“Thank you. I really appreciate you fixing up the inn so quickly.” Not everyone was willing to go to such lengths to make time for her, and she didn’t want Sally to get overwhelmed with all the work ahead of her. “I spoke to Shane Flannery, and he’s coming for an interview.”
Sally nodded approvingly. “He’s a good sort. Loyal. Hardworking.”
“I know,” Jane said simply.
“You know him?”
She shrugged. “We went to high school together. He and my sister dated for a long time.”
“Oh, that’s right. I think I remember that now.” Sally studied her for a few seconds. “Is something bothering you?”
Jane sighed. “I was just going over all the things that need to be done to get Tides in tip-top shape so we can bring in more customers. It’s overwhelming.”
“Ah-yuh,” Sally said, with feeling. “I can see it would be. But don’t worry, once you get Shane on board, the two of us can whip it into shape. This place has charm, but if you got with the times and modernized it a bit, I’m sure you’d have people coming here in droves.”
Jane stopped rocking in the chair and tilted her head, thinking.
“What do you mean?”
Sally shrugged. “You need to do something to make it stand out from those Airbnbs cropping up everywhere. Talk about the delicious breakfasts you make here—Brenda offered me a piece of quiche when I got in earlier. I’d stay here just for that! And why don’t you have some tables out here so your customers can come out and watch the ocean while they eat? It would be perfect.”
Jane considered her words in silence. Neither her grandparents nor her parents had served meals on the porch, but nowadays restaurants all had outdoor seating. She’d just gotten used to doing things the way they’d always been done and only serving in the dining room. Sally might be on to something.
With a sigh, Sally shook her head. “Has your sister given you a reason why she hasn’t come down to help you run this place?”
“We’ve been playing phone tag, but I suppose she’s busy. She has a very demanding job as an antiques appraiser at Christie’s in New York.” Why did she feel the need to defend Andie?
Sally made a face. “Ah-yuh, I know. Fancy city job. That girl always did want more than she had. But the thing she never realized is that sometimes you’ve already got what you really need. They say ‘Home is where the heart is’ for a reason.”
Jane looked out over the ocean. “I know exactly what you mean.”
It was part of why shecouldn’tsell the inn. Not without taking her best shot at running it first. Every time she walked through the door, she was comforted by happy memories. “But I’m not sure Andie will ever realize that. I don’t think she feels the same way we do about Lobster Bay.”
Sallytsked under her breath. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that. Home calls to us all at some point.”
Maybe Andie had made herself a home away from Lobster Bay. Maybe she was happy. Jane didn’t really know because they’d grown apart over the decades. They’d never gotten back to the closeness they’d had when they were younger, and somehow over the years, Jane had stopped hoping it would magically happen.
Jane looked out over the beach and then back at the inn. Sure, it might need a coat of paint and there might be a few broken things here and there, but Tides was her family legacy, and Jane was going to do her best to make it profitable again, whether or not her sister cared to be a part of it.
Chapter 7
Andie poked her head into Doug’s office.
“Fancy finding you here,” she said with a little laugh. She meant the statement to be ironic, poking fun at the fact that too often when she had stepped past this same office in the last week, Doughadn’tbeen inside. She’d thought he’d been avoiding her. Maybe he’d only been busy.
She stepped into the office. Doug had always been messy. It was in direct contrast with his neatly trimmed beard threaded with silver and the suits and ties or sweater vests he tended to wear to the office. But as much as the clutter of his office sometimes got on Andie’s nerves, it was also kind of charming in a distracted-professor sort of way.
She trailed her fingers over the edge of the desk as she waited for him to look at her. “When did you get back in? I didn’t realize you’d come back.”
“Is there something you need? I’m really busy.”
His voice was curt, and it cut her. She gritted her teeth, trying not to show it. She’d feel better if he looked like a mess, stressed up to his eyeballs or overworked and exhausted. But no, he looked pristine. Cold and pristine.
She could take a hint, even if it stung.
She should have known she would get hurt if she carried on with a married man. A part of her had hated it—and herself—from the start. It was why she pushed him about the divorce. She’d wondered all along if the separation was really as final as he’d said. But now she was starting to wonder if maybe his lack of attention had more to do with a certain new employee than it had to do with his not really wanting to make the break from his wife.
Well, the heck with him.
