“She said she’s on board. She said she’d actually welcome the extra hours.”
Yeah, if only we could afford to pay her.He scowled at Molly. “You shouldn’t have gone to Miss Della. This is between us. And we said we’d expand when the bottom line allows for it.”
She huffed. “Well, we’re doing fine, aren’t we?”
No. No they weren’t. Levi ran his hand over his face. “It’s not the right time for this, Molly.”
“It’s what Mom and Dad planned. They were going to open with a full restaurant. I know I agreed to wait, but we’ve been open a year and we’re not even offering a full breakfast. I think it’s time to expand our menu.”
“This is my area of expertise, not yours. Let’s see how this season goes. And then maybe next spring—”
“Next spring!”
“What’s going on?”
He hadn’t even heard Grace pull up. His eyes narrowed on the sister who was supposed to have been covering the inn all morning. “Where’ve you been?”
“Out boating with Sarah.” She exchanged a look with Molly. “Sheesh. What’s his problem?”
“My problem is nobody’s treating this place like a business. I know we’re on lock-down this week, but we can’t all just be leaving willy-nilly. Somebody needs to be here to answer calls and take reservations while I’m shuttling our guest around.” He nailed Grace with a look. “And how are those college apps coming along?”
Grace’s spine lengthened. “I haven’t had time to work on them.”
“Yet you have time to go boating with Sarah? You could’ve been finished by now if you’d just buckled down.”
Her jaw set. “That’s the last thing I want to do right now. I just finished finals. I need time to decompress.”
“You mean procrastinate. You promised to do it this week, Grace, just like you’ve been promising since the fall. You’re running out of time.”
“I’m nineteen. I can handle my own future.”
“Apparently not. It’s June, Grace, and you don’t even know where you’re going to college. All of your friends are already enrolled, aren’t they?”
“Just leave me alone, Levi!” Grace spun on her heels, heading inside.
“I’d love to do that, Grace,” he called after her, “if you’d just get with the program.”
The door slammed behind her, and he could practically hear her stomping up the stairs from the porch. He closed his eyes and blew out a breath. If everyone would just pull their weight around here maybe he wouldn’t be feeling so much pressure.
That familiar band had tightened around his head, and he massaged the back of his skull where a headache throbbed.
“Don’t you think that was a little harsh?” Molly asked.
“Come on, Molly, you know she’s been putting this off for months.”
Molly stood, the swing moving behind her with a squawk. “Maybe there’s a good reason for that, brother.”
His gaze sharpened on Molly. “Do you know something? Has she said anything to you? She’s going to college and that’s that.”
Molly turned at the door. “I don’t know anything—except that maybe we should be asking questions instead of making demands.”
Levi frowned after her. Sure, that sounded simple. Grace was a smart and capable girl, but she was only nineteen. What did she know about real life? He knew she had no interest in working at the inn long term, and the only jobs she’d had were babysitting and the Dairy Bar.
Their parents had encouraged all of them to get degrees, and if they were here they’d be urging Grace to finish those applications. He had to look out for his sister, even if she didn’t want him to. That was part of being a parent—and he had to face it. That’s more or less what he’d become when their parents died.
A text buzzed in, and he checked his phone. It was Molly’s boyfriend, Adam, asking if Levi would be around later that evening. He responded in the affirmative. He couldn’t imagine Mia would want to go anywhere tonight. He should probably go check—and maybe grab some painkillers for himself.
He slipped into the house, locking the door behind him. When he rounded the couch he saw Mia lying just as she’d been when he’d slipped out. But now her eyes were closed, her lips parted. She didn’t stir even as he covered her with a throw.
