by Quinn Ward
“Is Jen going downstairs with you?” Brook asked as I adjusted the taps on the shower. “If she is, I could stay up here with Pax. Probably for the best if we keep him away from the bullshit.”
“You wouldn’t mind?”
Jen had told me Brook had been his usual friendly self when she checked in, but I wasn’t sure if that was because he was damn good at his job or if he’d decided he was done being upset with me.
“Nope. We only have two check-ins today, and they’re both returning guests who won’t arrive until later in the evening. I’ll forward the phone up here, so I know if anyone needs anything.”
“And if they do?” I hated that Brook was still the go-to guy most of the time. My first task when I officially took over would be finding more help, because neither of us were going to work so much we resented the inn.
“I can text you. You’ll be on-site, so it shouldn’t be an issue for Jen to excuse herself if I have to run.”
Brook hopped up on the vanity and kept talking to me as I showered. When I turned off the water, he handed me a towel, not even trying to be sneaky as he checked out my body. He reached down and adjusted himself, and I really wished we had time for a quickie. Later. Business first; then if all went well, we could try to unwind later tonight. While I dressed, Brook told me he was going to find Jen and let her know the plan.
There was distinct shift in the air as Jen and I entered the lobby. James and the wannabe muscle who’d been lurking around were waiting for us in the library. I closed my eyes and took a few breaths, reminding myself why I was doing this. Jen curled her fingers around my forearm, digging her nails in just enough to grab my attention.
“You sure you’re up to this?” she asked, keeping her voice low enough we couldn’t be overheard.
“I could ask you the same question. You don’t have to be here if you don’t want. It’s not your mess.” I’d made the same offer several times this morning, and every time, Jen had rolled her eyes, reminding me that this was as beneficial to them as it was to me.
I felt underdressed walking into the library in khaki pants and a polo shirt. The goon wore his standard uniform of a black suit with a black shirt underneath. Even James was still wearing the shirt and tie he’d likely put on yesterday morning. Fortunately Jen was a woman whose presence demanded respect. She’d been almost giddy as she slid into a pair of heels and a navy blue dress. I got the impression she was happy to finally be getting back to work, even if it wasn’t her former corporate job.
We sat across the table from James, and before I could tell him my plans, Jen fanned out the contents of a manila folder. “Gentlemen, it’s my understanding that there have been some… issues recently surrounding the financial state of Bird Island Inn. I’m sure both of you will agree it’s in the best interests of the business, as well as all parties involved, that we find a solution as quickly as possible.” She sat a bit straighter, looking directly at the man in black. “If you don’t mind, I would appreciate a few minutes to discuss some business matters with Mr. Montgomery.”
“I’m not sure—”
Jen narrowed her eyes on the asshole. If she was at all intimidated by him, it didn’t show. I had to laugh when James gaped at her.
“Sir, we don’t know one another, but I’m asking you to trust me. Not James, as I’m sure he’s burned every possible bridge already. If it makes you feel any better, I’ve never laid eyes on him until we walked into this room. I have zero loyalty to him. My goal here is to help you and James’s nephew both walk out of here satisfied, but I think it’s for the best if you’re not in the room for this part of the discussion as it doesn’t pertain directly to the money owed to you.”
The man scrubbed at the back of his neck, furrowing his brow as he studied Jen, probably weighing his options. Finally he pushed back from the table. “I’m not leaving the main area of the hotel, but I will give you five minutes.”
“Thank you.” She offered a polite smile, and I stifled a laugh. Only someone who knew her well could read the underlying message through her saccharine-sweet response. Once we were alone, she turned her attention to James, pushing the first contract across the table to him.
“What’s this?” he asked, mumbling as he skimmed over the papers.
“That is the contract you’re going to sign, promising that as soon as the inn clears probate, you will sign over your stake to us,” she explained to him.
He stiffened, and I thought he was about to say something stupid.
Luckily Jen saved him from himself. “Mr. Montgomery, you’ve made some grave mistakes, and now you have problems you’re incapable of solving on your own. This is your only option if you want to save your ass. You can either sign this contract as well as one with your nephew regarding a loan for the rest of the money, or you can walk away and consider what that guy plans to do to you if he doesn’t get his money. Prove to your nephew that you’re not a complete idiot and do the right thing.”
“My father wanted one thing that was all his, and when he died, it was supposed to come to me.” James’s voice cracked, and I almost felt sorry for the guy. As angry as I was with him, I was starting to see that he wasn’t malicious. He just didn’t think about the consequences of his actions.
“No offense to your father, but that seems to be a poor choice given what you’ve done. You should consider yourself lucky to have family who’s willing to offer you a solution,” she scolded him.
James sank back in his chair.
“Perhaps you were under the impression your nephew would be so overjoyed to hear that his grandfather left part of the inn to him that he’d bail your sorry ass out. If that’s the case, I’m sorry to say you have a lot to learn about Dane Montgomery. He’s a good man who’s had to fight for everything he has. And even if he was inclined to rescue you without any sort of reassurance you’d repay him, he can’t do it alone.”
She reached into her purse and waved a cashier’s check in the air. “Lucky for you, he has people who have faith in his ability to run the inn and the resources to buy in. And that is why you’re going to sign those papers.”
“What happens if I do?” James scratched his chin, then wiped beads of sweat from his brow.
“That’s easy. When you sign both contracts, I’ll call the muscle back in here and arrange for him to accompany Dane to the bank so they can take care of getting the money where it needs to be,” she explained, leaning forward and resting her arms on the table. “When probate clears, we’ll sit down again to make the transfer of your stake official.”
“Why would you give it to him?” James seemed annoyed by her plan.
“Because I need his reassurance that they will leave us out of your business dealings in the future,” she clarified.
“I don’t think I should make any decisions without my lawyer present.” James kept flipping through the pages, not reading anything at this point.
Jen pulled out her cell phone and slid it across the table. “By all means, call your lawyer and explain to him what you’ve done. I’m sure he will agree this is the only remaining option. Muscles out there doesn’t strike me as having much patience left for you. Do you really want to explain to him that this could have all been cleared up, but you wanted to make sure your nephew, who you’d never talked to until you needed his help cleaning up a mess, isn’t going to screw you over? The way I see it, you’re getting one hell of a deal because Dane’s not charging you interest on the money he loans you, even though I’m sure we all know it’s unlikely he’ll ever see a penny in repayment.”
James shoved the phone back toward Jen. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
Jen handed him a pen and excused herself. Her heels clicked against the laminate floor, and she returned a minute later with James’s “friend.” I wasn’t sure what she’d said to him, but he seemed much more relaxed than he had earlier. They took their seats, and all of us watched as James signed over the inn. As soon as he put down the pen, I let out a sigh o
f relief.
The inn was safe, and my grandfather’s legacy would become ours.
21
Dane
Nine months later
I leaned back in the sand, closing my eyes and taking a minute to just be. During these early morning visits to the beach, the never-ending to-do lists were shoved out of my mind. And there was always something needing to be done back at the inn, but I wouldn’t have traded this new life for anything.
“Thought I might find you out here.”
I looked up, shielding my eyes, as Brook approached the mailbox. I’d left him sleeping in our bed, not wanting to wake him with the restless energy that’d kept me up most of the night. I’d needed the still of the morning, the waves rolling onto the beach as the sun rose, to center me, to remind me the chaos of today was what we’d all been working toward most of the winter.
Brook nudged my foot as he passed me, then reached into the mailbox for one of the notebooks. I was equally hopeful and terrified he’d pull the one I’d written in this morning. When the sun just barely reached the horizon, it’d seemed like a perfect plan, but now, I wondered what I’d do if he grabbed the wrong notebook and didn’t see what I’d written in those pages.
“You okay?”
“Want it to be over with, that’s all,” I admitted. Until Dad pulled into the parking lot with Grady and Jen, I wasn’t sure I’d believe his transfer request had been approved. I’d foolishly gotten my hopes up that he’d be allowed to move as soon as he was released, but I’d learned it wasn’t nearly that easy. We’d all been under the microscope while his parole officer decided whether to allow him to move closer to his family. Every time there was a delay, Dad grew more despondent, feeling as if he’d never free himself from his conviction for a crime he didn’t commit.
Brook plopped down next to me and draped his arm over my shoulder, hugging me tight to his side. “I know you’re used to being let down, but I thought you’d promised to leave that part of you behind.”
“I know, but they’ve jerked him around so damn much. I want him here with us. What if something happened and they couldn’t leave New York?”
My stomach knotted as my mind started down the dangerous what-if trail again. What if Dad’s parole officer knocked on the door and told him there’d been a clerical error? What if Dad changed his mind and couldn’t be so close to his brother? He’d been as angry with James as the rest of us when we’d explained how Jen, Grady, and I had become partners in the inn, but without Brook’s calming force to help him through the emotions, Dad hadn’t been as understanding as I’d been.
James was one of the two things we fought about since his release. Dad didn’t understand how Jen, Grady, and I could possibly keep my uncle on at the inn in a diminished capacity. In his mind, if James was willing to risk it all once, he’d do it again. I’d felt the same at first, but the more I’d gotten to know my uncle, the more I believed he was a desperate man with zero critical-thinking skills. Jen and Grady had agreed, and they’d been the ones to suggest we offer James a position greeting guests and puttering around the property. The one thing we all agreed on was he wasn’t allowed anywhere near the money.
“You’re going to give yourself an ulcer if you keep that up,” Brook warned me. He wrapped his arms tightly around my middle after tossing the notebook on the ground, then turned to wedge one of his knees between my legs. I fell back without any resistance as Brook started kissing me, my libido coming to life as I thought about the shower we’d both need later to wash off the powder-fine sand. He broke the kissing and tugged one hand free to brush the hair from my face. “Grady called right before I came out to find you. They’re about two hours away. Everything’s fine.”
“But what if—”
Brook pressed his finger against my lips to silence me. “No. No more. In a few hours, everyone’s going to be here. You’re going to get your dad settled into his room while I go pick up my grandpa, and we’re going to have lunch in our suite so we can get the whole introductions thing out of the way.”
“What if they don’t like one another?”
Brook pursed his lips and quirked an eyebrow, reading between the lines of my question. He knew I worried about his grandfather judging my dad based on the little bit he knew. Logically, I knew that’d never happen, but it was important to me that those closest to us got along.
“Are you kidding me? Grandpa’s already planning on being your dad’s one-man welcoming committee, there to answer any and all questions he might have about Sunset Beach. He won’t admit it, but he’s been lonely since I officially moved in with you, so it’ll be good for him to have something to make him feel needed.”
I hummed, closing my eyes as Brook continued stroking my hair. This was why I fell so hard for him; he’d somehow always known what I needed to hear. He settled me. I was nearly asleep when my eyes shot open, my brain processing what he’d said. They’re about two hours away. Shit. That didn’t leave us time to lie out here enjoying the still of the morning.
I pushed against Brook’s shoulder, forcing him to sit up. As I did, I glanced to the side to see if the Kindred Spirits were on my side this morning. They were. He’d gone against his tendency to pull a notebook from the bottom of the stack, as if he knew the words he was meant to read aloud this morning were in the top book.
I pushed myself up the dune, leaning against the bench, and Brook settled between my legs, flipping through the pages to find the note that called to him. I held my breath, resisting the urge to snatch the pages out of his hands and turn to the words that’d played on a constant loop in my mind as I’d walked out here this morning. Then I worried about him thinking it was cheesy and impersonal, and wanted to steal the book and rip out the pages before he could read them, but that’d be an even greater offense in his mind. As far as Brook was concerned, the words given to the Kindred Spirits were sacred and you never tried to take them back.
He was an odd man, but somehow I was lucky enough to call him mine. Brook’s body tensed in my arms, and without opening my eyes, I knew he’d found my note.
“Wha—what’s this?” he stammered.
“Read it,” I responded, and pressed my lips to his temple. His brow furrowed. I jerked my head toward the notebook, urging him to continue. His breathing grew shallow as he silently took in the note I’d left for him. As much as I wanted to hear him read my words, I wasn’t sure I’d make it to the end without my emotions getting the better of me.
Almost a year ago, I reluctantly agreed when my dad asked me to come down here to meet my long-lost uncle. What neither of us could have known that day was how much my life would change once I got here. I found my family, but I found something more. I found myself.
I didn’t want to come here. I couldn’t wait to leave. But then someone came along who showed me that I didn’t have to be alone. When I asked him to show me his favorite place in town, I had no idea he’d force me to walk to a mailbox at the end of the beach. I didn’t understand what made this place so special. As he read notes left by people we’d never meet, the walls I’d carefully built to keep everyone out started to crumble.
Now, I know a force greater than any of us drew me here. Drew me to him.
Today, the rest of my family will be here, but I still won’t be complete. Almost, but not quite. That sense of being whole will happen when we stand in front of our friends and family, promising to spend the rest of our lives walking hand in hand down this beach. But first, he has to say yes.
Brook lurched, flipping around between my legs so he was kneeling in front of me. “Is this for real?”
I nodded, tears streaming down my face, unable to speak around the lump in my throat. I’d never expected to feel this visceral need to tie myself to another person, but now, I wanted nothing more than to be anchored to Brook forever. He reached up and swiped away my tears with his thumb.
“When?” he asked softly. His question wasn’t the response I’d expected, and I had no clue what he wa
s asking. Brook laughed and kissed the tip of my nose. Such a simple gesture shouldn’t have warmed me the way it did. “If I say yes, when would you want to get married?”
“Would tonight be too soon?” I knew it wasn’t possible, but I didn’t want to wait. I wanted the world to know I belonged to him.
Brook laughed again, shaking his head. “Tonight would be perfect, but maybe we should set a date so we have time to plan a proper wedding.”
“Brook, you should know by now there’s nothing proper about me,” I scoffed, reverting to self-deprecating humor.
He shook his head, releasing a frustrated sigh.
“Fine. We’ll set a date, but it has to be before the summer rush hits. You’re it for me, and I don’t want to wait. I don’t need anything fancy, only you.”
“You have me. Always.” He sealed the promise I needed to hear with a firm kiss. When he pulled away and stood, the absence left an ache in my heart. “Now let’s go home and get ready for the day. I have a feeling Jen’s going to flip once we tell everyone we’re getting married.”
“You still haven’t said yes,” I reminded him as we threaded our fingers together and started the long walk back to the inn.
“That’s because you still haven’t asked the question,” he quipped.
My steps faltered. He was right; I’d screwed this all up.
I turned Brook to face me, debating whether I should drop to one knee. It was what a guy was supposed to do, but it felt forced and unnatural. Besides, I wanted to look into his eyes as I asked him to marry me. I swallowed hard, wishing I’d spent some time crafting a proposal worthy of this man. In the end, it didn’t matter. He knew me, knew romance wasn’t really my thing.
“Brook, in the past year, you’ve changed me. You showed me love is worth the risk. You’re my heart, my kindred spirit, my family. And I want to make it official. My grandfather came here to build his legacy, and now I want us to build ours on his foundation. I want to wake up to salty kisses when you come back from early mornings in the water and fall asleep in your arms listening to the waves of the ocean. This beach has become everything to me, but it’s nothing without you. Will you marry me?”
