Thorns on Wildflower Island by Michelle Files

Author:Michelle Files [Files, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookLovers.pub
Published: 2018-11-14T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

The next morning, Mary was scheduled to work at the front desk of the Inn. No one worked the night shift, except on busy holiday weekends. Her parents were always there in case of any issues with the guests, so no need to pay someone to sit at the front desk all night with nothing to do.

Mary usually did her best not to wake the rest of her family when she had the early shift, though she often wondered why. It seemed that none of them ever had the desire to keep quiet, and not bother the rest of the family, whenever they were up early. Still, it was not in her nature to be rude and disturb the others just because they had no common courtesy.

Braiding her long hair as she walked down the stairs, toward the lobby, Mary switched on the lobby light when she reached the bottom. Startled, Mary lost her grip on her braid and it unraveled as she stood looking at Tim, asleep and snoring on the lobby couch.

“Dad, what are you doing here?” She shook him very gently to wake him up without startling him.

Tim’s eyes opened to barely a slit, as they adjusted to the light. He looked up at his daughter. “Oh hi, Sweetheart. What time is it?” Tim tried to sit up. He was very slow moving that morning.

“It’s 7 a.m. Why aren’t you at home?” Mary took her father’s arm and helped him struggle to a sitting position. His movement was slow and deliberate as he sat up. She made note of how boney his arm had seemed.

Tim no longer lived at the Wildflower Inn with his family. Since he and Roxanne had separated, he had an apartment just down the street. He hadn’t been there long, but he hated every minute of it. He missed his home at the Inn, and more importantly, he missed his family. He wanted nothing more than to be back with them. Back to his life.

“Oh, I was just working late on some paperwork and didn’t feel like going home to that empty apartment. Besides, it’s such a long walk in my condition. So, I crashed here. It’s no big deal.” Tim waved the whole thing off as completely normal.

“I could have driven you home. All you had to do was ask.” Mary sat down on the couch next to Tim, drawing her eyebrows together as she looked at him.

Tim looked over at his daughter and could see the worry on her face. “You don’t even have a drivers license.”

“So? It’s not that far. Frankie has given me a few lessons.” Mary tilted her head and smiled.

“I see.”

“Or you could have stayed in one of the rooms here. You didn’t have to sleep on the couch,” Mary continued. “We do own an Inn, you know.”

Tim smiled at his daughter. “Yeah, I know. It was just easier to lay down here on the couch. It’s fine. Please stop worrying so much. I can take care of myself.

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