Chapter 1
It was shortly before Layla Holmes graduated high school when her dad called a family meeting that would change their lives forever.
“We need a fresh start,” he announced.
It was easy to tell he was hiding his excitement over something and trying to play it cool. Layla exchanged knowing looks with her two older brothers.
“Kaleb, you have a hard time getting work during the off season,” their dad continued, speaking to his middle kid before addressing his oldest, then youngest, respectively. “Landon, you just got laid off because your company closed its doors, and Layla, you’ll be graduating soon and looking for work.”
He already knew she had no plans to go to college. If one thing could be said about Nathan Holmes, it was that he was the most supportive dad in the world. He’d never pressured any of them into college or a career, letting them choose for themselves.
He would also never kick any of them out, despite Landon being twenty-three, and Kaleb being twenty-one.
Their dad understood how expensive the cost of living was these days, and that it usually required at least two full-time incomes to cover bills.
“But what about you, Dad?” Layla asked. “You’ve been at the same company for years.”
“And I hate it, sweetheart,” he confessed passionately. “I only ever took that job to make your mother happy. Then, I couldn’t leave it when she left us because I had three kids to raise on my own.”
“Oh, Dad, I never knew that,” she said, feeling bad that he’d been stuck at a job he hated for so long.
“I know, honey because it's my job to ensure you don’t do any of the worrying,” he said. “But you’re all old enough now to hear the truth.”
“So, what’s this fresh start you’re talking about, then, Dad?” Landon asked. “We can see you have a plan brewing.”
Their dad flashed a brilliant grin and pulled out a folded page from his back pocket. It looked like something he’d printed off the computer.
“There’s an island resort in the South Pacific called Merriment, and they’re looking for a family to fill in a variety of job positions,” he revealed. “They need an IT Tech, Lan and Kaleb, they have openings for Certified Diving and Scuba Instructors. Layla, there’s a few things here you might like, but I thought the one you’d be most interested in is working for the Pet Daycare.”
Layla perked up, her eyes widening. “They really have that?”
Her dad nodded. “That’s what it says,” he confirmed, pointing at the page. “And they’re also looking for a supervisor in their accounting department, which would be a perfect fit for me. I’m too old to learn a new trade, but it’s not the work I mind so much, as the business I’m working for. I imagine working at a resort would be different enough to feel like an adventure.”
He paused to look at them, trying to judge their reactions. For the most part, they were letting it all sink in, imagining the possibilities.
“The best part is that our room and board is covered, so we’ll never have to worry about paying rent or mortgage. All our money can go toward other things,” their dad added. “I’m pretty sure that’s why they require a family. I think we have to share a house, but we’re already used to that, right?”
“Yeah,” Layla answered, grinning at her brothers. “I don’t know, guys, I think it sounds kind of exciting, don’t you? Living at an island resort? We’d be on vacation every day of the year.”
“I’d never have to worry about there being an off-season,” Kaleb said.
“And just think of all the bikinis,” Landon said with a wolfish grin.
When Kaleb matched it, Layla sighed and shook her head. “Perverts.”
“Yeah, perverts,” their dad seconded. All three of them looked at him with bland expressions. “What? Okay, fine, I’ll be looking at the bikinis, too. I’m divorced, not dead.”
Layla just chuckled. She knew her dad had tried dating off and on over the years since their mom left. But more than once, he’d declared there was no way in hell he’d ever get married again.
Unfortunately, most women his age were looking for that, so he wasn’t doing well in the romance department.
Maybe he would have better luck at an island resort. Layla might be biased and a total daddy’s girl, but she’d always thought her dad was quite the catch.
Not only was he handsome and loyal with a good paying job, but he was fit and very active. He loved the outdoors, and had great taste in music.
Okay, so he’d instilled his love for classic rock in all of his children, but Layla could hardly complain about that. She was named after Eric Clapton’s biggest hit, after all.
Being raised with all men, she was a bit of a wild child. Which is probably why college had never appealed to her. Layla loved nature, animals, and doing all the outdoorsy things her dad and brothers enjoyed. They’d always gone camping and hiking, or rented a boat with jet skis for fun on the lake.
Kaleb had started taking her snorkeling and scuba diving when she was only fourteen. That was the beginning of his love for the sport, which had led to him becoming a certified instructor.
He wanted to open his own scuba shop, but where they lived, there was a definite off season. He would do really well from Spring Break through September, then it would slow to nothing for the rest of the year.
“So, does that mean we’re really doing this?” Kaleb asked.
“I don’t know,” their dad replied. “Are we?”
“I think we should,” Landon said.
“Me, too,” Layla agreed, excited that she wasn’t the only one who felt that way. “Kaleb?”
“Hell yeah, I’m in,” he answered.
“Well.” Their dad beamed, a little surprised they were all in agreement. “I guess we better get our asses in gear to prepare. First things first, we’ll need to actually apply for these jobs to make sure we can even go.”
“All right, let’s get started,” Landon said, standing to take the paper from him and give it a look.
Two months and one week later, Layla and her family were arriving on Merriment Island. They’d had to fly to Tonga first, then hire a boat to take them to the island because it was in the middle of nowhere.
Apparently, the resort was only large enough to have an air strip for small commuter planes, but with all their luggage, they’d been forced to take the boat option, instead.
As they approached the island at long last, Layla and her family had permanent grins on their faces as they marveled at the beauty awaiting them.
They pointed at the pristine, modern resort visible in the distance from the dock and all the other buildings surrounded by lush greens and bright, tropical flowers. Pale sandy beaches were cradled by the azure waters and shaded by towering palm trees.
“This is going to be the best life ever,” Kaleb said, his words almost swallowed up by the wind and sound of the boat.
Layla smiled brighter and leaned against his shoulder, believing he was right.
They were met at the dock by the Human Resources Manager, Andrea Haines, whom they’d all interviewed with via video conference calls for their respective positions.
“Holmes Family, so great to finally meet you in person,” she greeted with a bright smile. She was a very pretty natural redhead, though it wasn’t very dark, with blue eyes. “I hope your trip went well.”
“Long, but yes, it was good,” Layla’s dad answered, as they all shook her hand in turn.
“Great, well, I know you’re probably exhausted, so let’s get you settled in. Tomorrow morning, we can meet up so I can show you around the resort and where you’ll be working.”
“Sounds good,” he accepted.
Andrea had a small van, much like an airline’s transit, with the resort’s logo on the side. The porter helped load all their luggage into it, then Andrea drove them to the residential area of the island for the year-round staff.
It was quite a large suburb filled with bungalow-style cottages, each with a decent yard. It really wasn’t much different from any other suburban neighborhood, except for the architecture.
“We employee quite a lot of people, but some of these homes are empty and available to rent for families or couples who want to stay longer than thirty-days,” Andrea informed them.
She slowed the van and pulled into the driveway of a single-story cottage. There were flowering bushes under the front windows to the left of the door, and a cluster of small palm trees near the corner. A fence stood at either end of the house, blocking their view of the backyard, though the side closest to the driveway had a gate for outdoor access.
Layla helped her dad and brothers gather their luggage from the van, as Andrea unlocked the front door to let them inside.
“As you can see, it’s fully furnished, so you won’t have to worry about going without,” she said. “And if you ever wanted to buy your own furniture and décor, all you have to do is let us know and we’ll remove these pieces free of charge to place in our storage facility.”
“Right on,” Landon remarked.
They all took in the cozy living room, which was just left of the door. There was a dining room straight ahead with a four person table and a kitchen with a small island counter tucked just behind the hallway wall to the left of it.
The light coming through the curtains in the back wall indicated some kind of sliding glass door or other entrance to the backyard. A short hallway cut off to the right and left from the main rooms.
“We weren’t sure about your family’s dynamics, so this is the largest employee cottage we have available. It’s three bedrooms,” Andrea continued. “One and three quarter baths. The three-quarter is off the master, which is just down the hall to the left. The full bath is down this hall to the right with the other two bedrooms.”
“Guess we’re back to sharing a room,” Kaleb said to Landon.
Andrea gave them a funny look. “No, it has three bedrooms,” she repeated.
“Yeah, but there are four of us,” Landon pointed out.
Andrea’s expression only grew more puzzled and she pointed at Layla. “She doesn’t sleep with one of you?”
Layla choked. “That’s my dad and brothers,” she said.
The woman’s expression fell and her cheeks paled. “Oh, dear.”
“Oh, dear, what?” Their dad asked.
Andrea rubbed her hands and took a deep breath before it was released again as a heavy sigh.
“I don’t know how to say this, but we thought you understood exactly what Merriment Island Resort was all about. It’s a private resort for members who are in family dynamics and we have a strict policy that all our employees must also be members of that unique community, so our guests feel completely at ease here.”
“What do mean by ‘family dynamics?’” Their dad asked, confused. “We are a family.”
“Uh, dad,” Landon said hesitantly, looking at him with eyes a little wider than normal. “I think she means romantically.”
“That’s exactly what I mean,” Andrea confirmed. “We don’t like using the word incest because of its negative connotations. But by the very definition, we are all involved in incestuous relationships with family members and so are our guests. This is one of the few places in the world, where they can go on vacation without having to worry about hiding their relationships in public.”
“Uhhhh,” their dad dragged out, utterly dumbfounded.
“And by that response, I’m going to assume that none of you are in a romantic relationship with each other,” Andrea said.
“No,” he said slowly. “Shit.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Look, I’m really sorry. I have no idea how you found our job postings. We only advertise on certain websites that are designed for our specific community.”
“I... it just popped up in a sidebar or something,” their dad fumbled.
Andrea glanced at them, having a hard time fighting her smile. “Well, then it seems someone was searching one of our websites at some point out of curiosity,” she said as delicately as she could before her smile faded. “But I’m afraid we’re going to have to withdraw our offer for the job positions, Mr. Holmes. I’m really, truly sorry. I wish I could still let you be here. Heaven knows I need those positions filled, but I have to think about our guests first.”
“It was me,” Landon blurted.
“Lan?” their dad questioned.
“Look, Dad, I’m sorry, but we can’t leave,” he said quickly. “We have nothing to go back to. We have no jobs, we sold most of our belongings, all our cars, and the house is already in the process of being sold. Where would we live? Besides, I was on an incest porn site, which means you were too if you saw the ad.”
Their dad’s face flushed red, his mouth working for a moment before he looked at Andrea.
“I understand your position, but would it be possible to let us stay here for the night so we can discuss this?” he asked.
“I would be more than happy to allow that, Mr. Holmes,” she answered with hope sparking in her eyes. “I’m not one for pushing my lifestyle on others, but I’m desperate enough to wait if there’s a chance this will work our for all of us.”
Their dad seemed unsure of how to respond to that exactly. “We’ll let you know in the morning,” he said.
“Okay,” Andrea agreed amicably. “I’ll see you at eight o’clock.”
