Page 68

He nodded. “Things seem to be progressing.”

“I’m excited for her.”

“Me, too. She really likes him.”

“I bet she’s glad to have you here. She used to have to close the office and hang a sign on the door when things like that came up, and she certainly couldn’t go far.”

Knowing Kelsey would soon be on her own again made Kanon feel ill at ease, itchy in his own skin. He’d been enjoying taking care of the motel and trying to make something of it. The challenge of getting this place turned around had appealed to him. Seeing what his hometown was like after so long had been good for him, too. The vibe hadn’t been nearly as negative as he’d expected. His stepmother no longer seemed as bad as he’d thought, either. Kelsey had made Suzanne seem much more loving and inclusive than he’d ever imagined. He’d been so angry and defensive by the time his father had married Kelsey’s mom that he hadn’t even given her a chance. But the opportunity that’d just developed in North Dakota was simply too good to pass up. And getting out of Hard Luck would save him from the sticky relationships that were beginning to form here between him and his stepsister as well as Patience.

Leaving before anyone could get hurt would be best for everyone involved. “We have a lot of rooms open tonight, and I don’t expect to rent many more. But we’ve gotten quite a few reservations for the rest of the week.”

“Because of the festival?” she asked hopefully. “Do you think the ads are working?”

“Must be. We’re booking up.”

“What a relief!”

“A good sign,” he concurred but still couldn’t meet her eyes. He felt like she’d stood up to her father and moved out partly because she had his support, and now he’d be disappearing in a few short weeks. “Want me to show you what we’ve accomplished around here?”

She smiled broadly. “I’d love to see.”

As they walked the property, he was tempted to take her hand—or pull her behind one of the buildings and kiss her—but he knew that would be completely unfair. He’d warned her about who he really was, but he couldn’t allow himself that excuse. She was still associating with him, didn’t seem to be guarding her heart the way she should.

They were on their way back to the office when a car pulled into the lot—a couple looking for a room—so he hustled on ahead of Patience to check them in. He’d assumed she’d follow him, but she didn’t. And once he was free to look for her, he saw that her car was no longer in the lot.

Where’d you go?

She didn’t respond to his text, which surprised him. He was just wondering if she’d managed to figure out that something was up with him—maybe because he’d been so careful not to touch her today.

But about fifteen minutes later, she returned with Chinese takeout. “Have you tried the Bamboo Garden?” she asked as she lifted the sack onto the counter.

The smell of ginger, sesame oil and garlic wafted to his nose. “Not yet.”

“It’s delicious. I bought several different dishes, so I hope you’re hungry.”

Kelsey had made broccoli cheddar soup. He’d been planning to nuke a bowl of it in her microwave. But that could wait until tomorrow. “I can always eat.”

They used Kelsey’s kitchen so he could be available if the bell rang in the office, but they weren’t disturbed. They talked about Patience’s new job, the fact that she still couldn’t bring herself to contact her father and how strange it was to be on her own, especially when Ari was at Jack’s. “Before last night, I can’t remember ever sleeping in a house by myself,” she said with a self-deprecating chuckle.

He’d been perfectly willing to stay over, couldn’t get the desire to make love to her out of his mind even now. But he was glad she’d been so circumspect. Had he slept with her, he’d feel even worse about leaving town. “Did you like it?”

“I loved it! It’s empowering, but it’s also a little frightening.”

He scooped up the only thing left on his plate—the last of his Szechuan beef. “In what way?”

“I know my father’s not happy with me moving out—sees it as a waste of money and a rebellion against him. He’ll try to teach me a lesson for ‘defecting’ if I ever need his help again, which means I no longer have a safety net.”

“You don’t need a safety net.” Kanon pushed his empty plate away. “You can take care of yourself. Having such an overbearing father has robbed you of confidence—that’s all. But you’ll gain that over time.”

She used chopsticks to gather the last of the chow mein on her plate. “You should know. You’ve taken care of yourself since you were a child.”

“But I’ve never had a kid to worry about. That changes everything.”

“It does,” she agreed. “I owe my father a lot for being there for me when Jack asked for the divorce. That’s partly why I have such a hard time standing up to him. I feel ungrateful when I do.”

“As your father, he should be there for you, just as you should be there for him.” He cracked open his fortune cookie and read the slip. “‘You will make a best friend.’”

“Nice.” She gave him a beautiful smile. “Maybe that friend is me.”