Their dad grinned.“Your mom thinks Tom Hanks should play me.”
Barbara checked her dad’s face to see if he was joking.He wasn’t.“I hope she hasn’t told anyone else about her casting decisions.”
“I made her promise not to tell anyone.She even asked her friend, Kathleen, to look after the community Facebook page so she wasn’t tempted to write anything she shouldn’t.”
“That must have been hard.Mom’s addicted to Facebook.”
Penny joined them.“Who’s addicted to Facebook?”
“Your mother,” Allan said.“Before I left, she was having withdrawal symptoms.Every couple of minutes she wanted me to check how many ‘likes’ the story about the letter had.When it reached forty thousand, I gave up.”
Theo took the basket out of Barbara’s arms.“That’s why there’s a huge line of traffic outside.The combination of a president, a mystery letter, and the Gettysburg Address stirs people’s imaginations.The muffins smell delicious.Who made them?”
“Mom did.She always bakes when she’s worried about something.”
“And it doesn’t take a genius to work out what’s worrying her today.”Katie looked in the basket.“Yum.That’s exactly what we need.”
Penny smiled.“The coffee pot’s hot, too.”
Allan rubbed his hands together.“Say no more.Muffins and coffee are a great combination, even if I feel like I’m running away from trouble.”
The only thing her dad was running away from was a horde of eager historians.Barbara had no idea what the next few days would bring, but she hoped the inn’s guests liked more media attention than they might be used to.If not, they’d have to move everyone to another house to wait out the siege.
THEO WASglad he hadn’t turned his truck around when he saw the line of traffic outside The Lakeside Inn.He thought Barbara would be too busy to discuss his new social media accounts, but their conversation was diverting everyone’s attention from the crowd outside.
“What do you suggest I do next?”he asked Barbara.
“The posts we uploaded are getting a good response.What you need to do now is upload a link to an interview that will draw even more people to your social media accounts.”
“I’m interviewing Pastor John tomorrow.We’re talking about the tiny home village.”
“That will be interesting, but it won’t give you the rush of likes you need.As much as I hate to say this, it would be better if it was related to the letter.”
Diana joined them at the kitchen table.“Didn’t Theo want to do a follow-up interview about the letter?He could do that now with Katie.”
Barbara nodded.“It would definitely increase the radio station’s visibility.And, out of all of us, Katie has the best radio voice.She’s bubbly and enthusiastic about everything.”
Diana picked up her cup of coffee.“After hearing our story, it might take away some of the mystery surrounding the letter.It might even stop people from coming here.”
The doorbell rang again.Theo looked over his shoulder.“It will take more than an interview to make them go away.”
Barbara frowned.“Why are so many people interested in the letter?”
Penny refilled Theo’s glass of water.“If it had been any old letter, they wouldn’t care.But it was Abraham Lincoln’s last draft of the Gettysburg Address.”
Theo nodded.“It didn’t help when the Smithsonian called it the discovery of the decade.For that reason alone, interviewing Katie is a good idea.If nothing else, it will give everyone something to listen to.”
Katie walked into the kitchen with Charlie.“We won’t have to worry about the doorbell for much longer.The police have cleared most of the people off our property.”
Barbara’s eyes widened.“You went outside?”
“Someone had to walk Charlie.”Katie patted the Golden Labrador’s back.“We had a great time around the lake, didn’t we, boy?”
With a happy woof, Charlie snuggled against Katie’s legs.
“Theo wants to interview you for the radio station,” Penny told her sister.
“Won’t that make even more people come here?”
