Page 114 of Resting Beach Face
My stomach flipped. “What kind of problem?”
“Someone broke in. It’s a mess, but well…It’s probably best if you see for yourself.” He hesitated. “I’ll let you decide how to break the news to Declan.”
“Too late,” I said wryly as Declan leaned over me, brow furrowed in concern. “He just heard you.”
There was a pause, then a gruff, “Damn, man. Sorry to disrupt your morning.”
“That’s all right,” Declan said from behind me. “We’ll be right over.”
We rolled out of bed, and I took the quickest shower ever—a rinse and dash to get rid of the cum. I dried and dressed so quickly my clothes stuck to me.
Declan wore navy blue shorts and a white polo, looking put together even when we rushed. By comparison, I was a slob in a wrinkled and stained T-shirt out of a duffel full of wrinkled shirts. My hair probably stuck up every which way, but fuck it.
We cut through the B&B. It was early for breakfast, still, though Declan had an automatic coffee pot that was doing the good work. Mr. Jackson sat at the table, nursing a mugful.
“Morning.”
“Morning,” I said as Declan passed by, face tense. “Got a problem at another building. We’ll be back.”
Mr. Jackson rubbed a hand over his dark beard. “That’s a shame. Hope it works out.”
I had to jog to catch up with Declan. He might not be the most social guy, but he didn’t usually ignore his guests, so I knew how worried he must be. “Don’t panic. Whatever it is, we’ll fix it.”
His shoulders lowered a fraction. “You can’t promise that.”
“I sure as hell can,” I said, slinging an arm around his shoulders and slowing him from his fast walk. “We’ve transformed that place into a gorgeous lake cabin, haven’t we?”
His lips tipped up in the tiniest hint of a smile. “You’ve done amazing work.”
“Okay, then. We’ve got your back.”
And it was a good thing too, because as we crested the hill to the front of The Roost, the first thing I saw was the massive front window. Broken. Shards of glass littered the ground beneath it.
Declan swore. “Those are custom windows. Goddamn it!”
I winced. I’d talked a good game on the way over here, and I was sure Gray and I could replace that window. But paying for it? That was Declan’s problem. “You have insurance, right?”
“Some, but…” He cringed. “I dropped to the minimum coverage on the outbuildings because I wasn’t actively using them. I don’t know if it’ll cover vandalism.”
“Shit.”
Gray opened the front door, which had taken its own beating, the wood splintered and ragged near the lock. Must have been kicked in. On these older properties, charm camebefore security, so it wasn’t reinforced. Breaking it hadn’t been necessary, considering the shattered window, so I assumed the vandals did it for pleasure rather than access.
“Hey, guys,” Gray said, lips pressed into a tight line. “There’s more inside. The assholes made a mess, but it could be worse.”
“If it was worse, I’d probably keel over from a damn heart attack,” Declan said. “I’m supposed to beimprovingthe B&B for when I sell it, not passing it on in even worse condition.”
“Well, hey,” I said, desperate to find a silver lining for him, “unless they gutted the kitchen, you’re still in better shape than you started.”
Declan gave me a flat look. “You’re a glass-half-full kind of guy, aren’t you?”
I smiled gamely. “You already knew that about me, didn’t you?”
He shook his head, but again, a small smile tugged at his lips, and his tension eased a notch.Win.
Gray led us inside, and it sure as shit wasn’t pretty.
Cream-colored paint streaked across the wooden floor, paint cans tipped on their sides. We hadn’t yet refinished the floors, so I wasn’t sure if that could be sanded away or we’d have to find another solution.
