That hadn’t been all that bad. Rather than go home to an empty house, she’d stay late and lose herself on the web at school while other kids ran home to sit mindlessly in front of the television.
And she was going to lose herself on the web now.
Chapter Two
Linc narrowed his eyes at the key in his hand, turning it, studying it from different angles, hoping to see something he’d missed. Something they’d all missed.
“Why do you care about that old thing anyway?” Ethan asked.
Linc raised his gaze to his brother. “It meant a lot to Gramps. It must go to something important.”
“Maybe it was just a good luck charm. Or something his father gave him that doesn’t even go to anything anymore and he carried it for the memory,” Ethan suggested.
Wyatt, always skeptical, cocked up a brow. “As far as I’ve heard, our great-grandfather wasn’t exactly the sentimental type. And Grandfather was anything but superstitious or nostalgic.”
“That key was important to them for some reason.” His brothers could think and say what they wanted, but Linc wasn’t giving up.
Why had his grandfather carried this key everywhere for every day of his adult life?
Could it be just an old key? It didn’t seem likely. But what if it did go to a trunk that had long since fallen apart? A door whose lock had been changed. A piece of furniture that was no longer in this house or the hotel…
The hotel.
“Has anyone checked the locks and furniture in the hotel?” Linc asked.
It had been built in 1886 by his great-great-grandfather, John Thomas Wilder.
“Have you seen the hotel?” Ethan asked the rhetorical question.
Linc was very aware how huge the Wilder Inn was. One hundred and sixty-six bedrooms dating back to the original construction, not counting renovations and additions.
He’d played there as a child, running through the building from the attic to the basement. Up and down every hallway, to the chagrin of management, employees and guests alike.
He knew how many doors there were. But how many pieces of furniture, both in use and in storage, would have to be checked? It would be a huge task, but not an impossible one. He’d faced situations that qualified as impossible more times than he could count while in the Army.
“Dad said he checked everything in the hotel,” Wyatt informed them, deflating Linc’s enthusiasm for his latest plan of action.
“Why don’t we table the key for a bit—literally, like put it down on the table—and let’s talk about what’s really important here.” Ethan folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the sideboard that served as a bar.
“And what’s that?” Linc asked, wondering what his never serious brother considered important today.
“You and Eva.”
Linc scowled. “There is no me and Eva.”
The woman hated him.
Although to be fair, she didn’t like most people. At least that was the impression he got from the sayings printed on the daily parade of Eva’s impressively large collection of people-hating T-shirts. Today’s selection had said, “Sometimes I look at people and feel sorry for their dog.”
Although he couldn’t exactly argue with the sentiment when it came to some people he’d known in his life, he wasn’t the type to broadcast the opinion on his clothing. Eva, obviously, was exactly that type.
“Bullshit! If you two aren’t already f—”
“Ooo! Daddy, Uncle Ethan said a bad word!”
Ethan’s wide-eyed gaze cut to Darcy, as if he just remembered she was there.
“Yes, he did, sweetie. You’re right.” Wyatt cocked a brow as he sent Ethan a glare.
The five-year old was sitting on the floor rubbing Bingley the dog’s furry back until wisps of loose fur flew through the air.
Wyatt, the neat freak, was going to lose his mind when he noticed. Linc could bring the girl the dog brush from the kitchen in hopes of containing the mess, but he had more important things to worry about. So did Wyatt. Namely Ethan, who couldn’t keep his language G-rated in front of Darcy and also couldn’t keep his nose out of Linc’s private life.
Ethan was speechless for a moment but finally forged ahead. “Um—anyway, as I was saying, if you’re not doing things together yet, you two should be.”
“Jeezus, Ethan.” Linc glanced at the doorway to make sure Eva or Poppy weren’t lurking and listening. “Stop. It’s not like that.”
“That’s the whole point. Why isn’t it like that?” Ethan asked. “I can’t remember the last time you dated—or anything else.”
And Linc couldn’t remember a time Ethan hadn’t behaved like a playboy—until Poppy—but he didn't rub it in his brother's face.
Yes, Eva was smart as a whip. And strong and confident. And a good friend to Olivia and Poppy. But he and her had nothing in common. They were nothing alike. They’d kill each other if they were ever together for too long.
Hell, they’d almost come to blows just now over the damn key.
He wasn’t in the mood for an argument with Ethan over his misplaced illusions. Luckily he had the one thing to end this ridiculous debate about him and Eva within his arsenal.
“Eva hates Wilders,” Linc said simply. End of story.
“Not true. She likes Darcy. And Olivia. She’s officially a Wilder after the wedding,” Ethan pointed out.
“Fine. She hates all Wilder men. Except for Dad,” Linc added, anticipating Ethan’s next protest.
“She hates Emmett,” Wyatt corrected. “And rightfully so.”
“Can’t blame her or any of them for that after Emmett catfished them all online. Played with their emotions and bilked them for money.” Ethan shook his head, his jaw set.
Linc had long ago learned to distance himself from his feelings. Special Forces training left no room for hot heads or emotions. But if he ever saw Emmett Wilder again…
He consciously relaxed his fingers that had curled into fists at the thought of his slimy cousin using his military photos for fake online dating profiles he’d used to catfish and steal from women. He tamped down the simmering rage.
Time to go. He loved his brothers but for now he’d had his fill of sibling sharing.
“I’m heading home.” He opened the drawer and tucked the key inside, thinking he wished Wyatt would find a better—meaning safer place for it. But his was just one opinion. And why should they listen to him?
“You don’t want to stay?” Ethan asked.
With Olivia laid up, there wouldn’t be a tasty dinner to tempt him so no. He could eat frozen food or microwave leftovers back at his cabin where it was nice and quiet.
“I do not,” he said, feeling grumpy.
The comment had Wyatt smiling. “Let him go. Linc can only people for so long before he needs a break.”
Linc shot Wyatt a glance. At least one brother got him. “See you in the morning.”
“Try not to be a piss—uh, poopy head when I do,” Ethan said.
“Uncle Ethan said poopy head,” Darcy reported.
Wyatt chuckled. “Yes, he did, sweetie.”
Ethan getting reprimanded by their niece cheered Linc, as did the thought of the peace and quiet waiting for him in his cabin.