Page 135 of Unforgettable

It was very much needed, especially since I’d spent the better part of a month and a half trying to come up with a solution that meant I could buy Murphy’s. I’d tried to find investors or get a loan. I’d even contemplated less than legal measures. But nothing had panned out.

And it felt like the harder I tried, the further away I was from my goal.

I’d told Rhonda before we left. We were spending spring break at Reed’s lake house with all our friends, and I could feel the weight of the news hanging over me. I’d waited to tell anyone until I knew for sure I’d exhausted all of my options. Telling Rhonda that she could move forward with finding another buyer was the last nail in the coffin.

The last thing I wanted to do was start off our vacation on a bad note, but I didn’t know if keeping the secret for a second longer was going to benefit anyone.

“You’re awfully quiet back there, Sunshine,” Amanda mused from the front seat. She stretched to see me in the rearview mirror, and I returned her cautious smile with a very small, very forced one of my own. Her expression dropped.

“What’s wrong? And please, for the love of all things holy, do not tell me ‘nothing’ again or so help me God…” I chuckled, but her scathing look quickly quieted me.

They’d both sensed something was off the past month, but I hadn’t had the heart to tell them. Not only would it break their hearts—Murphy’s was special to all of us—I knew they’d also try to come up with solutions.

“Fine, fine,” I muttered and scrubbed my hands through my hair and closed my eyes for a moment. With one last deep breath, I opened my eyes to find Amanda turned completely around in her seat and Reed watching me with concern through the rearview mirror.

“Rhonda is selling Murphy’s. She told me a few months ago and gave me first dibs. She said if I could buy the place, then it’d be mine, no questions asked. So, I’ve spent the last month and a half trying to figure out how to buy it. I’ve applied for every type of loan and tried to find investors. You name it, I tried it, but nothing panned out. I told her just before we left today that it wasn’t going to happen. She’s meeting with realtors and planning on listing it in the next few days.”

They both sat quietly until I was finished, but the moment I was done, Amanda asked, “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because this was my thing. I was going to handle it.”

Amanda shook her head and stared at me with an unbelieving expression. She turned around even farther in her seat. “We could’ve—we could’ve helped. Come up with other ideas… pitched in. I mean, I don’t have a lot of money, but—”

“No,” I said, hoping my voice rang with the finality I felt.

Her face dropped, and she glanced over at Reed, likely hoping for some backup. But Reed was stone-faced, staring out the windshield at the quickly passing landscape. Even from the back seat, I could see the definitive tic in his jaw, like he was grinding his teeth. He gripped the wheel with white-knuckle force and didn’t so much as glance back at me.

Not receiving any help from our boyfriend, Amanda looked back at me. “There has to be a way. I’m sure we could talk to everyone about it and come up with some solution.”

I was shaking my head before she finished. “I’ve considered every possibility and tried every possible option. It’s not going to happen. And besides, none of us have the funds to buy the place.” As soon as the words left my mouth, Amanda glanced at Reed and prepared for the argument. I hurried to continue. “None of us have the money, the time, or thedesireto own and maintain Murphy’s. This is just the way it is, okay? I just wanted to tell you both so that you know. I don’t need help coming up with a solution or trying to find another way. I’ve made peace with the fact that I’ll have to find another job or get used to working for someone else. So, I just want to move on. But I wanted to tell you so it’s not hanging over my head all week. Everything is good now, I promise.”

Her eyes narrowed, and I could see the desire to argue still shimmering in her eyes.

“You have nothing to add?” She turned to Reed, who still didn’t look away from the road. He shifted lower into his seat and shrugged.

“Seems like Sunshine’s made up his mind, Cielo. Maybe we should let him do what he wants to do.”

Amanda’s attention bounced between the two of us, but with a groan, she conceded. She sat back down in her seat, facing forward, and propped her knee on the center console.

The car was quiet. The only sounds were the music softly playing over the speakers and Reed nervously tapping on the steering wheel. As I suspected, it only took a few minutes before Amanda was shifting in her seat, uncomfortable with the lingering silence.

Like I knew she would, she turned in her seat once more. I couldn’t risk the topic being brought up again, so before she had a chance to speak, I said, “How’s Adam?”

She stilled in her seat and worried her lower lip between her teeth. “He’s fine… I think.”

It wasn’t the nicest tactic, but I knew bringing up her brother would permanently shift the topic from me and Murphy’s.

Much to both mine and Reed’s surprise, Adam had been a decent employee after the one incident at the gym. But as good of an employee as he was, he was shit at being a brother. When he wasn’t at the bar or the gym, he was who knows where. And he did whatever he could to avoid her, including coming home at odd hours of the night and making excuses to bail on any of their plans.

And it was affecting Amanda more than she let on.

“How about this,” Amanda said. “This week we don’t talk about Murphy’s or Adam or work or anything stressful. This is supposed to be a vacation.”

“Works for me,” Reed muttered and closed his palm over Amanda’s thigh.

“And I swear if the three of us don’t get some alone time…”

“What, Cielo?” Reed smiled. He casually leaned back in the driver’s seat, one hand slung over the wheel, the other squeezed Amanda’s thigh. “Please, tell us what you’ll do unless you get us alone.”

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