Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
ROTISSERIE
DYLAN
I linger at the car door, Dahlia’s fingers still tangled in my coat. Her hair’s a mess, her lips are swollen, and her eyes are soft as she stares back at me.
“I want to stay with you. I want to crawl back into that bed and forget the world,” I tell her.
“I know. I want that too. But I need to get home, and your family will be wondering where you are.”
She’s not wrong. Windy Harbor wakes up early.
“Text me when you’re back in Minneapolis,” I say, my voice rough.
She nods and presses one last kiss to my mouth, slow and deliberate. “Be safe sneaking in.”
I nod and kiss her one more time, forcing myself out of the car before I can change my mind.
Dahlia has dropped me off in a wooded area of our property, a place that we’re leaving as is, so I know no one will be out here to see us. I wave until she’s disappeared.
The cold slaps me awake as I jog the back way to our house, boots crunching on the snow.
My breath fogs, lungs burning. I slip through the side gate and ease the mudroom door open.
The kitchen light’s on—two silhouettes at the island, steam curling from mugs.
Grandma Donna and Grandma Nancy. I should’ve known there was no way I could sneak in without getting caught.
“Morning, ladies,” I say, kicking off my boots like I’ve been out for a run. My pulse hammers. “Couldn’t sleep. Needed to burn off some energy.”
Grandma Donna raises an eyebrow over her coffee. “Are you okay, honey? Is something troubling you? You’re normally not up for a while yet since you’re on California time.”
Grandma Nancy looks me over as she stirs sugar into her hot tea. “He looks pretty happy to me.” Her eyes narrow. “What are you up to?”
“What are you up to?” I mimic, grinning at them. “Can’t a guy go for a morning run?”
I can’t tell if they buy it. They always see too much. I flash a grin and grab a water bottle from the fridge like I need to hydrate after exercising.
“Well, you almost missed breakfast. They’re eating in the family room today. Games have already started,” Grandma Nancy says.
Kevin comes skittering across the floor, yapping like a smoke alarm. Traitor. He leaps at my legs, tail a blur.
“Easy, Kev.” I scoop him up and let him lick my chin. The noise draws the cavalry.
“Is that you, Dylan?” Goldie calls. “We’re back here.”
I step into the family room, and every head swivels.
“Where have you been?” Dad asks, lowering his mug like it’s a courtroom prop.
“Couldn’t sleep,” I say. “Went out and got some air.” I rub my hands together, trying to warm them up.
Goldie comes over and hugs me, then sniffs. “You smell like pine and bad decisions.”
Tully snorts. “Says the woman who came back from the hardware store yesterday with caulk in her ponytail.”
Milo grins and reshuffles the Uno deck. “And she looked as beautiful as ever.”
We all groan.
“You’ve got it so fucking bad, man,” Tully says.
“Simp.” I cough in my hand.
We all give him shit for being so gone over our sister, while secretly we love it.
He rolls his eyes. “We’re mid-hand. You in, Dylan?”
“Deal me in,” I say, dropping between Camden and Noah.
Grayson comes over and gets in my lap.
Cards slap the coffee table. Dad restarts the count. Goldie steals the wild pile. Tully slaps a Skip on Milo, who fake-cries. Camden hoards Draw Fours like currency. Noah lets Grayson “help” by slamming cards at random.
Kevin curls on Dad’s lap, warm and snoring. I play a red seven, steal the lead, and for a minute, the room is chaos.
“Ahh, I’ve missed you guys,” I say, laughing.
Dahlia’s scent still clings to my skin under the hoodie, and Grandma Nancy wasn’t lying—I am pretty happy.
The only thing bringing down my high is that I won’t see Dahlia for another couple of weeks, but it’s just motivation to get me to Minnesota faster.
I’m already motivated to be here with my family, but ever since meeting Dahlia, moving is all I can think about.
I win the game, and we take a break to eat the food Grandma Nancy and Grandma Donna have prepared.
“How are things going at the shop, Dylan?” Dad asks.
“It’s been good. Each time I go back, I can see Rudy’s progress. He’s just still not fully ready to run everything on his own.”
“You’ll be going back frequently even when you move back, won’t you?” Goldie asks.
“Probably so, especially in the beginning. But I’m hoping I can eventually handle anything that comes up remotely.”
“Your house is so cool, though,” Camden says.
“Yeah, I’m going to be holding on to the house for as long as I possibly can.” I laugh.
“It’s a great investment,” Dad says. “Speaking of investments…I’d give good money to know where you keep disappearing to.”
I choke on the sip of coffee I’ve just taken.
Goldie snorts. “Do you have a Tinder account that we don’t know about?”
“No, I don’t need Tinder, thank you very much.”
“Oh, listen to the big man here. Nothing wrong with Tinder,” Tully says.
I give him a pointed look. “Are you on Tinder?”
He scoffs. “No! I don’t need that shit!”
Everyone laughs, and he lifts an eyebrow as if he’s daring us to argue with him.
“You did this disappearing act the last time you were here,” Noah says, leaning back in his chair. “What are you doing, checking the ice thickness? Walking the dock at dawn?”
Camden looks between me and Noah. “Is ‘ice thickness’ code for something?”
I shake my head, laughing. “If it is, I need to know.”
“Grayson asked where you were last night, and what did I tell you, little man?” Noah winks at Grayson.
“Uncle Dylan is probably wrestling a moose,” Grayson says with a big grin.
“What the f—” I start and then stop when I see all the narrowed eyes on me. “Fudgola,” I finish, smiling down at Grayson. “I wish I could see a moose.”
“Me too!” he says, happily.
Grandma Donna sips her coffee, her eyes twinkling. “In my day, boys sneaked out for girls. You’re sneaking out for…runs and ice thickness?”
Grandma Nancy pats the table. “Tell us, great explorer. What is your method?”
I groan and laugh at the same time, deciding to play along. “Okay, fine. I’m stress-testing the new excursion kayaks. Night trails. Very scientific.”
Goldie fake gasps. “On a frozen lake?”
“Thermal imaging,” I deadpan. “Gotta make sure those hulls don’t crack.”
“Right,” Dad says. “Due diligence.”
He holds up the dish of baked French toast, and I nod. He slides a piece onto my plate.
Tully leans in. “I checked your room on my way to bed, and it didn’t look like you’d even been in there.”
I smirk. “I’ve gotten a lot tidier since living on my own.
” I sigh when nine sets of skeptical eyes stare back at me—Grayson’s only because he sees that everyone else is, because my little buddy doesn’t doubt me.
“I’ll be around from here on out, I promise.
No…late-night excursion checks and whatnot. ”
Grandma Donna raises an eyebrow. “That’s gonna be a very sad moose.”
Grandma Nancy nudges her and they laugh. “A very sad lady moose.”
“Did you know lady moose are called cows?” Grandma Donna says, tilting her head. “I think that’s so odd.”
That starts a tangent about cows versus moose, and then Camden brings up the crazy rooster Juju has, which leads into the topic of: Is a rooster still a chicken?
We’re divided about it until Goldie googles it, and the doubters stand corrected…feeling silly that they ever doubted.
Never a dull moment around here.
I think I’m off the hook when Dad glances at me and gives me a mischievous grin.
“Look, son, you’re free to spend your time as you like.
We’re just happy you’re in the same state.
And impressed by the commitment to fiction.
Next time, at least change your hoodie…unless you’ve started wearing women’s perfume.
” He holds up both hands. “Which is okay by me. I’m all for exploring our feminine side. ”
The laughter bounces off the table, and I swipe my hand down my face.
“You guys are too much,” I say, laughing in spite of myself.
Goldie steals a bite of my French toast. “Just tell us when the wedding is. I need time to do something about these nails.” She waves her fingers.
Tully nods. “And make sure I’m not on the road.”
I flip them both off with a syrupy fork. “You’ll get invitations when hell freezes over. Which, conveniently, is scheduled for never.”
Kevin barks, sealing the deal. The whole table erupts. I shovel a big bite into my mouth to hide the grin, my cheeks burning hot.
Geez, with this family of nosies, I’m not sure how long I can keep Dahlia a secret. They’re too intuitive for their own good, and I guess I wasn’t being as subtle as I thought. It sounded like the whole town was coming back here after the game last night—I didn’t think I’d be missed.
For now, let them guess. I’m still riding the high of my night with Dahlia, and no amount of roasting is wiping the smile off my face.