5. Kristin
5
KRISTIN
“ L ogan, Kylie, Hunter—homework!” I called out from the kitchen sink as I dried the last few dishes from supper. “Zoey, grab your backpack so I can go through your folder.”
As I stretched to my tiptoes to slide the casserole dish back into the cabinet, headlights flashed through the window. Zoey bolted to the screen door and ran outside.
“Mr. Chase!” Zoey shrieked, setting off every dog in our trailer park.
“Zo!” I tossed the tattered dishtowel aside and lunged after Zoey, but she was already running full speed.
Chase stooped down with his arms out as she leaped into his chest. He wrapped her up in a hug and spun her around. “How’s my Zoey Bear?”
“I loss a toof!” she said with a broad smile, clinging to him like a koala. “Wanna see?!”
Chase guffawed. “Losing teeth already? What are you gonna do when they all fall out? You won’t have any teeth left! ”
She giggled and shook her head adamantly. “Krissy told me it’d only be one atta time. Den I’ma get grown up teef!”
He chuckled and swung her around for a piggyback ride into the house. The front steps groaned under his weight as he marched up the weathered wood.
Kylie peeked around the corner, looking like the human form of the heart-eye emoji. “Hi, Chase.”
Dear God. I shot her a glare. “ Simmer down, lady.”
Bright red cheeks replaced her swoony expression.
I hated calling her out, but it had to be done. Chase was an adult twice her age and had a girlfriend. Cutting through the fog of sixteen-year-old pheromones required immediate intervention.
“Chase!” Hunter shouted, bolting down the hallway.
“What’s up, man?” Chase grinned from ear to ear and offered a fist bump. “Where’s your brother?”
Hunter jerked his head down the narrow hallway that led to the boys’ bedroom.
I leveled Hunter a look. “Manners and words, please.”
Hunter decided to double down and roll his eyes. “In our room.”
I opened my mouth to scold him for getting an attitude with me, but I was too tired to pick that particular fight today. It had been a long day at the inn followed by a doctor’s appointment for Zoey, Kylie telling me that she had outgrown yet another pair of jeans, and grocery shopping for too many people on a too-small budget.
“You got a minute?” Chase asked as he plopped Zoey on the couch—the couch I slept on every night because there wasn’t enough space in Kylie and Zoey’s room.
I felt bad about making a sixteen year old share a room with a six year old, but I didn’t have another option.
“Yeah,” I said, forcing a smile as I tucked my hair behind my ears. “What’s up? ”
Chase paused, glancing at Hunter and Zoey
“You two get started on your homework like I told you before.”
Thankfully, they went without argument. Chase grabbed the towel and stood at the dish drainer, wiping droplets off a dinner plate. “How you doing, kid?”
“Chase—”
“Someone’s gotta ask, Kris.”
“I’m not a child.”
He cracked a smile. “I know. I’m just checking on you.”
“Steve said he’d try to get my car running by the weekend. If you need your truck back?—”
“I’m not here about the truck. Use it as long as you need.” He handed me the dried plate and grabbed the next one. “Your boy came around the bar asking about you tonight.”
My brows knitted together. “My only boys are Logan and Hunter. They better not have been at the bar.”
“Mr. Just a Guest . Will Solomon.”
Will actually went to Jokers? I pushed the thought from my mind. Mr. Solomon was a guest at the inn who asked for a dinner recommendation. That was all.
I liked that he tried my favorite spot, though. One that was off the beaten path.
“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?” Chase said, snapping me back to reality.
“Am not!”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Fine. But I wasn’t thinking about him until you brought him up. Why is this an issue? Guests ask about restaurants all the time.”
“Yeah,” Chase said with a laugh. “But you don’t send them to fucking Jokers.”
“Language!” I whispered, scowling.
He cringed and peered down the hallway. Luckily, the kids had the doors pulled shut. “Have you checked the group text? ”
I shook my head. “My phone died while I was out, then I got home and had to start dinner, and?—”
Chase shoved his phone in my face. On the screen was a candid photo of Will eating at the bar. From that angle, it would have been taken by…
“ Bridget, ” I said, seething.
“Don’t be mad at Bee,” he chided. “A while ago, I told her to holler at me if anyone came in asking questions about you or?—”
“Don’t even say their names,” I snapped, clenching my fists. It was rare that I got angry around the poker club. Talking about my shit-stain parents? That was a sure-fire way to make me throw hands.
Chase put his hands on my shoulders. “We’re just looking out for you, Kris.”
“I’m so fucking sick of y’all treating me like I’m some incompetent little child. I’m holding things together as best I can. Given the circumstances, I think I’m doing a damn good job.”
“Kris—”
“I’m fine. It’s fine. Everything’s fine.” I turned away from Chase and wiped my eyes.
“I came over because I was worried about your safety. You worry about everyone else. I don’t want you to waste any energy thinking about some summertimer sticking his nose in your business.”
“He’s not a summertimer,” I said, grabbing a glass from the pantry and filling it from the tap. “He’s on some sort of staycation thing. Said he works from home and needed a change of scenery.”
Chase raised his eyebrows. “So, you have gotten to know Mr. Just a Guest.”
I swatted his arm. “Stop it.”
“Might wanna apologize to him the next time you see him.”
“Oh God,” I groaned. “What the hell did you and Bee do?”
He scratched the back of his neck and stared at the floor. “She may have told Solomon that the girls were discussing his bangability. Apparently, the glasses give him hot nerd points .” Chase punctuated the last part of his statement with air quotes.
I clenched my glass of water so tight I thought it would shatter. “She what? ”
328. I stared at the number on the door, silently willing myself not to throw up. I couldn’t face Mr. Solomon after what Chase told me yesterday.
The moment he left my house, I charged my phone and saw the dumpster fire for myself. There would be no coming back from Maddie and Mel’s discussion of whether Will’s junk was proportionate to his height.
I took my time cleaning the room next to his, wanting to delay the inevitable a little longer. Maybe it’d be my lucky day, and he’d be gone.
“Kristin, I can hear you out there, you know.” There was a note of humor in Will’s voice as he called from inside the room.
I groaned and scanned my keycard.
“Mr. Solomon, I am so sorry,” I blurted out, white-knuckling the brown paper bag in my hands like I was prepared for battle.
Will stood on the opposite side of the door, arms crossed. One corner of his mouth was pulled up in an amused smirk. “If it isn’t my favorite housekeeping elf,” he teased, lifting the gold and green Taylor Creek Inn mug to his mouth.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated desperately. A complaint to Rich the Dick was the last thing I needed. Even if it wasn’t my fault, Rich sought every opportunity to flex his firing privileges. “My friends are awesome, but they have no boundaries—or filters. They mean well, but?— ”
Will reached out and gently touched my wrist, chuckling softly. “Kristin, breathe. It’s okay.”
I looked down where he brushed his thumb across my forearm. I sucked in a sharp breath. Goosebumps cropped up on my skin, and I realized how close we were standing.
His white and navy raglan shirt stretched tight across his chest. The woodsy spice of his cologne made me want to climb him like a tree. Standing so close to him felt like hiding away in a mountainside cabin, snuggling in a well-worn quilt.
“Will,” I whispered reluctantly. “I should tidy your room. I don’t want to fall behind schedule.”
He let go of my wrist but didn’t back away from the door.
I held out the brown paper bag. “A peace offering.”
His fingers brushed mine as he took the bag from me, sending a zip of electricity down to my toes. He pulled out the bottle inside and nodded approvingly. Hazel eyes crinkled at the corners.
“Cinnamon creamer. The elves listen well.”
I grabbed a roll of trash bags off the cart and slipped past him.
“The bar was great, by the way,” he called out while he opened the mini-fridge and put the bottle of creamer inside. “The food and beer were solid.”
“I’m glad,” I said, emptying the trash in the bathroom.
“You weren’t there.”
I dropped the trash bag into the cleaning cart and froze. Did he expect me to be at Jokers last night? “I had to run errands after work.”
“Bummer,” he said rather casually.
I peeked around the corner as I loaded my arms with spray bottles.
Will sat in the desk chair like always. He hadn’t turned his laptop on, though. That was weird. He wasn’t working like he had been every other day I came in to clean.
Had he been waiting for me?
“How’s the staycation going?” I asked, changing the subject as I sprayed down the bathroom counters. “Change of scenery doing wonders for your productivity?”
His pearly white grin reflected in the conveniently angled bathroom mirror. “Not really.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
“I’m not.”
“Taking a break might help,” I offered, grabbing the stack of fresh linens from the cart. “Go out and see the sights. Go to the beach.” With a steeled expression, I marched into the bedroom. “Do you mind if I ask what you do?”
Will sat with his back to the desk, watching me as I moved through the room. That usually bothered me, but with him… I could get used to having his eyes on me.
“I, uh, used to be in computer engineering.”
“Used to?” I immediately cringed, wishing I could backpedal. “Sorry, that’s none of my business.”
He smiled kindly and waved it off. “I used to work for a big tech company that did defense contracting. I saw the amount of money the government and other companies were willing to pay people with my particular set of skills and decided to go into business for myself.”
I couldn’t help but giggle. “Is that just a cover? Are you actually an undercover CIA agent? Is your name Liam Neeson?”
“I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.” He winked.
I tossed my head back and laughed as I shimmied the pillows out of their cases.
“Can I ask you something now?”
“Go for it,” I said, tossing the old pillowcases on the pile of bedding that needed to be laundered.
“How old are you?”
I stared down at the folded sheet in my hand. “Twenty-five.”
Will’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. He leaned back in the chair and nodded thoughtfully. “Head of housekeeping at twenty-five is impressive. How long have you worked here?”
“Five years.” I quickly changed the sheets and rearranged the pillows. “I think I just work more hours than anyone else. They kind of had to give it to me after the last girl left.”
“I doubt that, Kristin,” he countered. “You’re efficient, friendly, and observant. I can’t think of anyone more suited for the job.”
The sound of my name on his lips caused heat to flood my cheeks. My green uniform pants mixed with my red blush probably made me look like a Christmas tree.
“Thank you, Mr. Solomon.”
“Do you like your job?”
I nodded as I waddled out to the hallway with an armful of sheets. “I do.”
When I walked back into the room to inspect the minibar, he cocked his head to the side. “But?”
I plastered on a customer service smile. “That’s it. I enjoy my job.” I yanked the curtains back and doused the French doors with foaming glass cleaner.
Will narrowed his gaze as if he doubted me. “Did you go to college?”
“Yes.”
“What for?”
“Business administration,” I said flatly, barely concealing a sigh as I strangled the cleaning cloth. Reminders of the life my parents stole from me had never gotten easier. I directed my frustration at the window I was scrubbing, hoping he would change the topic.
“What do you want to do with your degree?”
I loaded my supplies onto the cleaning cart. “That’ll have to be a conversation for another day.”
Will sauntered over to the door with his hands in his pockets. “Didn’t mean to overstep.”
“Sorry,” I said, softening my voice. I pulled my lip between my teeth, tilting my head to meet his gaze. “It’s kind of a sore spot for me.”
“If it counts for anything,” Will said, laying his hand on my upper arm. “I think you’d be excellent doing whatever you’ve got your heart set on.”
Surviving.
“Thank you, Mr. Solomon,” I said with a nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Have a lovely day.”
I pulled the door closed and slumped against the cleaning cart.
“Hot damn, that was intense.”
With a startled yelp, I whirled around to find Hannah Jane loitering in the hallway. “Jesus, you scared me.”
She sipped her coffee, nonchalant.
“What are you doing up here?” I asked, rolling the cart one door down. No one responded when I knocked, so I let myself in.
“I wanted to see the Mystery Man in person,” Hannah said, following me into the room. She plopped down on the bed and smirked. “He’s fine as hell, but I didn’t peg you as one to go for a silver fox.”
I snorted. “Will is not a silver fox, and I’m not going after him.”
She gave me a nefarious grin. “You call him Will? ”
“He told me his name, okay?” I said, rolling my eyes. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
“You called him Mr. Solomon a minute ago.”
“Would you just get to the point already?”
“Kristin!” she exclaimed, jumping to her feet and prancing around on those skyscraper high heels she always wore. “I’ve never seen you interested in a man before! You totally have a crush on him!”
“Is there something you need, or are you just here to pester me?”
“You’re not denying it.”
“He’s cute, okay?” I laughed. “And very sweet. I can enjoy attention from a man occasionally, without it being a thing. Besides, he’s gotta be, like, forty. It would never work.”
“The fact that you’re saying it would never work is proof you’ve thought about what it would be like if it did work.”
I glared at her.
“Admit it. You’re wondering what it would feel if that tall drink of sexy water bent you over a bed and?—”
“Dear Lord, take me now,” I pleaded with the ceiling. “I’m a housekeeper. I doubt I’m his type.”
“Well,” Hannah said, dismissing my very valid points with a wave of her manicured hand. “Girls’ night tonight. Erica said Zoey is welcome to sleep over since your other three are occupied. She’ll pick her up from your neighbor after dinner so you can stay out later.”
God bless Erica Pelham.
She nannied before moving to Beaufort. After the birth of her daughter, Aly, she’d slowly gotten back into the childcare game. Erica had been a babysitting lifesaver more than once.
“See you at Jokers at seven?” Hannah asked.
“Yeah, I’ll be there.” I had some steam that I desperately needed to blow off. “Is Isaac in town?”
Hannah Jane shook her head. “No, he and Luca are both in New York. Mad and I are gonna crash at her house after. You’re welcome to join.”
“Nah. Thanks, though.”
The other girls meant well, but I never felt like I fit in with them.
Hannah Jane and I were the closest, but that was only because we worked together. She was beautiful and refined. Someday, she would marry that billionaire who fell head over heels for her at Maddie and Luca’s wedding.
And I’d still be trailer park trash.