by Jill Sanders
“I’ve been looking over the finances and, if I can rent out the rooms on the top floor, I think I’ll have enough to recarpet all the other rooms, along with paint inside and out. That is if I can get my family out or at least in smaller rooms and paying something.”
“Speaking of family.” He nodded over her shoulder where her cousin Steve was walking towards them, his arm slung over a bleached-blond woman’s shoulders. The pair of them were wearing nothing but swimming attire and were soaking wet, and Dylan’s eyebrows shot up.
Eve jumped up and stopped the couple from sitting down.
“Steve, you know better,” she started.
“I told you, call me Fray,” he said with irritation.
She continued, “No swim attire in the dining hall. You can eat out on the patio dressed like that.”
“But DarCee wanted to eat in here.” Her cousin started moving past her.
Eve slapped a hand to his chest. “Not soaking wet. You will need to dry and change first.”
“We never had to in the past,” the blonde said in a pouting tone.
“That’s because I wasn’t here to stop you before,” Eve answered calmly. “There’s a sign clearly stating our rules at the door.” She motioned to the small sign hanging at the entrance of the hall. “The pool bar serves the same food out there for guests who are enjoying the water,” Eve said between clenched teeth.
“Like I said…” Steve tried to move around her once again, his free hand going to Eve’s arm to push her aside.
Dylan was beside Eve in a heartbeat. He had never had to use his height as an advantage before, but standing over Steve, Dylan straightened to his full six-two height and glared at the man, who was a good six inches shorter.
“Is there a problem here?” he asked, his eyes burning into the man’s hand, which was still wrapped around Eve’s arm.
The man instantly dropped his hand and backed up a step. “No, just trying to get some food,” Steve said in a shaky voice.
Dylan had run into Steve and his girlfriend on multiple occasions. The duo fancied themselves up-and-coming YouTube stars, calling themselves Fray and DarCee. He didn’t know the woman’s real name and doubted it was really DarCee. They often hung out at the local bars on karaoke night, singing very badly and so far off tune that most of the guest fled the joint the moment they got on stage. He’d seen the pair roll around the island, trying out their dangerous stunts. Last year, they’d been arrested after blowing up a derelict boat that had washed up offshore of the island. The word was that Steve, with a little help from some unknown friends or family members, had swum out to the boat and planted a bunch of fireworks and other small explosives on the thing. Then they filmed them jumping from the boat after lighting the thing up.
They’d been lucky to escape with their lives and had to pay the city a fine for cleaning up their mess. Knowing what was going on now with her family, he had no doubt that Reggie had paid the city fine for the man.
“Like Eve said, the outside patio serves the same food as inside.” He motioned towards the door.
“Come on, DarCee, let’s get out of here. We’ll head into town and have a pizza instead.” Steve’s eyes narrowed at Eve. “It’s too cramped in here now.” He took his girl’s hand and pulled her out of the room as she complained about having to pay for food versus getting a free meal.
“That was fun,” Eve said as they sat back down.
“Tell me they haven’t all been eating free the entire time they’ve lived here,” he said, feeling his anger grow for what her family has taken from Reggie and the inn.
She shrugged and took another sip of her soda. “Another good reason for them to move out.”
“What was Reggie thinking?” he asked, looking around. With the money he’d lost on her family, he could have easily fixed the place up years ago.
“Reggie had the biggest heart.” Eve sighed and leaned back in the booth.
Dylan’s eyes moved to hers, and he saw the longing and the sadness behind them. He reached across the table and took her hand. “Yes, he did.”
“Isn’t this cozy?” Liv stepped up to the table, practically purring the words with enough disdain in her tone that Dylan dropped his hand to his side. “Dylan, I didn’t know you were here,” Liv added, sliding beside him, forcing him to move as close to the wall as he could.
“Dylan’s doing some work for the inn,” Eve answered, her eyes narrowing between them.
“Oh, isn’t that sweet of you.” Liv reached up and leaned against his shoulder, running her fingers through his hair, twirling a curl around her finger, making him realize he was past due for a haircut.
“It’s my job,” he reminded Liv, too late to see Eve’s eyes narrow even further.
“I’d better get back to work,” Eve said, snatching up her laptop and sliding out of the booth so quickly he didn’t have time to respond.
“Well,” Liv purred and pushed her chest against his. It was common knowledge that she’d had a boob job a few years back. It wasn’t surprising since her mother, Louisa, was known to have more than one plastic surgery under her belt. “I suppose I could take the rest of the day off…” she started, but he reached up and wrapped his fingers around her wrist, pulling her free from him.
“I’m sorry, Liv, I have work.”
“Oh, poo.” She pouted. “I’m sure Eve will understand…” She smiled. “My room is just upstairs,” she whispered breathlessly just before she planted her lips against his skin. Thankfully, he’d seen the move coming and turned his head away so that her lips landed a few inches from his lips.
She’d come on to him, but never this strong before. His guess was she was trying to make her cousin jealous. Well, he wasn’t going to be a game piece for her to use.
“Enough. You know where I stand.” He nudged her out of the booth, tossed down a twenty to pay for the burger, and stormed out of the room without looking back.
The sour mood stuck with him for the next two hours as he inspected every aspect of the bottom two floors. Here, there was more wiring and more small damp rooms, including the furnace room and the heart of the place, the kitchen.
When he was done, he thought about sending the list to Eve so that she wouldn’t receive the brunt of his foul mood, but that was the coward’s way out.
Besides, she’d had to deal with far worse than a peck on the cheek and firm breasts pushed up against his chest. The fact that he’d been dreaming of soft, smaller breasts instead of larger firm ones weighed heavy on him.
That jogging outfit she’d worn that morning had driven him batshit crazy. He’d been almost too hard to run back home. The cold spray he’d stood under in his shower hadn’t helped at all. What he needed, what he wanted, was Eve.
The fact that she kept pulling away from him told him she needed time, needed space. When he could manage to stop thinking with his dick, he realized the hell she was going through.
Taking a deep breath, he knocked on her office door. When she called out for him to enter, he decided to make it short.
Stepping in, he thought about keeping the door open behind him.
“Shut the door,” she said, when he stepped in. “I’d like to keep this between us,” she said softly.
He sighed and slowly shut the door, trying to keep his eyes focused on the point above her head instead of those sexy caramel eyes of hers that screamed, “Take me to bed now.”
“I’ve worked up a list. The highlighted items are the most important and should be addressed before the first snowfall this winter.” He continued through his planned speech. “The starred items are purely cosmetic. If you want, I can work up a budget for those…”
“No, thank you,” she said looking over the list.
“If that’s all…” He turned to go.
“What’s between you and Liv?” she asked, stopping him. His hand was on the door handle. His grip tightened and he sighed.
“Nothing,” he answered without turning back to her. She r
emained silent, so he turned back to her. She’d moved around her desk and stood rail straight, her hands gripped in front of her as she watched him.
“You can’t even lie to my face?” She shook her head.
He jerked back. “Lie?” He laughed and moved closer to her. “Your cousin is a conniving, selfish… brat.” He shook his head. “She saw us there…”—his eyes met hers— “sparks shooting between us, and just had to interrupt the moment. To throw a wrench in it. I don’t know why she hates you so much that she’d throw herself at me, but she’s tried it in the past. I’d finally gotten it through her thick skull that I’m not interested when you fishtail into my life, causing me to want something I haven’t wanted in a long time.” He’d moved closer to her. “Then you make me laugh, make my daughter think you’re… something pretty amazing after only meeting you once. You get me all juiced up only to run cold.” She sucked in her bottom lip, and he groaned. “Damn it. How can you make me want you so badly? Just a slight move, a whiff of your sexy scent?” His eyes ran over hers. “Your eyes speak of promises you’ll give me in bed, while your stance pushes me away. Tell me.” He moved a step closer. “Which is it? Evelyn?” He stopped less than a foot from her now.
“There’s nothing between you and Liv?” she asked softly, causing him to laugh.
“No, never,” he answered.
Her eyes moved to his. “I… don’t have time for distractions.”
“Okay.” He nodded his head slowly.
“I’m a mess.”
“Okay.” He smiled.
“I can’t make any promises and will most likely screw this up.” Her eyes returned to his.
“Okay,” he said moving closer, his hands on her hips as he pulled her closer to him. Her hands moved to his chest, trapped there between their bodies. She fisted his shirt in her fingers, holding him close.
“I’ll need to keep this a secret from my family. They’ll use you to hurt me.”
He nodded in agreement. He’d thought the same thing after the run-in at lunch.
“You’re not backing away.” She sighed.
He shook his head, his eyes going to her lips. “It’s your move,” he warned. “You have to—”
She pushed up on her toes and plastered her lips to his.
In that moment, he felt his heart kick in his chest as her soft body melted against his. His fingers spread out on her narrow hips, pulling her small tight body against his as his desire grew.
God, it had been so long, too long, since he’d wanted this much.
“Evelyn,” he whispered next to her lips.
There was a low buzzing sound in his head as he ran his lips over hers, sucking them into his mouth, enjoying the taste of her, the feel of her next to him. He trailed his mouth over her chin, kissing her neck, enjoying the soft scent he found along the path as he moved up to take her earlobe into his mouth and sucked on it lightly. He felt her shiver and enjoyed the sounds of moans escaping from her. It would be just like this when he took her.
“Dylan.” His name sounded like silk to his ears. “Your phone is ringing,” she said, gripping his shoulders.
He heard it then. It had been his phone that had been buzzing in his back pocket. Pulling away, he was about to send it to voicemail when he noticed his father’s number on the screen. His dad only called when it was an emergency.
“What’s up?” he answered quickly.
“Hey, son, it’s nothing to worry about, but our little girl is running a fever. The teacher says—”
“I’ll be there,” he said quickly.
“Okay, we’ll meet you at your place,” his father said before hanging up.
“I’ve gotta go.” He turned away from Eve, but not before noticing how sexy she looked after being thoroughly kissed.
“Is Palmer okay?” Eve asked, following him out of her office.
“She’s running a fever,” he said, worry flooding his voice. Palmer had been sick before—what kid didn’t get the flu or a fever once in a while—but that didn’t stop him from worrying.
“Oh no. Can I help?” she asked.
He stopped in the entryway. “No.” He sighed and looked around. “We’ll talk later,” he promised her as Patrick watched them.
“Sure, thanks for the estimate. I hope your daughter feels better,” she said, waving. He turned and rushed from the building.
8
A bump in the night
Eve stood in her grandfather’s rooms, wanting to pull out her hair. How could her family be so… selfish and greedy?
Currently, Gerald, Logan, and Roger were arguing over a mantel clock that had, for as long as she could remember, sat just under a portrait of her great-grandfather Reginald, whom her grandfather had been named after, and his wife, Clara.
The clock, as far as Eve knew, hadn’t worked in at least two decades. But that didn’t stop every man in her family from wanting it, along with everything else of her grandfather’s that they believed had value.
She had suggested that, if there were any items in her grandfather’s room that her family desired, that they were welcome to come help her clear his things out.
She hadn’t expected the shit show she was watching currently. It was like Black Friday at a Walmart only with well-dressed snobs. She was pretty sure that at any moment there would be hair pulling and fistfights breaking out.
“Enough.” She stood up from her chair and walked over to grab the clock. “This is going to stay put.” She set the clock back down under the picture. Besides, she’d wanted the old thing and was thinking about seeing if Dylan or someone in town could fix it. “As will anything else that is argued over. If we can’t all agree peacefully, then I’ll just have to hold onto everything.”
“Who died and made you the boss?” Liv said from her perch on the settee that sat in front of the large bay windows.
Eve turned slowly towards her cousin. “Grandfather.” She narrowed her eyes at the room, daring anyone to challenge her.
“Not for long.” Liv chuckled.
Everyone in the room seemed to stiffen at that statement.
“Exactly what does that mean?” she asked Liv, who finally glanced up from her phone and smiled at her.
“It means, dear cousin, that we’ve all taken steps to contest grandfather’s will.” Her cousin’s eyes burned into her.
Eve felt a lump in her throat and had to swallow it down. Could they do that? Who makes those kinds of decisions? She’d just given up her life in Seattle to come back here and run this place. She’d already put every dime of her savings into the place, hoping that her meeting with the bank manager tomorrow morning would solve her financial problems, allowing her to be added onto the bank account for the inn, giving her access to pay herself back, not to mention paying all the past-due bills she’d been putting off since arriving.
Glancing around at the faces in the room, she stiffened. “Is this true?” she asked no one in particular.
“We think this place would run a lot smoother if we all had a hand in it.” Roger stepped forward. “Well, most of us.” He glanced down at his son, who was taking a selfie in front of the painting of their great-grandparents with his tongue sticking out towards them.
This was why no one seemed to be in a hurry to move out of their rooms. They had less than a week before the end of the month and there wasn’t a box in sight in any of their rooms.
Did they really think that, after living in the place for all these years, not lifting a finger to help Reggie out, that they could step in and run the inn themselves?
“Well, until then”—Eve shifted her shoulders, straightening her spine— “it’s still my final decision.” The room remained quiet, but Eve did notice a few smirks. “Now, if you don’t mind, I think it’s time we all called it a night.”
There was no argument. Apparently, everyone was done fighting for the evening. They gathered the little trinkets they’d wanted from her grandfather’s rooms and shuffled out the doors, leaving her a
lone once again.
Walking over to the fireplace, she looked up at her great-grandparents.
“I bet you didn’t have it this bad,” she said to the painting.
After all, the man had built the inn, passing it on to his son, who had grown it into a highly successful resort inn for more than five decades.
Resting her chin on the mantel, she looked at the old clock. Why on earth were they fighting over this? She picked the old thing up. Sure, it was beautiful, with its plain white face with black letters and hands. The key that wound the thing up had probably been lost years ago, leaving the hands permanently stuck at a minute till ten o’clock.
Turning it over, she saw the word Mason in bold letters with the name Howard Miller under it on a faded sticker.
Setting it back down, she pulled out her phone and did a quick search. Okay, so the clock, broken or not, was worth close to a thousand dollars. Maybe that’s why they wanted it so badly. Still, it was just a thousand dollars when the clock had way more sentimental value to Eve. To her, it was as precious as the painting it sat under. It was family.
Deciding it would stay put, along with a few other items, she spent the next hour removing what items she could from the rooms. She folded up all her grandfather’s clothes and placed them in large boxes to donate to the local shelter, adding all his shoes, toiletry items, and other personal effects.
By the time she was done, her back hurt and her head was dull. The rooms were now clear of most of her grandfather’s personal belongings, leaving only family heirlooms remaining. She thought of going through those but was too tired to continue.
Locking up, she descended the stairs and made her way to the kitchen. She hadn’t yet had a chance to run into town to the store, which meant another dinner at the inn.
It was nice catching up with Kathrine and her other friends. It was strange—she realized that, growing up, she didn’t have a lot of friends from school. Instead, the employees at the inn had filled those places where kids her age would normally be.