So Inn Love (10 page)

W
e jumped apart. If that was Miss Crossley, or anyone on the Inn staff…We were so in trouble. We’d already been caught once by her, dancing when we were supposed to be working. If she found us up here? Even her favorite employee, Hayden, would be history.

“You said no one was staying here!” I whispered to him. “What are we going to do?”

I had a brief mental image of the two of us scaling the side of the Inn, like in a heist movie.

“Don’t sweat it,” Hayden said. “Come on, let’s see who it is.”

“This feels really, really weird,” I said as we edged closer to the sliding glass door and peered into the honeymoon suite. Of
all the rooms to
spy
on.

All of a sudden the door opened. Mr. Talbot Junior was standing there.

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Not even air, because I’d stopped breathing.

“Hello, Mr. Talbot. Sir,” Hayden said.

“Hayden, is that all you have to say? Hello?”

“It’s…a nice night?” I added.

Mr. Talbot looked at me and his mouth turned into an even deeper frown. “And what is your name again?”

“Liza,” I said. “Elizabeth McKenzie.” I wished that it was Mr. Talbot Senior, who might actually recognize my name and give me a break.

“Elizabeth McKenzie,” he repeated as if trying to memorize my name. “Well, Hayden and Elizabeth. What do you two think you’re doing up here?” he asked. “Other than getting to know each other better.” He coughed a few times. “Substantially better, I might add.”

Hayden looked over at me, and if he wasn’t
turning red from embarrassment, then I certainly was.

“Still speechless? Well, imagine my surprise when I walked into the office to deposit some cash and receipts into the safe. There’s a surveillance system in the office, and there’s a camera trained on this deck when the room is vacant. Or have you forgotten?”

“I suppose, sir, that I did forget,” Hayden said. “My apologies.”

I should have known, too—I’d only just spent hours cleaning and organizing that office.

“So. What do you have to say for yourselves?” Mr. Talbot demanded.

That we’re about to lose our jobs?
I thought.
Good-bye, this has been a great place to work?

“Mr. Talbot, I’m really sorry. I just wanted to show the place to Liza. It’s my fault,” Hayden said. “I take full responsibility.”

“There are two people standing here, so in my opinion, you’re both responsible. It’s not as if you both don’t know the rules.” Mr. Talbot glared at me.

“I’m sorry. We definitely shouldn’t have
been up here,” I said. “It’s just—it’s such a beautiful spot. We got carried away.”

“It is beautiful,” Mr. Talbot agreed. “And such a nice night.” He took a deep breath and stretched his arms over his head. He seemed to be loosening up a little bit. “I wish I’d been up here, instead of in the office. Then you’d never have been able to get away with this.”

I just stood there, smiling and feeling stupid.
Had
we gotten away with it? Or were we about to spend our last night at the Inn?

“I should have checked with you first, Mr. Talbot,” Hayden said. “I mean, if I’d thought it through, I would have done that. It was an impulse decision.”

“Hayden, I’ve learned over the years to trust you. And if you’ll trust me for a second, let me give you a piece of advice.” Mr. Talbot put his hands on the wall and leaned out over the deck. “And that is, never go with an impulsive decision. Never.”

Hayden laughed. “I can see where you’re right.”

“Who said…fools rush in—”

“Where angels fear to tread,” I said. “Alexander Pope.”

Mr. Talbot looked at me with newfound respect. “Very impressive.”

“My grandfather,” I said. “He’s always quoting that.” And now I knew
why.
All those years he drove me nuts by saying that, he was trying to warn me for situations like this.

“Look, I realize you probably need to report this to Miss Crossley,” Hayden said.

“Probably,” Mr. Talbot agreed. “That would be the way we’d usually handle it.”

“But if there’s any way we could…I don’t know. I know this is a lot to ask,” Hayden said, “but if we could keep this between us, I’d really appreciate it.”

Mr. Talbot didn’t say anything for a minute or two. He was staring up at the sky. “Look, isn’t that the Milky Way?”

“Actually,
that
is.” I started to point out different constellations to him. That astronomy minicourse we’d done in school was really coming in handy. Mr. Talbot seemed to have forgotten all about the fact we were only seeing all
these stars and constellations because we were standing somewhere we shouldn’t be. “It’s so amazing here,” I commented. “You can see so much more here than back home.”

“Light pollution. It’s a problem,” Mr. Talbot agreed. “That’s why I love the Inn’s location. That’s why city people love to come here.”

“You should mention that in the brochure,” I said. “Talk about all the open sky and dark nights—”

“And romantic locations?” Mr. Talbot turned back to us. “Well. Hayden, I’ve been thinking about what you asked. It’s asking a lot.”

“I know that, sir—”

“But I’m inclined to agree with you. We don’t need to share this.” Mr. Talbot extended his palm and Hayden placed the key card into it. “Now, I should get back to the office, and you should get back to the dorm. And don’t make any more stops on the way.”

When we got back downstairs, Mr. Talbot headed for the office. Hayden and I looked at each other and I let out a big sigh.

“I think I’m going to go see if he, uh, needs any help,” Hayden said.

“Sounds good,” I said. For some reason I just wanted to get out of there.

We quickly went our separate ways without even saying anything else, like “good night,” or “it was nice kissing you.” I think we were both sort of in shock from everything that had just happened.

Then I ran back to the dorm and, of course, told Claire everything.

I mean, what are roommates for?

The next morning we were all eating breakfast when Miss Crossley walked into the Hull. Trailing her were all the employees from the restaurant upstairs, and everyone else currently on duty and in uniform.

“Are we having a meeting?” Brooke asked.

“I didn’t know we were having a meeting,” Caroline said.

Miss Crossley banged a knife against a glass to get everyone’s attention. Not that everyone hadn’t stopped talking when she walked in, because she looked so serious and because the
wait staff didn’t often leave work to follow her around.

“I’ll make this quick, everyone. We’re letting someone go, and you need to hear it from me,” Miss Crossley said.

M
y last bite of wheat toast stuck in my throat. I gulped and attempted to swallow.

It was obvious what was about to happen. Once the effect of star-gazing wore off, Mr. Talbot had come to his senses and realized Hayden and I should be fired.

I tried to catch Hayden’s eye, across the room, but he seemed to be deliberately avoiding me. That was probably a good idea, given the situation. Not that it would help, if Miss Crossley’s mind was made up.

Suddenly I noticed that Miss Crossley didn’t have her usual pressed-and-starched appearance. She looked a little overwhelmed as she rubbed the side of her face. “I’ve been up all
night deliberating,” she said. “It pains me to have to say this.”

I chewed my thumbnail. The only person it could truly pain her to fire—would be Hayden. Her favorite, long-time employee. Me, she couldn’t care less about, although in her eyes I’d already given her a little bit of trouble. And, as she’d promised that day on the beach, she was watching me extra carefully.

“Something happened last night,” Miss Crossley went on.

I started to picture what it would be like to go home after only a few weeks here. How many people I’d run into, around town, and how stupid I’d feel explaining. “I got fired because I was making out with this guy.” How lame was that? Why would I risk my job over someone I barely knew? I was an idiot. Pure and simple. This was a good reason
not
to fall in love. You did stupid things.

“An unauthorized Inn employee borrowed the van late last night, which is, bottom line, inexcusable.”

I looked up at Miss Crossley. I felt like I’d
just surfaced from being underwater. She was still talking, and she was saying that I wasn’t fired. Hayden wasn’t fired.

But Tyler was.

“Now, no harm was done. He didn’t go on a joyride, or get pulled over for speeding, or anything like that. And he was trying to help out a guest, by taking her to a convenience store on the other side of town. He was finishing his server shift around eleven o’clock, when she apparently settled her bar bill and asked for the trip. But it’s just—it’s bad judgment. He should have alerted someone on the night staff who was authorized to do that. Not taken it upon himself.”

“How did he get the keys?” Hayden asked.

“He borrowed them from the desk drawer. She gave him a hundred-dollar tip, which is what I guess made him make a bad choice. Anyway, it’s very sad. This was Tyler’s second summer here and we hate to lose him, but we can’t give him another chance.” Miss Crossley shook her head. “Everyone, please remember. The rules exist for a reason. To protect you, and to protect the Inn and its guests. Now get back to work.”

Claire and I just looked at each other.
Wow,
she finally mouthed.

“No kidding,” I said.

“I thought you were gone for sure,” she whispered.

“So did I.” I took a sip of orange juice and my hand was shaking from nerves. I’d dodged that bullet. At least…I was pretty sure I had. Maybe Mr. Talbot hadn’t seen Miss Crossley yet that morning. But he’d have to have been in on the decision to let Tyler go—so he must have kept our secret, as promised. Still, I didn’t like the idea he had something to hold over our heads. If we made one more mistake…Hayden and I would be gone, too.

Sometimes there are things that you really don’t see coming. You think one thing is going to go wrong, and you’re completely relieved when it doesn’t. So you relax. And then something else hits you.

I’d answered my cell phone while I was back in my room changing clothes for dinner. I figured it was a typical Mom call: Are you doing okay, are you eating right, are you staying out of trouble?

The answers would be yes, yes, and maybe.

But when I answered the phone, she paused for a second after saying hello, which isn’t like her at all. She usually begins talking a mile a minute. That made me worry.

“Mom, what’s up?” I asked.

“Honey, I’m afraid I have some bad news. Your grandfather—Grandpa McKenzie—”

“What?”

“He’s had a heart attack. He’s fine, really, but he’s in the hospital under the doctors’ care and everything’s stabilizing now. We don’t want you to worry, but we thought you should know—”

“Mom, I’m coming home,” I declared.

“Honey, that’s not necessary—”

“Yes, it is.” I got kind of choked up trying to tell her that. I was about to start crying, but I didn’t want to because then she’d worry about me, too, and she had enough to deal with already.

“Well, all right, but what about work?”

“They’ll figure it out. Look, I’ll get there as fast as I can.” I glanced at my watch. It was after six already. “Which hospital, in case I make it in time for visiting hours?”

“County General.”

“Mom, I’ll have my cell on, so call me—give me an update—tell me stuff, okay?”

“You sure it’s okay to leave?”

“It’s okay, they’ll understand. See you soon.” I hung up the phone. Claire wasn’t around, so I scribbled a note to her. Then I threw a few changes of clothes into a duffel and ran downstairs and outside to the parking lot.

I threw my bag into the backseat, then slipped the key in the ignition and turned it. Nothing. I tried again. No sound at all. A third time—and it sounded like an old person coughing. And then dying.

Of all the times to have a completely unreliable car. I couldn’t stop swearing at it, but that didn’t help. I got out and pounded the hood with my fists. Then I grabbed my bag and ran over to the Hullery. It was nearly dinnertime. There had to be someone who could help me, loan me a car—I could beg Miss Crossley if it came to that.

I raced inside and down the steps. I was hoping Claire and Josh would be there, but I didn’t see them.

“Can anyone help me?” I said. Then I started to cry, and I hated crying in front of everyone, but I couldn’t help myself. “My grandfather—he’s had a—a heart attack. I need to get home and see him. My stupid car won’t start—does anyone have a car I could borrow? I’m a really good driver, and…I’ll pay you. Whatever you want.”

“I don’t have a car here,” Richard said.

“Neither do I,” Tara added. “I’m sorry, Liza.”

Hayden jumped up from his chair. I hadn’t even noticed him at the other end of the room. “I don’t have a car here, but I can drive you to the train. It’s at seven, remember? If we hurry, we can make it.”

I vaguely registered the shocked looks on people’s faces. I’d been so panicked that I hadn’t even remembered there was a train.

“You can get pretty close to home, like New Haven, and get a connecting train, or else your parents or someone could pick you up somewhere along the line. Would that work?” Hayden asked as he came over to me.

“Yeah—that’s great. Let’s go.”

“Wait—I have to ask Miss Crossley, make sure it’s okay to take the van,” Hayden began. “After this morning—you know.”

“You’re an authorized driver. We’ll call her on the way. I can’t miss that train!” I ran up the steps, with Hayden following me.

“Are you and your grandfather close?” Hayden asked as we pulled out of the Inn parking lot. He’d just called Miss Crossley to let her know what was happening, so that was done, which was a relief.

“Kind of. Being an only child—I’m sort of their focus sometimes,” I said.

“Is this the grandfather who knows Mr. Talbot Senior?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“I’ll tell him about it when I get back, then. He’d want to know,” Hayden said.

“Yeah, I don’t know if I would do that. Knowing my grandpa, he’ll try to keep this a secret. He wants everyone to still think he’s in excellent shape. Which he is, because he runs and swims and hikes. So this heart attack thing,
it really doesn’t make sense.”

Hayden reached over and put his hand over mine. “If he’s in great shape, that means he’ll recover really quickly.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. They’ll figure out what caused it, maybe give him some medication—”

“What are you, a doctor now?”

“No, but I play one on TV.”

I looked over at him and raised one eyebrow. I wasn’t in the mood for jokes.

“Okay, so I’ve watched a lot of TV. And that’s what always happens. Totally curable thing,” Hayden said.

“Right.”

“It’s true,” he insisted.

I stared out the window for the rest of the trip. I kept picturing my grandfather collapsing, or lying on the ground in pain. Where had he been when it happened? Was my grandmother there? I wondered. She was one of those tough-as-nails people, but even nails had their limits. I couldn’t wait to get home and hug her—hug both of them—tightly.

Hayden and I got to the train station with
about ten minutes to spare. I hurried to the ticket window and bought my ticket, then went back to the van for my duffel bag.

“You can take off if you want,” I said to Hayden. He was standing beside the van, leaning against it. “The train’s on time for once.”

“You’re kidding. That never happens.” He seemed a little disappointed, but maybe he was just stunned. “Well, that’s great. You’ll get home even faster.”

I tried to smile, but I couldn’t.

“Don’t worry about anything. It’s going to be okay. He’ll be fine,” Hayden said.

I nodded, unable to speak. The reality of what I might have to face at home was sinking in.

“I know you’re worried, but your mom said he was okay now. He’s in the hospital. They won’t let anything happen to him.”

I nodded again, and this time felt tears spill down my cheeks. They wouldn’t stop coming.

“Liza, don’t cry. Please don’t cry.”

Hayden leaned down and gently pressed his lips against my cheeks, softly kissing the tears. He gathered me in his arms and pulled me close.
I rested my head on his chest, and he put his chin on top of my head.

I didn’t move. I couldn’t. I didn’t want to.

And then I heard the train coming, and I grabbed my duffel and ran.