Page 28 of Inn To You

He was full of shit.

He didn’t want to be a father. He didn’t want to be with me. He wanted to be free, so he left.

And I wanted to be here. This is my home as I told Noah. I didn’t know where I’d go or what I’d do without the inn.

“You know, I’m suddenly a little tired,” I lie.

Noah watches me.

“I can handle Jonas’s dinner and his bath. I appreciate you watching him today.”

Thankfully, he takes the hint without argument. He nods once again and stands, swiping his hands down his thighs.

“You can call me if you need anything.” His voice is quiet, rough even.

“Thank you. I will.” But I won’t. I can’t come to rely on Noah like I relied on Isaiah.

I’ve learned the only person I can rely on is me.

10

[Noah]

Tessa took almost a week to recover from the flu she didn’t admit she had. In that time, I cared for Jonas, getting him to school each day.

“Noah, can you be my dad?” he asked me one morning.

Uncertain how to answer, I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. “You already have a dad, buddy.” Glancing in the rearview mirror, I see Jonas’s head tipped to the side. He focused outside the passenger window.

“Yeah, but he’s never coming back.”

Jesus. My heart.

Now that I know the truth about the inn—Joe Brogan wants to sell—I have a new perspective on the place. There has to be something I can do to save it for Tessa and Jonas.

My brother is a real estate attorney, so I went to him, doing something I never thought I’d do. “Zack, I need your help.”

Zack’s forehead furrows, and his mouth falls open. “What do you need?” He tips back in his chair inside his home office.

I explain how Joe wants to sell Bluebird Hollow Inn and Tessa’s desire to buy out her uncle.

“That sounds like a simple solution,” Zack states. “She’ll just have to make an offer that is fair and reasonable.”

“What’s fair and reasonable?” Tessa didn’t tell me how much money she asked for when she’d applied for the loan. “She’s having trouble with the bank. They’re stalling for some reason on processing or responding to her loan application. She’s getting the runaround.”

“How do you know this?”

One night, Tessa came clean to me about the sale. How she doesn’t have the funds and applied for a loan. “She told me. I’m worried for her that something’s happening behind the scenes.” I don’t trust the delay. Frustration overcomes me, and I sink into the chair opposite Zack’s desk. “This is her home, Zack. She loves that place. She has plans for it.”

Zack stares at me, and I swipe a hand down my face. “I don’t know how to help her.”

“Why do you want to help her?”

“I…I don’t know.” I tip back my head and stare up at the ceiling.

“What’s in it for you?”

My head snaps upright. “Does there need to be something in it for me?”