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Authors: Kathi Daley
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at the place before I made my recommendations. Do you happen to know if the cabins are locked?”
“They are. Just let me get the keys and I’ll show you around.”
“That’d be mighty nice of you,” he said with a drawl. “Are you enjoying island life so far?”
All three dogs wandered over to check out the visitor. Echo stayed by my side, but Trooper and Pumpkin went in for the scratch behind the ears, which Jack seemed to happily provide.
“In spite of the body we discovered in the attic on the day we arrived, I’ve enjoyed my time here very much.”
“I heard you stumbled on old Buck. It’s a shame what happened to him. He was an odd sort, but a nicer guy you wouldn’t find.”
“Odd?” I asked as I opened the side door and let myself into the kitchen, where the keys were located in a cabinet.
“Maybe odd isn’t the right word. The guy was friendlier than most, but at times he appeared to be a bit too friendly, if you know what I mean.”
“Too friendly?” I found the keys we would need and headed back out into the warm sunshine.
I suppose I must have looked as confused as I felt because Jack elaborated. “For example, we had a big scare last summer when Buck struck up a conversation with a four-year-old he came across while he was walking down the street. The carnival was in town and the child was crying because his mom said she was too busy to take him. Buck felt bad for the kid, so he offered to accompany him and even pay for the rides. The problem was that he didn’t think to inform the child’s mother of his intention. When she went outside to look for her son and couldn’t find him, she thought he’d been kidnapped. Luckily, he was found safe and sound at the carnival with Buck, but only after half the island had dropped everything to look for him.”
“Yikes.”
“Yikes is right. The woman was a visitor and wanted to charge Buck with kidnapping, but Deputy Savage managed to talk her out of it. He also had a long talk with Buck, who seemed to understand what he’d done wrong. At least he hadn’t taken off with any more kids that I know of since.”
I would die if Ashley or Gracie disappeared, but I could see where a simple man would think he was doing a nice thing by taking the child to the carnival when his mother couldn’t.
“It seems the locals have all pitched in to take care of Buck.”
“That’s a true statement. We like to take care of our own around here, and Buck was one of us, no matter his limitations. Garrett too. That’s why I want to be sure we come up with a plan that will help ensure that Garrett’s needs concerning the resort are met to the best of our abilities.”
I was liking this guy more and more. It turned out that not only was Jack Long very good-looking but he was knowledgeable about the renovation processes, and funny and friendly to boot.
“The main problem I see is to make the necessary repairs that will attract a buyer who’ll be interested in maintaining the integrity of the resort without spending so much on the project that any interested party would never be able to afford the price Garrett would need to charge to recover his investment.”
“Do you have any idea why Garrett let the property slide into such a state of disrepair?” I asked.
“I think the decay occurred over time. When you’re around something every day you tend not to notice the fact that the floors need refinishing or the exterior of the cabins have begun to deteriorate. Garrett had medical issues even before his stroke and the maintenance must have gotten to be too much for him. He should have hired someone to keep the place up years ago, but he’s always been a hands-on sort of guy who probably convinced himself that just because he wasn’t up to a big project one year he might be the next, so he put it on the back burner.”
I looked around at everything I could see. The property itself was spectacular, but Jack was correct that the structures were going to
“They are. Just let me get the keys and I’ll show you around.”
“That’d be mighty nice of you,” he said with a drawl. “Are you enjoying island life so far?”
All three dogs wandered over to check out the visitor. Echo stayed by my side, but Trooper and Pumpkin went in for the scratch behind the ears, which Jack seemed to happily provide.
“In spite of the body we discovered in the attic on the day we arrived, I’ve enjoyed my time here very much.”
“I heard you stumbled on old Buck. It’s a shame what happened to him. He was an odd sort, but a nicer guy you wouldn’t find.”
“Odd?” I asked as I opened the side door and let myself into the kitchen, where the keys were located in a cabinet.
“Maybe odd isn’t the right word. The guy was friendlier than most, but at times he appeared to be a bit too friendly, if you know what I mean.”
“Too friendly?” I found the keys we would need and headed back out into the warm sunshine.
I suppose I must have looked as confused as I felt because Jack elaborated. “For example, we had a big scare last summer when Buck struck up a conversation with a four-year-old he came across while he was walking down the street. The carnival was in town and the child was crying because his mom said she was too busy to take him. Buck felt bad for the kid, so he offered to accompany him and even pay for the rides. The problem was that he didn’t think to inform the child’s mother of his intention. When she went outside to look for her son and couldn’t find him, she thought he’d been kidnapped. Luckily, he was found safe and sound at the carnival with Buck, but only after half the island had dropped everything to look for him.”
“Yikes.”
“Yikes is right. The woman was a visitor and wanted to charge Buck with kidnapping, but Deputy Savage managed to talk her out of it. He also had a long talk with Buck, who seemed to understand what he’d done wrong. At least he hadn’t taken off with any more kids that I know of since.”
I would die if Ashley or Gracie disappeared, but I could see where a simple man would think he was doing a nice thing by taking the child to the carnival when his mother couldn’t.
“It seems the locals have all pitched in to take care of Buck.”
“That’s a true statement. We like to take care of our own around here, and Buck was one of us, no matter his limitations. Garrett too. That’s why I want to be sure we come up with a plan that will help ensure that Garrett’s needs concerning the resort are met to the best of our abilities.”
I was liking this guy more and more. It turned out that not only was Jack Long very good-looking but he was knowledgeable about the renovation processes, and funny and friendly to boot.
“The main problem I see is to make the necessary repairs that will attract a buyer who’ll be interested in maintaining the integrity of the resort without spending so much on the project that any interested party would never be able to afford the price Garrett would need to charge to recover his investment.”
“Do you have any idea why Garrett let the property slide into such a state of disrepair?” I asked.
“I think the decay occurred over time. When you’re around something every day you tend not to notice the fact that the floors need refinishing or the exterior of the cabins have begun to deteriorate. Garrett had medical issues even before his stroke and the maintenance must have gotten to be too much for him. He should have hired someone to keep the place up years ago, but he’s always been a hands-on sort of guy who probably convinced himself that just because he wasn’t up to a big project one year he might be the next, so he put it on the back burner.”
I looked around at everything I could see. The property itself was spectacular, but Jack was correct that the structures were going to
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