“Jack!” Holly said breathlessly. “You’re not going to believe this. William Moore’s assistant sent help. A whole crew of professional carpenters just showed up. Six of them, all experienced with historic renovations.”
“And that’s not all,” Logan added, grinning. “The entire staff has rallied to help. Jane, Gabe, Trinity, Maddy, Christopher, Isabella. Even Mrs. Hurling and the kitchen staff. Everyone wants to help get those rooms finished.”
“Marco, one of the dishwashers, used to be a pest controller in Italy,” Holly continued, her words tumbling over each other. “He examined all three rooms. The damage is old, not new. There are no active infestations. We just need to replace the damaged wood and window frames. With all these people, we can have it done by the morning if we work straight through.”
“Even if we have to send the guests on a complimentary brunch in St. Augustine to put the last finishing touches on,” Logan continued. “We can get this done.”
Holly moved to Jack’s side, taking his hand, her eyes shining. “Jack, we can do this. We can actually pull this off. We can save the inn.”
Jack felt his heart breaking. He looked at Holly’s hopeful face. At Logan’s relieved smile. These people who believed in him. Who believed in the inn.
And he had to tell them it was all for nothing.
“Holly,” Jack said, his voice cracking. “Logan. We need to talk.”
Holly’s smile faltered as she really looked at his face. “Jack? What’s wrong?”
Logan glanced between Jack and Charlie, his expression shifting from excitement to concern. “What happened? Why aren’t you happy about this? We have enough people now. We can get the work done.”
Jack tried to speak but couldn’t find the words. His throat had closed up completely.
Charlie stood slowly. “The situation is worse than we thought.”
“How much worse?” Logan asked warily.
“George Hartwell’s inspection wasn’t official,” Charlie explained. “His license was revoked a year ago. The city never sent him.”
“Okay,” Holly said slowly. “So we get a real inspection. We call the city, explain what happened, and they send someone out.”
“Jack’s notification about completing the repairs was never logged in their system,” Charlie continued. “Whichmeans as far as the city is concerned, he missed the deadline. His operating permit has been suspended.”
Holly’s hand tightened on Jack’s. “Suspended. What does that mean?”
“It means the inn can’t legally operate,” Charlie said quietly. “Not until an official inspector comes and issues a new clearance.”
“So we get them to send someone immediately,” Logan said. “This is an emergency. They have to have some kind of expedited process.”
“They don’t have any inspectors available,” Charlie said. “Not until the second week of January.”
The color drained from Holly’s face. “But the guests are checking in tomorrow.”
“I know,” Charlie said.
“The Winter Ball is in three days,” Logan added, his voice hollow.
“I know,” Charlie repeated.
Holly looked at Jack, her eyes filling with tears. “Jack, what are we going to do?”
Jack finally found his voice. “We have to cancel everything. Refund all the deposits. Call off the Ball. There’s no other option.”
“But that will financially ruin the inn,” Logan protested. “Even with...” He stopped himself, not mentioning the mystery benefactor. “Even with everything, losing that much revenue all at once. You won’t be able to recover.”
“I know,” Jack said, the words tasting like ash. “But I can’t operate without clearance. If something goes wrong, if anyone gets hurt, I’m personally liable. They could take everything. I can’t take that risk.”
“So Victor wins,” Holly said softly, tears spilling down her cheeks. “After everything we’ve done. After all the work. After this entire community came together to help us. He still wins.”
“That was always his plan,” Jack said bitterly. “Every step of it. To make sure we couldn’t succeed no matter what we did.”
