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He stiffened. “With you?”

“No. I offered him my old room—I’m in Mom’s now. But he insisted on taking one of the bungalows. Said he’d pay by the night or work off the charges.”

Carl lowered his voice. “Why would you offer to let him stay with you?”

She didn’t seem to have an immediate answer. She opened her mouth and closed it again before finally coming out with, “Because he’s my brother, I guess. Isn’t that what you do for family?”

She was in a difficult situation; Patience could sympathize with her confusion. Was Kanon family? Someone she should embrace?

Her mother had obviously wanted her to include him in her life, or she wouldn’t have written him into the will.

On the other hand, it couldn’t have been a pleasant surprise for Kelsey to learn that her inheritance was only half what she’d expected, and that she had this other very difficult person to deal with—one she might’ve been able to forget otherwise.

“Where’s he been living?” Patience asked.

“North Dakota. Been working in the oil fields up there.”

Carl perused one of Patience’s festival flyers before putting it back down. “As a roughneck?”

“I assume he started out that way. What else could a sixteen-year-old do? He didn’t even have a high school diploma. But he’s been in the workforce long enough now that I’m assuming he’s climbed his way up. He hasn’t really specified, and I didn’t want to press him. You know how…private he is.”

She’d chosen that adjective carefully; Patience had expected her to say “touchy.”

“Yes, I remember,” Carl said. “How’s he behaving? He treating you okay?”

Although Kanon had left Hard Luck for the first time nineteen years ago, he’d been back for various periods. According to the rumors that went around, his father would entice him with promises of work or God knows what else, and he’d return, only to have it end in another big blowup between them, at which point he’d leave.

Patience had always felt bad that Kanon didn’t seem to have anyone or anything to cling to. From what she’d heard, his mother had abandoned him and his father when Kanon was just a baby. That was sad, but any pity she felt quickly evaporated whenever she ran into him on the street. He could cut someone with a glance—make anyone step out of his way just that easily—and the older he got, the more determined and implacable he seemed to become. It wasn’t that he was outlandishly big. He was only about six foot or six-one, but he was sinewy and strong and didn’t take any crap from anyone.

“We’re getting along,” Kelsey insisted, but Patience could hear the uncertainty underlying that statement. “For now,” it seemed to imply.

Carl glanced back at the door as if to make sure no one was about to step into the office. “What happened, Kelsey? Why would your mother leave half this place to him?”

She gave him a sheepish look. “You heard about the will?”

“It’s all anyone can talk about. The news was so…unexpected, so shocking!”

Kelsey laced her fingers together as she rested them on the counter. “Actually, I’ve known for a while. Bing Kettering told me the day after my mother died.”

Bing was the only attorney in town. He must’ve helped Suzanne with her will. He helped most folks in Hard Luck.

“I just didn’t say anything because…because I couldn’t believe it myself,” she continued. “And I wasn’t sure Kanon would come back, not for any reason. I figured if I ignored it, the problem would take care of itself.”

“And now that he’s here?” Carl asked. “What are you going to do? Are you considering contesting the will?”

“No. At least, I don’t think so. That would take money I don’t have. Bing says I probably wouldn’t win anyway.” She managed a shrug but still looked rather ill at ease. “So…I’m just waiting to see how it goes.”

Carl’s expression grew pained. “Considering the situation, he could cause you a lot of problems.”

“He could,” she agreed. “But he doesn’t own half the business—not exactly. He has forty-nine percent, and I have fifty-one.”

“Still.” Carl shoved his hands in the pockets of his coat. “Is he going to stick around and help you run this place? Or is he going to sell out and take off? Because if he sells, what kind of partner will that leave you with?”

Actually, Patience thought a transfer of Kanon’s share might be what was best for Kelsey. Maybe she’d get a partner who’d really help her and wasn’t out to prove how little he cared about everyone else.

“He can’t sell out,” Kelsey explained. “Not yet. There’s a stipulation in the will that says he has to help me run the inn for a year before either of us can sell. That’s why I thought he might not respond to the notice Bing sent him. I couldn’t imagine he’d ever be interested in moving back.”

“I see.” Carl rubbed his chin.