Page 76 of By the Book

“No, it’s a good idea, I promise. I did some research. We can charge whatever we want, especially during tourist season. And the house is already paid off, so our expenses actually aren’t outrageous. And during the winter, I can pick up some teaching at the college—I mean, I think I can. It won’t be a ton of money, but it’ll carry us.”

Bobby adjusted his tank. It was—to say the least—distracting. All those muscles under all that golden skin. Then his eyes fixed on me, and he said, “You want to run a bed-and-breakfast.”

“I mean, sure. Why not?”

“You.”

“Okay, that’s kind of rude—”

“The same person who once told me that he wanted the library to install a drive-thru so that he wouldn’t have to, quote, ‘fight my way through the crowds.’”

“I know you’re being sarcastic, but if you’d ever seen the Friday afternoon rush—”

“The same person who said the self-checkout should win employee of the month because it didn’t ask you if your kids were going to enjoy all those Pop-Tarts.”

“It wasn’t even thatmanyPop-Tarts if you consider I was getting a sampling of all available flavors.”

“The same person who asked me if it would be morally wrong to take a nap while he got a haircut so that he didn’t have to make small talk.”

“That and naps are, like, super relaxing, so, it would kind of be like a spa treatment.”

Bobby’s eyes have this unbelievable intensity sometimes.

“I don’t know,” I mumbled. “I’ve got to do something, Bobby. And teaching a few classes at the college won’t be enough.”

“Yes,” Bobby said. “We need to figure out a long-term plan. And I am—” He took a breath. “—working on not taking this on myself. But Dash, sweetheart, this house is your safe space. You love it here. I think you love Hemlock House more than just about anywhere. And I don’t want you to give that up. You deserve somewhere you can let your walls down, feel comfortable, and recharge.” He wagged the envelope. “This is two months’ rent, from me and Indira.”

“No, Bobby, I don’t want—”

“We split it up so that we’re also paying a share for Keme. You’re expected to contribute too.” I opened my mouth, but Bobby spoke over me. “We talked about this, Dash. You and I talked about this. I love that you want to be more independent. And you’re doing that. But part of being independent is knowing your limitations. That’s where your friends come in. Take the envelope, babe. Catch up on bills. Hire someone to come take a look at the chimney.” He grinned, and it was surprisingly goofy. “Buy me a nice dinner.”

I stared at the envelope. I thought about strangers tramping through Hemlock House—scuffing the floors, putting holes in the walls, asking for more shampoo or complaining that they were too cold or too hot, coming and going at all hours, demanding breakfast when any decent person would still be in bed.

“I’m going to teach those classes,” I said.

“Good.”

“And anything I make from my stories, it’ll go in the fund.”

Bobby nodded. He proffered the envelope one more time.

I took it.

Slipping an arm around me, Bobby stepped in. He kissed me lightly, pulled back, and checked my face. Whatever he saw theremade that goofy grin grow again. “See how easy that was? That’s how it’s supposed to be, sweetheart. We take care of each other.”

My throat was unexpectedly thick, but I managed to say, “Tell that to Keme the next time he tries those Mortal Kombat fatalities on me.”

Bobby cupped my cheek and kissed me again.

“He tried to rip my heart out,” I said. “My ribs got in the way, but it still really hurt.”

Bobby kissed me again.

“And he tried to break my spine over his knee, but then I fell. He caught me, and it was actually kind of sweet.”

“Do you seriously want to talk about Keme right now?” Bobby asked as he leaned in to kiss me again.

When I came up for air, a little more flustered than usual, I was surprised to find Bobby had ninja’d away my glasses, and all I could do was blink owlishly at him. “We take care of each other, huh?”

“Of course we do,” he said, drawing me closer. “We’re a family.”