Page 67 of Always a Roommate
“Tanner, you should have texted SOS.”
“What?” Tanner and I both asked.
Johnny sighed. “It’s a new thing I want us to try. We text it in the group chat and every one of the four of us drops everything—if we can—to meet at the diner.”
It wasn’t the worst idea in the world, even if it did sound super cheesy and needy. I shrugged.
Tanner didn’t give any indication of what he thought of the idea.
“I have a lot of really bad scenarios going through my head,” Johnny said, fixing his eyes on our middle brother. “Like, you could be dying, or maybe you committed a crime, and by telling us, you’ll make us choose between helping you hide a body and not spending the rest of our lives in jail, and—”
My hand on his shoulder stopped his rambling.
Tanner shook his head, a stunned expression on his face. Finally, he spoke. “I’m not dying, and I didn’t kill anyone. Honestly, if I did, you’d probably already know because it would’ve been one of you.”
I slugged him in the shoulder. He rocked back on his heels to avoid the impact.
“I didn’t get the money.”
“What?” I wasn’t sure what money he was talking about. We Kellys had never been rich, but we’d also never had true money struggles.
Johnny waited silently beside me.
Tanner blew out a breath. “I messed up, and there’s no insurance money coming to bring the Surf Hut back to life.” All the air deflated out of him like a balloon that had been stomped on one too many times. “Don’t go into all the ways I can still save it. I’ve heard it all from Rae. But right now, I don’t even have the money to hire a team to properly clean it after the standing water. I put every penny I had into buying the place. Maybe that was the biggest mistake.”
He sat down on the sand. “And the worst part is, I still owe the bank too much money from the purchase. I don’t know what to do.”
Cane came loping down the beach, and Tanner’s face lit up when he saw him. “There’s my buddy.” Cane tackled him back. “Have you guys met Cane?” he asked between pants.
There was something in his voice when he talked to the dog, something that pushed the dullness to the side and let the real Tanner out.
There were so many thoughts crowding my mind. Rae. Tanner’s financial problems. The house waiting for me to take ownership. Trevor.
There had to be a solution for some of it. Cane climbed off Tanner and sat at my side. I scratched him between the ears. “I’m taking Trevor and Cane to Mom’s for the night.”
Tanner shook his head. “There is no chance they’ll let a dog in the house. Remember last time?”
When we were kids, Tanner brought home a stray, and it burrowed into my parents’ bed. That was how my dad learned he was allergic.
I helped Tanner to his feet. “We’re going to find a solution. All of us.”
He only nodded.
“But I need you to do something for me.”
Tanner rolled his eyes. “Take the dog. You do realize I can barely keep myself alive, right?”
I patted his back. “I knew you’d come through.” I started down the beach. “Cane, stay. Johnny, I’ll drop you at your place on the way.”
“You’re going to owe me, Shane.”
I only waved a hand over my shoulder. Tanner and Cane could do each other some good.
Me, I had some problems to work through.
27
RAE
