Page 36 of The Seascape Between Us (The Men of Saltwater Cove #4)

We opened the door to the first room, and everything I dreaded became a reality.

Sand blanketed the water-damaged wood floors.

Again, some of the lighter pieces of furniture had been swept to the far side of the room, the new paint on the walls stained and scuffed.

The linens were soiled and soaked, and I hated to think of the condition of the brand-new mattress and box spring under them.

“Fuck,” Grey said. He looked stricken, his face unusually pale.

It was over. There was no point in pretending otherwise.

There was no way we could get the work done for the hotel in time for the grand re-opening.

It would take an army of people, which we didn’t have, no matter how much money Grey was willing to throw at it…

and I wouldn’t let him waste another dime.

It was one thing to have failed again, but dragging Grey down with me… My chest squeezed tight at the thought.

I turned to look at him. “Sell it.”

“I’m sorry? What? ” Grey frowned, clearly confused. “Sell what?”

“The hotel. It’s done. If this isn’t a sign, I don’t know what is. I’m sorry for wasting your money and time.” I dragged my fingers through my hair.

“You didn’t waste anything. It was a storm. There was no way we could have planned for this. This is just bad luck, but we’ll fix it. We’ll start again.”

“No,” I told him, flatly. “I’m not going to let you waste another dime on this place. You were right all along. I should have let it go years ago.”

Grey took a step toward me. “Daniel, wait. Slow down. We can get through this.”

I shook my head and took a step away from him. “You should just go back to Portland. Get away from this place, from this hotel, before it wrecks your life. I don’t want to drag you down any more than I already have.”

“Daniel.” He reached his hand out for me, but I backed away again. My chest ached, and my skin was crawling again. If he touched me now, I felt like I’d break into a million pieces. “I have to go. I can’t be here anymore.”

Before Grey could say anything else, I turned and rushed through the hotel, keeping my attention focused straight ahead so I wouldn’t see the picture of my mom and Ramona on the wall and they’re smiling gazes when I passed.

I hated to think about them and how they’d react if they could see how I’d run their hotel right into the ground.

Outside, I realized I had nowhere to go.

I couldn’t stay at the hotel in the condition it was in or risk facing Grey, so I sure as hell couldn’t go back to Oliver Mackenzie’s house.

I looked at my truck, still in the parking lot.

The urge to slip behind the wheel and just drive until I couldn’t go any farther made my hands itch.

But Grey would need a way back to the house.

After tucking my keys under the visor, I texted Grey letting him know that I’d left my truck for him to get home, then turned my phone off in case he tried to text me back.

I hurried down the street, making my way to The Dunes, and followed the pathway between the two buildings to the stairs at the back that would take me up to Brody and Jett’s apartment.

At the door, I knocked, and after a minute, it swung open. Brody stood in the opening. The smile he wore dissolved instantly, concern settling in its place.

“What’s wrong? Is it the hotel? Are you okay?” He stepped back, letting me inside.

“The hotel is a disaster,” I admitted. “Everything we did, it’s all been trashed. I'm going to have to close it. We’re going to sell. I told Grey we should sell.”

Brody’s frown deepened. “Where is Grey? Was this his idea?”

I shook my head, confused. “He thinks we can rebuild. I think he’s out of his mind.”

“You love The Seascape,” Brody said. “It’s everything to you.”

“I should have done this years ago, Brody.” I sighed and dragged my fingers through my hair. “It shouldn’t be this hard.”

“Where’s Grey?” Brody asked again.

“Still at the hotel, I think. Or he might have gone back to the house. I left him my truck.”

Brody’s eyes narrowed. “Why aren’t you with him?”

I swallowed hard, my throat aching and tight. “I told him to go back to Portland, back to his life.”

Brody let out an exasperated sigh. “Damn it, Daniel. He cares about you.”

“I care about him too. I love him. That’s why I’m letting him go.”

“You’re an idiot.”

I sighed and flopped onto Brody’s sofa, suddenly exhausted. Not just tired, but the weariness that settles into your bones and makes basic movements hard. “Thanks.”

“You’re making a huge mistake.” Brody jabbed a finger at me. “Believe me when I tell you this because I almost did the same thing. I could have ruined the best thing to happen to me because I was scared. I get it. You’ve lost a lot of people you love, you know that I understand how that feels.”

I nodded. We’d both lost Ryan, his husband and my best friend.

But I also knew he’d grown up in foster care without much stability until he’d aged out.

Brody had been on his own for years before he met Ryan.

I’d lost my mother in my teens. I’d been in my twenties when Ramona had passed away, but she’d been gone long before then.

He and I had a lot in common when it came to being on our own.

“I’m not afraid of losing him.” I’d let him go, after all. “I don’t want to hold him back.”

Brody looked up at the ceiling as if praying for strength and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do you remember what you said to me when I was being stupid about Jett?”

I’d said a lot of things. Particularly about him shutting himself off from someone who made him so happy, and I’d told him. Ryan would never have wanted Brody alone forever. He would have wanted him to be happy, and I owed it to my friend to make sure he knew that—I’d owed it to both my friends.

When I didn’t answer, Brody pushed on. “You told me you would risk everything for a second chance. Don’t even pretend you weren’t talking about Grey.”

Shit, I had said that. Nothing like having your own words come back to bite you in the ass months later. I scrubbed my hands down my face and mumbled, “It’s not the same.”

After all, I wasn’t afraid to risk anything of myself. I’d do anything for Grey—even let him go.

Brody opened his mouth as if he was going to argue more, but I cut him off. “Can I stay here tonight? I just need time to think.”

He let out a slow breath, shoulders sagging in defeat. “Damn, you’re stubborn. You know you always have a place here.”

My throat squeezed tighter, and I nodded because I didn’t trust my voice. I had a place here for now, but without Grey and the hotel, I had no idea where I belonged anymore, and once again, I was on my own.