Elena drove her car up the winding mountain road, in and out of the sunlight. More of the trees had grown back since she was home last summer, and more of the blackened trunks had been removed. It was starting to look as it had five years ago, before the McBroom fire. If she had time, she should probably take a weed-whacker to the trails around the cabins, to cut back any poison ivy or stinging nettles overgrowing the paths. The underbrush was quite thick from the extra sunlight, but that made the fire hazard higher this year. She made another mental note to add a warning to the check-in notes in each cabin.
Her parents managed four cabins near Bearclaw, California. They were lucky having a steady income, even though it didn't go far in the expensive resort town.
Elena parked in the narrow extra spot above Thurfield Cabin. A wooden railing separated her from a twenty-foot drop-off. This cabin was not recommended for kids, as noted on the booking site, as the grounds were too steep. The bottom two floors of the three-story house were half buried in the mountain.
A rustic wooden walkway led to the upper entrance. Elena ran her hand on the split-log railing. It was starting to splinter. She'd need to sand down the cut sides, and add a couple coats of lacquer.
Inside the luxurious house, Elena went on a quick tour to take stock. She'd been delayed at the previous cabin and she only had two hours until the next check-in.
Elena was relieved to see the mess wasn't as bad as they feared. Her mom had been worried about the graduation party hosted here last night, but it looked like the tenants had made a good-faith effort to clean up this morning before they left.
Still, there was confetti trapped in the line between the carpet and the walls, a stain of some sort on the den wall that may or may not come off with a Magic Eraser, and the couch - she sniffed again to be sure - smelled like beer. She could remove the cushion covers and throw them in the washing machine, but the other things would have to be cleaned by hand. Hopefully Febreze would handle the smell.
Then there was the normal stuff to be done - bleach wipe the kitchen and bathroom surfaces, also doorknobs and light switches. Vacuum. Swiffer. Windex the patio doors.
Elena turned on a podcast and stuck the earbuds in. She was good at flipping cabins - if she said so herself - and it was a little exhilarating to see what she could do by three o'clock.
She started with the couch first, so the covers would have time to dry and the cushions time to air out. Then she squirted the toilets with cleaner so they could sit for ten minutes, while she Mr. Cleaned the first bathtub. This kind of mad cleaning was like a dance, hitting each beat in the right order to finish on the last note.
Not that she particularly wanted to be cleaning during the first day of her vacation, but she was glad it was in her power to help her dad. He'd worked so hard to help her go to UC Northridge – she was almost done, too – and the least she could do was help him maintain the cabins so he didn't lose the job while he was unable to walk.
Elena made steady progress for an hour and a half when she heard the door open.
A brief moment of panic hit her, before her sister Noa sang out, "Elena, I'm here to help."
Noa stuck her head into the kitchen, where Elena was scrubbing queso off the stove top. Her heart-shaped face looked fresh and beautiful despite having taken care of toddlers all day. "Mom asked me to come by since we had a short day. She said the guest just increased his stay to two weeks."
That was good news. The fewer flips, the more steady the income. And their mom was excited about the group coming to Thurfield this week. The man who made the reservation was a state representative. Her mom was thrilled, though probably not as thrilled as she'd be if he was an actor or other celebrity. Elena just hoped he had no complaints. Her father hadn't been maintaining the cabins too well all spring, and if this politician complained to the owner…
Noa pulled her wavy black hair into a ponytail and wet a sponge in the sink. "I'll finish with that stain on the wall. I know they gross you out." Noa handled unknown fluids in a way Elena could only distantly admire. Literally, distant, because she usually backed away once Noa got going.
The final count down was on, and Elena felt a buzz of adrenaline as she and Noa finished all the last-minute details.
Really, her mom should have scheduled a day between the two groups of guests, because of that party last night, but at least this time it would work out. Noa wrestled the last couch cushion back into its cover, while Elena lit two scented candles and placed them on the polished granite countertop of the wet bar.
Elena and Noa stowed and locked the cleaning supplies under the stairs, and were just getting back to the upper driveway when a sports car pulled up. Elena groaned. She'd hoped the guests wouldn't arrive at the stroke of three. Generally her family tried to be out of the way when customers arrived.
But there was nothing to be done about it now. At least Bearclaw was a casual community, and most visitors appreciated the small-town feel. At any rate, a car was pulling up to the garage now, barely ten feet away, and it would be more than awkward if she and Noa tried to sneak away. Thankfully, Noa had parked further up the road so at least the garage was empty.
Elena waved and smiled. She could see a man and woman in the front of the car, and somebody tall in the backseat.
They paused in front of the garage and the front window rolled down.
"Hello, welcome to Thurfield Cabin," Elena said. "We hope you enjoy your stay. If you have any questions, please let us know."
That was all she was planning to say, unless they had questions right that second. Most people wanted to get settled in on their own.
The driver pushed his sunglasses up into his thick blond hair, and smiled. "Thanks so much. I'm sure we'll be fine."
The woman in the passenger seat leaned forward. "I do have a question. How long does the jacuzzi need to heat up?"
"Not long at all. Start it up and give it twenty minutes or so."
"And where is the extra fridge? Marta wanted to know whether she should bring a cooler for the bar." She added this last to the driver.
He grinned at Elena and Noa. "I guess we do have some questions. Do you mind waiting a moment while I park?"
Elena shrugged as they pulled in. "You can take off," she told Noa. "I'll settle them in."
Noa hugged her. "I'm so glad you're back for a few weeks! See you later."
But before Noa could escape, the man was crossing the wooden walkway to them, his hand outstretched. "Hi, I'm Charles Lee."
Elena shook his hand. "Mr. Lee, we're so happy-"
"Call me Charles. Thanks for meeting us here." His smile was even more dazzling up-close. A good-guy, dimples-all-around kind of smile. Elena could already see why he'd been elected.
He shook hands with Elena and then Noa. "Sisters? A family business, I love that. This is my sister, Caroline."
Caroline had clearly come ready for the jacuzzi that was prominently displayed in the rental ad. She wore a peach bikini and a sheer navy-blue overdress. Her sparkly sandals had a spike heel. When she leaned over the edge of the drop-off to look down, Noa reached to steady her.
"Careful," Noa said cheerfully. "A few of those boards are rotten."
Elena loved Noa dearly, but wow, she had no business sense at all. Did she really need to point out the rotten wood? The last thing they needed was a review saying, "Nice view, too bad the place is falling apart."
Elena smiled briskly. "Let me show you the extra fridge and freezer, then we'll get out of your way."
In the shade of the pine trees, where they stood, it was quite breezy and cool. Caroline shivered in her bikini as she returned her attention to them. "Right. I have several questions. The pictures on the website really didn't make clear exactly how much space there would be for entertaining."
A second man exited the garage slowly. He was closing a laptop with one hand and pulling a plain business suitcase with the other.
Elena couldn't see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but it seemed to her that he didn't even register her and Noa, so completely did he ignore them. He was quite tall, and had the stiffest posture she'd ever seen.
"Which room should I take?" he asked Caroline. "Did you have a preference?"
"Not at all, just take whichever you like."
He turned toward the house without another word.
Caroline continued to talk as she followed him into the house. And Elena followed her, feeling a distinct premonition of difficult times to come.