“Oh, I guess that was just a regular meeting.” Bunny felt a little silly.
“No worries. That doesn’t mean that something funny isn’t going on, just not tonight.” Sam turned to her. “Can I walk you to your car?”
“Sure.” They were both headed in the same direction anyway, so why not?
Luckily, the moon was full, and just enough light filtered through the tree branches to make the path easily navigable. They got to Bunny’s car without incident.
“Well, it was nice meeting you and especially you, Dooley.” Bunny bent down to pet the dog.
“Same here,” Sam said. “So, what will you do next with the Mr. Smith situation?”
“Not sure. In the book I’m reading, the detective does a lot of following, but that hasn’t worked out that good so far.” Bunny looked up at Sam, who was a good foot taller than her. Now that they were in the open without the trees shadowing the moon, she could see he had lustrous silver hair and kind brown eyes. “Do you have any ideas?”
“I might have a few. What do you say we meet tomorrow at Sandcastles to discuss them?”
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
“Is that a truck from the hardware store?” Jane squinted past Andie to see out the dining room window at Tides.
“What? No. Why would the hardware truck be here? That’s the food delivery. Brenda’s stocking up.” Andie grabbed her elbow and turned her toward the hallway. “Maybe you need glasses. Come over here. I want to show you something.”
“I think Brenda might be overly optimistic about our bookings.” Jane let Andie lead her to the back parlor. Why would they need another food delivery if they only had one guest and no new bookings?
One of the things Jane loved about Tides was that it had several common rooms for guests to gather in. It had once been the home of a sea captain and boasted several living rooms, a dining room, and smaller parlors. There was plenty of room for guests to mingle in large groups as well as separate off into smaller more intimate groups.
The back parlor was a favorite because it had tall arched windows that faced the ocean. Right now, the view was stunning since the sun had risen about an hour ago and the sky was golden hued above the cobalt-blue ocean.
Andie plopped down on the couch and pointed at the coffee table, where there was a spread of pamphlets and magazines. “These are from the Antique Inn Conference.”
Jane sat on the sofa on the other side of the coffee table. She picked up one of the pamphlets. It was nothing that exciting—some pictures of past conferences along with the booths and attendees. Another pamphlet had a list of the vendors who would be attending. “This is great.”
Jane glanced back over her shoulder as she heard the truck drive off. “That was quick. Maybe Brenda isn’t really that overly optimistic.”
“Did you see the magazine?” Andie shoved a glossy magazine in front of her face. It had the nameAntique Inn Timesat the top and a picture of an old brick colonial. “These are other inns like ours. Maybe we should check some of them out.”
“Do you think some of the other owners will be there? Might be good to talk to them.”
“I hope so.” Andie glanced at her watch. “Speaking of talking to people, we better get a move on over to Sandcastles. It’s a gorgeous day to walk.”
As they headed out the front door, Andie linked her arm through Jane’s. “This trip is going to be really fun. I’ve even picked out a nice restaurant for us and booked us some spa time at the hotel.”
Jane smiled at her sister. “That sounds great. Thanks for making all the arrangements.”
Sandcastles was only a few blocks away, and they were seated at the table with Claire and Maxi sipping their coffees in no time. Andie had filled the walk with chatter about the hotel she’d booked, the restaurants, and other sights they might take in in Bar Harbor. Jane was getting excited about the trip, even if she was slightly nervous about leaving the inn. Mr. Smith probably wouldn’t even notice she was gone, though. She hardly saw him, and any attempts to strike up a conversation were met with polite but very short replies.
“What is this?” Andie pointed to one of the pastries that Claire had loaded onto a plate in the middle of their table.
“Apple cider Danish,” Claire said proudly.
“What’s the filling?” Maxi pointed to the blob in the middle that looked like mustard.
“Curcumin-spiced marmalade.”
Everyone made a face.
“Maybe you should stick to basics,” Jane said. “Your stuff is already fantastic.”
Claire sighed. “Thanks. But I wanted some new offerings for fall.”
