Howl at the Loon (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 6) Read online

  As she got closer, two large structures came into view. They were surrounded by multiple smaller cabins that faced the lake. One of the large buildings looked like a meeting center or dining hall. The other looked to be the lodge where the guest rooms were located. Darrell’s comparison to the resort in Dirty Dancing was even farther off than she had believed earlier. But even though the buildings looked nothing like the opulent stone edifices in the movie, their location on the lake was jaw-dropping. What a view!

  Robin parked the car at the lodge building in front of a crooked sign that said “Lobby.” The roof of the wooden structure had an odd tilt, and the steps up to the front door were a little worrisome as well, given that the aged wooden stairs had a definite sag in the middle. Gathering her purse from the passenger seat, she got out and walked up to the steps. She gingerly placed her foot on the bottom step, which seemed to hold her weight. She continued up to the wraparound porch and the old boards creaked under her feet as she crossed the weathered decking to the front door. Perhaps maintenance wasn’t Uncle Ernie’s strong suit.

  She opened the door and walked into a large open room. The check-in desk and a stairway up to the rooms were on the left. To the right, a massive stone fireplace dominated the space. A number of small figures were displayed on the mantle and a grouping of antique bent-willow chairs and a sofa clustered around it. In front of the sofa, a vintage wooden coffee table sat on a threadbare floral rug. Huge wooden beams ran across the ceiling to the walls, which were made of log, so the room had the atmosphere of an old hunting lodge. On a positive note, there weren’t any dead animals hanging on the walls, so apparently any hunters who had stayed here had taken their prizes away with them.

  Someone with a scratchy male voice was belting out an extremely off-key rendition of “Love Will Keep Us Together” so tunelessly that even the Captain and Tennille might not recognize it. Robin rang the bell on the front desk and the singing stopped abruptly.

  A tall, skinny man with grizzled grayish razor stubble and wild curly silvery hair opened a door behind the desk and thumped his cane on the floor. He raised his bushy white eyebrows at Robin. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Robin Sanders. Are you Mr. Lambert?”

  “Yeah. What’s it to you?”

  “I talked to you the other day. I’m Robin. I work for your nephew Darrell. We’re doing a retreat here for Eagle River.”

  “What?”

  “Eagle River. The catalog company? The one Darrell owns?”

  “Oh yeah. Right. Who are you?”

  Robin gripped the handle of her purse more tightly. The expression on the elderly man’s face was utterly uncomprehending. It was like he’d never heard of her. But she knew she’d talked to him just the other day. She said more slowly, “I’m Robin Sanders. I’m here to get everything set up for the retreat. Remember? The attendees arrive in two days.” Ernie seemed even more confused about the upcoming event than he had on the phone. This was not good.

  “Right. I talked to Myrtle about that.”

  “Who is Myrtle?”

  “My wife.”

  Robin breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe Myrtle was the one who actually ran this place. “Maybe I can talk to her too. But first I need to talk to your chef about the food. You said his name is Chuck?”

  “Chuck?”

  “Yes. You said he’s the cook, right? Is he here?”

  “Oh yeah. No. He isn’t here. I need to give him a call.”

  “You haven’t talked to him?”

  “Nope.”

  Robin’s stomach clenched and she made a dogged effort to keep her expression neutral. “May I please have his number?” What was going on here? She had talked to Ernie more than once. Why didn’t he remember anything about their conversations? Was there something wrong with this guy? She needed to call Darrell. Now. Clearly, her boss did not have all the facts about his uncle or the North Fork Lodge.

  Ernie disappeared into the back room and Robin waited as he crashed around, presumably looking for Chuck’s phone number. With any luck, Ernie would remember what he was doing long enough to find it for her. If they didn’t have food at the retreat, there could be a nasty riot. Robin was only a mediocre cook, and she certainly didn’t have experience cooking for 25 people. She wouldn’t even know where to begin.

  She turned around and leaned her back on the desk. Taking a deep breath, she gazed across the large room, trying not to panic about the situation. A large black vinyl garbage can sat across the room from the desk and a blue tarp stretched from the ceiling to the garbage can. What was that for? Assuming Robin was able to resolve the food situation, she’d have to remember to investigate that bizarre set-up. Having a large trash receptacle in the room didn’t exactly enhance the decor. Rustic was one thing. Proper refuse disposal was another.

  The door to the back room opened again and Ernie came out waving a piece of paper. “I asked Myrtle about it, and I did talk to Chuck! I forgot. Here’s his number.”

  Robin turned to face him and took the piece of paper he proffered. “Thank you. You told me that I would be staying in the Pine Cone cabin. I’d like to check in now, if that’s okay. I need to make some urgent calls.”

  Ernie pointed to the phone on the desk. “This building’s the only one wired for telephone. You’ll have to use this one here. The phone in the back is my private line. You can’t use that though. It’s just for me and Myrtle.”

  No phone in the rooms? The attendees were going to love that. Robin sucked in another long breath, pausing to fill her lungs before responding. “All right. Could you give me the key to my cabin? I’ll drop off my things and then come back here and call Chuck. I need to confer with him about the menu as soon as possible.”

  Ernie bent down and rummaged around behind the desk. “Here ya go. It’s the first cabin down there on the left. It’s a duplex and you’re in the left one.” He handed her the rusty skeleton key. “The door doesn’t work that great. You gotta slam it hard to get it to close all the way. Otherwise, you’ll have a pretty drafty night.”

  “Thank you.” Robin took the key and left the building, glancing at the garbage can as she left. Was it there because the roof leaked? That was a depressing notion, particularly given the size of the garbage can. Was it full of water?

  The whole place seemed to be dusty and decomposing. It was like the wood was opting to return to the land rather than holding up the various structures on the property. Robin needed a moment alone to gather her thoughts. Then she needed to call Darrell and tell him what was going on. Maybe she could stop this whole thing before it went any further. There had to be another place they could hold the retreat. Both Ernie and this lodge seemed to have some serious issues.

  Robin drove her car over to Pine Cone 1 and parked. She got out and turned to look out at the lake, which was a stunning deep blue. The sun was streaming through the clouds, hitting the water and causing it to sparkle as if tiny diamonds were scattered on the surface. The lake was so beautiful and pristine, it almost didn’t look real. Maybe some of those brochure photos weren’t retouched after all. Sitting and staring out at that lovely water would be so much more relaxing than dealing with the ugly details of this disastrous retreat. Oh well. Maybe later.

  Turning back to the car, Robin grabbed her suitcase and carried it to the door. The key didn’t want to go into the lock, but after wrestling with it, she finally got the door open, tripping over her suitcase and falling into the darkened room.

  A whoosh of dust hit her nose and Robin sneezed loudly, breaking the stillness of the cabin. When was the last time someone had walked into this room? And on a related note, when was the last time someone had stayed at the North Fork at all? The entire property seemed to have been utterly abandoned. The operation was definitely not a going concern. Robin opened the curtains and sunlight streamed through the dust motes into the room.

  At one time, the cabin had probably been cute and charming. That time was evidently long ago. Now the bed sporte
d a faded plaid bedspread that sank down into a large crater in the middle. The mattress had undoubtedly seen better days. Maybe back when the brochure photograph was taken.

  Robin bent to take a closer look at the bed before placing her suitcase on it. If something was living inside that mattress, Robin was absolutely going to scream like a little baby. She pulled down the covers, but nothing leaped out. Well, that was something, but the idea of actually sleeping on the bed was revolting. When was the last time those sheets had been washed? 1989?

  Robin stood up again and straightened her shoulders. This was absurd. She was going to march back to the lodge, call Darrell, and tell him they had a big problem. No retreat of any kind was going to happen here if she had anything to say about it.

  After fighting with the door and locking the cabin again, she walked back up to the lodge building. Ernie was nowhere to be found, which was a relief in some ways. She walked behind the desk and sat in the creaky wooden rolling chair. The harvest-gold phone had a rotary dial. Wow. When was the last time she’d seen one of those? She picked up the receiver and held it to her ear. At least it had a dial tone. Score one for telecommunications. Twirling the dial, she slowly called the number for Eagle River and asked for Darrell. After a long delay, he finally came on the line.

  “Sorry, I was in a meeting. How’s Alpine Grove?”

  Robin cleared her throat. He wasn’t going to like what she had to say. “Well, I’m sorry to say, we have a little issue with the lodge. Have you been here lately?”

  “Nope. I heard through the grapevine that Ernie has been having some financial problems. That’s why I wanted to do the retreat there. Ernie needs the cash.”

  “Well, I don’t think anyone has stayed here in quite a while. I’m afraid the North Fork is in terrible shape. We can’t do the retreat here. I know it’s late to be deciding this, but it’s not going to work.”

  Darrell paused and Robin could imagine the irritated look on his face. He finally said, “You’ll make it work.”

  “I don’t see how.” Robin leaned back and covered her mouth to suppress a gasp as the wood creaked and the chair wobbled precipitously. Oops.

  “You’ll figure it out. I just heard from Brett and he’s on his way down there. And we’ve rented a couple of vans to drive all the customer-service folks from the airport. It’s happening. You’re going to make it happen.”

  “Mr. Lambert, I don’t think you understand. I don’t know what to do. I don’t think there have been any guests here in an extremely long time. Years maybe. The buildings…everything…it’s a mess. Have you spoken to Ernie recently? I think he may have, well, some memory problems. Should I talk to Myrtle instead? I got the impression from him that she might know more about the operations of the lodge.”

  “Not anymore. Aunt Myrtle has been dead for five years.”

  “What?” Robin sat up in the chair, pitching it forward. “Ernie said he talked to her.”

  “Yeah, well, he does that. As long as Myrtle doesn’t say anything back, it’s okay.”

  “Mr. Lambert, I’m sorry, but that is not funny.” The tightness in her chest increased. Son of a nutcracker! Ernie was crazy as a loon. What was she supposed to do now?

  “Robin, I’ve got to go into a meeting now. I’m trusting you. Make it work. Alec should be there in a few hours, and I’m sure he’ll help. Be sure to keep Brett happy too. He’s doing me a favor here.”

  Robin said goodbye and carefully placed the receiver back in the cradle. It would be a miracle if she didn’t get fired after this retreat. At the very least, every person in the call center was soon going to hate her. She sighed and picked up the phone again to call Chuck about the food situation. Clearly, Ernie had no housekeeping staff. Anywhere. How was she supposed to clean 25 rooms in less than two days? She certainly didn’t sign up for that. Robin went to great lengths to avoid cleaning her apartment except for in dire emergencies, like when people threatened to come over. The idea of cleaning an entire lodge was exhausting. On the other hand, she was definitely not going to sleep on those sheets in the Pine Cone cabin. No way. Even if she did nothing else, those sheets had to be washed before everyone got here.

  A few hours later, Robin had talked to Chuck and found the laundry facilities, so she could begin the tedious task of stripping the beds and washing the sheets in all the rooms, starting with the ones in her cabin. She had practically collapsed with relief when Chuck told her that he actually did know about the upcoming retreat and that he would be bringing food over in preparation for it.

  Ernie still was MIA, so Robin had gone behind the desk to get the keys to the various cabins so she could round up all the dusty sheets. Even though there wasn’t much she would want to steal, it was strange that he’d completely vanished, leaving her here alone. Although she didn’t think she looked like a hardened criminal, it was still odd.

  At least the weather was nice. The only thing worse than having to do a zillion loads of laundry would be having to drag stacks of sheets through the rain. She was like Snow White with all the little birds in the forest chirping merrily as she dealt with her menial tasks.

  It was actually peaceful out here by herself. After Alec and Brett, the team-building guy, showed up, all this tranquility would undoubtedly come to an abrupt end, so Robin wanted to enjoy it while she could.

  Later that afternoon Robin was resting in the old wooden chair at the front desk. She had just finished putting newly laundered sheets back on some of the beds in the rooms upstairs. Making beds was one of her least-favorite tasks on the long list of housekeeping tasks she loathed. She didn’t even make her own bed at home. What was the point? As soon as you go to bed, you’re just going to mess it up again.

  A large, burly man with a graying crew cut walked in and strode toward Robin. He smiled at her, revealing a gap where a lower incisor should have been. The missing tooth made his grin seem somewhat sinister, even though it obviously wasn’t intentional.

  Robin stood up and smiled politely. “Are you Chuck?”

  “Yup. You must be Robin. Where’d Ernie get off to?”

  “I’m not sure.” It would be nice if he came back someday.

  Chuck gestured toward the door. “He probably went out in his little boat. The sun is out, so he might be fishing.”

  “Isn’t it a bit early in the year for that?”

  “He doesn’t actually catch anything, as far as I know. I asked him about fish for dinner once and he said he does catch and release. His description made it sound like he doesn’t have to do much releasing, though. Mostly he sits out there and floats around, talking to himself. Since Myrtle died, he spends a lot of time out there on the water.”

  “Oh.” Robin wasn’t sure what to say. “I was sorry to hear about his wife.”

  “She was a nice lady. This place hasn’t been the same since she died. People say the curse got her in the end.”

  “Curse?”

  Chuck nodded. “Yeah. Didn’t anyone tell you? A woman died here in the twenties and there’s been stories forever that this place is haunted. Myrtle loved the legend and really played it up for a while. It was a great gimmick, and they had the best haunted house here for years. Hay rides and pumpkin carving. All kinds of Halloween stuff, and kids would come for miles around to get candy and get scared. My kids used to love it.”

  Robin glanced at the room beyond. It was all too easy to imagine it decked out for Halloween. They wouldn’t have to put up those fake cobwebs, since there were plenty of the real thing available. “I’m from Portland, Oregon, so I don’t know much about local history.”

  “Well, it’s one of those stories that’s probably been exaggerated over the years, but everyone who grew up in Alpine Grove knows about Julia, the ghost of the North Fork Lodge.”

  “There’s a ghost named Julia here?”

  “Well, that’s what they say. Apparently, the Lambert family bought this land back in the twenties and there was nothing but a hunting cabin here. Back then, Aaro
n Lambert made a ton of money in mining and built a big house on the lake for his wife Julia. They had big parties here and did the whole Roaring-Twenties thing. They had a bunch of kids, but I guess one of the boys drowned in the lake. After losing her little boy, Julia went crazy with grief and her hair turned snow white. Then a fire burned down part of the house where the ballroom was and she died in the fire. Some people say she went completely mad and started the fire herself, but no one knows for sure.”

  “That is quite a story.” Given Robin’s recent interactions with Ernie, perhaps insanity ran in the family.

  “Anyway, the place sat abandoned for a few years during the Depression, then one of Julia’s kids tore down the rest of the house and built the lodge. It’s been in the family ever since, and some people who stayed here claim to have met the ghost of Julia Lambert. They say she loved her home so much that she never left. Her spirit has a habit of interfering with hotel employees and guests. Ernie would probably be the first to tell you this place has always had trouble keeping staff.

  “I haven’t seen anyone else since I arrived.” Certainly no housekeeping staff, that was for sure.

  “Yeah, I think Ernie has given up on the place now. His heart’s not in it anymore, I don’t think. But I do know a few folks who’ve worked here over the years. The mom of one of my buddies did housekeeping for a little while. It was probably back in 1979 or so when she told us the story. It scared the crap outta me and Brian when she told us.”

  “Do you think she was just teasing you?”

  “Maybe. But I doubt it. She wasn’t that kind of lady. One night, she had to work late cleaning because a big group was coming here. She looked up and there’s this translucent woman with flowing white hair wearing a white dress standing near that fireplace.”