Page 54 of The Luck of Finding You
“Well, why not?”
“Dad’s getting married—sometime this year I’m assuming. And Marsha left me a bookstore that I have to keep running for eleven more months.”
“We’re going to St. George right now.”
“Yeah, but that’s for the weekend.”
“You deserve a vacation. You said it’s been a few years.” If I could, I’d nudge her leg with mine to motivate her to take the leap. “You can always go once you get the money Marsha left you.”
“I know,” Tally says. “I think that’s the first thing I’ll do once I have the money. If we can make it, working together that long.”
“We will.” And now I’m smiling, even if she doesn’t believe me, because I can picture us walking hand in hand down the streets of Scotland, and I’m not going to let that vision go.
But I keep these thoughts to myself.
* * *
It’s justafter midnight when we pull into the hotel. After we talked about Scotland, Tally declared she was tired and took a short nap for the last hour of the trip. As we get out of the car, she looks exhausted, so I grab my duffel and pull her suitcase behind me. She doesn’t make a peep about it.
We enter the well-lit lobby. Tally blinks up at the bright florescent lights as we make our way over to the desk.
“Noah Jones,” I say, pulling out my ID.
“Room three-thirty-seven,” the teenager behind the desk says, popping her gum as she slides me a key.
“Tally Nelson.” Tally slides her ID to the girl. The girl types in her name and frowns.
“Sorry, ma’am, it doesn’t look like you have a reservation,” the girl says, handing back her ID.
I can feel Tally’s panic.
“What do you mean?” Tally’s voice comes out high-pitched, like she might cry. “I booked it three weeks ago. Let me pull up the email.”
I watch her search the name of the hotel. A confirmation email comes up, along with another one. “Wait. I got an email yesterday saying it was canceled. Why would you just cancel my room?”
The teenager shrugs. “Who knows. Maybe someone overbooked the hotel.”
“He still has a room!” Tally’s voice has gotten considerably louder.
“Look, lady.” The girl blows a bubble and pops it before she starts chewing again. I grimace. “You don’t have a room. We could offer you a free stay another time?”
“No…that won’t work. Everywhere else is booked. Everywhere was already booked when I got this room. Where am I going to stay?”
“With me.” I look at Tally, trying to convey silently that I have no hidden agenda here. She just needs a bed to sleep in and I’ve got an extra one. The teenager rolls her eyes and then looks at her phone again as if the issue is resolved and there’s no need for her anymore. Technically, there’s not, but she’s still being rude.
“With you?” Tally asks, her eyes as wide as saucers.
“Yeah. The room has two beds, should be fine. It’s just two nights.” Totally not a big deal. Even though part of me is thrilled I get to spend a little extra time with her.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea…” she trails off, yawning.
“Because of the guy you’re meeting?” I ask, and she nods. “Don’t tell him. Or do and just show him the email.”
“I can try to find somewhere else.” Tally pulls up Google on her phone.
“Tally.” She looks up at me with her tired blue eyes. “It’s late. You’re exhausted. Let’s just go sleep.”
Tally bites her lip. Is it really that big of a deal? Why is this such a hard choice for her? We’re friends. I’m not suggesting we sleep in the same bed, just the same room.
