Page 15 of Chasing the Sun

I ignored them, swirling my beer. Sure, the legend made money, but I never once actually believed there was a ghost haunting the streets of Star Harbor.

Conversation shifted to work and women as Hayes reclaimed his spot in the booth. Eventually, the sting of the game faded. I paid my tab and headed home.

The inn was quiet when I pulled up. The soft glow of the windows was stark against the cloudy, starless sky. A few guests were sitting out back, enjoying a small fire as I headed toward the side entrance. I raised myhand to be friendly, but exhaled a sigh of relief as soon as I slipped into the kitchen. It still smelled of the afternoon chocolate chip cookies I made and Helen baked every afternoon. The thousands of positive reviews proved that my idea of afternoon cookies was well received.

Besides, what monster doesn’t like cookies?

Fresh irritation rolled over me as I looked at my phone for the third time. Levi was supposed to have checked in with me when he got back from hanging out with his friends.

Of course, he hadn’t.

Levi was officially done with school for the summer, which meant I had three full months to keep a teenage boy out of trouble.

I wasn’t sure how the hell I was supposed to do that.

Inside, I peeked into his room and smirked. He was sprawled across his bed, one foot hanging off the side, headphones over his ears, the bluish glow of his phone illuminating his face.

At least he was here this time. That was my bar now—he made it home in one piece.

I exhaled. He had been slipping lately—staying out late, skipping school. The kind of behavior that had warning bells blaring in my head.

The last thing I needed was Levi becomingmeat his age. Joining the Army was the only thing that straightened me out, and all I had to show for it was an armful of scars and an unsettling sense of regret.

The wooden doorframe was hard beneath my knuckles. His eyes flicked up, and he pulled one side of the headphones off his ear.

“Hey, Dad.” The corner of his mouth tipped up.

My chest squeezed. Sometimes there were still tinymoments when the little kid with crooked teeth and a big smile peeked through his surly teenage attitude.

Part of me wanted to remind him that he’d messed up and not let me know he’d gotten home. But lately it felt like all I was doing was riding his ass and pointing out the ways he was falling short. Trouble was, heneededto be accountable for his actions.

I couldn’t win.

Mary had a way with Levi that I just ... didn’t. His therapist assured me I wasn’t completely fucking him up, but there were days I wasn’t so sure.

His eyebrows lifted as I waged an internal war.

“You need something?” he asked.

I scoffed. “No. Just glad you’re home. Love you.”

“You too.” The words were barely out before his headphones were back in place and his attention was focused on his phone. I stood in the doorway for half a second longer than I should have, like I was waiting for something.

An opening.

Exhausted and defeated, I walked down the hall to the primary suite. Levi and I lived downstairs, away from the main guest rooms of the inn. There was only one empty bedroom across the hall from Levi, but it was never a room to be rented and was typically only used by friends after a night out.

I never let a stranger that close to where we slept.

Slipping out of my dusty clothes, I tossed everything into the laundry hamper. My fingertips brushed over the bumps and ridges my scars had left behind. They ran from my wrist to my neck as a harsh reminder of the life I had chosen.

A quick, scalding shower was exactly what I needed to wash the day away. My nightly mental gymnastics cameback in full force as I ran through everything I needed to prep for the next day. The inn ran like clockwork, but only because I was always on top of it.

After the shower, I carried the clothes basket to the large laundry room off the kitchen. Three washers and dryers stacked on top of one another lined one wall. An oversize washbasin for bleaching and soaking linens was along the other. During the renovation, Mary had decided to keep the oversize windows on the far wall that overlooked Star Harbor Farm.

I gazed into the darkness. Across the yard, something flickered in the distance. A glow. Too steady to be flashlights. Too low to be the moon. And coming from a place that should’ve beenempty.

The abandoned cottage was glowing from inside.