Page 18 of No One Wants That (Blitzen Bay)

“There’s great fishing on the lake,” Hank says. “I’ll take you out tomorrow if you want.”

“What kind of fish are we talking about?” I sign the registry he pushes over to me.

“Mainly trout and bass, but I’ve caught some catfish, too.”

“Can we go out now?” I say as Millie and Raine start giggling behind me.

“How’d you get stuck on this trip?” Hank says, chuckling as he hands me my room key. “Are you the designated driver or something?”

“Naw, man, if I’m going to deal with them for an entire week, I’m going to need heavy alcohol intake. Any good bars around here?”

“Only one.” A woman walks up and leans on the desk next to Hank. “Across the street. Izzy’s. Tell Iz I sent you and she’ll take care of you. Butch, this is my wife, Claire.”

“Hey Butch,” Claire says, reaching across the desk to shake my hand. “Are you part of Nash and Noelle’s group?”

“Yeah, I guess. I don’t really know them. I remember Nash a little from a few military missions, but I’ve never met his girlfriend. My buddy Mason knows him better.”

“Were you and Mason in the Army, too?” Claire says. “I think Nash was a Ranger. Right, honey?”

Hank puts his arm around her. “Yeah, babe, but you know he doesn’t like to talk about that time in his life. Maybe Butch doesn’t either.”

“No, it’s fine. Mason and I were SEALs. We worked with Nash’s team a few times.”

“Oh, damn,” Hank says. “I didn’t know you were a SEAL. I’m guessing you can drive a boat then. You can take it out by yourself if you want.”

“I grew up on a lake in Georgia. I was driving a boat almost before I could walk.”

I push my credit card across the desk.

“The rooms are already paid for,” Hank says, pushing it back.

“What? Who picked up the tab? Nash? He doesn’t need to pay for our rooms.”

“What? Nash isn’t paying for our rooms,” Mason says, walking over and pulling out his wallet.

Hank holds up his hand to stop him. “The rooms have all been prepaid and it wasn’t Nash.”

“Who paid for them?” I say. “Un-do it. I’ll pay for my own room.”

“What’s going on?” Alex says as he and the ladies join us. “Is there a problem with the rooms?”

“Somebody already paid for all of our rooms,” Mason says, “but we don’t know who it was.”

“Was it your buddy Nash?” Alex says.

“It wasn’t Nash,” Hank says again. “But I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”

“I’ve got to know who’s paying for my room,” I say. “It’s going to bug me. I hate secrets.”

We all look at each other for about a minute before Millie sighs and rolls her eyes.

“Seriously?” she says, looking between Mason and me. She grabs our chins and turns them toward Alex. “He’s had his hand over his mouth since he walked up, and I don’t think his eyes have blinked once. Plus he and Hank are exchanging coy little glances. How are you not picking up on that?”

“Did you pay for the rooms?” I say, my eyes narrowing as I look at Alex.

“What? No,” he says as he looks quickly from me to Millie.

She rolls her eyes again and pats his shoulder. “You’re a worse liar than Raine. I didn’t think that was even possible.”

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