent, who, it seemed, was having second thoughts after signing the divorce papers her grandfather’s lawyer had drawn up.

  She should have put in her resignation the day she’d handed him the divorce papers, but she’d needed the income and didn’t really want to update her resume. Besides, moving out of the massive three-thousand-square-foot mansion they’d lived in together and renting the studio apartment she now called home had been expensive.

  So, she’d stuck with her job at the firm and dreamed of the day she could break free from the Stein’s clutches. She knew that, because of her and Brent’s past, she was sliding downhill at the firm. That first week after the divorce was legalized, she’d been moved out of the cushy office that overlooked Seattle’s sound and moved into a small cubicle where she shared her space with a temp who only worked two days a week.

  Still, they hadn’t cut her paycheck, so she hadn’t minded that much. She did everything in her power to annoy Brent when she could without crossing the line, such as wearing heels or calling him Mr. Stein. He hated being called that because he didn’t like to be associated with his father, a fact that he had confided in her shortly after they had started dating.

  “That is all,” Brent finished, getting her attention again. Sighing, she moved towards the door, eager to get off her feet.

  “Eve, would you mind waiting?” Brent called out to the room. Every eye turned to her as the room grew silent.

  “Sure.” She sighed and shifted her sore feet again. She’d been dreaming of sitting for the next few hours, since she’d been working on a few projects with approaching deadlines when Brent had called the meeting.

  Brent followed the last person to leave the meeting room and shut the door behind them. To get under his skin, she remained standing as he stopped directly in front of her.

  It worked. His eyes narrowed slightly, and she could tell he was agitated at her height.

  He was still handsome as sin, like a young Brad Pitt, with his sandy blond hair, silvery eyes, and chiseled chin. But shortly after their divorce he’d turned soft, losing what little muscle mass he had. Not that he was fat; he was too small of a man to be considered fat. He just wasn’t as… firm as he had been when they’d been dating. Was it all in her head since her views on him had changed?

  “You wanted something, Mr. Stein?” she asked, innocently. His eyes narrowed further as he motioned for her to take a seat.

  She held in a groan of appreciation as she finally got off her feet. She held herself firm, crossing her hands in front of her, laying them on the smooth rich wood of the massive meeting table as she waited for him to explain what he wanted from her.

  He sat directly next to her. Instead of turning her body towards him, she twisted her back slightly so that she could give him her attention without fully ignoring him. “I was hoping that we could talk about your position at the firm.”

  Her dark eyebrows shot up. “My… position?” Her voice was a little shaky. Here it was, the day she’d been dreading. She’d known since the day she filed for divorce that one day she’d be jobless. She’d just hoped it would be after the holidays, a little under five months from now.

  “I know that getting back together, well, that’s not possible.” He reached over and laid his hand over hers. “I mean, mother and father have…” He sighed and shook his head. “Anyway, it’s not possible. But I was hoping that… That is…” He cleared his throat. “I think we can come to some sort of arrangement. I know you’ve been eyeing Ben’s position, since he’ll be leaving at the end of the month.”

 
; She swallowed. Ben Regan was taking a position in Philadelphia, where his wife had been transferred for her government job. Ben had been in charge of online content that went out of the firm, something Eve had a talent with.

  The rest of Brent’s words sank in, and she jerked her hands free and stood up suddenly, sending the wheeled chair spinning across the room.

  “Dream on,” she said in a low tone. “You know where I stand on us getting back together.” She tried to stop the shaking that started every time she thought of being with Brent again.

  The man was sexy as sin but one of the most controlling asshats she’d ever met. And since she came from a family of controlling asshats, she had a lot to compare him to.

  “I’m not talking about getting back together in the sense of what we had in the past.” He stood, moving closer to her and once again taking her hands in his. She would have jerked free, but he had her pinned between the wall and the chair now. “What I’m proposing is more of a… physical arrangement.”

  She felt her lunch threaten to surface and jerked her hands free of his. She wrapped them around her waist, desperately trying to hold in what she could of her bubbling stomach.

  “No.” She shook her head and glanced towards the door, dreaming of escaping. “It’s not going to happen. Ever,” she whispered.

  In the next moments, Brent turned, like he had so many times in the past. She’d watched the Jekyll and Hyde show so many times in the past, it had stopped amazing her at how quickly he could go from a kind, caring man to a controlling, manipulative asshat so quickly.

  How many times in the past had he turned into a different person than the charming man she’d believed she’d married? Too many to count.

  She’d hoped that if she kept him at arm’s length and stuck to the professional environment that he would maintain his façade. Even now, she could see him struggling for control, since they were standing behind large glass walls that looked out towards the main reception area. Joyce was just a few feet away, sitting behind her desk, talking on the phone and glancing up towards them.

  Brent swallowed and got himself back under control. “I had hoped,” he started in a quiet tone, so low that she strained to hear his next words, “that you would want to keep your position here.”

  “I do,” she answered a little too quickly, which had his smirk returning.

  “Then you’ll think about my… offer.”

  “No,” she answered and raised her chin slightly. “Whatever relationship we had in the past, physical or otherwise, stopped that last night when I left.” She held her breath, daring him to question which night. Instead, he jerked the chair and pushed it quickly back into its place. The table bounced and jerked when the chair slammed into it.

  “I told you… How many times do I have to apologize for… things?” he spat out.

  “Since I continue to see you exhibit the same attitude… no number of apologies will do it. We’re just not right for each other. In any capacity.” She touched his arm and felt him relax slightly. “Now, I have several jobs to…” She turned to go.

  “Eve, I meant what I said,” he said, surprising her. “You have until the end of today to give me an answer.”

  She jerked around. “You’re seriously going to fire me if I don’t… what? Sleep with you?”

  Instead of answering, he smirked. “We’ll see how much you want this job. You know my stance on all this. You should have never divorced me.”

  “Why did you sign the papers then?” She waved her hands towards him and watched his eyes narrow again.

  “You know why,” he ground out.

  “Because your mother and father told you to,” she spat out, not caring at this point who heard her. After all, he was the one who had approached her with the vulgar offer.

  “You didn’t give me any choice in the matter,” he replied.

  “I didn’t…” She laughed. “Oh, those are choice words coming from you.” She jerked around and yanked open the door.

  “What’s your answer?” he called after her.

  Instead of answering, she raised her middle finger and flew him the bird before slamming the door behind her.

  Seething, she sat at her desk trying to get her emotions under control. She hadn’t been lying. She had a project that was due in less than an hour and no matter what happened to her career at the firm, she had a reputation to uphold. Shaking the dark thoughts clear, she focused and got back to work.

  As usual, she worked an hour later than most of the other employees so that by the time she descended the dozen flights of stairs, she was the last one in the office. She had tucked her new heels into her tote bag and threw it over her shoulder as she stepped outside into the cool night air. Her worn tennis shoes slapped the wet pavement as she made her way home. She pulled her light jacket closer to her, trying to keep her hair and face dry from the late summer rainstorm. Still, the wind whipped it about, so she ducked into a dark doorway and decided that, instead of ordering takeout for dinner, she would find someplace warm to camp out until the rain let up.

  Spotting her favorite pizza place at the end of the block, she dashed through the rain, almost getting hit by a taxi as she crossed the street. Yelling at the man, who had obviously not seen her dart in front of him, she stepped into the pizzeria and groaned at the lengthy line and the lack of places to sit in the crowded place.

  Could the day get any worse? she thought as she stood in line.

  Someone tapped on her shoulder and when she turned around, she held in a groan. Mariam Stein, Brent’s younger sister, stood behind her, dressed in her normal high-class ‘I just worked out’ look. The teenager’s yoga outfit probably cost more than Eve’s monthly rent.

  “I thought that was you,” Mariam said with a smirk. “Boy, you look like a drowned rat.” She giggled.

  “Thanks,” Eve said between clenched teeth. The girl not only faked naivety, she was vicious at it. “How was your workout?” she asked, arching her eyebrows.

  Mariam looked at her as if she was crazy, causing Eve to motion to the girl’s attire.

  “Oh.” Mariam chuckled. “Raul is a slave.” She waved her hand and tilted her head. “How’s the job hunting going? I heard that Brent had to let you go.” Her voice dipped into what could only be described as forged concern.

  Eve’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t given Brent an answer, nor had she believed she had needed to. After all, he’d made empty threats in the past and she was sure this one would blow over if she ignored his tantrum.

  “Oh.” Mariam sighed. “I’m sorry. I just assumed he had told you.” She glanced down at her phone. “Oh well.” She glanced up. “Oops, it looks like I don’t have time to wait for a slice after all.” She turned and bumped into the person behind her. “Watch it,” she told the woman, then turned back to Eve. “It was nice catching up with you, Eve,” she said as she dashed towards the door. Mariam used Eve’s name as a stab by the simple tone in which she said it, drawing it out as if it was incomplete somehow.

  “Bitch,” the woman who had stood behind Mariam said under her breath when the door shut.

  “Tell me about it,” Eve agreed, and turned back towards the line.

  By the time she finished wolfing down two slices of pizza and a Coke, the rain had let up. Walking back to her tiny apartment, she worried that she would have to start looking for a new job. Had Brent been serious? Was he really going to fire her if she didn’t sleep with him?

  Eve let herself into her one-room loft, tossed her tote bag down at the door, and pulled off her soaked tennis shoes and jacket.

  Glancing around, she wondered once again why she killed herself on a daily basis to live in a hole.

  There must be plenty of high-paying jobs out there for someone with her talents. Right?

  Hell, half of the people that worked above her didn’t even have a high school diploma, let alone a bachelor’s degree. Of course, most of those were interns and didn’t get paid, but that didn’t stop her fr
om thinking about pulling out her resume and updating it.

  Deciding she needed to warm up first, she climbed into a hot shower and stayed there until the water ran cold. Pulling on her favorite fuzzy pajamas, she sat on her sofa bed and clicked away on her laptop, updating her resume as best as she could, hating the task.

  A brief time later she was jolted awake when a knock sounded at her door.

  She had fallen asleep sitting up, her neck at an odd angle, and now pain spread down her right arm.

  She squinted at the clock through the dark and saw that it was a quarter past midnight. Believing she’d dreamed the sound, she set her laptop down and curled up on the sofa bed. Just as she closed her eyes, the knock sounded again.

  Groaning, she pulled herself from her warm bed and padded over to the door. Glancing out of the security peek hole, she groaned upon seeing Brent standing outside.

  “Go home, Brent,” she called out through the locked door.

  “Eve, let me in.”

  “It’s not happening.” She leaned her head against the door, feeling a little unstable on her feet from being tired. “I gave you my answer at the office.” She held in a yawn.

  “This has nothing to do with my offer,” he said.

  When he didn’t say anything further, she asked, “Then what?”

  “Just let me in. I’d hate to wake your neighbors,” he said a little louder.

  She thought of the older woman who lived next to her and the nice couple across the hallway and cringed.

  Opening her door, she made a jerking motion for him to come in. “Five minutes,” she warned as he stepped inside.

  “Jesus, is this were you live?” He stepped over a box of her things.

  She had yet to unpack, since she was on a month-to-month lease and wasn’t sure she could afford the place for much longer. Besides, she’d been thinking that if Brent fired her, she would move to the country somewhere. Maybe Oregon? Maybe Canada? She didn’t know, but whatever happened, she wouldn’t be able to afford the high rents in Seattle for much longer.