Page 26 of Summer People
I shake my head. “Not really.”
She pats the empty seat beside her on the golf cart. “Why don’t you join me for breakfast at the inn? Then you can tell me all about it.”
I shake my head. “You don’t want to be seen with me.”
She reels back, brows pinched. “But why?”
“They probably won’t serve you if you’re seen with me.”
“What do you mean?” Frowning, she scans the street behind me. “Have people been mean to you?”
With a shrug, I shuffle to her cart and sit beside her. “The grocery store won’t deliver anything I order, and the donut woman wouldn’t serve me.”
She sighs, her body deflating. “Have you not had grocery delivery at all since you moved here?”
I fold my lips in, racking my brain for a polite way of explaining that I’ve been here for two weeks and have yet to receive a single order I’ve put in. I’ve been settling for what Ican find in the grocery store, which isn’t much after they deliver everyone else’s food, and especially since the tourists arrived.
Before I can put it all into words that won’t ruffle feathers, she takes off. “Hang on. We’re going to get you fed, and tonight you’ll join us at the inn for family dinner.”
“Oh, I couldn’t impose?—”
She holds up her hand, her focus fixed on the road. “I’m deeply disappointed in the people of this island. This isn’t how we treat our guests. I’m sorry you’ve been so mistreated, but that ends today. You’re my guest, understood?”
Her words leave no room for objection, so I simply nod.
I can’t remember the last time I was invited for a family dinner, and although I don’t like being pitied, I won’t lie and say the idea of it doesn’t sound nice.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
fisher
“Come on,it’s already six twenty-five.” Sutton tugs on my arm, causing me to tap a couple of random keys.
I was so engrossed in my work that I didn’t hear her come into my office.
With a sigh, I run a hand down my face and try to focus on the world around me. Damn, I was so freaking close. The white cursor blinks on the otherwise black screen. If I had another thirty minutes, I’d have done it. Walking away at this moment is physically painful.
“Please.” Sutton’s small voice has my jaw locking. I’ve been working for the last four hours, but I promised her that we’d go to Mrs. K’s for dinner if she could entertain herself until it was time to leave.
Since my parents moved to Florida and my brother passed away, the Knowleses are the closest thing we have to family.
Shoulders sinking, Sutton blinks those big blue eyes at me. “We can skip it if you need to work.”
It would not be the first time I’ve canceled because I need more time. Sometimes walking away isn’t possible. But the hurt and disappointment rolling off my niece are extra palpabletoday. I can’t crush her dinner plans. She’s like her father—social, fun, and in desperate need of time outside this house. So I have to provide it for her.
“Nope, I’m ready.” I hit the keys to kill my program, along with any chance of finishing this project quickly. If only I could shut off my head just as easily. This idea is going to fester until I can get back to my keyboard. “Let’s go eat.”
I might be shitty company, but the Knowleses are used to it.
“Yes!” She spins and takes off running down the narrow staircase. “Come on, Bing.”
His nails tap along the hardwood floor as he races to the front door.
I’m halfway down the stairs when the screen door slams shut, making me wince. “Sutton, you gotta stop letting the damn door slam.”
She probably can’t even hear me out in the yard. Grumbling, I slip my Timberlands on and grab the leather jacket I never wear now that I live on Gilligan’s Island. Libby still has my coat, and although most days I’d just go without a jacket, there is a chill in the air tonight.
“Sutton,” I call again as I step outside.
