Page 11 of The Dangers of Daydreaming

“You should just join us.”

I lifted my brows.

“You know, on tours. We run tours with the B&B. The Hastings family is doing a two-week-long one starting…” He glanced at his watch, then up at me, smiling. “Now. Come with us, you already know we have an extra seat in the van. If you call shotgun this time, you won’t be stuck holding the toddler’s used juice cups either.”

I gave him a tight smile. He wasn’t being unkind at all—really, he’d been nothing but helpful all day. I could have still been stuck at the airport if not for him. But I was not exaggerating when I said he was my full-on nemesis in junior high. Sure, it was just harmless teasing. But ask any twelve-year-old girl if she likes being made fun of every single day for things like being in love with books and big words. It had left a lasting mark, and I think I liked Finn more like this. Small talk and little contact. Then I wouldn’t have time to discover that a decade hadn’t actually matured him.

“No, thank you, though,” I said. “I’ve got it covered.” He probably wasn’t going on all the tours I needed to anyway.

He actually looked disappointed, but he pushed himself back to a standing position and nodded. “Suit yourself.” Then he went to join the Hastings, who, by the sound of it, were almost to the entrance of the old home. He stopped at the cased opening, though, glancing back at me. I ignored the small flip my stomach did when our eyes locked. “You look good, Sinclair,” he said. “It’s good to see you.” Then he smiled and left the room.

Ugh. Why had that actually given me butterflies?

Thankfully, my phone buzzed, distracting me. Fingers crossed that it was the office.

My stomach dropped. It was a notice from my bank. The charge for the B&B had been declined. Embarrassment flooded me even though no one was there. Quickly, I signed in and changed the charge from debit to my savings. I honestly think it caused me physical pain to do so. The point of a savings account was for savings, but lately, between tickets to attend Mom’s wedding, a bridesmaid’s dress, and the amount of junk food I was purchasing to uphold my mental well-being, that number was going down, not up.

The company would pay me back though, it was only a temporary charge. But the sick feeling in my stomach was reminding me of what was at stake here. Sure, living out my bookish dreams might have been a big part of pushing me to take this promotion challenge, but ultimately it came down to the fact that I needed the security a promotion would give. I needed to stay focused: get in and get out with the best tour itinerary planned.

So, I swiped out of my bank app and pulled up the phone. It was time to call some locations and get my tours planned.

Chapter 4

Change is Coming

Finn

Thebeepingofhospitalmachines made it hard to pretend this was just a regular evening with my grandparents. Under normal circumstances, I’d love the chance to be in a hospital and ask questions to the nurses and doctors. I’d be figuring out what each of these machines was monitoring. But instead, I studiously avoided looking at the tubes attached to my grandpa as I settled into a chair by his bed.

“Nice dress, Pops,” I said, nodding at his hospital gown that disappeared into white and blue blankets on his bed.

He chuckled, his gray eyes twinkling as he glanced at Gram. “I don’t know why Jules complains so much. These things are comfortable.” He winked.

Gram rolled her eyes, which brought my attention to the dark circles under them. Pops had only been here since this morning, but Gram already looked haggard. Worry wrote itself into every smile line on her sixty-five-year-old face. “Yes, well, my dresses aren’t open at the back.”

Pops barked a laugh at that.

I appreciated the levity. It was another great distraction from the sterile room we sat in and everything it meant.

“How’re you doing?” I asked, not sure I wanted a truthful answer.

“It’s nothing compared to that time a Massasauga bit me back in the seventies,” Pops said, but I noticed the shadow of discomfort as he tried to lean back.

“Better pain meds this time?”

“Enough to tranquilize a horse,” he responded with a grin that turned grimace.

I couldn’t look at that expression, so I turned to Gram. “Is it broken?”

She nodded. “The surgeon was here this afternoon. He wants to operate.”

“Better to do that soon, right?” I chanced a glance back at Pops.

“Dr. Gulliver doesn’t want to wait more than twenty-four hours, but…” She raised her brows at her husband.

I swung my gaze between the two of them. “Do you not want the surgery?”

Pops avoided my eye. And Gram’s. Instead, he took a sip from the massive cup sitting near him. “There are a lot of risks with surgery.”

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