Peyton let out a sigh and placed the folder back on the desk, her fingers running over them. Two weeks until her first guest, the Swan’s—a young newlywed couple from the suburbs—arrived. And it was a month until the Reynolds’ wedding. In the space of a fortnight, Peyton would decide what her plans were for the hotel by the lake. Weddings at The Spencer-Dayle were what made money. Since it was an hour away from the city, most guests stayed overnight and enjoyed the town.
“I shouldn’t scold you, either. I’m no closer to leaving this place than you. I knew that I’d always have some connection to the hotel. That I would run it when I was older. I just didn’t think that I’d inherit it before high school graduation. For now, I’ll run it my parents’ way. I’ll figure out the rest as I go along. If I don’t run it, then Aunt Brenda and Uncle John will, and I don’t want them doing that.”
Graham approached the desk and leant on it, staring at her. He gave her an unsure smile before sighing.
“Who’d have thought that you and I would be taking on such responsibility at twenty-one? All our friends are partying it up and having real university experiences, being free. Sometimes I’m jealous that I didn’t follow…Krista and attend Deakin with her. Who knows what would have happened to us if I had,” Graham said. He looked down at his hands for a moment before looking up at Peyton.
After stepping around the desk, Peyton placed her hand on his arm and gave him a reassuring squeeze. “Maybe if you had just told her that you liked her, it’d be different.”
Graham let out an unconvincing laugh. “Wouldn’t have helped. She left for Jake. We all know that. And I’m stuck with you, remember?”
Part of being in a small town was that the choices in a romantic partner were always limited. In most cases, partners had chosen themselves before anyone had really made moves. It was just how it had been growing up.
Peyton offered Graham an understanding smile. She knew what it was like to be drawn to and love one person. And how, when they left, it was like nothing made sense, that they were your one true understanding of the world.
“You were too good for her anyway.”
“No,” Graham said with a sad gleam in his eye, “she was too good for me. Her daddy wouldn’t want a farmer dating his daughter.”
Peyton leant on the desk next to him. “Any father would be honoured to have their daughter date a guy like you, Graham. I know just what a guy you can be. You’re every father’s dream.”
When Graham fell silent, Peyton glanced up at him. His dimple deepened as he smiled. No doubt he was enjoying the compliment that she’d just given him. Then she slapped his arm and pushed off the desk.
“And any guy would be lucky to be yours, Peyton.”
Peyton turned away and stared out the window, the shimmer of the water catching her eye. For four years, she’d blamed herself. She’d done something wrong with him all those years ago. Maybe it had been too quick. Maybe he’d regretted being her first and the ‘I love you’ that had slipped from her lips. Their friendship had been ruined by one kiss that had led to the events of his leaving.
The sound of a phone had Peyton spinning. She saw Graham staring at his phone before he sighed and put it back into his pocket. His fingers combed his hair and then started to roll up the sleeves of his long shirt.
“That was the old man. I better get going, Peyton. I promised him that I’d go over the sprinkler system on the eastern part of the farm.” Graham walked over, pulled her in for a quick hug, and whispered, “You’re going to be a great owner of this place, Peyton. I believe in you. Always will,” before he kissed the top of her head.
By the time Peyton had settled in and opened the curtains to all of the rooms, it was just after lunch. The regular staff had been put on holiday leave by her aunt and uncle. They had made plans for this fortnight of the hotel’s closure for years.
Once she had graduated from high school, Peyton had decided that it was time she took the business for herself and applied for business school. Too afraid to leave Daylesford, she had taken online classes instead. Her bachelor was on display in her living room, above the fireplace. She’d been too afraid to leave town, so Graham and the hotel had hosted her small graduation ceremony and party. It was as close to the real ceremony as she could get. It was a day that she didn’t want her aunt and uncle to miss out on. They had made sacrifices for Peyton, and she was determined to never let them down.
Lifting the screen of her MacBook Air, Peyton pressed the power button. As her laptop powered on, she looked over the office that she was sitting in. It had been her father’s. The small, gold clock that her mother had given him for their wedding anniversary sat on the right-hand corner of the wooden desk, and a portrait of Peyton and her parents sat on the left. Reaching over, Peyton picked up the frame and stared at the three of them. She was eight when they had taken that photo by the lake. Her blue eyes mirrored her mother’s, but her light-brown hair mirrored her father’s.