Chapter Two: Ella

Ella

Ella hurried out of the stuffy office. She grabbed the door, finding that it had once again swung open on it’s own again. Not much, just a couple of inches. The latch needed to be reset. Ella put it on her mental list of things to fix. Once outside and down the hallway, Ella took in a deep, relaxing breath.

Hopefully, Delores would be busy with schmoozing her wealthy patrons for the next few hours and wouldn't find ways to make Ella's life more of a living hell.

Not that even a billionaire and his sister would be able to stop her, Ella thought bitterly. She shook her head as she walked quickly past the main entrance with the marble entryway that Delores had insisted on and the inn was still paying for. She nearly ran into a man in a black suit with a thin black tie. Ella assumed he was part of the billionaire's security team and simply apologized and kept walking.

As soon as Ella turned twenty-two, her father's will stipulated that the inn would go to Ella as long as she had worked faithfully in service to the inn. There was no doubt in Ella's mind that she had worked her butt off for the inn, so all that remained was time. Six more months and the inn could be rescued from Delores's horrible management. Not only did Delores not have any idea how to run the inn, those IRS letters on her desk gave Ella a bad feeling.

Ella hurried to the side entrance and snuck outside just as three limos, followed by cars with unpronounceable Italian names opened their doors. From the corner of the building, Ella watched as Delores stepped out and greeted the billionaire wedding party.

It was a bitter pill to swallow. Ella had done everything in her power to make this happen, but she was forbidden from the final step. She wasn't even going to be allowed to witness the wedding or the reception. Delores had already informed her being seen at either would result in a serious pay cut.

It had been Ella's idea to send the inn's brochure, along with the extra three photographs, to Connor Conglomerate's CEO, Xavier Connor. It was Ella who had done all the legwork, gotten everything in motion, worked with the wedding planner, and ultimately done all the labor to get to this day. Well, as much work as one could do without ever getting to talk to anyone important. There was no way Delores would let those golden strings attached to important people slip through her fingers. Delores was the voice on the phone while Ella had been the body.

With a frustrated sigh, Ella turned from the entrance and continued along the side path, making her way toward the small barn on the property. Someday, this upstate New York property would be hers. All of it. The beautiful 1920's style mansion nestled against the lake and all the property that came with it would be hers to turn into something people waited months to stay at.

Six more months and her dreams for this place could come true. She'd been saving her paychecks for years now so she could actually hire and retain good workers, as well as replace all the bargain priced junk Delores insisted was quality.

“Are you actually going to be able to leave on time today?” Maria asked, falling in-step with Ella and breaking her train of thought. Despite Ella's quick pace, the stout older woman kept up easily, used to hard work. She was one of the few workers at the inn that had stayed after Ella's father died. Almost everyone else had left when Delores refused to pay a decent wage.

“I wish.” Ella shook her head. “I'm headed to the barn for a quick break. I still have to finish the linens for tomorrow. And get the rehearsal dinner set up in the dining room.”

“And fourteen other things too, I imagine.” Maria sighed, shaking her head. “That woman makes you do too much. It's not fair, Ella. You deserve better than what she gives you.”

“You tell her that,” Ella replied with a shrug. “Delores might actually listen to you.”

“Hell no. I'd like to keep living a few more years.” Maria shuddered and made the sign of the cross over her chest. “That woman scares me. I'm fairly certain the only reason she's still breathing is because the Devil is too scared to come get her.”

Ella chuckled. At least she wasn't the only person on the grounds who disliked Delores. She stopped and fixed one of the loose stones on the path, making sure it stayed neat and organized. A decent gardener was on her list of people to hire. “Six months, Maria. Six months and I'm going to run this place. Things will go back to the way they should be.”

“I'll be here to help whenever that happens.” Maria patted her shoulder, the motion motherly and comforting. It made Ella's heart ache in a way she couldn't describe. Even though she was twenty-one years old, she still felt like a lost child sometimes. Maria was closer to a mother for Ella than Delores ever was. “Don't work too hard, Ella. I'll see you tomorrow.”

Ella nodded, watching the older woman turn and head for the employee parking lot hidden behind the inn. She watched for a moment as the rest of the housekeeping day staff laughed and climbed into cars to head home. But not Ella. No, Ella still had more work to do. With a sigh, she kept walking.

The last of the day's warm June sunshine fell on her shoulders, as she stepped nimbly down the carefully tended pathways. Every step reminded her of her father. Jonathon McDaniels had loved tending all the gardens surrounding the inn. As a child, the two of them had planted flower after flower in the summers. The annuals they planted were currently in full bloom, making the memories even closer. The two of them had been happy.

She missed him. He had already been dead for five years, but the ache of his loss still hurt. Things had been good when he was home. Even when he decided to marry Delores, things had been pleasant. And then he died and everything had changed.

Ella shook her head and stopped thinking about the past. She paused next to the red barn and looked out at the lake. The lake was what gave Blue Lake Inn and Resort its name and beauty. The sun was slowly making her way down to the far edge of the shore, pulling up the water like a blanket and turning the sky from blue to orange and slowly to purple. The lake, calm and clear, reflected every color back up.

A soft snort came from inside the barn. With one last glance at the sky, Ella stepped into the barn. The smells of clean hay and warm leather filled her nose. They were comforting smells and she breathed them in deeply. She was technically on her dinner break, but she wasn't hungry enough to eat. Besides, the horses could use an extra grooming so that they would look their best for the high-profile guests.

She turned on the lights, letting the warm yellow glow wash over the small barn. This was one of the few places that her stepmother hadn't tried to change since her father's death. It didn't make sense to remodel a barn, let alone to make it fancier, so Delores had let it be. It was now Ella's place of refuge. A safe place where she could hide from her stepmother's evil glare and just be herself.

Only two horses currently called the space home, despite there being room for many more. When her father was alive, there had been a full-time stable hand. There had also been trail horses for guests to ride in addition to the delicate white carriages used for wedding ceremonies. But that was long ago.

Now, Ella was just glad she had managed to convince her stepmother to keep two snow white geldings to pull the last remaining carriage. The fact that her father had already paid for them and that Ella had made a feed deal with a local farmer had helped, but she was still always afraid her stepmother would sell the two horses without telling her. Luckily, the horse-drawn carriage was a big wedding draw, so she had managed to keep the two horses. Ella secretly suspected that Delores just kept them around as a way to threaten Ella into behaving, but she didn't care. It meant they were still here.

Picking up a brush, she opened the stable door to Captain's stall and stepped inside. A soft whinny from the other side of the wall made her smile. “You'll get your turn next, you big baby,” Ella called to the other gelding. Commander huffed and put his head over the doorway, trying to peer in at her. His insistence made her smile. At least someone was happy to see her.

She started with the curry comb, brushing Captain's muscular shoulders with short, strong circles. Captain closed his big dark eyes and leaned into her, practically purring from the extra attention. She focused her attention on his coat, using the brush as a vent for all her frustration. She lost herself to the motions of the curry comb on Captain's white coat. Here, she could dream and be herself. Here, no one yelled at her or told her that her best wasn't enough.

She was finishing with the curry comb and moving to the hard brush when she noticed Captain's ears perk and his eyes shoot open. He knew that the grooming session wasn't over yet, so the only reason for him to look around was if something interesting was happening.

She looked out the stall door just in time to see someone dart into one of the empty stalls near the doorway. Ella frowned, pushing her hair out of her face with her elbow. People, especially guests, weren't supposed to be in here. Irritation rose in her chest that someone would dare disturb her special place, especially today.

She left Captain in his stall, gripping the hard brush in her hand like a weapon.

“You can't be in here,” she growled, putting her hands on her hips and staring at the man hiding in the darkened stall.