Page 53 of Falling Inn Love
I laugh. “I showered alone. You’re the only woman I want in the shower with me.”
“There’s a lot of things I want to do with you. It’s weird not being with you.”
“Are you rethinking the sixty days idea and planning a permanent residency?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. A lot is happening. I feel like we don’t have to decide anything today. Just live in the moment. And for the moment, I like helping you with the inn and being around your family.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. Hopefully she gives up this whole “leaving” nonsense. It’s clear she belongs here. We haven’t known each other long, but sometimes when you know, you know…
“How’s Caleb?”
“I’m going to check on him as soon as the nurse clears me to go to the pediatric floor. I tried to go earlier, but I was too nauseous. I can’t wait to see him. He’s apparently taking the kidney well and already doing so much better. Everything has gone well so far.”
“I am so glad to hear that. I can’t wait to tell everyone else. We’ve all been praying and sending healing thoughts your way. Your mom’s been really good about giving us updates, but I can’t help but worry.”
“It’ll be okay. What else’s new?”She’s quiet for a minute and looks away. I can tell something’s up. “What?”
“Well, I didn’t want to tell you until after your surgery because I didn’t want you to worry, but Hamilton slapped a premature foreclosure notice on the door late one night. Pete and I actually saw him do it so we took it down before any guests were able to see it, but it was still a shitty thing to do. I reached out to a lawyer I know through Logan and asked him what he thought we could do, and he said we can file a complaint with the bank, maybe even threaten a lawsuit.”
My breath hitches and I take a deep breath and scratch my chin. I haven’t met this friend Logan yet, and I’m hesitant to share our troubles with an outsider. But if Beth trusts him, I know I can trust him, too. “Okay, thanks for letting me know. Just keep an eye out for that guy. We have new accounts set up that are not with his bank so he can’t poke his nose around in our business anymore.”
I’m pissed Hamilton is doing this when he probably knows I am gone and thinks he can get away with it.
“I’m sorry. I wanted to wait to tell you, but it felt like you really needed to know.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m glad you told me, Beth.”
“Pete’s looking out, too.”
I’m relieved to hear that Pete is on top of things, too. I hate being so far away and being unable to look out for my inn.
“Let me know if you need me to do anything before you come. I’ll pick you up. Send me your flight information.”
The nurse comes in to take my vitals. “I have to go now. Thanks for holding down the fort.”
“Bye,” she says softly, her kind eyes not leaving mine until we hang up.
When the nurse leaves, my mom comes in and I decide it’s time to tell her about Hamilton. I can tell by the look on her face that she has something to say.
“What?”
She takes a deep breath before she speaks. “I never told you this, but I think Hamilton is mad about something to do with me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Before I met your dad, Hamilton wanted to date me, and I turned him down. I always thought he was resentful about that, and things always seemed a bit tense with him, but I generally try to steer clear of him and the bank. Your dad handled most of that stuff. But I wonder if now, even after all these years, he could be taking my rejection of him out on the inn.”
My thoughts roll back a couple of weeks when he asked if my mom would be coming with me to the meeting at the bank. Things are starting to make sense now. He has a thing for my freaking mom and he’s screwing with our inn because of it. What an asshole.
“Thank you for telling me, Mom. We’re going to be free from him soon. We’re going to pay the loan he’s holding over us and that will be that. He won’t get away with messing around with us like this anymore.”
My mom just nods and then walks with me down to Caleb’s room. My breath tightens a little when I see his tiny body in his hospital bed, my sister sitting at his side.
He’s watchingPJ Maskson TV and turns to greet me as I walk in. “Uncle Evan!” His little arms reach out for me and I lean in and give him a careful hug. “Hey, kidney bean twin, how are you?”
My mom looks so happy. Every time all of us are together, it makes me really wish Allie lived closer.
“What are you thinking?” Allie asks.
