Page 22 of Neat
“Because he’s the one I was a brat to today,” I admitted. “And I got him in trouble with Uncle Mac. I need to apologize and make things right.” I paused, lifting one brow at my father’s unreadable expression. “You did know he’s the one training me, right?”
Dad cleared his throat. “Of course.” But the way he said it, I knew he didn’t.
I smirked, crossing my own arms.
Uncle Mac must have left that part out.
“He’s good at his job,” I said. “Really good. And from what I can tell, every single one of the other tour guides thinks he’ll be the one taking Mac’s spot when he retires.” I swallowed. “You think that’s what will happen?”
My father shrugged noncommittally, already turning for the door, my mother on his heels. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Anyway, I just wanted to check on you, but it seems like you’re doing alright. Just… honor your promise to turn it around up there, okay?” He paused at the door, opening his arms. “Come give your old man a hug before you go out.”
I crossed the room with heavy lead legs, hugging the man who had helped give me life like he was an acquaintance I was dropping off at an airport.
“Love you, kiddo,” he said into my hair, placing a kiss there.
My heart squeezed, the young child inside me who had been Daddy’s Little Girl longing for that connection again. But the woman who stood wrapped in that man’s arms now knew his true colors.
Daddy’s Little Girl would never exist again.
“Love you, too,” I murmured.
Mom hugged me, too, before they were both gone, and as soon as they were, I jogged upstairs to get dressed and put on a fresh coat of makeup. Dad might have said every one of those words with a smile, but I read the threat beneath it all.
That was a warning to get my shit together before I lost the dream I hadn’t even had the chance to unpack yet.
It was time to take the first step in turning it all around, just like I’d promised — starting with apologizing to Logan.
And I knew just where to find him.
Logan
“And then, I actually started to feelsorryfor her,” I said, gripping the tumbler of whiskey in my hand a little too tightly as I recounted the day’s disaster to my older brothers. “She almost looked ready to cry, so I stepped in, took over the tour to get her out of the hot seat. And when I got back to the tour guide lobby, I was checking on her, asking if she was alright.” I shook my head. “Of course, that wasbeforeMac came in and ripped me a new asshole big enough to shit a brick out of.”
Jordan chuckled. “Well, feeling bad for her doesn’t make you an idiot. It makes you a good human being.”
I made a noncommittal noise, taking a larger sip of whiskey than necessary just to feel the burn.
“She’s a Scooter,” Noah reminded me from the bar stool next to Jordan. “Does it really surprise you that she acted like a know-it-all asshole? I mean, isn’t that like on her family crest or something?”
I sighed, not wanting to admit that I thought Mallory was more, that she was different. “I guess.”
Jordan clapped me on the shoulder. “Don’t sweat it, okay? So what, Mac got a little pissed. I know you hate conflict, but to be fair, that old man is always grumpy about something. He’ll get over it, probably tonight, and things will move on.”
“But I still have to train her,” I reminded him. “And there’s that whole thing about her most likely taking his job when he leaves.”
Noah slammed his glass down. “If they give her that manager job that you’ve been lined up for for years, they’re going to have an entire distillery full of people to explain their actions to. Everyone in that placeknowsyou’re the best tour guide. You have been for years. And she just started, for Christ’s sake. And obviously doesn’t even want to be there.”
“But that’s just the thing, they don’thaveto answer to anyone,” Jordan chimed in.
“Yep. They own the place — literally.” I sighed. “It doesn’t matter if I’m the best. What matters is that if they want her to take that job, it’s hers. Period.”
Silence fell over us, long enough for me to take the last sip of my whiskey. I held the empty glass in my hands like it was a lifeline.
“Hey, we still don’t know that that’s what they have in mind,” Noah said gently. “For all we know, they could just want her to be a part of the company, finally live up to the Scooter name she seems to have been running from all this time.”
“Yeah, I don’t think anything points to them making her manager. Not yet, at least,” Jordan agreed.
“Nothing pointed to them murdering our father, either. But…” My voice trailed off, a sticky and uncomfortable knot forming in my throat at the words. Because the truth was, we didn’t have proof that our father’s death was the result of foul play — only suspicion. We knew our father didn’t smoke, and that’s what the fire was blamed on. We also knew he’d been causing waves on the board, and that Patrick didn’t like it, so he’d shoved him into the founder’s old office to sift through paperwork. And maybe those two things together didn’t sound like enough to get suspicious over, but even if it couldn’t be explained, we all felt it — my entire family — that something was off about that fire that took my father’s life.
