Chapter 1
Allie
With a bone-cracking yawn, I pulled my favorite cardigan on over my pajama shorts and tank top, then stumbled out of my bedroom.
I’d kill for another hour of sleep, but alas, that wasn’t happening anytime soon.
I flicked on the light switch in the living room, narrowly avoiding stepping on a toy car, but managed to put my right foot on a tiny piece of plastic torture also known as a LEGO brick.
“Ow.” Hopping on one foot, I raised my voice. “Ollie, are you up and dressed? I’m making breakfast.”
The pain subsided. Quickly, I rushed through the tiny living room, collecting toys and books, and shoving them in the huge basket in the corner. Wandering into the kitchen, I yawned again, then put the coffee machine on. I’d stayed up too late. I’d realized I was behind on laundry and had done two loads after Ollie had gone to bed. I’d also needed to stitch a button back on a pair of his jeans. A seamstress, I was not. It had taken me way longer than it should have, because the button had fallen off twice after I’d finished stitching it.
There were never enough hours in the day lately. I pulled out some plates and glasses. Next, I put some Pop Tarts in the toaster. I winced. My brother would kill me, knowing I was feeding his kid Pop Tarts.
“Sorry, bro. I’m running short on time today.” I poured a glass of orange juice, just as my nephew came in.
He did it quietly. Ollie had never been the loudest kid in the room, but he’d become even quieter and more withdrawn since his parents had been killed.
Who could blame him? My heart squeezed. Fuck, I missed Sean. My brother had been the person I was closest to in the entire world.
Our parents had divorced when we were in our teens. Dad had remarried and moved to Denver. Mom had focused on mom, getting into yoga, the spa, and cruising. She lived in Arizona now and had a wealthy boyfriend. Sean and I had thankfully had each other. He’d understood me. He hadn’t judged. He’d supported me, no matter what.
I pressed a palm to my chest, letting the grief sit there.
Now, it was just me and Ollie.
As the five-year-old climbed onto a stool at the small kitchen island, my heart squeezed even harder. He was so quiet. Too quiet. And he looked like a mini-Sean, with his dark hair and gray eyes. It also meant he looked like me, too. People always assumed that he was mine.
“Morning, kiddo.”
“Morning, Allie.”
I circled the island and pressed a quick kiss to the top of his head. “It’s a Pop Tart morning.” That got me a flicker of a smile. We both shared an unhealthy love of Pop Tarts. I pushed the glass of juice across the island in front of him. “Drink that, so I can pretend that you’re getting some vitamins.”
I served up the breakfast of champions, then gratefully drank my coffee. As I gulped it down, I could feel the caffeine hitting my veins, my brain cells soaking it up.
“Right. I have work. You have school.” I paused. “Who are you going to play with today?”
He toyed with his glass. “I don’t know.”
My heart squeezed, yet again. I’d gotten a lot of ‘I don’t knows’ since he’d started kindergarten the month before. I knew he was having trouble making friends, but the teacher kept telling me to have patience.
Sean, I hope to hell I’m not screwing up your kid.
The last thing I’d expected was to become a single mom at age twenty-nine. After ten months of it, it had me questioning everything I thought I’d known. I honestly didn’t know how parents did it.
But I had a grieving five-year-old to care for, so there was no time to worry or wish like hell that my brother and sister-in-law hadn’t been carjacked by a maniac.
“Okay, go brush your teeth, my man, and grab your backpack.”
Once he’d disappeared down the hall to his room, I sprang into action. I grabbed a discarded hoodie off the floor, some socks, and a scarf. I dashed to the laundry room and dumped them in the hamper. The condo wasn’t tiny, but it wasn’t huge, either. I’d had to sell the four-bedroom house my brother and sister-in-law had owned. There was no way I could afford to pay the mortgage. My nose wrinkled. I still felt bad. So much had changed in Ollie’s life, and maybe it would have been better for him if he could’ve stayed in his own home. Or maybe it would have been worse, filled as it would have been, with all the memories of his parents. I had no idea.
Shaking my head, I raced into my bedroom. I quickly dressed in my uniform.
Before everything in my life had changed, I’d worn sleek suits, and lived and worked in New York City.
I tried not to think about Before too much. Now, it was all about After. In my life now, I was a housekeeping supervisor at the Langston Windward—the best resort in the small mountain town I’d grown up in. Sean and I had attended the same school that Ollie went to. All through my childhood, I’d dreamed of escaping Windward to a glamorous life in the city, with a fast-paced career, great shoes, an exciting nightlife.
