His Kindred Spirit

by Sloan Johnson

  James was silent for nearly a minute. “I want to say no, but I couldn’t give up. I couldn’t. I don’t expect you to understand what it was like growing up with her. This was the one thing Dad had that was completely his own.”

  “Then you’d better hope like hell your nephew, the same man you resented before you even knew him, can figure out a way to save your sorry ass.”

  As much as I’d love to sit around making James feel even worse about his bad life decisions, there was work to be done. He and Dane needed to figure out where to come up with the money to save the inn, which left me to make sure the guests had no clue there was a storm brewing behind the scenes.

  BY MIDAFTERNOON, there was still no sign of Dane. Between check-ins, I slid my phone onto the desk and tapped out a quick message.

  Worried about you. It’s hot out there, and I doubt you grabbed water or sunblock.

  I hadn’t expected a response, but the little bubble appeared at the bottom of the screen, telling me Dane was typing. Then it went away. Came back. Gone. I stared at the screen, waiting for his reply, but then the front door chimed.

  “Welcome to Bird Island Inn,” I said, pretending to type something into the computer while I slipped a stack of papers over the phone.

  My blood ran cold when I looked up. No way was the man standing before me a guest. He was dressed in a black button-down and slacks, mirrored glasses hanging from the pocket of his shirt. I wished he’d put them back on, because his dead eyes bored into me, causing me to shrink back.

  “I’m here to speak to James Montgomery,” he said flatly, looking past me to the office door.

  “I’m sorry, but he’s not in right now.” It dawned on me that this was the same man I’d seen James arguing with in the parking lot in the past. He seemed taller from a distance, but his shorter-than-expected stature didn’t make him any less intimidating. He had broad shoulders, and the threads of his shirt looked ready to burst under the strain of his bulging biceps.

  “Perhaps you could check, just to be sure.”

  “I suppose, but seeing as he has to walk past me when he enters or leaves his office, I can assure you, it’s empty.” Getting mouthy with the goon probably wasn’t my smartest decision of the day, but it seemed my brain-to-mouth filter had taken the day off.

  “Check.” He narrowed his eyes, never blinking, as he nodded toward the office door. Praying he’d leave once he had confirmation James wasn’t here, I made a show of swinging the door wide.

  “See, empty.” I stayed near the office, putting a safe distance between myself and the goon. “He left about an hour ago. Didn’t say when he’d be back.”

  “I’ll wait.” He stalked his way across the lobby to the library. I didn’t want to challenge him again, but it wasn’t good for business to have a loan shark, or his muscle, hanging around where families could see him.

  “Sir, I understand that you want to meet with James, but we’re trying to run a family establishment here. Perhaps it’d be best if you waited in your vehicle.” Or got in the car and drove far, far away from here. Damn James and his stupid fucking loans.

  “You’re pretty ballsy for a little guy.” The goon sneered at me as he stood. “Better watch it. Boys with big mouths tend to attract big trouble.”

  I gripped the edge of the desk tightly, willing my body to quit shaking before my knees gave out. I couldn’t be certain, but his parting shot sure as hell felt like a threat. Once the goon was gone, I reached for my phone and typed out a frantic message.

  I know you wanted to be left alone, but I need you back here. ASAP.

  This time, Dane’s response was immediate.

  OMW

  Every time the door chimed following the goon’s departure, my stomach flipped. I’d texted James to let him know someone had stopped by to see him, deleting the bit about what an asshole he was to put me in the middle of his bullshit. I wasn’t sure whether I hoped he’d race back to take care of his mess or heed the warning and disappear for a while. My overactive imagination wanted him to get his ass back here and take whatever they had to dish out, but my heart kept reminding me that he was Dane’s family.

  The doors to the patio opened, revealing Dane in silhouette. Finally I felt my chest loosen, and I was able to breathe again. I wanted to run to him, but at that same moment, the front doors opened to a family whose kids were squealing in anticipation.

  “Welcome to Bird Island Inn.”

  Dane leaned against the doorframe, watching as I checked in our newest guests, directed them to their room, and told them where they could find some beach toys for the kids when the time came. So far, that had been one of the best suggestions I’d made; families often didn’t think about the little things when packing their vehicles for a road trip and having some on hand cut back on the number of abandoned tools when guests checked out. Sure there were still some, but now we added those to the tote on the back deck for anyone to use.

  Once the family headed to their room, Dane sauntered across the lobby and behind the desk. I sank into his embrace as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.

  He kissed the side of my head and a bit more of my panic melted away. “What’s wrong?”

  “Someone came by to see your uncle today, and I’m pretty sure he wasn’t an old friend looking to reconnect.”

  Dane’s hold around my waist tightened. “Shit. I’m sorry you’re stuck in the middle of this, babe.”

  “It’s fine,” I lied. It wasn’t, but it also wasn’t Dane’s problem. He was just as thrown into this as I was. “Don’t suppose you had an epiphany while you were out thinking, did you?”

  “I have a few ideas,” he admitted. “But I need to make some calls before I say anything. I’m going to run up to the room and grab my laptop so I can work down here. I don’t want you alone until we figure this out.”

  I turned in Dane’s embrace, reaching up to grab his chin and force him to look at me. “I appreciate the concern, but you can’t be here every minute. I’ll be fine. I held my own and made him leave once he knew James wasn’t here.”

  “What do you mean you made him leave?” Dane seemed more pissed off than proud. “Brook, tell me you didn’t do anything stupid. Please. These aren’t the type of guys you can fuck around with.”

  “And I didn’t,” I insisted. “All I did was tell him he couldn’t wait in the lobby because we’re trying to run a family establishment. I didn’t think it’d be good for business to have someone who looked like he just stepped out of a mob movie lurking around. If you have work to do, anything that’ll keep them from coming back here, do it. If I need you, I have no doubt you’ll come running down the stairs.”

  “Or maybe saying I’ll work down here to make sure you’re okay is just a cover because I like watching you work.” It was a stretch, but flattery went a long way toward soothing my chafed ego. Even more when Dane nibbled at my ear as he ground his hips against me. “Can’t blame me if I like watching the way you dance around when it gets busy. Some people would get flustered, but it’s like the chaos fuels you into motion.”

  “Or maybe, if things get that busy, you could step behind the desk and help out,” I suggested. The more Dane talked about staying down here to help run the inn, the more I allowed myself to think about what it’d be like if this was our place. I wanted to work side by side with him, making sure we ran the best damned inn in town. But first, we had to make sure the goon and his buddies didn’t torch the place out of revenge or some shit.

  “If you need me, holler,” he told me. “I’m going to grab the computer and make some calls. We will figure out a way to fix this.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “Me too, babe.”

  Chapter 15

  (Dane)

  “TELL ME you’ve got good news for me, Jen.” I fought to keep her from hearing how frustrated I’d become. She didn’t have to spend every minute she wasn’t working or taking care of her family trying to save my ass, but she was.
r />   Unfortunately, I was running out of time. I didn’t want to head back to New York without some sort of resolution. I’d tried convincing Brook to take his first vacation in forever to fly back with me, but he’d sensibly pointed out that someone needed to stay here to run the inn. If it’d been up to me, I’d have called every guest and apologized for some nonexistent maintenance emergency, but he wouldn’t go for that. I pressed to the point he stormed out of our room and slammed the door behind him. That’d been a cold night alone in our bed, and I wasn’t looking for a repeat performance.

  “I do, but it’s not as simple as signing a check,” she warned me.

  I threw a pen across the room, pissed that James had gotten us into this mess. Angry with my grandfather for not reaching out to me before it was too late. Upset for my father, who’d never forgive himself for not getting to say goodbye. So much about this situation was beyond fucked-up.

  “Don’t get pissy with me. I warned you it was going to take time. Lucky for you, I have a friend who specializes in this type of transaction, and she’s going to help us out. By the end of the week, she’ll have a contract for you to show James. If he agrees to the terms, we’ll get the ball rolling.”

  “Not good enough, Jen,” I hissed through gritted teeth. I was getting on a plane in two days, and I needed this wrapped up before then. Needed to know no one was going to come around and fuck with Brook while I was gone.

  “Sorry, bud, it’s the best I can do. I’m not a miracle worker, but if we pull this off, I’ll come pretty damn close.” I could hear her acrylic nails tapping against the keyboard, which meant she had me on speakerphone. “If you’d like, I can get the ball rolling on liquidating the investments we’ll need to make this happen. That way, the money is already in your account and ready to transfer as soon as James agrees. He will agree, right?”

  “Not really sure he has much of a choice at this point. If he wanted to hang on to the inn, maybe he shouldn’t have made deals with back-alley loan sharks.” I’d done some digging into the men James borrowed the money from. There wasn’t much on them, but from what I’d gathered, they were small players trying to establish themselves. In some ways, that didn’t ease my mind, because there was no telling what measures they’d take to prove they meant business.

  “Does that mean I should do this? You’re going to take a huge hit, not gonna lie.” She’d warned me several times that the tax burden was going to hurt, but I didn’t care. The inn was the closest thing I’d ever had to a home, which was weird, since I couldn’t wait to get out of here when I’d first arrived. Part of it was the connection to my past, but the prospect of a future with Brook made it impossible to leave.

  “It’s only money.” Growing up poor, seeing my dad turn our lives around so we could live comfortably, and having it taken away again ensured I never felt an unhealthy attachment to wealth. Other things mattered far more. “Do whatever you have to do. Maybe I should—”

  “Don’t even say it, Dane,” Jen warned me. While I didn’t trust James, this money had to get paid and the goon squad wasn’t going to give a fuck where it came from. “Bailing him out without the paperwork in order is the worst possible thing you could do. It’ll strip your leverage to take control of the inn since he’s obviously inept at it, and it’ll tell James he can fuck up like this again and you’ll save his ass.”

  “I don’t feel right leaving without everything squared away,” I admitted.

  “Then get a message to your dad telling him you can’t be there. He’ll understand once you explain it,” she suggested.

  I’d considered that, but I’d given Dad my word I’d be there to pick him up. It was the beginning of our fresh start, and I didn’t want him thinking he wasn’t a priority to me anymore.

  “You know I can’t do that.”

  “Then quit freaking the hell out and get on the plane. Pack what you need at your place, drive up and get the old man, and get your ass back to North Carolina.”

  “Fine.”

  Jen rushed me off the phone after reminding me yet again that I needed to be patient. When the dust settled from all of this, I needed to invite her and Grady down for a vacation. They were good friends despite the odds.

  BROOK WAS busy at the front desk when I came back from a trip to the local grocery store. He quirked an eyebrow as he watched me struggle to open the door with my arms loaded with bags. I might have gone overboard making sure our kitchenette upstairs was fully stocked while I was gone, but I knew he’d live off dry cereal and fruit from the breakfast room otherwise. James was still MIA and the part-time employees I’d insisted we hire weren’t fully trained yet, which meant the operation of the inn would fall entirely on Brook’s shoulders once I left for New York. Yet another reason I felt guilty for leaving him.

  “How many check-ins do you have left?” I asked once our newest arrivals were on the way to their room. These bags were heavy as hell, but I wanted to time everything perfectly. Once the guests were settled for the night, he’d forward the lobby phone to ring upstairs so he didn’t have to camp out behind the desk all night.

  Brook didn’t even have to check the reservations screen to answer. “Four, but the Williams family called ahead to say they’re running late. I’m going to wait on the other three, then I’ll be up.”

  “Sounds good. I’m going to get started on dinner.”

  “Shouldn’t you be packing?”

  “Nope. I’m only taking my backpack,” I told him. There was no point in packing clothes when my first task once I got back to New York was packing as much of my shit as possible into the back of my Tahoe to bring down here. Plus, I sort of liked the symbolism of leaving everything I’d brought with me in the room to serve as a physical reminder to Brook that I would be back. “I checked in for my flight this morning, so that’s taken care of. My boarding pass is on my phone, so that’s one less thing for me to forget at ass o’clock tomorrow.”

  “Ass o’clock, huh?” Brook smirked. “You sure you don’t want me to get up with you?”

  Call me selfish, but that was the last thing I wanted. I hated leaving Brook but needed to. No, I wanted to look back and see him keeping our bed warm as I left. I’d experienced enough goodbyes in my life and knew my fractured heart wouldn’t comprehend that this one was only temporary.

  “You have another busy day here,” I reminded him. “We’ll spend some time together tonight and then you can sleep in.”

  And I could finally explain what I’d been so busy working on all week. Until today’s conversation with Jen, I hadn’t let myself believe I actually had the capital to buy out my uncle’s stake in the inn. Her attorney friend was going to have to work some magic since probate hadn’t cleared and technically neither of us owned the inn on paper yet, but I was beginning to have faith this was all going to work out.

  Another family pulled up in front of the doors, so I leaned in to quickly kiss Brook on the cheek before disappearing up the stairs.

  It was nearly two hours later when Brook texted to let me know he was finishing up downstairs. That meant I had less than ten minutes to make sure everything was perfect for tonight. I wasn’t sure why I was making such a big deal out of dinner, but it felt like a pivotal moment for us.

  The weathered table on the balcony was set, complete with a lantern in the middle. Not quite a candlelight dinner, but a strong breeze blowing off the water made that an impossibility so I’d improvised. I’d totally cheated by picking up a frozen lasagna because I wasn’t a gourmet, but I didn’t think Brook would mind. Tonight was about quality time with my man, who I didn’t need to impress with my culinary skills.

  The moment Brook’s footsteps sounded on the stairs, I rushed to meet him at the door. He startled as I threw my arms around him, burying my face in his neck. He always smelled so damn good.

  “Someone’s in a better mood tonight.”

  “Yeah, now that you’re here,” I admitted. This was something I’d never had before. I’d never cared en
ough about someone to feel anxious when they weren’t around or anticipate that moment we’d be back together. If I was this much of a sap when it’d only been hours since I’d seen him, what was this trip going to do to me?

  “It’s not just that,” he observed, leading me to the balcony. That had become our place whenever we were both up here and the weather cooperated. It allowed us privacy while still enjoying the beach life. “Have you heard from James?”

  I didn’t want to talk about my uncle tonight. Obviously, we’d have to at some point, but not yet. Or maybe it was best to get this out of the way earlier so the fate of everything my grandfather had built wasn’t hanging over us like an anvil the entire night.

  “Not yet, but I’m going to reach out to him in the morning. I have a solution, but only if he’s willing to accept my terms.”

  I grabbed myself a beer and poured a glass of wine for Brook. His eyes rolled back in his head and he sighed dramatically when the first sip hit his tongue. “God, I love you. It was a long-ass day.”

  “You have no clue how much I appreciate you busting your ass. Most employees would’ve told me to fuck off when James went into hiding, especially with everything that’s going on.”

  “Yeah, well, I think it’s safe to say I’m not most employees. You’re going to have to work harder than that to scare me off.”

  “Good thing I have no interest in working harder, then, huh?” I joked, reaching out for Brook’s hand. “At least, not when it comes to chasing you off. Right here is exactly where I want you to be.”

  “So, are you going to tell me about all this plotting you’ve been doing all week?” he pressed after a few moments of silence staring out at the waves rolling onto the shore.