Page 21 of A Swan’s Love Song

seemed to twist into a knot so tight, he thought it might never come undone. No matter what Avi had

said about him being able to call for a ride anytime, the man was definitely avoiding him.

“Who pissed in your pond snails?”

Skip’s gruff voice always startled him when it came out of nowhere like that.

“I don’t eat pond snails. That’s Kellan’s thing.”

Skip rolled his eyes. “I can’t keep up with the slimy things you swans eat.”

Sean frowned and pressed his lips together. Skip had no right to judge. He’d witnessed the

grumpy chef eat cow liver and Sean thought that was the grossest thing he’d ever seen.

Skip regarded him. “Come on, kid. What’s wrong?” He chuckled. “I’m not a complete asshole,

you know. I’ve been known to have my moments of clarity.”

“Says who?” Vic came sailing in through the door that led to the dining room. “Hi, Sean. Were

you planning on stopping by this afternoon? Because I wanted to warn you that Kellan went into town

with Erik to have lunch with Mateo, so he might not be back until later if they decide to go shopping.”

“Oh.” Sean tried to hide his disappointment. It was bad enough being left alone with his

thoughts in the evenings when he went back to his room. He’d finished his song, but judging from

Avi’s disappearing act, it didn’t seem as if he’d need it anymore. “Thanks for telling me. Maybe I’ll

shift and take a float on the lake.”

Vic nodded as he flipped through several papers on the ordering clipboard. “Sounds good. Nice

day out.” He squinted at one sheet that seemed to have caught his attention. “Skip? Did you add this

on to the bar order?”

Vic pointed at what he was referring to, while Skip squinted even harder.

“Yeah. Why?”

Vic sighed. “I’m trying to fathom why we’d need that much mint. Am I missing something?”

“Mojitos. Need I say more?”

Vic slapped the clipboard down on the employee break table. “How many mojitos are we

looking at? That’s a bizarre amount of mint!”

“Come on, everyone drinks mojitos in summer.”

“I don’t.” Vic crossed his arms.

“You don’t know what you’re missing, boss. Get with the program.”

“Skip, I swear to all that is holy…”