Ben choked. “Fifty grand for this place?”
“Well, you are going to have to pretty it up with some paint and clean up the grounds a bit. But yes, fifty thousand.”
“Um, tell her to send it to the inn’s PayPal.” Ben rattled off the email address, feeling a bit like he’d stepped into an alternate reality. “And for fifty grand, I’ll have this place spit shined and ready for inspection.”
“Ben,” Cami said, “let me offer some Akron resources. After all, the inn will be ours at the time of the wedding.”
“Thank you, but let me do this for Granny. She loved having weddings here, and I think this is the perfect send-off from one family to another.”
Cami’s eyes glistened. “I am so going to miss you,” she whispered.
“Ditto,” he said.
Cami’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen. “Indy’s calling.” She wandered off as she answered her phone.
He wasn’t ready to go. His mind told him to let go, but his heart kept hanging on. He’d be fine once he was back on the job.
He’d been praying more, sitting at Granddaddy’s desk. He’d actually started to sense a presence.
Okay, God, I’m listening.
“Ben.” Annalise stepped closer and lowered her voice. “Vicki loves the cottages and wants to use the larger one as a sort of bride’s suite. It’s Cottage Three.” She glanced back at Cami. “I told her I wasn’t sure. I don’t want to upset Cami.”
“What about you?”
“I miss my mother every day, but I wasn’t here when she died. I seldom stayed in the cottage, so it doesn’t bother me as much.”
“It needs some work, but I’ll fix it if that’s what the bride wants. But please tell Cami, okay? I wouldn’t want her blindsided.”
“You love her, don’t you?”
“Have a nice evening, Annalise,” Ben said. “I’ll see you next week.”
14
Wedding plans, the inn’s repair, and preparation for Cami’s move to Indy melded together as the next several days flew by.
“Thanks for the update, Matthew. I’ll have Astrid call you, and she can pick out the new flooring.” Cami hung up from the video call with the Indy construction manager. The humid breeze lifted her hair and only slightly combated the heat. Cami had set up outside the inn under a pool umbrella for the call.
She’d known it wouldn’t be good news the moment the contractor had reached out. The flooring that had been selected for the new office in Indy had been lost in shipping. They could reorder it, but it wouldn’t come in until after September first, and he wouldn’t be back to finish up the flooring and final details until mid-November.
However, Matthew had found new flooring options that were in stock at a local lumberyard. Cami sent Astrid a text to get with Matthew about the details.
If another trip to Indianapolis was required, she’d have to go. If it was too close to the wedding, Astrid could probably handle it on her own.
The last few days had been packed full of juggling work-related issues, calls with Max about apartment leases, and a million messages from Annalise about wedding details.
Every time Cami complained about how much her sister was relying on her, Annalise would touch her belly and say, “Baby needs help,” and next thing Cami knew, she was elbows deep in tulle, flowers, lights, food, and guest lists.
What made everything worth it was the trips to Hearts Bend. It was in the small town where, even in the midst of all the busyness, Cami could breathe.
Picking up a large basket of solar lights, she headed toward Cottage Three. Annalise had dropped the news that Vicki wanted to use the place to dress and be with her bridesmaids.
Cami braced for the sense of loss, of missing her mother, but instead she felt a bit of joy.
“Mama would love for a bride and her party to redeem the space where she died.”
But as she pushed the lights into soft dirt on the path leading up to the cottage, emotions ran through her.
