Chapter 2

"I meant to tell you," Sabrina added. "Then things got busy and I forgot."

I said nothing. I just looked at her.

After five years of marriage, I knew that expression. Whenever Sabrina felt guilty, she touched her nose without realizing it.

But with so many people watching, I held my questions.

Mom had already taken the luggage out of our trunk. She wore a new dress, one she'd bought just yesterday for this trip. Before we left, she'd asked me twice if the pattern was too bright.

I took her suitcase. "Come on. Let's get you settled."

My first priority was showing my parents their room.

But when I opened the ground-floor bedroom on the east side, I stopped.

Two children's jackets lay on the bed. An open suitcase sprawled across the floor. Half-eaten chips and juice cartons covered the desk.

Kendra's younger daughter was stretched out on the mattress playing with a tablet.

"Hi, Uncle Nolan," she said.

I didn't answer.

Kendra came up behind me. "What's wrong?"

"You're staying in this room?"

"Of course. There are four of us, and it's the biggest. Perfect fit."

I took a breath. "I saved this room for my parents."

Her smile thinned.

Before she could reply, Diane appeared.

"Just a bedroom," she said. "Kendra has two kids. It's easier for them to have the bigger one. Your parents are only two people. What difference does it make where they sleep?"

Mom tugged my sleeve at once. "It's fine. We'll take another room."

That was always her first instinct: make sure she wasn't causing trouble for me.

I led her upstairs without a word.

The second room was occupied. So was the third.

Then I stopped in the hallway and counted again.

Six bedrooms.

One for Sabrina and me. One for her parents. One for Kendra's family. One for Brady's. One for Aunt Carol's family. One for Aunt Joyce and her husband.

Exactly six.

Where were my parents supposed to go?

I turned around. Sabrina stood by the stairs, and the look on her face told me she knew I'd figured it out.

"Where are my parents sleeping?"

* * *

She hesitated. "Well... we figured people could share. The kids can sleep with the adults. We should be able to make it work."

I gave a humorless laugh. "Share how? Tell me exactly who's sharing with whom."

No one answered.

Below us, meat hissed on the grill while children screamed in delight.

Sabrina's gaze swept past me and settled on my parents.

"How about this?" she said. "Your mom and dad are only two people, so they're easier to accommodate. There are hotels in town. I could book them a room there."

The hallway went silent.

Mom blinked, then immediately waved her hands. "Of course. That's fine."

Afraid I might argue, she bent to grab her suitcase.

"A hotel is just as good. We can sleep anywhere."

Dad didn't say a word. He lowered his eyes and reached for the other suitcase.

On the drive here, he'd asked, "Does the lodge have a little courtyard? Could we sit outside and drink tea in the evening?"

I'd told him yes. He wouldn't need to worry about anything for four days. All he had to do was enjoy himself.

Now he hadn't even made it through a bedroom door.

I forced down my anger.

"Dad. Leave the suitcase for a minute."

Then I faced Sabrina. "Why my parents?"

"What?"

"Your parents are two people, too. Why aren't they the ones staying in town?"

Diane's face darkened. "Nolan, what are you implying? How could we leave?"

"Why couldn't you?"

She answered without hesitation. "All these relatives came because of us. What would it look like if the hosts went off to a hotel?"

I almost laughed in disbelief.

"The hosts?"

I repeated the words slowly.

For a moment she seemed to realize what she'd said. But with everyone listening, she refused to take it back.