Family Feud

Shelby had a sudden horrible thought. “You’re not thinking of trying to build a Family Fun Inn here on the island, are you?”

Was this his standard operating procedure? she wondered nervously. To come to a resort as an “observer” while casing the surrounding area like a burglar planning a follow-up sneak attack? She didn’t know, Shelby realized. She knew nothing of how Garrett McGrath and his ever-successful Family Fun Inns broke into a new market. Her lack of knowledge suddenly seemed a dangerous oversight.

“Where did that non sequitur come from?” Garrett asked, amused. “Oh, wait, let me guess. You were giving my T-shirt the evil eye.... It naturally follows that your thoughts would jump from tacky T-shirt stands to Family Fun Inns.”

“The presence of a Family Fun Inn would devalue Halford House, perhaps even leading to a similar crisis which befell the Blue Springs Resort,” Paul Whitley said in alarm. “When the masses descend, they demand their usual prole vacation trappings—the junk food and souvenir places, the water slides and miniature golf.” He shuddered, as if discussing a particularly gory mass murder.

“I seem to be experiencing a case of déjà vu,” Garrett said dryly. “I had this same conversation with Shelby earlier this morning. Don’t you high-end types talk about anything else? How about the weather? Or the local ball club?”

“You didn’t answer my question, Garrett,” Shelby pressed, anxiety gnawing at her. “Are you planning to put a Family Fun Inn here on Port Key?”

He liked the sound of his name on her lips, Garrett decided. This was the first time she’d addressed him as such and it pleased him that she was beginning to think of him on a first-name basis, though he doubted that she was aware of it herself.

His lips quirked. “No, Shelby, I promise I am not planning to put a Family Fun Inn anywhere near Port Key or Halford House.”

It was a vow he could make with a clear conscience. He and Art Halford had signed the sale papers at lunch. He now owned Halford House. There was no way he was going to bring in a Family Fun Inn to compete with his own property.

“I wish I could believe you,” Shelby murmured worriedly.

“I’ll provide you with a sworn affidavit signed in blood, if you’d like. I, Garrett McGrath, do solemnly swear to keep Port Key free from Family Fun.”

“Gentleman’s word of honor?” Paul Whitley suggested, offering his hand to shake.

Garrett shook his hand. It would have been churlish not to. But Whitley still irritated him. “What’s Halford House to you, Whitley? You never did get around to telling me.”

“Paul is going to be my assistant, my right-hand man, so to speak, when my father retires,” Shelby hastily replied.

Couldn’t the man speak for himself? Garrett was tempted to ask. He didn’t, though. Shelby would probably answer for him again. His respect for Whitley plummeted further.

“And when is your father planning to retire, Shelby?” Garrett asked curiously, his eyes gleaming. He knew the answer, of course. But what fiction had Halford told his daughter? This should be interesting; old Art had proven himself a creative liar.

Shelby and Paul exchanged uncomfortable glances. “We don’t know the exact date of my father’s retirement,” she confessed reluctantly. “But it will be soon, Mother assured me. She and Dad want to move to Arizona. We have relatives out there.”

“Your father’s brother Hal, his wife Hillary, and their loafer parasite of a son who wanted no part of a career in Halford House,” Garrett added knowledgeably. “Your dad has mentioned them.”

Arthur Halford had ranted on and on about his “idiot nephew,” blaming his indolent lack of interest in the business as the reason for the sale of Halford House. Garrett stared at Shelby, who currently looked the part of the quintessential business executive in her no-nonsense gray suit, cheerless beige blouse buttoned to the neck, and sensible gray pumps. She was even wearing hose, no matter that the temperature was in the high eighties and stickily humid. Her hair was pulled back tightly into an uninviting, untouchable chignon.