Home / She Hijacked Our Family Vacation / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of She Hijacked Our Family Vacation: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

12 Chapters

Chapter 1

The moment I, Nolan Westcott, pulled into the vacation lodge's courtyard, I thought I'd made a wrong turn.Three cars already occupied the parking area. One had its trunk wide open, stuffed with children's bicycles, pool floats, and two enormous suitcases.I checked the GPS. Same address. Same property I'd booked three months earlier.Dad climbed out of the back seat and stopped short. "Are there other guests?""There shouldn't be."Frowning, I went to open the gate.We had rented the entire place for four nights: six bedrooms, a private courtyard, and a small swimming pool. It was supposed to be just six of us: Sabrina and me, her parents, and mine.I'd even complained about having more rooms than we needed."So what?" Sabrina had laughed. "We hardly ever get away. It might be nice to spread out for once."But the instant I stepped through the gate, I knew something was wrong.Smoke rose from a grill in the courtyard. Sabrina's older sister, Kendra, wore an apron and flipped

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

Chapter 3

Instead, Diane pursed her lips."What? Did I say something wrong? We're all family. It's a holiday. Do we really need to make such a fuss over one bedroom? You two are doing well for yourselves. What's the harm in your parents staying elsewhere for a couple of nights?"Mom touched my arm again."Nolan, please. Let it go. Don't fight because of us."I didn't answer. I looked at my wife."Outside. Now."Sabrina's expression tightened, but she followed me past the gate.As soon as it shut behind us, I asked, "When did they decide to come?""I told you, it was last-minute—""Sabrina." I cut her off. "Kendra brought pool floats for her kids. Aunt Carol's family packed a suitcase full of clothes. Tessa just told me she already chose tomorrow's sightseeing stop. Which part of that sounds last-minute?"Her face froze."When?" I asked."Well...""When?"She lost patience. "Ten days ago."My stomach sank.I'd already suspected as much, but hearing her admit it was another matter.

Chapter 4

Because my parents never argued, because they were "easygoing," everyone had simply assumed they'd give way.Suddenly, I didn't care about rearranging the bedrooms anymore.I didn't want to make Kendra move. I didn't want another argument with Diane about who the real "hosts" were.I walked over and took the suitcase from Mom's hand."All right."Her shoulders relaxed. "Should we head into town now?""Yes."I picked up Dad's case, too, and the three of us started toward the entrance.Sabrina intercepted us in the living room. The sight of our luggage made her visibly relax."I found two hotels in town," she said. "One looks pretty nice. It's about a twenty-minute drive. I'll send you the address.""Okay.""We're all having dinner at six. Drop your mom and dad off, then come back. We promised everyone barbecue tonight."I stopped."Come back for what?"She looked confused. "Dinner. Everyone's waiting."I studied her for a few seconds."You've misunderstood. I'm not dropp

Chapter 5

"Mr. Bellamy, wasn't I clear?" I asked. "I am not authorizing a single extra charge beyond the original $8,500 rental. Whoever requests something pays for it."A brief silence."Understood, Mr. Westcott."The moment I hung up, Sabrina called.I ignored it. She called again. I answered on the third try."Nolan, what did you tell the manager?" she demanded before I'd even said hello.I pulled to the side of the road."Didn't you have him call me?""I just asked him to check! It's all the same reservation. Why can't he add everything to it? Why make this so complicated?"I almost laughed."Sabrina. We booked for six people. There are twelve additional guests. Did I invite those twelve?"She paused. "They're family. Do you really have to divide things up like that?""Yes. You invited them. You pay for them. I've already said that."Her voice went cold. "Didn't we both pay for that $8,500 lodge?""We did," I replied calmly. "And we discussed it before booking for six people. D

Chapter 6

"Yes, sir.""Please bill Mrs. Westcott.""Very well."I hung up.Mom's eyes were wide. "Nineteen hundred dollars? Just for a few people staying over?""Twelve people," I reminded her. "For four nights. They need bedding, breakfast, and housekeeping. The lodge is a business, not a charity."Mom opened her mouth, then shut it.About fifteen minutes later, a message from Sabrina appeared.[You seriously made me pay $1,900 myself?]I didn't reply.Another message followed.[Nolan, you're taking this too far.]I read it for a moment, then locked my phone."Come on," I told my parents. "Let's eat."Dad glanced at me. "Sabrina?""Telemarketer."Mom clearly didn't believe me, but for once she didn't try to talk me out of anything.That evening, I took my parents to a little restaurant famous for its local cooking. We ordered four dishes for the three of us. The bill came to a little over $100.Mom enjoyed every bite. She nudged the fish toward me."Try this. It's much better

Chapter 7

"This one charges 50 dollars," Dad added. "We can skip that."I leaned against the doorway. "Dad. Are you on vacation, or are you preparing a budget report?"He looked sheepish. "No sense wasting money."Mom laughed. "He's been researching since last night. I thought his phone would die before he finished."I walked over and took the phone from him."I'm in charge today. You two just enjoy yourselves."He grumbled that I'd spend too much, but he was the fastest one to get dressed.We'd barely left the hotel when a dozen new messages lit up our extended-family group chat—Sabrina's side of the family. I almost never spoke there, but it was lively that morning.Kendra posted a picture of a twenty-seat passenger van.[We're off!]Her relatives showered the message with likes.Aunt Joyce wrote: [Sabrina always thinks of everything.]Diane added: [A vacation is about having fun. Don't worry about money!]I stared at that last message. The irony was almost impressive.Not five m

Chapter 8

I stared at Sabrina's message until my chest felt tight.Then I read the next one.[Once everyone arrives, it's not like he can actually throw them out.]And the one after that.[His parents are easygoing. If there aren't enough bedrooms, they can stay at a hotel in town for a couple of nights.]I must have stood there for ages. Mom called my name twice before I heard her."Nolan? What's wrong?"I looked up. "Nothing."Another message arrived from Aunt Carol.[I only found out today that you knew nothing about this. Sabrina kept saying she'd already discussed it with you. If we'd known the truth, we never would have shown up like that.]I couldn't think of an answer.So it hadn't been a last-minute solution she'd invented after realizing there weren't enough rooms. Days ago, Sabrina had already decided my parents would be sent away.It wasn't an unforeseen shortage. The instant she invited the fourth additional family, she knew exactly who would lose their room.She'd even

Chapter 9

Kendra was angrier than ever.[Mom, now we're the ones being unreasonable? Who promised us we wouldn't have to worry about a thing?]The group chat went tense.At last Sabrina snapped.[Did none of you bring money on vacation?]The entire chat fell silent.I stared at those words, then laughed aloud.Mom leaned over. "What's so funny?""Nothing. Just a pretty good joke."Before she could ask more, Diane called.For the first time, I didn't answer immediately. I let it ring out. When she called a second time, I picked up."Nolan." She sounded as though she were struggling to contain her anger. "How long are you going to keep this up?""Keep what up?""You haven't come back for two days, and now Sabrina has to pay for everybody's meals and outings herself. She's your wife! Isn't her money your family's money?"I smiled. "It is. And?"She hesitated, evidently caught off guard."Then why do you two need to keep your finances so separate? You earn more than Sabrina. What's w

Chapter 10

"Isn't that exactly what happened?"Diane's face changed."You—""Enough, Mom," Kendra interrupted.She sounded as fed up as I felt."Sabrina was the one who promised everything would be covered. Now she's acting like we came here to take advantage of her."Brady spoke up, too. "Sabrina, if you'd told us from the start that we were splitting costs, we'd have planned a different trip."Sabrina's expression darkened."That's enough."She turned on me."Are you really going to act like none of this is your responsibility? Didn't we rent this lodge together? Wasn't that $8,500 our money?""Yes," I said.She looked as if she'd won."Exactly. So what's the real difference if I let my family join us?""There's a very big difference."I held her gaze."Shared marital money is shared property. It isn't your personal fund for impressing relatives."The room went still.I spoke slowly, making every word count."We talked about spending $8,500. We decided to take both sets of pa

PREV

NEXT

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP

DMCA.com Protection Status