“No,” I said honestly. “But I will be. Do you know where Kent went?”
He shrugged. “He was pretty grumpy. Hopped in that SUV and left.”
Maybe he had run back to the city. I wouldn’t put it past him to drop his little bomb and then run.
Coward.
“Do we have anyone else scheduled for rides?” I asked Ozzo.
He shook his head. “Nope.”
“I’ll be at the lodge. If you get busy or need me, just text.”
“Is everything okay?” Ozzo asked.
I knew we all gave the kid a hard time and assumed he was clueless, but I knew he was a lot smarter than he let on.
I forced a smile. “Honestly, Ozzo, I don’t know. When I figure out what’s going on, I’ll tell you.”
“I liked him,” Ozzo said.
“I know. Me too.”
I walked back to the lodge feeling like I was moving through quicksand. Every step took enormous effort, and the cheerful Christmas decorations that lined the path seemed to mock my devastation.
When I pushed through the front doors, Stacy looked up from behind the check-in counter with obvious concern etched across her face. She’d clearly been waiting for me to return.
“What did Harold say?” she asked immediately. “Is he mad?”
I snorted, the sound bitter and humorless. “Mad would be an understatement. He’s furious. At Kent, at the situation, at me for being so gullible.”
“Sylvie, no.”
“He’s right to be angry,” I continued, dropping into one of the lobby chairs. “I brought this disaster right to our doorstep. I was so desperate for good news that I didn’t ask the right questions. I just believed everything Kent told me because I wanted to believe it.”
Stacy came around the counter and sat across from me. “You couldn’t have known. He lied to all of us.”
Before I could respond, the front doors burst open with enough force to rattle the windows. Brom stormed in, his face a mask of rage that made Dad’s anger look mild by comparison. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides. There was a dangerous energy radiating from him that made me instinctively lean back in my chair.
“Where is he?” Brom demanded, his voice low and deadly. “Where’s that lying piece of shit Kent Bancroft?”
“Brom, your blood pressure,” Stacy started, rising from her chair.
“I just heard what he did,” he continued, ignoring his wife’s warning tone. “Dad filled me in on the whole goddamn thing. That bastard came here pretending to help us while planning to destroy everything we’ve built. Where is he? I want to personally beat the shit out of him.”
“Brom, calm down,” Stacy said firmly, moving to stand between her husband and the rest of the lobby. “We have guests in the building.”
“I don’t give a damn about the guests right now,” Brom snapped, but he lowered his voice slightly. “That son of a bitch manipulated our entire family. He lied to Sylvie’s face while planning to take everything from us. You’re damn right I want to beat the hell out of him.”
I felt a fresh wave of shame wash over me. Not only had I fallen for Kent’s lies, but now my brother was ready to commit assault because of my stupidity.
“He’s not here,” I said quietly. “He left after I confronted him.”
“Ran off like the coward he is,” Brom said with disgust. “Probably halfway back to Manhattan by now, congratulating himself on a job well done.”
“Brom, please,” Stacy said. “We’ll have a family meeting later. Freaking out isn’t going to help anyone. We need to all stop and think.”
“You think his offer is something we should consider?” Brom asked with rage coloring his voice.
