Page 10 of Fifty-Fifty

I chuckle lightly before givin’ him all the details. The entire time he nods at all the appropriate places while gruntin’ here and there, too.

When I finish, he offers, “You know you’ve got a place with us, right? If y'all ever need it.”

My eyes go glassy at the thought. I know he means well, but his offer makes me feel like a stray cat all over again. If I can’t get that Noah gentleman to agree with me, I’ll lose my home. My everything. I can’t let that happen.

“I know. Thanks for offerin’, Mr. Harold. It means a lot to me.”

He smiles back. “Any time, darlin’. Any time. So does that mean Jay’s grandson’ll be stickin’ around for a while?”

My lips pucker as I consider the possibility. “Sounds about right. I just need to find a way to convince him that the inn’s a good investment. That it’s worth his time, ya know?”

Harold nods, knowingly. “Yeah. The town festival is comin’ up. We always see a spike of tourists during that time, and I know Jay always did, too. And then with the holidays just around the corner, you’re sure to see some good money. Y'all just need to be patient.”

I shake my head. “I ain’t the impatient one, Mr. Harold. He is. And I think my little act in here this mornin’ didn’t help things. He was not very happy to see me this afternoon.”

Harold laughs as his eyes glaze over with memories from this mornin’. “Yeah, that was somethin’ else, Beau. You’re a quick lil’ thing, ya know that?”

Gigglin’, I say, “I learned from the best.”

He tilts his chin down at me in silent acknowledgement of my compliment. “Damn right, you did. Now get outta here before Betty has my hide for talking too much. But remember that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. You want that man on your side? Then you gotta play nice.”

I sigh in defeat, even though I know he’s right. Like always.

“Yeah, yeah.” I glance behind him to see Betty wavin’ him over with a dish towel.

“Speaking of which…”

“Harold!” she yells, “That damn espresso machine’s actin’ up again!”

Harold sends a friendly wink my way before sauntering over to his wife and playin’ the knight in shinin’ armor like a champ.

He’s a good one, but I wouldn’t even dream of catchin’ one like him for myself.

I ain’t naïve enough to think some knight will come ridin’ in on his white horse to save a woman with a kid. It ain’t realistic, and I won’t be spendin’ my life dreamin’ instead of workin’ hard and makin’ my own way in this world. Not again. Not after what happened with Mac’s daddy.

Just then, the door rings on the front, notifyin’ us of another customer. My eyes squeeze shut on their own while I pretend to blend in with the booth. It’s like my sixth sense kicked in and I know, without a doubt, that the man who just walked in is Noah, and I’d prefer if he didn’t see me. Not so soon after the meeting.

Unfortunately, I don’t disappear into the plastic seat. He strides over to me within seconds, each reverberatin’ thud of his boots shakin’ me to my core. His presence hovers above me as I continue staring at Mac’s drawing like it’s the prettiest thing I ever did see. In fact, it’s her reaction that finally gets me to break my concentration. Her big toothy grin and curious stare are glued to the masculine form loomin’ over my shoulder.

Cautiously, I peek up at him.

“Hi,” I squeak, my earlier bravado seemin’ly misplaced.

“Hey.” His baritone voice rolls over me like warm honey on a hot summer day.

“Can I help you?”

He sends me his signature smirk before slidin’ into the opposite side of the booth without asking.

“Sure. Take a seat,” I offer sarcastically, motionin’ across the table.

He chuckles goodnaturedly before leanin’ back into the cushions and placin’ his inked arm across the back like he owns the place.

“I stopped by the inn, but you weren’t there.”

I tilt my head to the side as I ponder his comment. “Why were you at the inn? And why are you not yellin’ at me?” I kinda assumed that was his only volume.

He chuckles dryly. “Mr. Jenkins came out after you left and suggested I stick around for a few days. And since I’ll be staying here for a while, I figured I’d need a place to stay, and what better place than the one I own fifty percent of?”

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