Page 78 of Resting Beach Face
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Cash
“So,why hasn’t Mom called me looking for you?”
Katelyn dropped onto the corner of a full-size bed covered in a white comforter accented with red blossoms. Declan had given her the Dogwood Room for the night before retreating to let us talk alone.
“This bed is nice,” Katelyn said, then wrinkled her nose. “The decor is a little weird.”
“It’s the Dogwood Room.” I waved toward the red blossoms on the bed, then the dog-shaped throw pillows. “Get it. Dog…wood?”
She snorted. “You really like him, don’t you?”
Okay, so the decorwasa reach. Aunt Millie had obviously had an odd sense of humor. Declan had told me this room rarely booked up. Along with its odd decor, it was tucked onto the bottom floor with a view of only…yep, you guessed it, a dogwood tree.
“He didn’t decorate the room. It was—” I stopped and waved my hands. “You know what? Don’t change the subject. Why isn’t Mom looking for you right now?”
Katelyn dropped to her back with a gust of breath. “I told her I was going to Jenna’s.”
I crossed my arms and towered over her, like an intimidating asshole, but in this case, it was my job as her big brother. “Why didn’t you go to Jenna’s? The parties in Swallow Beach are no joke.”
“I know.”
Not good enough. “If you know that, then why are you putting yourself in danger, huh?”
“Benny dumped me, and Dad said I had it coming, and Jenna’s been telling me to give up on him, and I didn’t want to hear one more person tell me I deserved what I got, okay?”
Tears sprang to her eyes, and I dropped down onto the bed beside her. The time for towering intimidation was over. “Hey, I’m not ever going to say that to you.”
She sniffed. “I know, but I just hate life right now. I wanted to escape.”
I knew that feeling. A little too well.
“I get it, Kat, but I’ve been down that road. It doesn’t take you anywhere good.”
“I’m not anywhere good now,” she muttered.
“Then we need to change that.”
She looked dubious. “I don’t see how we can.”
“Well, for starters, I should always be your first call. If you need an escape, I’ll get you a safe one, okay?”
“Even if you’re working?”
“You know you can always come to the resort. Skylar is cool. And if I’m here, come over and help. We could use some cheap labor.”
She giggled. “Declan won’t mind?”
“I’ll check with him, but no, I don’t think he will. He’s a good guy.”
“So, what’s going on? Is he your boyfriend?”
I stood up. “And I believe the sibling pep talk is complete. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
She smirked. “Right after you wake up in Declan’s bed, right?”
“Shut it. That’s none of my baby sister’s business.”
