He held the cookbook slightly behind him, as hidden as he could manage while trying to make it look casual. “I’m, uh, planning to fix the electrical outlet on the third floor today. Going to try to unstick the window in room eight after.”
“I told you, you’re not allowed near the stove or the oven.” Her voice was a thunderstorm, containing the threat of floods and fire within the rumble of her syllables.
He hadn’t done anything to deserve either drowning or electrocution by words. Calisa jumped in to defend him. “He hasn’t touched them. Not once since I got here.”
Snorting, Auntie Zee didn’t glance at her. Her eyes were fixed on Jack.
“I’m the one who cooked the pancakes and said I’d bake a cake,” Calisa said stoutly. She didn’t know why Auntie Zee was being so hostile to Jack. Near as she could tell, Jack was the only one who’d been helping with the bed-and-breakfast, especially with his father out of town. She wondered if this was what had happened with the rest of the staff: Auntie Zee had chased them all off.
Except Jack has nowhere else to go. This is his home.
That makes it so much worse.
“Ah, I see,” Auntie Zee said, still glaring at Jack. “You found a loophole.”
“Um…”
“He wouldn’t need a loophole,” Calisa said, “if you’d just let him cook. He’ll be careful. He’s learned his lesson.” It wasabsurd that the punishment had continued for more than a week, much less however many months it had been.
“He nearly burned down the whole inn,” Auntie Zee said. “That boy can’t be trusted.”
He studied his shoes.
Calisa felt a curl of anger. “People make mistakes. You don’t punish them forever. He knows he messed up, and he has no intention of doing it again. You could try forgiving him.”
Auntie Zee scoffed. “You know nothing about it.”
“I know he lives here, which makes him practically your family,” Calisa said. The unfairness of it—of everything Auntie Zee said and did—crept up into her throat, the curl of anger uncoiling into a flame. It was fine if her great-aunt was in a perpetual bad mood; it wasn’t fair that she weaponized her grumpiness against people who cared about her, or who wanted to care about her. Like Jack. Like her moms.Like me.“Is this how you treat family? Not forgiving them for mistakes? Is this why we haven’t been back since I was five? Did my mom—”
Scowling harder, Auntie Zee cut her off. “You know nothing about any of that.”
“What did Mom-Kate do that was so terrible?” Calisa pressed on, undeterred. “No, never mind. I don’t care. Whatever it was, was it really worth losing her over it? Pushing her away? Pushingmeaway?” She wondered if any of this was about her at all. It could all be about whatever happened between Auntie Zee and Mom-Kate.I’m just collateral damage.“Because it’s not logical to send me away. You clearly need help, and I’m here, willing and able—”
“Enough!” Auntie Zee snapped. “I told you when you arrived: you aren’t wanted here.” In a softer voice that seemed more tired than kind, she added, “It is nothing personal.”
Calisa snorted. “You said I’m not the right fit. How is that not personal?”
“Girl, you don’t understand—” Her storm-cloud eyes were focused on Calisa now, but Calisa wasn’t intimidated. She’d weathered Jocelyn Pullman’s smirk, Ethan’s fury that she wouldn’t give him another chance, and the pity of everyone who already knew he was a lying cheater.
She cut her great-aunt off. “I definitely don’t understand.” She waved at the window with the view of the mountains and toward the foyer. “Look at this place! It could be amazing, but you’ve let it fall into ruin, and now you won’t let anyone help you save it—”
“Why do you care about saving it?” Auntie Zee said. “You’ve been here two days!”
“Ha! I told you it was just two days. I have one more day to prove—”
“This ismybed-and-breakfast,myhome, and I can withdraw my hospitality—” Auntie Zee cut herself off this time. Her wrinkles smoothed into a smile as Kendra glided into the kitchen and halted by the butcher block island. “Ah, Kendra. We disturbed you. I’m very sorry. We were just clearing up a little internal matter.”
Kendra simply looked at Auntie Zee, her eyes full of disdain.
The moment stretched.
Calisa heard the sound of dripping water and realized itwas from Kendra’s bathrobe. She must have just emerged from the shower. Briefly, Calisa contemplated ducking into the hallway of supply closets to retrieve a towel but decided this wasn’t the moment to move.
At last, Kendra turned to Calisa. “Is there tea?”
“Ahh…” She hadn’t touched the teapot to turn it on yet.
A look crossed Auntie Zee’s face that Calisa couldn’t interpret. Resignation maybe? “Come, it’s in the front room.”
