Free Something to Believe In by Kimberly Van Meter Page A

as if she were interested in answering
questions and thus, simply shrugged. “I tidied her desk and she overreacted.
Now—” she drew a deep breath and squared her shoulders “—we need to talk about
other things. Such as who were you with? You know how I feel about dating the
patrons. It sets a bad example. I know it worked out for Lindy but let’s not
make a habit of using Larimar’s guests for a dating pool. Okay?”
    Lilah stared at her sister, freshly irritated that she could so
easily sweep under the rug that she’d somehow gotten rid of Celly and then
chastise her for going out with a patron. Of the two, in Lilah’s mind, Lora had
committed the bigger sin. “Celly cannot be replaced,” Lilah said in a low voice,
nearly trembling with anger. “And I don’t need you telling me who I can and
can’t date.”
    “Lilah, I’m not trying to be bossy,” Lora said. “I’m just
trying to look out for everyone’s best interests. And as far as Celly goes...she
made her choice.”
    “You did something to make her leave,” Lilah said. “I need to
talk to her.”
    At that Lora slammed the papers she’d been shuffling onto the
desk with more force than necessary. “Why does everyone assume I’m the bad guy
in this? Celly was an employee. Not a member of this family. I don’t know why
everyone feels the need to rush to her defense but I get thrown under the
bus.”
    “Because she is family!” Lilah
practically shouted, shocking Lora. “She helps take care of Pops, she cooks all
our favorite meals, and she helps Larimar run smoothly when it should be falling
down around our damn ears! How is it that you’re the
only one who doesn’t see how everyone loves her!” Lora blinked and the corners
of her mouth turned down but she otherwise remained silent, the stubborn woman.
Lilah threw her hands up and did an about-face. “I need to talk to Celly. Maybe
salvage this mess before it’s too late and we lose someone else in this
family.”
    Lilah climbed back into the Jeep and wiped away the tears that
had begun to leak down her face. Damn you, Lora.
    And damn you, too, Justin.
    Perhaps it wasn’t fair to throw Justin into the blame category
but it felt good to vent her anger over how their afternoon had ended. She’d
been on a glorious high until he’d started pushing, wanting more than she was
offering.
    And now Celly was gone? The world had tipped upside down in a
space of five hours.
    Since when did guys want to get all lovey-dovey? What guy
wouldn’t love the chance to simply let things remain superficial? Sure, she was
stereotyping but the reason stereotypes existed was because there was a certain
amount of truth to them.
    Maybe she should’ve just accepted his offer to go to Rush Tide.
Where was the harm? It wasn’t as if she was afraid of falling in love with him.
She knew it was a vacation thing for him and that was okay with her. So why’d
she shut him down so quickly?
    Was she afraid of becoming attached?
    Don’t be silly and start focusing on
what’s truly important—getting Celly back. A transient patron who
just so happens to make her stomach do strange things was not the priority.
    Besides, as much as she hated to admit it, Lora was right.
Dating the patrons was probably a bad idea, even if it had worked out really
well for Lindy.
    Speaking of... Lilah put the Jeep in gear and pulled out onto
the road. She couldn’t wait for Lindy to get here. She needed some twin time in
the worst way.
    * * *
    L ILAH CHECKED THE ADDRESS and pulled
into the overgrown driveway to park in front of a tiny house that appeared as
though a stiff wind might tear it down. Lilah blinked at the poor conditions and
her ire at Lora bloomed fresh. “Celly?” she called out, exiting the Jeep and
walking toward the front door. The jungle foliage crept and intruded on the
small yard until it was difficult to discern where the yard started and stopped.
She frowned, wondering why Celly didn’t ask Heath to do some