“No, do you snore?” he questioned in return.
“Occasionally,” I admitted.
I followed him toward the lobby. The front desk was buried under reservation slips and handwritten notes. Kitty had her hair clipped back with two different pens sticking out of her bun. She looked like a woman one question away from a full collapse.
“Oh good,” she said, spotting us. “I need you both.”
Dex put a hand over his heart. “I’m worried about that.”
Kitty pulled a room chart toward her. “I need you to share a room.”
Dex blinked. “We already decided to do so. That way we can give a heated room to Jane and Lucy.”
Kitty pressed her lips together. “The bride’s aunt arrived early. She refuses to climb stairs. I need a first-floor room. You have a first-floor room.”
Dex stared at her. “No. Lucy and Jane need to come back inside the inn.”
“Just for the week,” Kitty said hopefully. “They already moved to the pool house. They will be fine and I really need your room.”
“No,” I told her.
Kitty folded her hands like she was praying. “Please. If you don't help me, I will have to sleep in the coat closet with Lydia and Meri.”
Dex sighed in defeat. “Fine.”
I was a little surprised it was Dex caving in first and not me. Lucy really had gotten to him.
Dex gave Kitty a resigned nod. “You owe us.”
“I owe you everything,” Kitty said with utter sincerity.
Lucy appeared then, carrying a laundry basket piled with folded towels. “Did you actually convince them?”
“They love me,” Kitty said with a triumphant smile.
Dex said, “We tolerate you.”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “The pool house heater wheezed at me. I think that means it doesn't like us.”
“We are working on it,” I said.
Lucy stopped in front of me. “Thank you. I know this is not ideal. Jane is pretending everything is fine, but she is exhausted. Just… keep an eye on her.”
“I am,” I said. “I will.”
Lucy nodded once and carried the basket toward the laundry room.
Dex and I gathered the blankets, an older heater William approved, and a rug someone had stored in the linen closet. We carried everything out to the pool house.
I knocked lightly before we stepped inside.
Lucy called, “Come in.”
The girls had already made surprising progress. Jane had folded sweaters and stacked them neatly on a chair. Lucy had arranged her books in a small pile next to the nightstand. They had lit one single candle, which tried its best to make the space look warmer.
“We brought reinforcements,” Dex said, holding up the heater.
“And warmth,” I added, lifting the blankets.
