CHAPTER 1
“Sorry I’m late,” Barbara said as she hurried into the kitchen at The Lakeside Inn.“I had to make a last-minute phone call to one of my clients.”
Her sisters, Katie, Penny, and Diana looked at her from the table and smiled.
“That’s okay,” Katie said.“We haven’t started yet.”
Each Monday night, they met to discuss what was happening at the inn over the following week.After inheriting their grandparents’ two-story home, they’d remodeled the rooms and started a boutique Bed and Breakfast business.The catch to the inheritance was that Barbara and her sisters had to live in Sapphire Bay for twelve months.Otherwise, the beautiful home overlooking Flathead Lake would be given to the church.
Barbara sat at the table and opened her laptop.“How is everyone feeling after the weekend?”
Diana grinned.“I feel amazing.”
Penny laughed.“That’s because Ethan asked you to marry him.”
“Talk about romantic,” Katie, their youngest sister, said.“Asking you to be his wife under a tree decorated in fairy lights was one thing.Renting a steamboat to celebrate your engagement was incredible.”
“What can I say?He’s the most wonderful man I know.”
Barbara sighed.“I still can’t believe you and Penny are engaged.”
Penny, their eldest sister, handed Barbara a cup of coffee.“Don’t worry.There’s someone special waiting for you, too.”
“No thanks.I’m happy the way I am.Besides, my one and only goal is to make the inn a success.”
Katie lifted her cup toward Barbara.“I’ll second that.There’s too much happening in our lives to even think about dating someone.”
“And talking about our lives.”Barbara gave her sisters a spreadsheet.“We need to do some serious planning.I analyzed the next six months of room reservations.We’re okay for now, but we’ll need to do some marketing to increase our bookings.”
Diana studied the sheet of paper.“There’s a sharp decline in reservations around November.We should let people know what they can do in Sapphire Bay during the winter months.”
“Things that don’t involve skiing or snowboarding,” Katie added.“Not everyone wants to spend the day on the mountains.”
Barbara nodded.“That’s true.This is another printout of all the events happening around Sapphire Bay until next April.Can someone make sure I haven’t forgotten anything?”
“I will,” Diana said.“You’re all juggling your other jobs with running the inn.It’s the least I can do.”
Penny looked at her sister.“If you need a hand, I can help.”
“Thanks, but I should be okay.What about the letter written by Abraham Lincoln?When the Smithsonian tells everyone about it in their press release, we could be swamped with bookings.”
Barbara still couldn’t believe they’d found a letter written by a former president of the United States.And it wasn’t just any old letter.It was addressed to Abraham Lincoln’s son, telling him about the next speech he was giving.The Gettysburg Address had become one of the world’s most well-known speeches, and Barbara and her family had the last draft ever written.
“We can’t rely on the press release from the Smithsonian to make a difference,” Katie said.“They might not be ready to share the news for a long time.”
Diana nodded.“I agree, but we can’t afford to spend a lot on advertising.Even with combining our money, we still have a large bank loan to repay.”
Barbara understood her sisters’ hesitation.“I’ll make sure any options I come up with don’t cost a fortune.”
“That would be great.”Diana sat back in her chair as she read the next item on the agenda.“Are we ready to talk about Thanksgiving?Do we take bookings over that weekend or keep the inn to ourselves?”
“This might make a difference to everyone’s answer.”Penny gave each of them an envelope.
Katie ripped open the flap and pulled out her card.“You’re getting married at Thanksgiving?That’s fantastic.”
Barbara’s eyes widened.“That’s only nine weeks away.Are you crazy?”
“Hopefully not.”Penny grinned.“Wyatt and I didn’t want a long engagement.Thanksgiving weekend seems like the perfect time to begin our new life together.”
