Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 108124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
“Levi, I’m so sorry I did that to you. But why were you watching me anyway? It’s creepy.”
“It’s kind of hard to not watch when I find a naked woman in my house, twerking. I had no idea it was you.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “It’s our house. And I had no idea it was you either. You look so different. Your hair is long, and I’ve never seen you with a full beard like that.” I looked up at the cut on his head and grimaced. “You should have let them treat you. You’re still bleeding.”
“Cuts to the head bleed a lot. It’s fine.”
“Please go over to Doc Matthews’ at least.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I moved back.”
“Why?”
Right about now, I was asking myself that very question. “Because it’s a good place for my son to grow up.”
He looked me up and down. “Why are you so dirty?”
“Oh. I cleaned out the attic. I finished right before you came in.”
“Why would you do that?”
My brows furrowed. He had a lot of questions, and some of them seemed pretty obvious. “Ummm…because it was a disaster.”
“The builder doesn’t care if the attic is clean. He doesn’t care if the entire place is a mess. He’s going to tear it down.”
“Tear what down?”
“This place.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
This time it was Levi who looked confused. His forehead wrinkled. “Didn’t you get the offer?”
“What offer?”
“For the B&B. Franklin Construction made an offer of more than twice the value of the property. My lawyer said he sent it over to you. I assumed it was a done deal.”
I shook my head. “But I don’t want to sell.”
Levi put his hands on his hips. “Well, then, we have a problem. Because I do.”
CHAPTER 2
* * *
Presley
Hours later, Levi stood on the porch of the B&B as I opened the door to let him in.
“You don’t have to knock. This is your home.”
He pointed to his bandaged head. “Eight stitches says otherwise.”
I covered my mouth. “Oh my God. Eight stitches? I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I did that to you.”
“It’s fine. Doc Matthews said I’m good as new.”
I squinted. “Doc called five minutes ago. You left your wallet at his office. He also mentioned that you really should’ve been admitted to the hospital and need to be watched closely for forty-eight hours for signs of slurred speech and vomiting.”
Levi shook his head. “I forgot no one gives a shit about things like HIPAA and privacy laws in Beaufort.” He looked around the living room. “Do you know where my suitcase went? I left it in the hallway earlier when I went to see where the music was coming from.”
“Oh. Yeah. I put it in the Woodward Suite.”
His brows drew down. “Aren’t you in there?”
“I moved to a regular room. I don’t need that much space.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll stay in any room that’s open.”
The Woodward Suite was a full efficiency apartment on the ground floor of the B&B. It was never rented to the public and always available to whatever family member or friend might be in town visiting. “It’s your family’s room, Levi. I’m fine.”
He glowered at me and walked over to a locked box on the wall where all the room keys were kept. Fishing a set of keys from his pocket, he unlocked the box and grabbed a key.
“Room thirteen.” He scoffed. “Fitting for me. You take the suite.”
***
The next morning, I was cleaning up breakfast in the kitchen when Levi came downstairs.
“Do you think we can talk for a minute?” I asked.
“About what?”
I eyed the open envelope sitting on the kitchen counter. Last night, after Levi went to bed, I’d sifted through a large pile of mail I’d brought down with me last week. I hadn’t had a chance to sort through it all, much less open any of it. But I’d found the letter from the lawyer Levi had referred to yesterday.
He nodded. “We’re not going to get a better offer than that for this place. It’s falling down. Only one of the outlets in the room I stayed in works, and the AC is blowing hot air.”
“I know. It’s a lot of money—an awful lot of money.”
“Good. I’ll tell my lawyer to get the ball rolling.”
“Actually…” I bit my nail. “I know it’s a really good offer and all, but I don’t want to sell The Palm Inn.”
Levi’s eyes narrowed. “Why the hell not?”
“Because it’s been in your family for three generations. It’s a landmark and a special place, Levi.”
“It was fifty years ago. But there’s a very nice chain hotel five minutes out of town now, one where all the amenities actually work. People don’t need to stay here.”
“The Palm Inn isn’t about needing a place to sleep. It’s about experiencing Beaufort.”
He scoffed. “What do you know about experiencing Beaufort? You didn’t look back when you got your meal ticket out of here.”