Page 411 of Seasons of Love
“Let’s go.”
I looked at Trey, who also seemed to notice Mal didn’t look right.
“Mal, what did the chief say?” I asked.
“Not now. We need to get to the resort and find Hailey and Pete.”
His behavior only fed my already high tendency to worry. My mind ran over all the possible scenarios as I did my best to keep up with Mal’s pace toward the resort.
Did he have news about Griff? Or was it Uncle Frank and Gabe?
Oh god.
What if he had bad news about my family, and he was waiting for the right moment to tell me?
We found Hailey outside the resort’s main restaurant, helping the staff manage the line of people waiting to go in. She looked tired but still had a smile on her face. A smile that became wider when she saw us.
“What time do you call this,” she said, looking at her watch. “You know you missed out on all the fun, right? But don’t worry. Pete’s compiling a list of customer complaints, and he promised the juiciest ones will land on your desks.”
Considering how tightly wound Mal had been since he left the station, I was surprised to see a smile on his face.
“Hailey, I can’t begin to thank you for the work you’ve done here. Do you have someone to relieve you so you can go home?” Mal asked.
“Who do you take me for, boss? We run a tight ship out here. Brian went home as soon as it was safe last night, so he’ll be here shortly, and Alana was off this weekend, but she’s coming in too. Most of the staff are okay, and we’ve redeployed them to wherever is most needed. We’ve had a few grumbles, but let’s just say my resting-bitch-face is getting quite a workout at the moment.”
I raised a brow, which Hailey didn’t miss, so I got a punch in the stomach for it.
“We have some help for you,” Mal said. “Trey is my counterpart at Silver Springs in Colorado. He apparently leads a very boring life and swapped his vacation time for helping us out.”
Hailey stretched out her hand to greet Trey. “Nice to meet you, Trey. I love your resort. Pete and I honeymooned there. Follow me, and I’ll show you the ropes. Mal, go home. We’re all good here. To be honest, we’ll need some help to handle the customer queries and complaints, but that’s not our priority for now.”
Mal raised his hands and smiled. “I guess I’ve been told. I’ll catch you later then.”
As soon as Hailey and Trey were out of sight, Mal all but ran toward the driveway and then turned a corner where we had the pump room for the water supply.
I called out to him, but he didn’t look like he heard me or even noticed I was following him. I sped up my pace when he went behind the building and found him leaning against the wall, his chest heaving and his hands covering his face.
“Hey,” I whispered.
Part of me was afraid he’d shut me down like he did outside of the fire station, but I couldn’t handle seeing him struggle and not try to help.
When he raised his head, his face was wet with tears.
“Please tell me what’s going on? Is it what the chief told you?” I asked.
Mal nodded. “Griff is in the hospital. He was rescued from the cliff beach last night.”
I had to lock my knees because I felt as though the weight of my body was suddenly too much and my legs would give in any moment.
“No, please tell me he’s okay.”
Mal straightened up and took a deep breath, running his hands through his short hair and scruff.
“He’s okay. Sorry, I didn’t mean to…I just needed a moment to gather myself. I’m going to the hospital now.”
“I’ll come with you.” There was no choice to be made there. I didn’t know why, but my gut told me my family was okay. The same gut feeling that told me I needed to be with both Griff and Mal right now.
Mal looked at me, and I could see he was torn.
