“And what if you and James don’t come to an agreement?”
“Then I’ll figure something out,” he said as if there would be a simple solution. He obviously underestimated his uncle’s problems. Before I could burst his bubble, Dane pulled me tight against his body and combed his fingers through my hair. “Brook, I’m not sure how this is all going to play out, but I need you to believe that it will. I’m trying really fucking hard here to convince myself the universe wouldn’t be so cruel as to dump all of this in my lap just to yank it out from under me. But there will be times I feel like it’s a lost cause, and I’m going to need you in my corner when that happens.”
“Always,” I promised him. Everyone who knew me teased me for being an eternal optimist, and now was the time to prove them all right.
Chapter 13
(Dane)
JAMES GLARED at us as we descended the staircase into the lobby. There was a family in the library, parents slathering sunscreen on the kids before they headed down to the beach. I prayed they’d take their time so we could avoid an argument. Wanting to show James I wasn’t walking away from the inn, I leaned down to kiss Brook’s cheek. It wasn’t enough, but it was all I could do since he was already over an hour late for work. Well, James could kiss my ass if he wanted to get pissed at Brook, because this was my place too, and I was all for Brook being tardy one time since it’d been my fault.
“Nice of you to show up, Brook,” James greeted him through gritted teeth. After our lunch yesterday and Brook’s revelations about James’s visitors, I was seeing my uncle in a new light. I didn’t much care for the unfiltered view of him. “Dane, do you have a moment?”
I swallowed hard, feeling as if I was being called into the principal’s office. I’d promised Brook I’d find a way to keep the inn safe, to turn it into a place for us to call our own, but I couldn’t imagine James backing down any easier than I would. If Brook was right, he needed a cash injection, quick. And fuck him very much, because I couldn’t help but think how much worse this would’ve been had Dad already been out of prison and down here. Would he have gotten Dad messed up in his shit, which would’ve led to him being locked up again? Well, again, fuck him very much, because I wasn’t going to let anyone steal any more time I had with my father.
“Yeah, I’ll be right there. Going to grab some breakfast first,” I told him as I detoured to the breakfast room.
“That food is for the guests,” he scolded me.
“And until the paperwork is finalized, I’m here as a guest,” I countered, feeling mighty smug. Speaking of which, I needed to find an attorney of my own—like, yesterday—so James couldn’t fuck me any more than he already was. “Besides, Brook’s going to be throwing everything out in twenty minutes. Might as well throw some of it into my stomach.”
“Just hurry,” James said in a huff before disappearing into his office.
Brook followed me into the breakfast room. As soon as he confirmed the room was empty, he pulled me into a corner hidden from the view of anyone in the lobby.
“Try to not piss him off today,” he warned me.
I pressed Brook against the wall, loving the way his hips instinctively arched toward me. I widened my stance, bringing us closer in height before leaning in to kiss him. Brook whimpered against my lips, opening them with a sigh as my tongue traced the seam. We shouldn’t be doing this here. One kiss with him was never enough, but as I’d pointed out to James, breakfast was served for another twenty minutes, meaning anyone could walk in on us. I pulled away, smiling when Brook groaned. Unlike the casual fucks of my past, there was never any guessing what Brook was thinking.
“If he didn’t want me to challenge him, maybe he shouldn’t have gotten himself into a position that could fuck all of us,” I pointed out. “But I promise, I’ll go in there and be a mature adult. Whether or not he can see my point of view is out of my control. But I made you a promise and I intend to keep it. Not right away, but soon, I’m looking forward to both of us calling the manager’s suite home.”
It was yet another huge promise I couldn’t bring myself to regret making. When it came to Brook, I was coming to realize I would happily promise him the moon and stars if that’s what he wanted. He’d allowed me back in this morning, given me the opportunity to explain myself, and he’d forgiven me. That earned him whatever he wanted, and while I wouldn’t tell him, I already knew what I was going to do to prove to him that Bird Island Inn was as much his as it was mine, no matter whose name was on the deed. I mentally added another call to the to-do list for the day before turning my attention back to my boyfriend, who seemed on the verge of a breakdown.
I smoothed my hand down his face and rubbed my thumb back and forth across his cheek. “Like I said, I don’t mean today, but I want you to know where I see us heading. You’re not a summer romance for me. You’re the real deal. And I fucked up last night because what I should’ve said was that I love you.”
“You do?” His eyes widened as he stared at me.
Was it really so hard to believe I was capable of falling in love with him? Okay, so maybe it was, given the fact I’d denied what I felt for him when I was on the phone with Jen, but that was different. Not wanting to admit it to her and not acknowledging between us what Brook meant to me were two very different things.
“Yeah, I do. I wish it hadn’t taken insulting you and pushing you away to realize that, but I’ve warned you repeatedly I’m no good at relationships. Now, I’d better get in there and talk to James, see if we can’t figure out a way for both of us to be happy.”
“Good luck with that.” Voices echoed outside the breakfast room, so I swiped a bagel and a few sausage links before stealing one last kiss and leaving Brook to greet the stragglers. In my experience, hotel staff were easily annoyed by those who came to breakfast in the final minutes, but not Brook. His voice was as light and cheery as it ever was when he dealt with guests. He had a knack for making everyone he encountered feel special; that was an asset you couldn’t put a price tag on.
I DIDN’T bother knocking on the closed office door. Even though we barely knew one another, I could immediately tell James was a wreck. He was wearing the same shirt from yesterday, slightly rumpled from sleep. His hair looked like it’d been wrung through his fingers as he worried. I’d stormed in here, prepared to rant to him about how his personal problems shouldn’t have anything to do with the legacy his father tried to leave for him, but now that felt like kicking a man while he was down. Instead I slid into the chair across the desk from him and moved it closer.
James glanced up, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Have you come to a decision?”
“I have,” I confirmed, my tone measured and even. Fighting with him wouldn’t solve whatever problems he’d created for himself.
“And?” he prodded when I didn’t immediately give him my answer.
“I don’t think selling is the right move,” I informed him.
His jaw twitched under the force of his clenched teeth. He swallowed hard, and I could imagine he was fighting to keep from blowing up at me. This was not the answer he’d been expecting.
“From everything Brook has told me, my grandfather wanted this place to be something of his own, his mark on the world. I might not have known him, but I can understand wanting that. It doesn’t feel right to throw that all away. He left this place to us because it was something he could do for his family. He wouldn’t want us to sell it now that he’s gone.”
“Don’t you sit there and tell me what my father would or wouldn’t have wanted,” he spat out. “He wanted a lot of things he never had. In an ideal world, this wouldn’t be an issue, but it is. Do you honestly think this is what I want? My parents were miserable together, and it was only because of the inn that I really got to know the man he could’ve been if he hadn’t been beaten down by my mother. No matter how much she berated him, he came to life when he walked through those doors. But life isn’t a Hallmark movie. I can’t keep the family
business running all on my own. If he’d been smart, he’d have left the whole place to you.”
“But he didn’t and he had to have a reason for making the decision he did.”
“Because he was a foolish man who always wanted to believe the best in people, even when they were huge disappointments.” James’s cell phone rang, and he tensed as he checked the display before silencing the noise. “Believe me, Dane, this isn’t something I want to do, but I don’t see any other way to keep the inn safe.”
Safe. That was an odd choice of words from a man who’d spent yesterday explaining why it made financial sense for me to agree to the sale. It seemed Brook was onto something with his concern regarding James and his problems. An icy chill washed over me when I considered what this could mean for Dad. I couldn’t bring him back here as long as James was involved in shit that could be less than legal. He’d spent years believing he’d die in prison, but he was getting a second chance. I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of a fresh start for him.
I leaned forward, keeping my back ramrod straight. “James, you have to be straight with me. What’s going on that has you so panicked? I know it’s not the economy or empty-room nights. I’ve looked at the reservations, and we’re booked solid through Labor Day. After that, we’re still running full enough to stay in the black. Why would you want to walk away from that?”
“Because they’ll take it!” he yelled, staring blankly out the window. When he looked back at me, he refused to make eye contact and his face radiated with undisguised fear. “I kept telling myself I could take care of it, but I can’t. And now, they’re tired of waiting.”
“Who are they, James?” I pressed. My stomach rolled, and I wished I’d skipped the sausage and bagel I’d scarfed after the quick make-out session with Brook. “I want to help you out here, but I can’t do that if you won’t tell me what’s going on.”
I felt like a damn parrot, but I’d keep repeating myself as long as it took.
“When my father was sick, there were so many bills. He was broke because of this place, because he kept dumping money into it.” James scrubbed at his forehead, and his shoulders slumped forward. “He scheduled all these renovations, signed contracts, and I was left with that hanging over my head too. It was like an avalanche, and pretty soon I was buried. Maybe it was the wrong thing to do, but I borrowed some money, figuring we’d do the remodel since no one would let me out of the contracts he’d signed, and then I’d sell it as soon as he was gone and pay them back.”
And then the inn was left to both of us, throwing a wrench in his plans. A clearer picture was forming, one that made more sense than James being wrapped up in illegal gambling or drugs. But it still left us with a major problem.
“How much, James?”
“How much what?” His brow furrowed as he tried figuring out the answer to what should’ve been a simple question. “Oh, how much money. It’s a lot, Dane. That’s why there’s no way to get out from under it unless we sell the inn. You’ll still get your half of the proceeds, but mine’s gonna be eaten up with the interest.”
“How. Much?” I repeated, more sternly this time.
Rather than telling me, James wrote a figure on a scrap of paper and slid it across the desk. I swallowed hard when I looked at the number, trying to convince myself he’d added an extra zero.
“Jesus, you’re into these fuckers for half a mil? How in the hell did you let this happen? There’s no way in hell we’re going to be able to fork over this type of money, James. None. And you used the fucking inn as collateral? Are you fucking kidding me?”
I bolted out of my chair and started pacing around the room. Five hundred fucking thousand dollars. Until I saw that number staring back at me, I’d convinced myself Jen was right, that worst-case scenario, I could buy James out, but I didn’t have that type of money.
“I know, Dane. And it’s no excuse, but I wouldn’t have done this if I’d known my father had changed his will so you inherited half of the inn,” he explained, his voice strained. He slumped over the desk, banging his head against the surface. “I was stupid. So fucking stupid. I should’ve just let the contractors come after us in court. Should’ve fought this the right way, explained that he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to make business decisions. Because he wasn’t. He was so desperate to leave something of himself when he passed that his dreams spiraled out of control.”
“Seems to be a common problem in this family,” I muttered.
His head jerked up and he glared at me.
“Sorry, I’m trying not to be a dick here, but this has the potential to fuck up more than just your life. If either of you had stopped and thought about what you were doing, it might’ve saved a fuck-ton of problems. But that doesn’t matter now because we have to figure out a way past this. Preferably one that won’t lose the inn or wind up with you wearing a pair of concrete shoes for a late-night swim.”
“They’re not the fucking mob, Dane,” James argued.
“Well, they sure as fuck aren’t Good Samaritans either.” I stood, swiping the scrap of paper off the desk. I needed to get away and think. Needed to take a step back and pray to everything holy that an answer would fall in my lap. Because I wouldn’t go back on my promises to Brook.
On my way out the back of the inn, I heard Brook call after me. By the time I reached the bottom step off the patio, Brook’s hand landed on my shoulder. “Where are you going? What happened? I heard you in there yelling at him.”
“You were right, Brook.” I spun around, gripping his arms tightly. Maybe too tightly. “He didn’t do it for the reasons you might be thinking, but he’s into someone for a whole lot of money, and I have to find a way to clean up the mess before we lose everything. I can’t lose this place. Can’t lose you.”
“You won’t, Dane.” Brook cupped the back of my head and pressed my face to his chest. With him two steps above me, he was slightly taller than me. His body surrounded me as he promised I wouldn’t lose him no matter what happened, which comforted me. Allowed me to breathe just a little easier. “Do you want me to walk with you?”
“Not right now.” I looked up and hated myself for the sadness behind his eyes. “I’m not running away, Brook. I promise I’ll be back. But right now I need to walk to the end of the island, where no one will bother me, and think. There must be a solution, and I intended to find it.”
Chapter 14
(Brook)
I PROMISE I’ll be back. Dane’s parting words echoed through my mind as I tried to focus on preparing for tonight’s guests. My desire to respect his wishes warred with my need to prove he didn’t have to get through life’s struggles on his own anymore.
James’s mess was something Dane didn’t need right now. He was already stressed out about flying home to pick up his dad when he was released from prison. Although he was eager to have his family back together, I could tell he was trying to tamp down the worry that things between them would never be the same again. And he was right; both of them were different people than they’d been before his dad was arrested, tried, and convicted. Much of the man Dane had become was painted by the events of a boy who needed to know he wasn’t alone in the world. It’d left him jaded, reluctant to let people close to him, incapable of trusting that those he cared about wouldn’t abandon him.
But I wasn’t abandoning him, I was doing my job. I was respecting him by staying right where I was while he tried to find a way to save the inn.
“I’m sorry, Brook.” James’s apology startled me out of my internal debate. I turned on my heel, ready to lash out because he’d potentially screwed up everything in my life with his idiocy, but one look at the bags under his eyes and the hair sticking out in every direction from twisting it in his fists cut off my bitterness.
It wasn’t for the reasons you thought.
“If you want to quit, I wouldn’t blame you, but I hope you’ll hear me out first.” Funny, even though I was angry with him for managing to upend both
my personal and work life without any consideration, quitting had never crossed my mind. This inn was my life, even more now that Dane was here. Walking away from my job would feel too much like walking away from him, and I wouldn’t do that. Couldn’t, no matter what happened.
“You don’t have to tell me anything, James. From the sounds of it, this is a family issue.”
“True, but it impacts you too.” James’s shoulders slumped forward as he hung his head in shame. “I was so set on keeping everything my father had worked for alive that I made some poor decisions.”
That was one way of putting it. I pursed my lips to keep from saying anything, because it was obviously important to James that he filled me in on what was going on.
The more James explained what had led to the decisions he made, the more my anger receded. Dane was right; this was nothing like I’d originally assumed was going on.
“The problem is, I made a lot of mistakes in my life, and no one would grant me a loan when the building wasn’t technically mine. My attorney advised me to wait until I tracked down Dane, see if he was on board with updating the inn, and go from there.”
“But you didn’t,” I interjected.
“No.” James slowly shook his head from side to side, letting out a deep sigh. “I resented being told I needed to wait for someone, who was family only because of a genetic bond, before doing what I knew my father had dreamed about. I should’ve listened to him….”
“You’re a stubborn ass, James,” I lashed out. I had no clue where the balls to speak so frankly to my boss came from, but I didn’t regret it. The inn had been my first job, and I was the only employee who’d been there more than a year. I’d missed out on family holidays to help the Montgomerys, skipped my senior trip because it would’ve put them in a bind. I might not own the place, but that didn’t mean I felt any less strongly about its success than he did. “You were hell-bent on proving to your father that you weren’t a colossal screwup, even though he was dead. And now it sounds like you’ve managed to mess things up so royally no one may be able to save what your father built. Was it worth it?”
His Kindred Spirit Page 9
