Page 15 of Return to Us
This girl is able to get whatever she wants and loves every second of it.
“You have a very skewed memory of your childhood.”
She laughs once. “Please, you all made it so I could never have any fun!”
“I recall you having a little too much fun at a few parties.”
As much as my sister would like to think otherwise, she was a damn mess. If it weren’t for us covering for her, she would’ve been in a lot of trouble.
“Because you all were a bunch of saints?”
“Not even close. That was why weknewwhat was going on when you tried to tell us one of your horrible excuses.”
Stella shakes her head. “I feel bad for you, Gray. Melia is going to grow up and be just like me one day.”
A shudder runs through me. “She’ll date when I’m dead.”
“Pretty sure Dad thought the same thing.”
“Dad failed, I won’t.”
“Anyway,” she draws the word out, “I heard you ran into Jessica.”
This town is insane. I’m sure Winnie told her, since she’s Jessica’s sister.
“I actually stopped by and saw her on my way home.”
“Oh. Oh! Wow. Okay. And? How did it go?”
I love that I caught her off guard. One thing she loves more than anything is being in the know, and her not being the first to know I’d run into Jessica probably grated on her.
“Fine.” I pick Amelia up, kiss her cheek, and head into the kitchen.
My sister groans, and I fight back the urge to laugh.
“Daddy, I am so hungry.”
“I’m sure you are. Aunt Stella’s idea of a meal is M&M’s and Twizzlers.”
“The peanut ones!” she says as she follows me. “They have protein.”
“How is it that you’re as skinny as you are when you eat like a thirteen-year-old boy? Seriously, have you consumed a vegetable in the last ten years?”
Stella makes a face. “No thanks. And the reason I’m so slim is because I work out and have great genes.”
Amelia takes my face in her hands. “I don’t like vegetables neither.”
“Auntie Stella loves them, she was kidding. She is going to eat some with you now.”
“Auntie Stella has to go to work since your daddy stuck me on the night shift while our manager called out.”
“How convenient that you have to leave so soon,” I say with a grin.
“Isn’t it? I love how that works out. But, anyway, was everything good at the Park Inn?”
The Park Inn is our flagship bed and breakfast as well as one of the top destinations. The way my father designed the building was smart. Instead of making the land curve to the structure, it seems as though the inn was formed from the mountain. It sits perfectly, giving the guests unobstructed views of the trees, sky, and nature.
“It was fine. The couple in room five was moved to eight because they didn’t want the view of the right side of the mountain. Other than that, it was a quiet day.”
