“Fine. Go ahead. Find us somewhere to stay.”
I don’t mention that we won’t be the only ones looking for rooms. It’s tourist season for both Sunrise Bay and Lake Starlight, which means there won’t be a lot of vacancies to begin with. And that’s before all the people who live in Sunrise Bay can’t get home and need somewhere to stay the night.
But I keep my mouth shut and let her try to take care of it.
She makes a phone call, and the first place says they’re booked. We pass a small motel that has their no vacancy sign lit up. I still don’t say one word.
She continues calling as I drive through all the outskirts. A half hour later, I pull up at the Glacier Pointe Resort and park in the lot, waiting for her to finish talking to another place that told her they were full.
“I can’t believe this.” She twists to face me, eyes narrowed.
“What choice do we have?”
“Well, I’m paying for myself,” she says and gets out of my truck.
Whatever. Let’s just hope they have rooms.
I follow her into the lobby. A lot of people are coming in and out—probably because it’s Saturday night. Another problem with finding lodging. Some people only come for weekend getaways. A bad feeling rests in my stomach as we approach the front desk.
A woman greets us.
“Do you have any rooms?” Posey asks. She’s clearly in a take-charge mindset right now.
The woman looks us over. I have mud caked up to my knees, our clothes are wrinkled and damp, and our hair is… well, I’m sure Posey wouldn’t be handing out her business cards right now. We don’t look like we belong in this fancy hotel with expensive chandeliers.
“You stuck here because of that mudslide?” the woman asks. “We’ve been getting reports from a few guests. Unfortunately, I just sold our last room.” She’s apologetic and purses her lips as if she’s trying to find a solution. “I wish I could give you the name of a place nearby, but the closest hotel I know of that has rooms is in Anchorage because—”
“Tourist season. I know.” Posey’s forehead thumps on the counter. I put my arm around her shoulders and peel her away from the desk.
“Thank you so much,” I say to the woman and guide Posey back to my truck.
Once we’re seated, we both stare out the window.
“I should’ve called here first,” she says.
I hold up my hands. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You were thinking it.”
“Don’t assume you know what I’m thinking.” Although I was thinking it, I’m not the type to throw the fact that I was right in someone’s face. “Let’s just try to find somewhere else.”
Her phone rings and she pulls it out of her bag. “It’s my mom,” she says softly, swiping her thumb over the screen. “Hey, Mom, how’s Hank?”
There’s a pause, and I hear Marla saying something.
“Okay. I’m glad.” Another pause. “Yeah, we didn’t get past it. Really?” She covers the receiver. “Jed just got by the mudslide before it happened. He’s home with Emilia.”
“That’s good,” I say.
“We’ve tried everywhere. Even Glacier Pointe. All booked.” She listens for a few seconds. “I’ll call you as soon as we find somewhere. Yes, I’m fine. Thanks. Take care of Hank. Love you too.” She hangs up and rests her hands with her phone tucked between them in her lap. “This might be where we’re staying the night. Unless you want to go all the way to Anchorage.”
I start the truck and pull out of the parking lot. “There has to be somewhere.” Just then, an idea strikes me. “I have a place in mind.”
“Where?” she asks, sounding excited.
“I have connections up here too.” I wink and she groans.
Five minutes later, I pull up to Griffin and Phoenix’s house, but it’s completely dark. There’s no sign of life inside the house, but I figure it’s worth a try.
“Stay here, I’ll be back.”
She grabs my arm before I can climb out. “Is this Griffin Thorne and Phoenix Bailey’s house?”
“Yeah.”
“Holy shit. Of course you’re friends with them.”
I jog up to the door and ring the doorbell. Nothing. I ring the doorbell again. Nothing.
I send a quick text message to Griffin, and he responds that they’re in LA. I’m not about to ask to spend the night here without them, so I tell him to hit me up when he gets back.
Returning to the truck, I shake my head. “No luck.”
“My mom just texted me a place,” Posey says with zero enthusiasm.
“Where?”
Ten minutes of following her directions later, I pull down a long driveway. Trees line the drive on either side. It’s eerie and a little scary if you ask me, but the large building is all lit up once we reach the clearing.
“Northern Lights Retirement Center?” I ask, reading the welcome sign.
“Grandma Ethel lives here. We can stay in her apartment.”
I park and we both stare at the entrance. It’s really come to this?
“Well, desperate measures, I suppose.” I climb out of the truck.
We walk through the sliding doors, and I’m not prepared for what I see. This is a retirement home, right?
“Grandma Ethel!” Posey screeches.
From the reception area, we see numerous elderly people pulling condoms down bananas.
I bust out laughing. “Holy shit. This is where we’re gonna stay?”
Posey hits me in the stomach, and I bend forward, pretending she knocked the breath out of me. I’m rewarded with her glare. The one that turns me on.
I have a feeling if she knew it turned me on, she wouldn’t do it anymore.
Grandma Ethel stands from her chair, a condom hanging off the tip of the banana in her hand. “Posey, sweetie, what’re you doing?”
“I think I need to ask you the same thing,” she whispers, meeting her grandma halfway.
“Gavin, so nice to see you again.” Grandma Ethel slides past Posey to say hello. She kisses my cheek, meaning I have to bend almost in half to reach her. “You look dirty.”
“That’s what she said,” someone from the other room shouts.
“Get your mind out of the gutter!” Dori yells and joins us in the reception area. “They think we need sex education. There was an outbreak of an STD at a home in Anchorage last month. Not sure what that has to do with us. We sneak into different retirement homes.”
I can’t stop laughing, biting my lip to force myself not to laugh out loud again. While Posey looks as if she wants to cover her ears and scream to make it all stop.
Posey leans closer to Grandma Ethel. “Can I talk to you in private?”
She straightens up. “You know you can trust Dori.”
I guess that’s a no.
“There was a mudslide, and we can’t get back to Sunrise Bay. We’ve tried getting a room everywhere and no luck.”
“Glacier Pointe? Dori’s son-in-law owns—”
“We tried. They were full before we got there,” I add.
I get another death glare from Posey as she says, “You’re not one to rub it in, huh?”