Island Hope (Wildflower B&B Romance Book 4) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Wildflower B&B Romance Series

  Copyright

  Acknowledgments

  Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  EPILOGUE

  A Love to Treasure: Preview

  Discussion Questions

  Connect with Kimberly Rose Johnson

  Island Hope

  Book Four in the Wildflower B&B Romance Series

  By

  Kimberly Rose Johnson

  Wildflower B&B Romance Series

  Island Refuge

  Island Dreams

  Island Christmas

  Island Hope

  Island Hope

  Published by Mountain Brook Ink

  White Salmon, WA U.S.A.

  All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form without written permission from the publisher.

  The website addresses shown in this book are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of Mountain Brook Ink, nor do we vouch for their content.

  This story is a work of fiction. All characters and events are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible. Public domain.

  © 2016 Kimberly R Johnson

  The Team: Miralee Ferrell, Nikki Wright, Laura Heritage, Kathy Davis.

  Cover Design: Indie Cover Design, Lynnette Bonner Designer.

  Mountain Brook Ink is an inspirational publisher offering fiction you can believe in.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  It has been so much fun writing this series. It's bittersweet to say goodbye to the cast of Wildflower B&B Romance series. But as they say, all good things come to an end. I look forward to writing a new series, Sunriver Dreams, which takes place in one of my favorite places, Sunriver, Oregon.

  Special thanks to everyone who had a hand in making this book what it is. You know who you are, and I appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you!

  DEDICATION

  To Shirley Blanchard. Thanks for the idea to include Easter into this story and for being such an encouragement to me. I appreciate you, my friend.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Derrick Trainor sat in Piper Grayson’s office at the Wildflower Resort Lodge. The view from the window wasn’t great considering that Piper owned the place, but who could complain about sunshine and blue sky, even if she could only see the parking lot? His attention shifted to his boss who sat behind her sleek, glass topped desk, her face twisted with worry. Unease settled on his shoulders.

  “I appreciate all you’ve done at the resort, Derrick, but I need to make some changes.”

  His stomach churned. Was he about to get fired? “I’ve enjoyed working here. What’s changing?”

  “As you know, I’m six months pregnant, but what you don’t know is that I’ve been put on bed rest. Effective immediately you will be the acting manager of Wildflower Resort and Spa. I know we talked about you taking over while I’m on maternity leave, and that you were concerned about the long hours during that time. I hope you can make this work because I’d hate to bring in someone new.”

  His pulse thrummed in his ears. “No, it’s fine. Are you and the baby okay?” He’d begun to make changes at home to accommodate the longer hours he would be working in a few months, but he wasn’t there yet. How would his fifteen-year-old daughter, Alyssa, handle him working sixty-hour weeks?

  “My baby and I are okay, but my blood pressure is too high—has been for a while now.”

  No wonder Piper’s health was at risk. She had too much on her plate. Between dealing with the fire and water damage that ruined twenty rooms at the north end of the building, and the construction of the cabins for phase two of the resort, anyone would have high blood pressure.

  She continued. “I know you will do an exemplary job in my absence.”

  He nodded. Talk about a switch. A minute ago he’d thought he was about to be fired.

  “Knock. Knock.”

  He turned toward the door and spotted a raven-haired woman with pale skin and classical facial features. She was stunning even in a hoodie, ripped jeans, and work boots, which he didn’t find so attractive. She’d turn heads if she made an effort. Maybe she worked in the gardens with Chase, Piper’s husband.

  “Hope.” Piper smiled and stood, though a little slower than usual. “I’d like you to meet Derrick Trainor. He’ll be acting as manager until I return. You will need to run your schedule by him before you start any work, and he’ll check over all work done each day.”

  Hope frowned. “Okay.”

  Derrick shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I’m not following.”

  “Close the door and have a seat, Hope.”

  The woman sat beside him. “Hope Michaels.” She offered her hand. Deep purple nail polish covered her neatly trimmed nails.

  “It’s nice to meet you.” He shook her hand then turned to Piper. That unsettled feeling resurfaced.

  “Hope is the owner of the electrical company I hired to re-wire the section of the building that caught fire last month. Her company will also be doing all the electrical work on the cabins.”

  Hope removed her hoodie revealing arms with several tattoos. He didn’t care for body art, but to each his own, or in this case, her own.

  “Derrick, because of your background in electrical work, I thought it would be fitting for you to oversee this aspect of the project.” Her attention shifted to Hope. “Having a second set of eyes is no reflection on your quality of work, Hope. But after the fire I’d feel more comfortable if Derrick double-checked everything. Chase will be dealing with the rest of the subcontractors and coordinating the timelines.”

  Hope’s face reddened. Clearly she wasn’t happy with Piper’s arrangement. He was an electrician by trade but hadn’t enjoyed it. After doing odd jobs he fell into his position here as assistant manager. He looked from his boss to Hope. The tension in the room was so thick it’d take a chainsaw to cut through.

  “Thanks for stopping in, Hope.”

  The woman stood, but to her credit she didn’t argue with Piper, though he suspected she had a few choice words for his boss. “Take care of yourself, Piper.” She grabbed her hoodie and strode from the room leaving the door open behind her.

  He turned to Piper. “That was awkward.”

  She wore a mischievous grin. “You’ve heard the phrase don’t judge a book by its cover?”

  He nodded.

  “It applies to Hope. She’s a friend, and in spite of what I said, I don’t expect there to be any issues.”

  “Then why am I inspecting her work? You realize an actual inspector will do that?”

  She gave him a look that clearly said he was trying her patience. Time to keep his thoughts to himself. But what exactly was Piper hinting at when she said not to judge a book—or Hope—by her cover? Sure she looked a little rough around the edges, but if his boss had confidence in her abilities, so did he.

  Although he hadn’t been working in the electrical field for several years, he k
ept up to date on everything. He didn’t want to close the door on what he’d spent so much time and money learning to do.

  “Hunt Enterprises, my father’s development company, has used Hope’s company on multiple projects. She does excellent work. I only wish she’d been available to do the job here when we were building. We probably wouldn’t have had that electrical fire last month.”

  This was high praise coming from his boss—but even given her paranoia something didn’t add up. Piper was fair and called things how she saw them whether good or bad, so what was he missing?

  Piper continued to talk, and he focused on her words again. “I’ve arranged for her to stay at Wildflower B&B since we are booked for the summer.”

  His sister managed the B&B. He almost laughed. Jill was as straight-laced as a person could get. Her eyes had probably bugged out when she saw the art on Hope’s arms.

  He tabled the thought for now. He had enough to worry about with the new responsibilities given to him today. “Sounds good. I assume you want me to update you on what’s going on in the day-to-day operations.”

  She shook her head. “As much as I want that, my doctor suggested I allow Chase to filter what information I receive.”

  Whoa. This must be serious. Piper was hands-on. It must be killing her to release control. Besides that, Chase not only took care of the grounds at the resort, he had a flourishing landscape and design business that often took him away from the island.

  “Any questions?”

  “Not right now. If I come up with any may I call you?”

  She shook her head. “Talk to Chase. He’ll stop in every morning and then again in the evenings. If something urgent arises call Chase’s cell phone.”

  Derrick nodded. Things were about to get very interesting.

  ***

  Hope stormed through the lobby and out the automatic sliding glass doors. The nerve! She was a Master Electrician and highly respected in her industry. Why would Piper want a dude with a vague background in electrical work to supervise her? There was nothing worse than a person who knew a little about something and tried to act like they were experts. He would probably get in her way and cause problems. The whole thing was insulting!

  Her phone rang, and she pulled it from her back pocket. “Hope speaking.”

  “It’s Piper. I think I owe you an explanation.”

  “You don’t owe me anything.” The last thing she wanted to do was upset her friend, so she’d keep her thoughts to herself, unless that Derrick guy became a problem.

  “You and I have been friends for years, and I’ve known Derrick for three years. He’s a good man, but he’s lonely. I think the two of you would hit it off.”

  Hope stopped moving. A car beeped its horn. She waved and moved out of the way. “Come again? Are you seriously trying to set me up?”

  “Well . . .”

  “I quit.” Her crew wouldn’t be happy, but she was sure they’d appreciate not having to commute via ferry from the mainland every day. Being single with no children, she preferred to stay close to the project.

  “No! Please, Hope. I need you.”

  “You should have thought of that before you tried to play matchmaker. Does he know what you are up to?”

  “No and don’t you tell him either. I can’t afford to lose him, not with me going on bed rest. I can’t lose you either.”

  This was so unlike Piper. It must be all those hormones from being pregnant causing her to behave like a moron. “Fine. But only because you’ve been a good friend—at least until today. I will do the job and only the job. I will not go out with Derrick, no matter how cute he is.”

  “You think he’s cute?” Her voice rose in pitch.

  Hope waved a finger in the air. “Don’t. It was only an observation.”

  “Okay. I’m sorry.” Disappointment clouded her voice. “Thank you for sticking with the job. But don’t overlook Derrick just because I messed up.”

  “Whatever.” She liked Piper, but the girl was tripping. “I have work to do. Don’t worry about anything here. You’ve assembled a good team, and your resort is in good hands.”

  “I agree. Don’t be a stranger. I’m sure to get sick of myself, and I’ll appreciate the company.”

  Hope grinned and shook her head. She couldn’t stay mad at Piper. “I will stop in sometime soon. Catch you later.” She pocketed the phone. When she arrived on the island she’d sensed it would be a different kind of place to live and work when the manager of Wildflower B&B looked troubled by her tattoos; however, she’d never imagined what Piper had in store.

  She headed to her SUV. There was work to be done, and she would not spend the afternoon daydreaming. She grabbed her tools then headed inside to the north section of the resort. The sprinkler system had done its job, but the water damage was considerable in the affected rooms.

  On her way through the lobby she spotted Derrick standing behind the counter. He had a Ryan Reynolds thing going on. She’d watched The Proposal many times over the years and had always found him attractive. Derrick’s broad shoulders filled out his navy sports jacket and looked very nice, but his clean-cut boy-next-door look wasn’t her thing.

  Why would Piper think they’d hit it off? They were too different. She was a jeans and T-shirt girl, and he was GQ. Okay, she knew how to dress up and had to in her other life, but she much preferred her work clothes.

  He looked her way and caught her staring. She whirled around and double-timed it toward the wing that needed repairs. Her cheeks burned. That would not happen again.

  At six o’clock she called it a day, packed up, and headed to the restaurant kitchen. Looking around for the tall blonde woman Piper had described, Hope immediately spotted Zoe, the head chef, and waved as she approached.

  Zoe grabbed a large brown bag. “You must be Hope. Piper called and gave me your order.”

  “Yes I am.” She reached for her wallet.

  “Your meals are complimentary for as long as you are working here.”

  “Really? Piper didn’t tell me. Well that’s a nice way to end a rough day. Thanks!”

  “Sure. I heard you’re staying at the Wildflower B&B.”

  “I am. Have you been there?”

  Zoe chuckled. “My husband and I own the place. We live in the basement apartment. I’m sure our paths will cross there sooner or later.”

  “Small island.”

  “Yep. Have a nice evening. I need to get back to work.”

  “Okay.” With her dinner bag in one hand and her toolbox in the other, she made her way to the parking lot. She spotted Derrick holding a motorcycle helmet. Well that added another dimension to Mr. GQ. She walked over to him. “You didn’t stop by to check my work.”

  “Didn’t think that was a good idea today.” He winked and slipped on the helmet.

  “That yours?” She looked skeptically at the Indian Chief Classic.

  He straddled the seat. “Yes.”

  “Nice.” She nodded, her curiosity piqued, but she’d never admit it to Piper. “Well, have a good night.”

  “Maybe I’ll see you at the B&B.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “My sister’s the manager, and my daughter is sort of the in-house sitter for guests. She sent me a text a little bit ago about needing to watch a kid this evening.”

  “Oh. Okay. Maybe I’ll see you.” She strode to her SUV struggling to come to terms with this new information. His sister was the uptight manager, and his daughter was old enough to babysit. How could either of those be possible? He didn’t look old enough to have a teen, and he rode a motorcycle. She chuckled. His sister for sure didn’t approve of that.

  Wildflower Island was an interesting place. She was beginning to think she owed Piper a thank you for offering her the job. The people didn’t appear as colorful on the surface as her normal crowd, but one didn’t have to dig deep to see there was more to the people than met the eye.

  Derrick rode past and waved. Her stomach did a little f
lip-flop. She couldn’t go there. He was not her type at all, and he was a dad. She didn’t date dads.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “I’m home,” Derrick called out as he closed the door behind him. “Alyssa?” His daughter always beat him home, but silence greeted him. He tossed his keys onto the table beside the door, slipped off his shoes, and removed his tie. “Alyssa!” He called as he strode down the hall to the right of the entrance that led to the bedrooms.

  “In my room,” she hollered.

  He stopped outside her door. “May I come in?”

  The door swung open, and his spunky daughter grinned up at him. She was as petite as her mother had been. He’d hoped she’d continue to grow, but at fifteen he figured she’d be five foot four for life. “Hi, Dad. Whoa! You look beat. Bad day?”

  “An odd day. We need to talk. Things are going to get challenging for the next several months, and I’m going to need your help. Let me change, then meet me in the kitchen. We can talk while I make dinner.” He continued down the hall but didn’t miss the eye roll.

  “That stuff you make isn’t fit for human consumption. I’m taking cooking at school and have a lot of new recipes to try. How about I start making dinner every night?”

  He paused and tossed a grin over his shoulder. “That’s a great idea, at least for now. We’ll talk more after I change.” He closed the door to his bedroom and sighed. His little girl was growing up. Not that it was a problem. After all, that’s what kids were supposed to do. But was now a good time for him to take on so many hours?

  Alyssa contributed so much already. Ever since Jenna had died four years ago in a car crash, his daughter had practically taken over the daily household chores.

  He strode to his closet, shrugged out of his sports jacket, and in a matter of minutes, he was comfortable in his favorite pair of jeans and a gray T-shirt. He pulled a soft, black, half-zip sweatshirt over his head. Although the weather this spring had been mild, a nip hung in the air after the sun went down.