Page 54 of Well Played

“Alex take the news about the fire okay?”

She nodded. “He wanted to see the room because he’d never seen a house that caught fire before. I debated showing him, because the charred walls look ominous, and I wasn’t sure if it would scare him. But he thought it was cool and asked if he could bring some friends over to check it out.”

I smiled. “That sounds about right for his age. You gotta show your buddies anything gross, scary, or wrecked. It’s sort of an unwritten rule.”

Presley smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. So I pulled out the chair across from her, flipped it around, and straddled it. “Alex is okay, but it seems his mother isn’t. Talk to me. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

She sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just second-guessing, well, everything.”

“You mean about the inn?”

She nodded. “And the move, in general. I think I might’ve bitten off more than I can chew here, Levi.”

It would’ve been so easy to get her to agree to sell the place today. Hell, the fire damage probably wouldn’t even matter to the developer who had made an offer, since he was going to tear it down. But I couldn’t let Presley feel like she’d failed. She needed this, for more reasons than just a better life for her son.

“You didn’t bite off more than you could chew. It was just a little setback, that’s all. I stopped off and spoke to Ned, and his guys are going to come start gutting that room tonight. We’ll be back on track in a few days.”

“But he said he had job after job lined up?”

“He does. But his crew is going to work nights here. Which reminds me, it’s probably best if everyone finds somewhere to stay for at least a few more days. They’ll be banging away here. Oh, and I also hired a fire-restoration company to clean up all the soot and stuff. They should be here early this afternoon.”

She searched my face. “Why are you helping me when you’d rather sell the inn?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I like a good fight. It’s not really a true win unless both teams are firing on all cylinders. If you bow out now, I won’t get the chance to beat you fair and square.”

Presley smiled. “I don’t believe you.”

“What do you mean, you don’t believe me?”

“I’ve watched you trample teams that have their third-string quarterbacks in because of injuries. You don’t go easy just because you like a fair fight. You know what I think?”

“What?”

Presley got up and walked over to where I sat. Leaning down, she kissed my cheek. “I think you’re helping me because you’re a good guy.” She stood and took a deep breath. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go get my to-do list.”

I watched her walk away—her beautiful ass swinging from side to side. Once it was out of sight, I looked up at the ceiling.Not so sure you’d think I’m a good guy if you knew what I was thinking right now.

CHAPTER 13

Presley

“Mom? Can we have a tent sleepover for my birthday tomorrow?”

I paused with my fork full of pancake halfway to my mouth. “You mean like sleep outdoors?”

“Yeah. In the backyard.”

“Oh…I’m not sure about that, Alex. We don’t have any tents, and I don’t really know anything about camping. Besides, I don’t know how your friends’ moms would feel about the boys sleeping outside.”

“Freddie had one for his birthday.” My son shrugged. “None of the moms cared, and he said it was the best birthday party ever.”

Levi walked into the kitchen. “Morning.”

I smiled. “Good morning.”

He walked straight to the coffee pot, and Alex went straight to drafting his uncle to his side of this argument.

“Uncle Levi, can you tell Mom that tents aren’t hard to set up?”

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