Page 19 of The Grump I Got Stuck With

Part of me felt a little bad.

The kid was genuinely so sweet. In another reality, I would have loved to be her nanny. In this reality, working for Alistair? Not in a million years.

Princess wiggled to be set down, and I obliged. Before she could race off to find Kenna, I snapped, “Princess! Let’s go.”

She scurried after me, tongue lolling out of her mouth as she chased me all the way back to the guest room. I made sure to close the door behind me before I exploded. “My ‘very important work.’ Agh! I could have very important work to do. What does he know? Just because I don’t have a castle and some fancy home office doesn’t mean I’m not doing something important.”

Princess pawed at my shin.

“We’re on a mission,” I said as a mixture of sadness and frustration swelled inside me. “A mission to find out more about my mom and to see if I can find that missing piece that’ll finally make me feel like I belong. And staying here, playing Beauty and the Beast with grumpy Alistair, isn’t going to accomplish anything!”

Princess spun around once in agreement. At least, that’s what I pretended she meant.

“We have to move on,” I said with a sigh. “Last night was one thing.” It was dark. We had no other options. “But there has to be somewhere else we can go.”

Princess nipped at my toes. I yelped, picking her up and depositing her on the bed. I flopped down next to her on my stomach, and she gave my cheek an affectionate lick. It was just the right amount of encouragement. I whipped out my phone. “Let’s get out of this creepy castle.”

Princess rolled onto her back, snuggling into my side while I opened the Voyages Inc. app. I’d been using the thing religiously since I’d arrived in order to plan my travel and excursions. It had been a lifeline until it had sent me careening down a snowy road into a ditch. I’d sworn I wouldn’t use it again, but I didn’t have any other apps loaded, and this one had all my preferences.

Once the map loaded with my location, I zoomed in on Braeburn, exploring the town. An inn popped up called the Deerhound. “Hey, this isn’t that far. Look.”

Princess bounded over my back like I was a hurdle.

“Girl, focus. We gotta figure out if we can get here.” I clicked on the inn. “It’s only a few miles by road. What do you want to bet we can shave off some of the distance on foot if we go as the crow flies? You know, cut through some sheep field or something.”

Princess barked at the mention of sheep. She really liked sheep, especially when she got to bark her fuzzy little head off at them. “Calm down for a second. Okay, let’s look at the facts. I don’t want to be here anymore. Our grumpy host only wants us here if we agree to nanny for him. And that’s a non-starter because we’ve got places to be.”

Princess barked.

“I don’t know what places yet. I just know it’s not here.” Staying another night wasn’t logical or reasonable when there was a perfectly good inn down the road. “All right, pack your stuff.”

Princess bounded off the side of the bed, rolling around on the plush carpet as I layered up in my warmest clothes. I added my coat, hat, mitts, and scarf, then unzipped my duffle. “Hop in,” I told Princess. “You’ve got to ride shotgun.”

She barked.

“Be serious. There’s no way you’re making it through those snow drifts on your tiny legs.” I pointed at the bag. Princess gave it a sniff then dutifully hopped inside. I zipped her up enough that she could stick her head out, then strung the bag over my arm.

We headed out the door and down the stairs before I could talk myself out of it. The first challenge would be making it down Alistair’s unnecessarily long driveway.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

I turned at the question. Alistair stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Maybe he was poking around the fridge to make Kenna a snack. Whatever. Not my problem. “We’re leaving.”

His eyes dropped to Princess in my duffle. She growled. “Leaving for where?”

“There’s an inn in town,” I said. “I’m sure they’ll have rooms available.”

“There’s a perfectly good room here.”

“Yes, which we’re apparently only welcome to if we’re earning our keep.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“Sort of what you insinuated.”

Alistair huffed. “Don’t be daft. You’ll get yourself stuck out there.”

“I’ll be as daft as I damn well please,” I said, marching toward the front door.