The Inn At Seagrove - Rachel Hanna Page 0,38

the game."

"Oh. I'm glad you're making friends. That's important when you move somewhere new."

"Goodbye, Janine. It was good to talk to you."

"Bye, William," she said, ending the call before dissolving into tears.

Dawson sat on the deck, overlooking the ocean as streams of moonlight danced across the waves. It was his favorite place to be at night.

His whole life, he’d been an outdoorsman. Fishing, hunting when he was a kid, riding motorbikes on the trails around the island. Being inside had always been challenging for him, which was one of the reasons why he’d second-guessed his idea of opening The Inn at Seagrove.

But, he was also a people person. He thrived around others even if he did value his alone time. He wanted to get to know people from all over the world, although he wasn't sure how many global travelers would really be coming to his little island.

His favorite nights were when Julie would come over and sit on the deck with him, drinking a glass of wine and talking about their day. But when he had spoken to her earlier, and she had relayed the conversation she had with her mother, he realized she needed a night at home to decompress.

He offered to cook her dinner and bring it to her, but she had declined, opting instead to eat leftover spaghetti and commiserate with her sister for the evening. If there was one thing he had learned about her, it was that sometimes she just needed space and the best thing he could do for her was give it.

So, tonight he would enjoy the deck alone, listening to the waves and preparing for the new guests that would be arriving tomorrow.

So far he’d had a businessman from Atlanta, a young family from South Carolina and of course, his most extended guest, SuAnn. She had definitely challenged him right out of the gate, and he hoped he never had a more difficult guest in the future.

“Oh, sorry. I didn't know you were out here," SuAnn said, as if right on cue.

He turned around and looked at her, trying his best to offer a smile. "No problem. It's a big deck."

She laughed under her breath. “It seems I'm not really wanted around here after all."

Dawson recognized someone who was trying to put a guilt trip on him. He decided not to belabor the point, and instead he used his foot to push out the chair for her. She looked down at it for a moment before finally sitting.

"Hard day?"

"Something like that." He’d never heard her this quiet before. She sounded defeated, tired, a million miles away.

"I'm a good listener," he offered.

She sighed and crossed her legs. "I think my family hates me."

He was surprised to hear her say that because SuAnn didn't exactly appear to be the type of person who had a lot of self realization. "I'm sure that's not true."

She looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think you're being honest with me."

Dawson crossed his arms over his chest. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why do you make it so hard for your family to love you?"

“What?"

"It's like you do everything in your power to criticize them, make them feel uncomfortable, make them get mad at you. Why do you do that?"

She looked at him like she had no idea what he was talking about. "I don't do that. I love my family, and I'm just trying to help them. Like I told Julie, I'm a lot older, and I have all of this wisdom to share."

"Come on, SuAnn. You're not trying to share wisdom. You’re trying to control everything and everyone."

Her eyes widened, and a look of anger floated across her face for a fleeting moment. "That's a very rude thing to say!"

"Maybe so, but true." Dawson turned his head and looked back out over the ocean. “You know what I like about the ocean?"

“Do tell,” she said, dryly.

"The ocean never changes. You can count on it. The waves come in, the waves go out, the tide comes in, the tide goes out. You can count on it every single day, rain or shine. Not like people. Or at least, not like some people."

"What exactly are you getting at?”

“I’m saying that you're kind of like a rabid porcupine."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, the rabies makes you very unpredictable. Your daughters never know if you're going to bite, and if whatever you're going to say is going to be poisonous to them. And on top of that, you've got those