Lured In (25 page)

“It might seem like I'm making problems where there aren't any, but I'm not. I'm just trying to do a good thing for both of us. Right now, during the season, it might not seem like a big deal to have you all here working, but the season's over in less than three weeks, and then what?”

“You don't know what you're talking about.” Jessie forced the words off her tongue. “Jimmy O'Donnell and I both lived here in the off-season for years and we did fine.”

“I'm sure you did,” he said. “But that was only the two of you: a skinny girl and an old man. I bet your entire off-season grocery bill was probably less than what it's going to be for two weeks with all of you living here now. Plus you still have regular bills, plus upkeep…and while I'm sure this boat is well maintained, it's not exactly new, so how much longer do you think you can push it before it needs to be replaced?”

He lifted his hand slowly and offered her a look that appeared to be genuinely sorry for saying all this.

“Listen,” he said. “I only ever met these guys a couple times before now, but they seem like good people and I'd be willing to bet they'd rather go under than let you go, but is that what you want?”

“We're not going to go under, Sam. We're fine.”

Oh, she hated that look: patronizing and remorseful.

“You say ‘we' like you're part of their family, Jess, but you're not. This is a family-owned business, always has been, and the only name on the deed is O'Donnell.”

It didn't matter how loud her heart cried “no,” her head kept yelling louder, telling her Sam was right.

“The Hewett place is already an established year-round resort, so you wouldn't have to worry about moving off-island after the season ends. You'd even have your own cabin on the property—no more living in a room the size of a closet with absolutely no privacy.”

Jessie didn't care about that, and she didn't care about making stacks of money, either. She cared about the Buoys and, more than that, she cared about the O'Donnells—and not only Finn.

But Liam had said it himself: The priority had to be keeping the Buoys running. And God help them, they'd just gotten it reopened; they couldn't let anything jeopardize that now.

“I know it's a lot to think about,” Sam said. “And I wish it wasn't so hard for you, but once you work through it, go over the numbers yourself, I'm sure you'll see I'm right.”

“I…” Jessie tried to blink her head clear, but the fog was too thick. “What…what does this mean for next season? Is
Hooked
not going to come back now?”

“I don't see why they wouldn't,” he said. “But I guess they won't make that decision until they find a new host.”

“Oh my God. I can't even…I don't…” She couldn't finish the thought, never mind the sentence.

“Don't say anything right now.” Sam stood up, then pushed the door open and held it while she stepped out behind him. “Just promise me you'll think about it.”

Confused, exhausted, and still a little freaked that every movement, however slight, rocked the boat, all Jessie wanted right then was to get back on solid ground.

“Uh…yeah. Okay, fine, I'll…I'll think about it.”

What? Was that her saying that? No! She didn't want to think about it, she wanted to say no, but Sam's smile nearly lit up the night.

“Yes!” His loud whoop carried out across the cove and echoed at them.

Ducking his head, his smile dimmed to one of bashfulness.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “I hope I didn't wake anyone in the cabins.”

“That wasn't a yes, Sam, and I'm not making any promises. I just said I'd think about it.”

His nod was deep and long. “I know. And I know it won't be an easy thing to do if you decide to leave this place.”

On numb legs, Jessie followed Sam up the dock and stumbled back toward the lodge.

“Sam?” Her tongue felt swollen, her mouth didn't want to open. “When do you…how long…an answer?”

Sam stopped walking, turned to look at her, and sighed. “I took possession on Friday.”

“You already took possession?” she cried.

“I know, crazy, right? But Hewett agreed to stay on for an extra week or two, until I get my people in place.”

“Your people,” Jessie said. “Right.”

“And, Jess? I really hope you'll be one of my people.”

As Sam pulled open the door to the lodge, Jessie stopped.

“Sam, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

And of all the things bashing around in her head, of all the things she could have asked—probably should have asked—only one thing cut through the chaos.

“Would you please not call me Jess?”

“Jessie? Hey, Jessie.”

The voice was so quiet, yet it jerked Jessie through the last layers of dull slumber. A jackhammer was doing double duty inside her head, her jaw ached from clenching, and she'd have sworn her spine had fused itself into a knot.

That's what she got for sleeping in the fetal position on her office floor.

“You okay?” Perched on her haunches, Olivia peered down at her. “What are you doing in here?”

Jessie started to roll onto her back, cursed against the strain, and stayed where she was instead.

“What time is it?”

“Coming up on five-thirty. Here, let me help you up.”

Groaning through the creaks, Jessie finally managed to get to her feet, then held the back of her chair while she gently stretched out the kinks.

“Ashley's not exactly a quiet sleeper,” she muttered. “And all the couches were already full.”

“I saw that. Well…we wanted the place full, didn't we?”

“Yeah,” Jessie snorted. “Careful what you wish for, I guess.”

“I gotta get back to the breakfast; you okay?”

“Yeah, thanks, I'm…fine.”

“You're so full of shit.” Olivia stopped at the door and turned. “If you don't mind me banging around so early in the morning, you're welcome to come bunk with me. The couch is kinda small, but it's a damn sight better than the hard floor.”

“That'd be great, thank you.”

Olivia just waved her hand above her head and disappeared toward the kitchen, leaving Jessie alone in the room. After talking with Sam last night, she'd come into the office to run the numbers herself. She'd never been a math whiz, but no matter what she did or how many different ways she rejigged things, the answer was pretty much the same.

Sam was absolutely right.

They'd managed to keep their heads above water—barely—and that was because they'd nipped into the money Liam got from his short stint playing ball this summer. As an already injured pitcher who only signed on for just over half a season, he hadn't earned anywhere close to the kind of money he had as a full-time player, but what he did bring in helped.

It would get them through the end of the season, make sure all their accounts got settled and that wages were paid—yes, despite what Sam thought, they all got paid. Okay, so Olivia was the only one who got paid decently and, no, the rest of them hadn't actually cashed their paychecks all season, but still. Technically, they all got paid.

The money would also need to stretch out over the costs of everyday living at the Buoys through the off-season, plus repairs, upkeep, and improvements. What it wouldn't do is replace
Fishin' Impossible,
and again, Sam was right—they'd be lucky to get two, maybe three more seasons out of that boat.

Kate's boat,
Stock Options,
was new, so they were good there, but their spare,
Buoy O'Buoy,
was even older than Finn's boat. They usually used it only when things needed to be run out to the other boats, but they were being forced to use it for the next couple of days to make up for Finn's boat being out with
Hooked
.

They might make it through to next season, but even if they did, they were counting on bookings picking up, and there wasn't a single guarantee that that would happen.

Jessie stood straight up and steepled her fingers in front of her mouth.

The only viable option would be for her and maybe Kate to get outside jobs during the off-season, leaving Liam and Finn behind to do the work needed around here. Ugh—there were so many what-ifs and maybes to think about and she didn't have time to give any of them her full attention, because they had a lodge full of guests who didn't care one little bit about any of it.

All they cared about was that they'd paid their money and they wanted the best experience they could get. And that was what Jessie needed to focus on.

It had taken some juggling and cost adjustments, but Jessie had managed to schedule both working boats to each run two different excursions every day.

Each would take a group of guests out in the morning, then return and take another group in the afternoon. Guests not out on the boats would have things to do around the lodge.

She'd turned sheets of plywood into giant Scrabble tiles, and two-by-fours had been cut into Jenga pieces so they could play games outside; she'd set up a fire pit down by the cove, printed out extra trail maps, complete with bear-aware info, and had gathered up every extra fishing rod they had in case someone wanted to fish off the dock or take the rowboat out.

There'd be movies in the great room and plenty of food, so all they could do now was hope it all worked out.

After a speedy shower, she threw herself into the day, making sure the guests going out on the boats with Kate and Ro had enough snacks and that Finn and Liam had everything they needed.

Having been sidelined for so long, Liam couldn't have been more excited to get out on the water, but Finn looked like he was about to go in for an anesthetic-free root canal.

“Smile,” Jessie whispered. “We're supposed to be happy to have them filming here, remember?”

Loaded down with a cooler full of food, she headed outside with him, because those were probably the only moments they'd get alone.

Finn's mouth pulled up, but it was more of a grimace.

“You want me to smile?” he grumped. “Then tell me that whatever you and Sammy boy talked about out on my boat last night isn't going to change anything around here.”

Oh God. She'd hoped she could have told him that herself, but now she couldn't even look at him, which was ridiculous, because she had nothing to feel guilty about. Did she?

“How did you know we were out there?”

“Seriously? With the number of doors opening and closing down there last night, I think Ro was the only one who got any sleep.” He raised his brow, waited a couple of seconds, then sighed. “You're not going to tell me what he said to you?”

God, if she could only stop him right there at the fish shack, tell him everything, and then kiss him until he stopped frowning, she'd feel so much better. But there wasn't a hope in hell Finn would be happy about any of it, and they didn't have time to go over everything right then, especially since it was going to take a lot of talking to convince him she was right.

“It's complicated.”
Oh, for
…Of all the things she could have said, that had to be the absolute worst and most stupid, but before she could take it back, Sam stepped off the boat and came hustling up the dock, slapped Finn on the shoulder, and smiled his huge happy-Sam smile.

“G'morning! Did we luck out on the weather today or what? The guys really hate it when we film in the rain.”

“Yeah,” Finn said, lifting his chin in a barely there nod. “Lucked out.”

It was still early, but the skies were about as blue as Jessie had ever seen them, and if the weather report was right, winds would be light out of the north. They couldn't have asked for anything better.

There was a second or two of silence before Finn pulled the cooler out of Jessie's hands and held it out to Sam.

“Could you give us a second, Sam?”

“ 'Course.” Sam's smile never faltered as he took the cooler and headed back to
Fishin' Impossible,
where Ashley and Liam were already waiting.

As soon as Sam was out of earshot, Jessie started scrambling.

“I didn't mean it like that; it's just that, well, it is actually complicated, there's a lot to think about, and you don't have time right now for me to explain it all to you.”

Chin down, Finn's nod was slow, one of those “I'm nodding but I don't believe a word of what you're saying” kinds.

“You know what's a lot for
me
to think about, Jess?” His voice, so low, so raw, forced her to lean in to hear him. “That after all the time we spent in the water, you still refused to set foot on the boats with me, but that guy shows up and you just…” He scraped his hand over his mouth and sighed.

“It wasn't like that.”

“No?” he choked out a short barking laugh. “Seems to me that's exactly what it was like, otherwise you wouldn't have sat down here with him for so long in the middle of the goddamn night, and you sure as hell wouldn't suddenly be unsure about anything.”

“What?”

“Finn!” Liam, grinning like a kid on Christmas morning, had already untied the boat and was just standing there, holding it at the dock. “Let's go, we're burning daylight!”

With a quick wave at his brother, Finn took a step toward the boat, then turned so he was shuffling backward away from Jessie, his hands lifted palms up.

“Doesn't seem very complicated to me, Jess, but if it is to you, then I guess we already know what's about to happen, don't we?”

And with that, he turned around and strode away.
What the hell?
He had to be kidding, right? After everything they'd been through, this is what he thought?
Seriously?
Screw that!

“Finn!”

She didn't expect him to stop, and he didn't, so she ran after him, grabbed him by the arm, and whirled him around, bringing her face right up close to his so no one on the boat could hear.