October 8, 2023 – 11:18 AM
The front loader rumbled past as Lin returned to the hotel.
She slipped her clipboard beneath one arm and stepped around a stack of freshly delivered lumber.
A carpenter called from the second floor.
"Morning, Ms. Zhang!"
She looked up.
"Morning. How's room twelve?"
"Trim's finished."
"Bathroom's next."
She gave him a thumbs-up before continuing across the courtyard.
Her phone vibrated.
Tom Grayson
Lin answered.
"Morning, Tom."
Tom didn't bother with greetings.
"You busy?"
Lin smiled.
"Usually."
"Good."
"I've got something you might want."
She stopped walking.
"What is it?"
"Guy cancelled an order."
He shuffled some papers.
"Industrial steel shelving."
"Commercial grade."
"Twenty-four units."
Lin immediately pictured her warehouse.
Heavy-duty shelves.
Perfect for organizing long-term supplies.
She asked casually,
"How much?"
Tom named a number.
It was almost forty percent below retail.
Lin didn't hesitate.
"I'll take them."
Tom laughed.
"Didn't even ask the dimensions."
"You'll tell me if they won't fit."
"Fair enough."
He lowered his voice.
"Truth be told; I called you before anyone else."
Lin smiled.
"Why?"
"Because you're the only person in this county who actually buys commercial shelving."
She laughed.
"That's probably true."
"Can you pick them up today?"
Lin checked her watch.
"After lunch."
"Perfect."
He hung up.
Lin looked toward the warehouse.
Another unexpected opportunity.
Another item checked off the mental list.
A white pickup turned into the parking lot.
The logo on the door read:
Maple Creek Feed & Grain
The driver climbed out carrying an invoice.
"Delivery for Ms. Zhang?"
Lin walked over.
"That's me."
He opened the tailgate.
Six pallets.
Mineral blocks.
Chicken feed.
Rabbit pellets.
Goat grain.
Alpaca supplements.
The driver looked around the property.
"You've got quite a setup going."
Lin smiled.
"Getting there."
He handed her the clipboard.
"Need a signature."
As she signed, another pickup rolled slowly through the front gate.
Mud splattered the wheel wells.
A livestock trailer rattled behind it.
Adam Walker climbed out.
He spotted Lin and lifted a hand.
"Morning."
"Morning."
He nodded toward the feed truck.
"Looks like I'm not the only one buying feed today."
Lin glanced at his trailer.
"Looks like you're taking home more than feed."
Adam looked back.
Inside the trailer stood four young calves.
Healthy.
Curious.
One stretched its nose through the rails.
"Auction this morning."
"Couldn't pass them up."
Lin walked closer.
The calves immediately began sniffing her jacket.
One licked her sleeve.
She laughed.
"Friendly."
"Only because they think you brought food."
The smallest calf nudged her hand again.
Adam shook his head.
"Don't encourage them."
Too late.
Lin scratched behind the calf's ear.
It leaned happily into her hand.
Adam sighed dramatically.
"Wonderful."
"Now they'll expect everyone to do that."
She smiled.
"You sound jealous."
He laughed.
"Little bit."
The feed truck driver finished unloading the final pallet.
He looked between them.
Then toward the calves.
"Guess I'll get out of the way."
He climbed back into his truck and drove off.
For a moment...
The construction noise seemed farther away.
Only the soft mooing of the calves filled the yard.
Adam rested one arm on the trailer.
"How's the hotel coming?"
"Ahead of schedule."
"That's rare."
"I'm not complaining."
He nodded toward the warehouse.
"Still expecting those big deliveries Tuesday?"
"Seven or eight trucks."
He gave a low whistle.
"Going to be busy."
"Very."
He smiled.
"If you're short a forklift operator..."
He shrugged.
"...I've got experience."
Lin looked at him.
That wasn't something every farmer casually mentioned.
"You do?"
"Used one for years."
"Warehouse?"
He smiled faintly.
"Among other things."
Before Lin could ask another question, Dave Mitchell stuck his head out of the lobby.
"Lin!"
He waved a blueprint.
"Need your decision on the front entrance stonework."
Lin looked back toward Adam.
"Duty calls."
He nodded.
"Always does."
She started toward the hotel.
After only a few steps...
Something made her glance back.
Adam was standing beside the livestock trailer, one hand absentmindedly rubbing the forehead of the smallest calf while the other checked the trailer latch with practiced ease.
The calf leaned into his hand without hesitation.
He smiled—a small, genuine smile that wasn't meant for anyone else.
It softened the rugged lines of his face.
For just a second...
Lin forgot what she had been thinking about.
She frowned at herself.
Handsome.
There.
She'd finally admitted it.
The man was undeniably attractive.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Strong hands roughened by years of honest work.
The kind of quiet confidence that didn't need to announce itself.
And apparently...
Ridiculously good with animals.
She watched him lift the calf's chin just enough to inspect its eyes before giving its neck an affectionate scratch.
The calf responded by licking his sleeve.
Adam sighed dramatically.
"You're lucky you're cute."
Lin laughed under her breath.
It suited him.
Entirely too well.
She immediately looked away.
Careful.
Attraction wasn't the problem.
It was what usually followed.
Trust.
Expectations.
Distractions.
She'd made that mistake once.
Nathan had been handsome too.
Charming.
Attentive.
Everything she'd thought she wanted.
Until the world fell apart.
Lin folded her arms.
Adam wasn't Nathan.
That wasn't fair to either of them.
In fact, everything she'd seen suggested the opposite.
Hardworking.
Patient.
Competent.
Prepared.
He treated people with quiet respect.
He'd never once tried to impress her.
Never pushed for her attention.
Never lingered after a conversation had naturally ended.
Which somehow made him even more attractive.
She exhaled slowly.
Well.
That's inconvenient.
She had contractors to manage.
Warehouses to fill.
Livestock to buy.
Seven trucks arriving in two days.
And somehow, her brain had decided this was an appropriate time to notice the handsome farmer next door.
She shook her head once.
Not happening.
Not now.
Maybe not ever.
Still...
As she walked toward the hotel lobby, she couldn't stop herself from glancing back one last time.
Adam had finished checking the trailer.
He climbed into the driver's seat, started the truck, and gave a casual wave as he pulled toward the gate.
Lin lifted a hand in return.
Only after the truck disappeared down the gravel road did she realize...
She was smiling.
She sighed.
"...This is going to be annoying."
Straightening her clipboard against her hip, she pushed through the lobby doors and returned to the controlled chaos of construction, determined to focus on work instead of the increasingly distracting farmer who had somehow wandered into her thoughts.
October 8, 2023 – 11:35 AM
The moment Lin stepped back inside the hotel, the sounds of construction swallowed every other thought.
A nail gun fired somewhere upstairs.
Someone started a concrete mixer outside.
Dave Mitchell was waiting beside a folding table covered in blueprints.
He looked up.
"There you are."
Lin tucked her clipboard under one arm.
"Sorry."
Dave spread the plans open.
"Need a decision before the masons start."
He pointed to two different sketches.
"Natural fieldstone."
Then another.
"Or manufactured veneer."
Lin barely glanced at the second option.
"Fieldstone."
Dave nodded.
"Figured you'd say that."
"More expensive."
"Looks better."
She traced the entrance with one finger.
"People are paying to get away from cities."
"I don't want anything that feels fake."
Dave smiled.
"That's exactly what my wife said."
He scribbled a note.
"Fieldstone it is."
He folded the blueprint.
"Anything else?"
Lin checked her clipboard.
"How many guest cabins are weather-tight now?"
"Nine."
"Three more by Wednesday."
"Good."
She made another note.
Every completed cabin meant one less thing to worry about before winter.
She spent the next half hour walking the property.
Every room.
Every hallway.
Every utility closet.
Room 101.
Drywall complete.
Room 102.
Still waiting for bathroom fixtures.
Laundry room.
Water lines installed.
Kitchen.
Commercial exhaust hood measurements confirmed.
She stopped outside the pantry that would eventually serve the restaurant.
It was empty now.
Just clean concrete floors and freshly painted shelving.
In two days...
Industrial freezers would fill one wall.
Dry storage would occupy another.
The remaining space would hold enough supplies to feed hundreds of guests.
Or...
She corrected herself.
Enough supplies to keep dozens of survivors alive.
She quickly pushed the thought aside.
One step at a time.
Outside, a forklift beeped as workers unloaded another stack of lumber.
Megan hurried over carrying a clipboard.
"Morning inspection?"
Lin nodded.
"Everything's moving well."
Megan smiled.
"You always say that after finding twenty things that need fixing."
Lin laughed.
"That's because finding problems early is cheaper."
Megan looked around the property.
Workers climbed ladders.
Roofers hammered shingles into place.
Electricians disappeared into the main lodge.
She smiled.
"You know..."
"...it's finally starting to look like a real resort."
Lin followed her gaze.
For the first time...
She could actually see it.
Families sitting around campfires.
Children feeding goats.
Couples walking the trails.
Weekend weddings beneath the maple trees.
The vision she'd sold to the bank.
To the contractors.
To the town.
It finally looked possible.
Megan nudged her shoulder.
"You're smiling."
Lin blinked.
"Am I?"
"You are."
She looked back at the hotel.
Maybe she was.
Not because of the business.
Because this place represented something she'd never had before.
A home she had built herself.
Brick by brick.
Fence by fence.
Decision by decision.
Her phone buzzed.
A calendar reminder appeared on the screen.
Confirm October 10 Deliveries
Lin sighed with exaggerated disappointment.
"Reality's calling."
Megan laughed.
"Back to work?"
"Back to work."
She opened her contacts and started making calls as she walked toward the warehouse.
The moment of quiet reflection faded.
Replaced once again by schedules.
Invoices.
Truck routes.
And the thousand small decisions that separated a dream from a finished project.
Behind her, unnoticed, a muddy pickup rolled past on the county road.