Page 73 of One Little Mistake
“Who knew the grumpy growler was such a talker.”
The low timbre of his laugh causes me to smile again.
“That is something I’ve never been accused of before, Locket, but I do have a lot to say.”
Sucking in a breath, I prepare myself for impact.
“First, we need to fix GG’s lodge, and you’re going to have to accept my help in every way.”
“GG won’t take your money, East.”
“Bullshit. She doesn’t have a choice. I don’t mind putting in the hard work, but we need help to make it safe first. Do you have any idea how it got so bad without anyone noticing?”
Guilt eats at my chest. “Lanie and I are all she has. We both went off and lived our lives. We should have been paying closer attention.”
“Hey, Lex? I’m not placing blame. I’m just trying to understand.”
“I know. Honestly, I’m not sure. Lanie was here not that long ago, and it wasn’t like this. GG said she had some men in here about six months ago to do some work. At first, she thought everything was fine, but then she started noticing things.”
“What things?”
“Like the wall cracking. Beams in the ceiling were suddenly sagging. I don’t know, it could be a coincidence, but she has always kept the lodge well maintained. But I was looking at her bills. Everything seems off somehow.”
“Do you know where she got the contractors?”
“She said they were a recommendation from Mr. Fontaine. He’s the town accountant.”
“The what?”
“You know how you have welcome to the chaos?”
“Yeahhhh,” he drawls.
“Well, we have welcome to Burke Hollow. This little town isn’t like anything you’ve ever experienced before.”
“Okay. Well, tomorrow, I want to see all of GG’s receipts and find out who she hired. I’ll talk to GG, but we’re going to get this place fixed.”
“Thank you, East. I-I know there’s probably some weird family obligation for you to be here, but I … we … GG and I appreciate it.”
“It killed you to be nice, didn’t it?” He laughs out loud, and as much as I don’t want to, I join him. When the laughter dies down, he turns to me again. “I’m here because I want to be. I’ll help because you’re family, and we take care of each other.”
“It has always been just me, Lanie, and GG. I can’t imagine what your house was like growing up.”
“Pure chaos.” I can hear the smile in his voice, and it reminds me of how we got here.
We lie side by side in the silence for a long time. The sound of his breathing lulls me into a sense of calm I haven’t had in a long time. Then he speaks. He always knows how to ruin a fucking moment.
“I’ve decided something, Locket.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”
“You’re not broken. You won’t shatter. You’re a survivor, and you’ll do what survivors do.”
“East, please don’t …”
“I’ve also decided I kind of like being married.”
“What?” I screech. “How can you possibly say that? You don’t even know what it’s like to really be married.”
