AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It was a joke,” he mumbled, but she didn’t fully believe him.
As soon as his bag showed up, he wheeled it out while she led him to the Jeep. “I got your text when I landed,” he said. “So... I won’t be at the hotel, after all?”
“No. You’ll have a room in the bungalow, where the Windsors’ caretaker lives, which will be free.”
“The free part’s nice. I was a little stressed about how much it’ll cost. So I’m staying with the caretaker, and you’re staying with Remy’s brother?”
“Yes. But the cottage is very close.”
“I’m not worried about that. It’s just...isn’t it sort of weird that it’s just the two of you?”
“To be honest? Yes,” she said. “No one knew Bastian was going to show up. And I’m hoping he won’t be here long. Then you can hang out at the cottage with me until Remy arrives, and by then, I’m hoping the house-sitting gig will materialize.”
“Remy doesn’t want me at the cottage?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Nothing else explains it. Seems like a welcoming brother-in-law, sis.”
Ismay couldn’t miss the sarcasm. Jack had always had a dry sense of humor. “Stop. He’s just...a little spoiled,” she admitted.
“A little?” he echoed, and when they both laughed, Ismay felt a measure of relief. Thank God she’d been able to convince Jack to leave Utah. With time, she felt her brother would be okay. He had a long road ahead of him, though.
“You’re going to love Bo,” she said with confidence.
He looked askance at her as he deposited his bag in the back of the Jeep. “How well do you know this guy?”
“He helped me get through the storm.”
“And is that affection I detect in your voice?”
Hoping the darkness hid her burning face, Ismay refused to meet his gaze. “No. He’s just...a cool guy.”
“Cooler than Remy?”
In some ways, yes. But she wasn’t about to admit that. “They’re very different. I like them both.”
He froze. “Did you just say youlikeRemy?”
Growing flustered, she gestured for him to get in the car. “I don’t remember you being this difficult.”
“I can’t pretend I’ll be any fun while I’m here. I feel like the living dead.”
“Sometimes terrible things turn out to be what’s best in the end.”
He sighed as if he couldn’t believe that could apply to him. “That’s just what everyone says when they don’t know how to fix something.”
“You’ll see,” she promised and reached out to cover his large hand, already calloused from years of work on the farm, with hers.
17
There was nothing as claustrophobic as two grown men sharing a six-by-eight-foot cell. The bungalow wasn’t big, but it still had a hell of a lot more room than that, so Bo didn’t consider having Jack in the extra bedroom a major sacrifice. Besides, Ismay’s brother wasn’t meant to be there very long. Bo was more worried about the time they’d spend together each day—and any telltale signs he might unwittingly give away to indicate his past wasn’t exactly as he’d represented it.
Fortunately, he was able to relax a little once he met Jack, who came off as immanently likeable.
“You hungry?” Ismay asked, lifting a sack from a local restaurant after she’d made the introductions. “I brought food, thought you might like to have dinner with us.”
“At eleven o’clock?” he said with a laugh.
