Page 38 of Meet Me at the Grand

“I actually thought that maybe I could kill two birds with one stone. You willing to help me?”

“Are grits the most delicious breakfast food known to man?” At Liam’s pause, she chuckled. “Yes, sugar. The answer is yes. Anything. How can I help?”

* * *

Maybe she should just face the inevitable.

Getting the Sullivans back to Jonathon Island wasn’t in the cards.

“Are you sure there isn’t anything I can do to help, Aunt Elise?” Dani dragged a chip through a bowl of guacamole on Uncle Seb and Aunt Elise’s butcher block island counter, which was spread with a full-on Mexican food feast, including chicken enchiladas, homemade refried beans, and flour tortillas. The smell of taco meat rent the air, spicy and full-bodied. It was Dani’s favorite meal.

But not even that could cheer her up tonight.

“No, dear, thank you.” From her spot standing at the stove, Aunt Elise pushed a spatula through the ground beef as it sizzled in a skillet. Even though she’d been cooking and probably cleaning for the last hour or so, she looked as put together as always in her beige slacks and powder blue sweater, her dark bobbed hair coifed without a strand out of place. “The girls and I have it handled.”

Dani’s family bustled all around her—her fifteen-year-old cousin Nora setting the table, Mia washing lettuce, Uncle Seb in and out grabbing fajita meat to toss on the Traeger, and her oldest cousin Evie chopping tomatoes.

Dani’s fingers itched to do more than snatch chips. “Seriously. After the day I’ve had, I’m happy to do anything to get my mind off things.”

“What happened today?” Evie piped up from the other side of the island. Tonight she wore a silky purple jewel-neck tee that, paired with her shoulder-length dark hair, somehow made her look elegant and older than her thirty-two years.

“The town council met to approve plans for the Grand Hotel rebuild.” Dani made a face. “Or rather, to not approve the plans.”

“Oh, that was today? The whole thing is so exciting.” Evie—who had worked at the hotel years ago, before it closed—brought the knife down on the tomatoes. “But I’m sorry the meeting didn’t go well.”

Mia shook out the lettuce and patted it with a paper towel. “How’d you even know about it, Evie? This is only your second time back on the island this year since the ferry started up again.”

Evie’s banker husband Kyle Munson worked in Port Joseph, the small town across Lake Huron, so they’d lived there for much of their nine-year marriage. But Evie eventually wanted to purchase a home right up the road from the ancestral Jonathon estate located on the northern tip of the island. And who could blame her? With its sweeping lawn that overlooked the lake, huge porch with a handful of Adirondack chairs, and enough space for them all to gather every week, it was an ideal place to raise kids.

“I still keep up with local chatter, sister dearest.” Evie hip bumped Mia. “Everyone’s been all abuzz about the new guy in town. Is he really as handsome as they say? What’s he like?”

Mia grabbed a glass bowl from one of the paneled green cabinets and moved back to work beside Evie. “You should ask Dani about that. She’s spent the most time with him.”

Oh brother. “I don’t?—”

Thankfully, Finn chose that moment to sweep through the crowded kitchen making airplane noises, and Evie’s five-year-old Cora chased after him along with Maggie, who dragged one of Evie’s old Cabbage Patch dolls behind her.

“Chloe! Chase! Come play with the littles, please,” Evie called toward the den, where her eight-year-old twins were watching television, enjoying the beginning of their spring break.

But the ragtag group headed out the back door all on their own, leaving the adults in relative peace again—for now.

“Don’t you remember Liam Stone from our visit to California when you were a teenager?” Aunt Elise asked, continuing the conversation as if nothing had happened. “He and his family came out several times to visit us in New York too.”

“I remember some scrawny kid running around playing with swords. Was that him?” Evie asked.

“It was. And I believe he’s grown into quite the handsome young man.”

“Gross, Mom.” Nora spoke up from the dining room. She stuck her head fully into the kitchen and scrunched her face, accentuating her freckles, one last plate in her hand. “He’s like, half your age.”

Mia tsked at her younger sister. “Just because she’s old doesn’t mean she doesn’t have eyes.”

“Who are you calling old?” Aunt Elise came after Mia with the dirty spatula.

Laughing, Mia hid behind Evie, who just kept chopping tomatoes as calm as could be. Not surprising, as she was used to three kids and their crazy antics.

“You’re not old, Mom,” Evie said. “Just oh so wise.”

Dani sighed. She missed this in her own family. Missed feeling a part of it. It wasn’t their fault—the Jonathons always did their best to include her. It was just something in her own soul.

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