Page 23 of The Inn Dilemma

I sit up proudly. “I know. That’s how I like it.”

Holt chugs the rest. “I can see why.”

Chris drapes his arms over his knees and leans forward. Resting my head on my brother’s shoulder, I take comfort in his presence and warmth.

Holt gets up and grabs a log from the large stack by the trees and throws it on the fire. He holds his hands out, warming them against theflames.

“You’re getting better at making fires,” I say to Holt.

“Thanks. Uncle Walt recently taught me.”

“Is he still taking us fishing this weekend?” Chris asks him.

“He told me as long as we’re up before six. Otherwise, he’s going without us.”

In the fire’s light, I see Chris roll his eyes. “Whatever. Grandad actually appreciates his sleep but can’t take us this weekend.”

Holt laughs. “Just because you need more sleep than a newborn baby doesn’t mean the rest of us have to wait for you.”

“It’s more normal than you running a mile before the sun is even up!” Chris shoots back.

“You can’t start training too early.”

“Training for what?” I ask.

Holt sits up straighter. “The Navy SEALs.”

My mouth pops open. “That’s what you want to be when you grow up?”

“More than anything.”

“They’re like practically impossible to get into though,” Chris says, and Holt’s shoulders slump. Chris quickly adds, “But if anyone can make it, it’s you.” He pats Holt firmly on the back and he perks up.

Once Chris and Holt call it a night, I head back into the house and tiptoe up the stairs. Thankfully, Mom and Dad both seem to be asleep. I can hear Dad snoring through the walls, and there’s no crying or sounds of pacing coming from Mom’s room.

I crawl under my covers and stare up at my ceiling covered in glow-in-the-dark stars, pretending that I’m outside falling asleep under the real ones and not slowly suffocating in this bedroom beneath plastic ones.

Chapter Eight

Holt

Iknow each curve and bend of these roads like the back of my hand. Whether I’m on two wheels or four, I could drive them with my eyes closed—not that I would. Especially not with the precious cargo sitting in the front seat of my truck. She’s been asleep for the last fifteen minutes. Apparently, she needs the rest.

I was up late last night mulling over my conversation with Chris and Roxy. The look of betrayal in Chris’s eyes when I went back inside after Nova left hit me like a sucker punch to the gut.

He stood from my couch and threw his hands up in irritation. Neither Tootsie nor Titan liked how he approached me, and both trotted over to sit in front of me as if defending me from Chris’s frustration.

“How could you keep this a secret from me?” His voice wasn’t loud, but his words were clear.

I sat the wood I had carried in down next to the fireplace and dusted off my hands before facing him again.

Blowing out a puff of air, I answered, “It wasn’t mysecret to share, and she asked for time to process everything. Getting rejected by your dad shattered her. No matter how it looks on the outside, I can see it’s eating away at her.”

Chris ran his hands through his hair. Roxy stood and rubbed up and down his back. “I don’t agree with what she did, but I can sympathize with her. It’s not easy to admit you’ve messed up, especially when family is involved.” Her words surprised me.

He swallowed hard when he looked at his wife. A million unspoken words passed between them. I saw the moment his anger dissipated.

Chris turned to face me. “I don’t like that you kept this from me. But you’re one of the few people in our lives who has always had our best interests at mind.”

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