Page 8 of Falling Inn Love
“It should be, yes,” I say as I lift my mug and take another sip. “That’s why the festival would be great for the inn. Great idea, Mom.” I turn to smile at Beth. “I’m gonna go clean up, but I’ll be back in a bit and then we can get started up front and talk more about this. In the meantime, make yourself at home.”
I head out to my cottage to get ready for the day. The inn has just become significantly less boring, and for once since I’ve been back, I’m excited about something.
I run into Mellie pulling her cart with linens and cleaning supplies behind her. “Hey, Mel, how’s it going?”
“Evan, hi. I need your help. Can Kase hang around up front this morning? I promise he’ll be quiet. I just want to get these rooms done quickly before our new guests arrive, and it’s too cold for him to play outside.”
“Of course. Send him over in about thirty minutes. Or now, and tell my mom to keep him for a little bit until I can get there.”
“Thanks, I owe you one!”
“It’s no problem,” I say, then head to my cottage.
When Mellie and Kase showed up here a few months ago, we had an agreement that, for their protection, I wouldn’t tell anyone where they came from or what had happened to them. I wanted to find the person who made them have to hide in the first place and beat them to a pulp, but I knew that wouldn’t help. The only way I can help is to give them a safe place to live and work. Mellie and Kase settled into the loft above the garden shed, which is our laundry facility but more like a barndominium than a shed. She loves it up there and they seem happy.
Mellie has never been afraid to voice her opinions on how to run the inn smoothly and efficiently; thankfully, she has had some really great ideas. I am grateful for both her friendship and her help. Having Kase around doesn’t hurt, either. He is such a great kid. With Kase around, though, it’s a constant reminder of my own family, making me wish Allie and Caleb were here, too.
I turn on my shower and strip off my running clothes. I need to get to figure out what I’m going to do to get the bank off my back. Something tells me that this festival and having Beth’s help might just be the answer to our problems.
FIVE
BETH
I’m in trouble.
* * *
I’m not sure what to do with myself once Evan leaves, so I sit with Margie and Sasha a while longer. A few guests join us, but no one seems to want to linger. Everyone seems excited for hiking and other fun plans they buzz about over breakfast, then quickly leave after eating.
I refill my mug and sit with Margie. “How long has your family owned the inn?” I ask her.
“My parents inherited it from my grandfather. They passed it down to me and Richard. Then after we lost Richard, Evan began running it.”
She looks over her shoulder at Sasha. “Sasha and Pete, our maintenance man, have been here since Evan was in middle school. Pete’s also a former Marine. Probably what inspired Evan to enlist.”
Evan was in the Marines? That makes a lot of sense. He’s fit with an athletic build, and he has a military feel about him. He carries himself with confidence, and despite his neatly trimmed beard, he has a military-style haircut on the sides.
To be honest, he makes me weak in the knees and nervous as all get out when I’m around him. How am I going to work with him when I can barely form a coherent sentence around him? He caught me staring at him earlier and it was so embarrassing. I can’t help it, though. He feels like coming home, which makes no sense because this isn’t home and he isn’t mine, but just something about him is wildly attractive. His confidence, his piercing green eyes that make me feel safe and draw me to him, his broad shoulders and massive biceps that I would love to wrap me in a big hug. I can’t remember the last time I had a good, long hug.
“Kase hangs out with me most days or with Sasha here in the kitchen. Pete looks after him sometimes when he’s doing outdoor projects. We’ve created our own little family here. And we’re happy you’re here helping now. I hope you can stick around for a little while. You might just like it.” She sips coffee from her mug.
I take in the bright kitchen. The warm colors, the smell of amazing home-cooking. It’s all so welcoming and inviting. This place is like a dream. A dream I crave and would love to belong in.
When I was little, getting tossed around in the system, I always dreamed the next place they took me would be like this. And for a while, that got me through. I kept dreaming of ‘the next one’… But the next one never came close to anything like this place.
As I bounced from place to place, I dreamed of finding a real home with a nice family who would love me. Some homes they sent me to live in were really bad and some not as bad, though none were ever really good. I never felt safe or loved. I wanted a family so badly. I wanted a warm and bright kitchen where I could sit at the table and do my homework. I wanted dinner with a family and holidays with decorations and special traditions. I wanted a mom and dad to kiss me goodnight and hug me goodbye when I went to school.
“Where’s your family?” Margie asks, breaking my thoughts.
“It’s just me now. I don’t have a family anymore.”
“Anymore?” she asks, concern in her eyes.
I twist my hands in my lap. My heart feels lonely. There’s more, of course, but I can’t share about them. Not with anyone. It’s too hard. “No.”
“I’m sorry, honey,” she says as she reaches over and squeezes my hand, her eyes glossy as they stare into mine.
I don’t know what to say and I worry I might cry, so I just nod and look down at my mug.
