I rested a hand on his shoulder, suspecting he might appreciate the touch. Cassian clasped my hand, confirming my suspicion.
Griffin sighed, frowning while he watched Cassian sniffle and sob. “Cassian…”
“I’m sorry,” Cassian blubbered as he slid off his seat. “Nobody needs to see this.” He added a laugh at the end as if we would think his pain was funny, but neither Griffin nor I laughed with him.
“Please don’t go,” I said. “Nobody should have to grieve alone.”
“Yeah, Cass. I miss the old man too,” Griffin said. “You remind me so much of him sometimes it makes me mad he’s not still here, and I suppose I’ve been taking it out on you. It’s not your fault he’s gone.”
Cassian took a shuddering breath and sat back down. “You said I was nothing like him.”
“You’re not him. That’s all,” Griffin said, rubbing a large hand over his shaven head. “I’m sorry I said that. You’re so good at hiding your pain, I guess I thought…”
“What? That I didn’t miss him?” Cassian asked.
Griffin shrugged. “It had been so long since we’d seen you. Before Boris died, you hadn’t visited in years.”
“That’s why you think I don’t care,” Cassian said softly with a sniffle. “It keeps me up at night that I didn’t visit sooner.”
“What stopped you?” I asked.
Cassian rubbed his face, sighing. “My selfish idea of what my life could be. I was so sick of innkeeping that I never wanted toset foot in another inn again. I wanted a life where the people I meet and befriend don’t leave the next day. It was a little better at my parents’ Shoreside Inn where people sometimes stayed for up to a week, but a traveler’s inn…” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Griffin. I thought about visiting all the time, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I missed you all so much.”
Griffin sighed heavily. “We missed you too, Cass.”
“Did Grandpa also think I didn’t care?” Cassian asked.
Griffin shook his head. “Boris knew what you were going through, and he said you’d be back someday. It’s just too bad someday came for him first.”
Cassian let out a shuddering, tearful breath. “Yeah…”
“Give it some time, Cass. You’ll see innkeeping isn’t really like that if you stay in one place,” Griffin said.
Cassian sniffled and took another sip of the buttered rum. “You know, my parents never really showed me how they ran things. They only ever taught me how to give out room keys or run someone’s dinner out. And Grandpa… He never made me work when I visited.”
“That explains why you’re so bad at this,” Griffin said.
I tensed up, ready to defend Cassian, but Cassian just laughed. “You can tell me when I’m messing up, you know. I’m not doing it to annoy you,” Cassian said.
Griffin chuckled. “Can I give you some advice, then?”
“Please,” Cassian answered.
“I appreciate you bringing this young man out here to break the curse, but that’s just a patch over the bigger problem. You need to find whoever placed the curse and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Someone with a vendetta big enough to risk arrest won’t back down after one curse. They’re either stupid or very angry,” Griffin said.
I leaned forward, interested in this new piece of information. Until now, Griffin had been the leading suspect. This was aninteresting turn. Why would he tell Cassian to find the person if he had done it?
Cassian and I exchanged a quiet look. He turned to Griffin again and said, “Wearelooking for the person, Griffin.”
Griffin furrowed his brow and glanced back and forth between us. His eyebrows shot up. “Hold on now. You think it was me?” He looked at me when he said this.
“I didn’t accuse anyone of anything,” I said. I had no idea how he would react to knowing he was a suspect. Most people became angry, but Griffin’s reaction surprised me.
He guffawed, slapping his large hand against the bar top. “You’re wasting your time, boy. Suppose I shouldn’t have been so mean to Cassian, seeing how much you two already like each other. But no, it wasn’t me.”
Cassian sipped his drink and looked away. I ignored the comment and carried on. “You know most guilty parties say that, don’t you? Why should I believe you?”
“And I suppose the innocent ones say they’re guilty?” He laughed again. “Trust me, if you want to catch this person, stop wasting your resources on me. It won’t get you nowhere. Matter of fact, what can I do to help?”
