SHE’S GONE?He took the card.
Zander—
Sorry I had to run. Got a gig in Albuquerque.
Call me to work out the Starry Cove details.
He whipped out his phone and called her, but got voicemail, so he hung up and sent her a text. “It’s Zander. Call me ASAP.”
If she hadn’t charged her phone, she might not get his text before the three-day deadline on Monday. His guts churned. Beyond his unwillingness to walk from the Starry Cove project, never seeing Savannah again left him feeling unsettled.
Panicking wasn’t his style, so he continued into the dining room and ate breakfast.
When he finished, the server cleared his plate. “Someone liked the French toast.”
“It was delicious.”
“Fruit and vegetables we serve here come from local farmers,” said the gray-haired woman. “Everyone around here is like family.”
She chatted about the town, steeped in history and allegiance. His server was the fourth generation of Smiths to live in the area.
“Does anyone miss the drive-in movie theater?” he asked.
“We all sure did love that place. That was something we did every Saturday night, except when the snow stopped us from getting out.” She leaned closer. “Rumor has it that a big-name developer from D.C. wants to turn our town into some sort of high-roller resort. I’m not wild about a casino, but if we want to stay afloat, we could use a facelift.”
“I’ll take that into consideration.”
Her cheeks turned tomato red. “Oh, my gosh. Oh, my goodness.”
Zander offered a reassuring smile. “I’m Zander King, Kyle’s son.”
She swallowed. “Hello, Mr. King. Have a just talked myself out of a job?”
“It’s Zander and, no, not at all. I appreciate your honesty.”
“I’m sorry for your loss. Let me know if you have any questions about the inn.” She took his plate, wished him a safe journey, and scooted toward the kitchen.
Before checking out, Zander examined the structure. The run-down B&B needed more than a cosmetic touch-up. In addition to the chipped paint, peeling wallpaper, and warped floorboards, heat from the kitchen spilled into the dining room, but the air conditioner couldn’t keep up.
On the way upstairs to collect his bag, he examined the building from a structural perspective. Despite needing some shoring up, there was no denying the old-style, Victorian charm.Maybe Savannah’s right about preserving Starry Cove’s historic essence.
Driving home, Zander pulled up the mobile number for the president of Esteem University.
“Hello,” said Anne Bickam.
“Anne, it’s Zander King, King Development. You’ve been hard to track down.”
“Zander, good to hear from you. How are you?”
“I’m calling about the first payment against our loan.”
Silence.
“It’s thirty days past due,” Zander continued.
“I’m surprised that hasn’t been paid. We’ve got a lot going on right now, I’ll check into that first thing Monday.”
Zander despised getting the runaround. “Look, Anne, my senior VP has made multiple calls to your CFO with no response. I’m going to assume that since Esteem hasn’t paid the first loan payment, the second one—due this week—won’t be paid, either.”
