15
Dane
Fifteen lonely years I spent with my husband. Lived and learned. Got my heart broken and felt used. I’ve come to realize everything he put me through was a blessing in disguise. It’s because of him that I met my current boyfriend. I’m falling in love more and more every day. Love is worth the risk. It’s worth all the pain and lonely nights because sometimes it leads to much bigger, better things. -B
“Tellme you’ve got good news for me, Jen.” I fought to keep her from hearing how frustrated I’d become. She didn’t have to spend every minute she wasn’t working or taking care of her family trying to save my ass, but she was.
Unfortunately, I was running out of time. I didn’t want to head back to New York without some sort of resolution. I’d tried convincing Brook to take his first vacation in forever to fly back with me, but he’d sensibly pointed out that someone needed to stay here to run the inn. If it’d been up to me, I’d have called every guest and apologized for some nonexistent maintenance emergency, but he wouldn’t go for that. I pressed to the point he stormed out of our room and slammed the door behind him. That’d been a cold night alone in our bed, and I wasn’t looking for a repeat performance.
“I do, but it’s not as simple as signing a check,” she warned me.
I threw a pen across the room, pissed that James had gotten us into this mess. Angry with my grandfather for not reaching out to me before it was too late. Upset for my father, who’d never forgive himself for not getting to say goodbye. So much about this situation was beyond fucked-up.
“Don’t get pissy with me. I warned you it was going to take time. Lucky for you, I have a friend who specializes in this type of transaction, and she’s going to help us out. By the end of the week, she’ll have a contract for you to show James. If he agrees to the terms, we’ll get the ball rolling.”
“Not good enough, Jen,” I hissed through gritted teeth. I was getting on a plane in two days, and I needed this wrapped up before then. Needed to know no one was going to come around and fuck with Brook while I was gone.
“Sorry, bud, it’s the best I can do. I’m not a miracle worker, but if we pull this off, I’ll come pretty damn close.” I could hear her acrylic nails tapping against the keyboard, which meant she had me on speakerphone. “If you’d like, I can get the ball rolling on liquidating the investments we’ll need to make this happen. That way, the money is already in your account and ready to transfer as soon as James agrees. He will agree, right?”
“Not really sure he has much of a choice at this point. If he wanted to hang on to the inn, maybe he shouldn’t have made deals with back-alley loan sharks.” I’d done some digging into the men James borrowed the money from. There wasn’t much on them, but from what I’d gathered, they were small players trying to establish themselves. In some ways, that didn’t ease my mind, because there was no telling what measures they’d take to prove they meant business.
“Does that mean I should do this? You’re going to take a huge hit, not gonna lie.” She’d warned me several times that the tax burden was going to hurt, but I didn’t care. The inn was the closest thing I’d ever had to a home, which was weird, since I couldn’t wait to get out of here when I’d first arrived. Part of it was the connection to my past, but the prospect of a future with Brook made it impossible to leave.
“It’s only money.” Growing up poor, seeing my dad turn our lives around so we could live comfortably, and having it taken away again ensured I never felt an unhealthy attachment to wealth. Other things mattered far more. “Do whatever you have to do. Maybe I should—”
“Don’t even say it, Dane,” Jen warned me. While I didn’t trust James, this money had to get paid and the goon squad wasn’t going to give a fuck where it came from. “Bailing him out without the paperwork in order is the worst possible thing you could do. It’ll strip your leverage to take control of the inn since he’s obviously inept at it, and it’ll tell James he can fuck up like this again and you’ll save his ass.”
“I don’t feel right leaving without everything squared away,” I admitted.
“Then get a message to your dad telling him you can’t be there. He’ll understand once you explain it,” she suggested.
I’d considered that, but I’d given Dad my word I’d be there to pick him up. It was the beginning of our fresh start, and I didn’t want him thinking he wasn’t a priority to me anymore.
“You know I can’t do that.”
“Then quit freaking the hell out and get on the plane. Pack what you need at your place, drive up and get the old man, and get your ass back to North Carolina.”
“Fine.”
Jen rushed me off the phone after reminding me yet again that I needed to be patient. When the dust settled from all of this, I needed to invite her and Grady down for a vacation. They were good friends despite the odds.
* * *
Brook wasbusy at the front desk when I came back from a trip to the local grocery store. He quirked an eyebrow as he watched me struggle to open the door with my arms loaded with bags. I might have gone overboard making sure our kitchenette upstairs was fully stocked while I was gone, but I knew he’d live off dry cereal and fruit from the breakfast room otherwise. James was still MIA and the part-time employees I’d insisted we hire weren’t fully trained yet, which meant the operation of the inn would fall entirely on Brook’s shoulders once I left for New York. Yet another reason I felt guilty for leaving him.
“How many check-ins do you have left?” I asked once our newest arrivals were on the way to their room. These bags were heavy as hell, but I wanted to time everything perfectly. Once the guests were settled for the night, he’d forward the lobby phone to ring upstairs so he didn’t have to camp out behind the desk all night.
Brook didn’t even have to check the reservations screen to answer. “Four, but the Williams family called ahead to say they’re running late. I’m going to wait on the other three, then I’ll be up.”
“Sounds good. I’m going to get started on dinner.”
“Shouldn’t you be packing?”
“Nope. I’m only taking my backpack,” I told him. There was no point in packing clothes when my first task once I got back to New York was packing as much of my shit as possible into the back of my Tahoe to bring down here. Plus, I sort of liked the symbolism of leaving everything I’d brought with me in the room to serve as a physical reminder to Brook that I would be back. “I checked in for my flight this morning, so that’s taken care of. My boarding pass is on my phone, so that’s one less thing for me to forget at ass o’clock tomorrow.”
“Ass o’clock, huh?” Brook smirked. “You sure you don’t want me to get up with you?”
Call me selfish, but that was the last thing I wanted. I hated leaving Brook but needed to. No, I wanted to look back and see him keeping our bed warm as I left. I’d experienced enough goodbyes in my life and knew my fractured heart wouldn’t comprehend that this one was only temporary.
