Page 51 of Touch the Sky

“Carolyne,” I whisper, “help. They’re gonna murder me.”

Carolyne chuckles and rolls her eyes. She’s known us since we were kids, so she also knows not to take me too seriously, which is really biting me in the ass now that I’m a real-life hostage.

“Have fun, girls,” she says. She flings her dish towel into a bin for laundry and then grabs her bag off a row of hooks on the wall. “See you tomorrow!”

As soon as she’s gone, Natalie taps the back of the chair.

“Sit.”

I don’t have a choice. Maddie nudges me forwards, and the two of them stare me down like prison guards until I plonk my ass in the seat.

Natalie strides over to the other side of the island and rests her elbows on the shiny linoleum.

“So,” she says, folding her hands together, “I’m sure you can guess what this is.”

I raise an eyebrow and look back and forth between the two of them. Maddie is leaning against the counter with her arms crossed over her fancy receptionist sweater dress.

“Uh, no,” I answer. “I have no idea what the hell this is.”

“It’s an intervention,” Maddie announces.

I blink, waiting for one of them to admit they’re pranking me, but they stay silent.

“What the hell do you think I need an intervention for?” I demand. “Do you think I even havetimeto drink or do drugs?”

I crack up as I imagine myself trying to fit in a doobie after work. These days, I can barely fit in dinner before I collapse on my bed.

“That’s the whole point,” Maddie says.

I squint at her. “Youwantme to do drugs?”

“No, we don’t want you to do drugs,” Natalie says with a sigh, like she’s explaining this to a kindergartner with particularly bad listening skills. “We’re concerned about your current lifestyle.”

“Oh.” I smirk and drop my voice to a stage whisper. “Did you guys find out I’m gay?”

I thought that one at least deserved a laugh, but they act like they didn’t even hear me.

“I mean,” Natalie plows on, “we’re concerned with how hard you’re working yourself, here and at the farm. You’re exhausted. Ever since we opened the inn, you’ve been piling on more and more tasks, and it’s not healthy. You were already overwhelmed before the inn, and?—”

“I’m not overwhelmed,” I cut in. “We have a new business. We all knew it was going to be crazy for a while. It’s only been a few weeks. It takes time to get things running smoothly.”

The collar of my shirt feels tight, and my skin is prickling with heat.

They know this. They have no right to act like I’m being stupid or unreasonable when we all agreed opening an inn would be like this.

“Besides,” I add, “I’m not the only one working long hours. You’re both here all day every day too. Maddie even quit her internship at the bank for this. I?—”

“Exactly,” Maddie interrupts, pushing off the counter so she can glower at me from across the island like Natalie. “I said no to a commitment that wasn’t going to work for me. Maybe you need to start doing the same.”

My jaw drops so fast I’m surprised it doesn’t snap.

“What would I say no to?” I demand. “Am I supposed to tell the horses I’ll only be keeping them alive five days a week instead of seven? Am I supposed to tellMamanshe has to get herself home from her doctor’s appointments, even when her legs are hurting too much to drive?”

They have the decency to look a little uncomfortable now. Maddie drops her gaze to the top of the island, and Natalie shifts her weight from foot to foot while tugging on her sleeves.

“This is my life, okay? This is just how it’s got to be.”

Natalie presses her lips together in a tight line, her forehead wrinkling with an expression it takes me a moment to recognize.