Trenton and Andie looked at one another before Andie spoke up. “I think it’s best to say that they decided to extend their honeymoon. That’s easy enough.”
Emmitt nodded. “We also keep our eyes and ears open for anyone asking questions about an accountant. If that happens, we stick with what Betty said on the phone—we’ve had the same accountant here for years and there’s been no recent change.”
“Then we just hope that Wren doesn’t show up suddenly?” Maverick said.
“Detective Lingley and his crew are watching him,” Emmitt assured. “He’d be able to notify us before the guy’s plane landed. Let’s just hope that doesn’t happen.”
A somber silence took over the space. Too much silence. Emmitt glanced down to see that his screen had gone black.
“Crap,” he hissed. “My stupid battery died. I’m going to have to start over again.”
“Don’t fight the mandate,” Andie said. “Just get the extra hours over with and we’ll cancel the tours. No big deal.”
“Itisa big deal,” Emmitt persisted. “They said we could do tours, so we booked the tours.” He glanced around the table to see slumped shoulders and defeated expressions. Talk about depressing. If Memphis’s new girlfriend, Ty, would have joined them, she’d have probably lifted the mood. She had a way of doing that. As it was, she was busy working as the inn’s certified massage therapist. Emmitt could probably benefit from her skills about now. Boy, was he tense.
And it seemed as if he was on his own with this whole ordeal. It wasn’t like any of his siblings would be inconvenienced.Hewas the one stuck having to take extra courses and endure additional training, all because the stupid mandates suddenly changed.
Emmitt kept his jaw clenched tight while the group discussed the inn’s upcoming Christmas events. Betty was hosting a homemade ornament craft in the lobby, where families designed their own ornaments, hung them on the inn’s massive tree, and then took them home as they left.
Currently, they were preparing for the ice sheet coming this week, just in time for some holiday ice skating. No one was more excited about this feature than Ty’s little boy, Lucas. The mere idea melted Emmitt’s ornery heart. The seven-year-old had a way of doing that like no one could. Good thing the kid would soon officially be part of the family. Memphis just needed to propose and make it official.
“Oh,” Trenton said, slipping his cowboy hat back onto his head and reaching for something on the bench behind him. “These came to the house. I assume they’re for one of you guys?” He plopped two paperback books face up on the center of the table.
“Must be Maverick’s,” Memphis said, tipping his head to read the title of the top book. “‘Why playboys are only playing themselves.’”
A knot of hot embarrassment flared in Emmitt’s gut. “That’s mine,” he snapped, reaching out to take the book.
Memphis finished announcing the subtitle printed beneath. “‘How to give up the play and get what youreallywant.’”
“It’s authored by a world-famous psychologist,” Emmitt couldn’t help but add. Doctor Reynold Ross, to be exact.
Maverick reached for the next one, but Memphis was already reading that title aloud as well. “‘Shallow, shallow me,’” he read. “‘Stop being puddle deep and get in tune.’”
Maverick grunted as he leaned far over the table to snatch up the second book.
Memphis grinned. “You’re not puddle deep, Maverick,” he said. “Pond-deep, maybe…but not puddle.”
Maverick groaned. “Are we done here?”
“Youdoknow they make e-books, right?” Andie razzed.
“Or audiobooks,” Trenton added.
Emmitt rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, they said it’s best to get the paperback so you can, you know, study it. Take notes and all that.”
“Who’sthey?”Memphis asked through a laugh.
Emmitt and Maverick locked eyes across the table and shrugged.
“Triple P,” Maverick explained. “It’s a podcast for men hosted by a psychologist, a professor, and a pastor. We’ve been listening to it while we work out lately.”
“Aw,” Andie said. “I love that.”
While Andie’s comment sounded condescending, Emmitt knew it wasn’t. His sister had likely been worrying about them for years. Wondering if they’d ever outgrow their bachelor ways and settle down.
“Yeah, yeah,” Emmitt said as he pushed his chair back. He’d have preferred sarcasm to saccharin any day. The truth was, he didn’t want anyone else to know he was tiring of his playboy ways. It was enough that Maverick knew.
Emmitt was the first one to the door. He held it open long enough to glance back and see that Maverick was at his heels, just as anxious to escape the scrutiny as he was.
