Hope Harbor

by Jill Sanders

  Eve told herself that she no longer needed to worry what any of her family thought of her, since they’d made it apparent that she was no longer family in their eyes.

  She’d drawn the line in the sand by forcing them out. If it really mattered, if her aunt had really mattered to them, they would have come.

  They hadn’t even stopped by and moved all their personal items out of the storeroom in the basement. But since no one had even asked where their belongings were, she figured their shock at her moving their stuff had been for show.

  Like her, her family was used to living out of suitcases. When they really wanted their things, she had no doubt they would come around.

  Because of the large padlock Dylan had put on the door after replacing the door handle, they would have to hunt her down and ask for the keys to get to their things.

  Dylan had officially started remodeling her family’s rooms. Long yellow trash chutes hung out a side window in the hallway and emptied into large trash containers that sat near the small loading dock. This way Dylan and his workers didn’t have to haul everything down the stairs and disrupt the guests.

  She had him block off the stairwell to the top floor with yellow tape so that guests wouldn’t wander up there by accident.

  She’d been thankful that he’d hired a couple of local men to help with the remodel to make the work go faster. Already they had most of the rooms gutted.

  She’d picked out wall colors and had found the perfect flooring for each room. He’d suggested a light gray wood flooring and she’d found it neutral enough that she’d had him put it in all the rooms. She was even thinking of having him replace the hallway carpet up there with the same stuff. Then she could order long runners to add some color and warmth.

  She didn’t really know much about decorating, so she’d purchased a stack of magazines in town and had spent an entire evening going through them with Palmer, who, to Eve’s delight, seemed to have an eye for beautiful things.

  “You could have different colors in each room and instead of calling them room numbers, call them the green room or the blue room,” Palmer had suggested.

  Eve had liked the idea, but had decided to take it a step further, since there weren’t as many colors as the inn had rooms. Instead, she would pick themes for each suite. Her favorite romantic movies came to mind. After all, if she was going to try to gear the inn towards more wedding parties, the more romantic things were, the better.

  So she was now calling the upstairs suites the Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, Princess Bride, Roman Holiday, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s suites. She figured that when they remodeled the rooms on the next floors, she would have a new list of favorites for those. She even found small plaques for the doors that she wanted to have engraved.

  She spent a lot of time looking for decorations and ordered framed posters of each movie for each room. She didn’t want to overdo it but was having way too much fun looking for trivial things for each of the rooms from each movie theme.

  The day after her aunt’s services, she had another meeting with Jon Barber in town. She had yet to replace her car since the rocket incident and was still driving the large van around. The thing ate up gas, but she did appreciate the advertising it was providing, not to mention that she’d been able to chauffeur a few of the guests into town for shopping trips.

  Dylan had mentioned reopening the gift shop that sat near the lobby. She’d agreed that when he made it down to that level, they would renovate it and open it back up. Which gave her plenty of time to come up with merchandise with the inn’s new logo, which she had created. It was the dancing flame of a candle that morphed into a couple embracing. The logo was both romantic and beautiful.

  Parking in front of the lawyer’s office, she took up the letter she’d received from Morgan Stein Marketing Firm and stepped into the small office.

  Jon was waiting for her. “Morning, Eve,” Jon greeted her.

  “Morning.” She smiled and followed him into his office.

  “I’ve done some research into your situation,” he said after sitting down. “The contract you signed for the marketing firm was actually part of your prenuptials.”

  “It was?” She frowned. “I don’t remember singing anything like that.”

  “That’s because it was a small clause.” He pulled out a stack of papers and, after flipping the pages, turned it around and pointed to a single line.

  She read the line twice and felt her heart sink.

  The party agrees that she will at all times faithfully, industriously, and to the best of her skills, ability, experience, and talents perform all duties required of her position at Morgan Stein Marketing Firm. The party is subject to a three-year contract during which the contract will be extended to another three years unless otherwise agreed upon by both parties.

  “Is this legal? This was my prenuptial, which had nothing to do with my job at the firm.” Eve felt her heart skip. “Yes and no. The family, the Steins, are claiming that by entering in marriage, you were also entering into the family business. And for breach of contract, they want fifty percent of the inn’s ownership transferred to Brent. But—”

  “No.” Eve felt her head spin and her breath shallow. She shook her head as her vision grayed.

  “Easy.” Jon rushed around the desk and took her hand. “They’re not going to get it. Eve?” He said her name a few times until she focused on his face. “They have no legal right to it. Not since your divorce was finalized. What they hadn’t expected was for me to be your divorce lawyer.” He smiled and leaned back on his desk. “I can be just as sneaky as any high-paid city lawyer.”

  She took a couple deep breaths. “Okay,” she said slowly.

  “Your uncle had me throw in a few clauses of our own in your divorce.” He smiled. “Ones that sealed any chance of them getting any part of the inn. The moment the divorce was finalized, your obligation to the family and the firm ended.” He smiled down at her. “You let me worry about fighting off the Steins. I’ve dealt with entitled people like them before.” He patted her hand gently. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner. I knew you were going through… things.”

  Eve signed and closed her eyes. “They won’t get the inn?”

  “No, and neither will your family. Their first injunction was rejected by the judge. There’s no proof that your grandfather wasn’t sound of mind, as they are trying to claim. I’ve submitted the last five copies of his wills, dating back more than ten years, each one stating that you were to solely inherit the inn.” He smiled down at her and she relaxed.

  “Why?” She sighed. “Why is my family being so…”

  “Terrible?” he supplied. “They’ve always been. Even when you were a wee little thing.” Jon shook his head. “If it hadn’t been for Reggie, Ramona, and the staff at the inn, you would have grown up like the rest of them.”

  “My cousins…” she started but Jon held up his hands.

  “Had helicopter parents. They didn’t bat an eyelash without their mother’s approval. Your mother fell in line with the rest of her family’s ways and decided that the only thing important was… herself.”

  Eve leaned back in the chair and sighed. “I used to think I’d missed out on childhood since I didn’t have parents who cared enough to…” She shrugged. “Well, cared enough about me.” She looked up to Jon. “Now I’m thankful for it. Thankful for being allowed to go out on my own. Do my own thing. I love the people I surrounded myself with, who filled in the roles of my parents and taught me everything.”

  “You’re a better person because of it,” he agreed. “Don’t worry about them. They won’t get far in their legal battle. They’ve been moping around town, complaining to anyone who will listen about how you’re running the inn into the ground.”

  She tensed. “I’m not. Since they’ve moved out, profits are up enough that I’m having the whole place remodeled. Well, bit by bit, but still.” She smiled. “By this time next year, the inn will look like a whol
e new place. I’m going to start marketing mainly towards weddings in hopes of becoming one of the most romantic wedding venues around. With Genie as our full-time event coordinator, I’ll bet this next spring we’re booked solid.”

  “Good for you.” Jon stood up and she followed him. “If you have any other problems with the Steins or your family, just give me a call. I’ve already filed what’s needed with the firm. They should be leaving you alone soon enough. After they realize they have no legal ground to stand on.”

  Eve thought about what Brent would do when he found out he couldn’t destroy her and smiled.

  “Thank you.” She shook the man’s hand and walked out of his office. She felt good enough to hit some of the little stores along the waterfront.

  She was on the high of winning her life back and after finding a few things in the first two stores to go into some of the suites, she walked into a boutique and stopped when she noticed the red underwear. The sexy lingerie reminded her of the discussion she and Dylan had over the phone all those weeks ago. He’d gone out of his way to purchase her fuzzy pajamas, and she hadn’t yet bought the sexy underwear she’d promised him.

  Smiling, she picked out her size and held it up to the mirror. Instantly, she heated at the thought of him seeing her in it.

  Knowing it was perfect, she purchased the small sexy thing and walked out of the store with it wrapped in tissue paper in the store’s dark bag.

  She was still smiling when she saw her cousins and Aunt Louisa and Uncle Gerald across the street.

  Her first thought was to rush back to the van and try to avoid them. Then she realized that she couldn’t go the rest of her life steering clear of her family. Not if they were going to stick around town.

  They were sitting out front at the bakery, each of them sipping hot drinks as they argued over something. Shifting the bags in her hands, she made her way across the street, still giddy from the news Jon had given her. She wasn’t going to let her family ruin her good mood.

  They no longer had anything to hold over her.

  “Good morning,” she said cheerfully. “Everyone missed you at Ramona’s services yesterday.”

  Her aunt’s eyes narrowed at her.

  “Are you high or something?” her cousin Liv asked with a fake chuckle.

  Eve smiled even more. “No, just enjoying some free time finally.” She shrugged. “It seems like since I returned home that I haven’t had a moment to myself. All work and no play… you know,” she said as she leaned closer. “But, then again, you three wouldn’t know much about that.” She was proud of herself for the slight stab. After all, if they didn’t play fair, why should she?

  Liv gasped a little and her aunt’s gaze turned even more evil.

  “You won’t have to worry about that much longer,” Louisa added with a slight sneer.

  “That’s not what my lawyer just told me. I heard that your injunction was denied by the judge.” Eve watched as the news hit each one. Obviously, they hadn’t heard yet. “I’d hate for the family to continue on a path that just isn’t profitable. Then again…” She ran her eyes over each of them. “Isn’t that what you’re all used to?” She gave them another smile. “Well, back to work for me. Money doesn’t grow on trees. Besides, I’ve got a murderer to find.” Her eyes narrowed. “And I’m making sure to turn over every stone. See you.” She turned and walked away before any of them could speak again.

  God, it felt so good to finally stand up for herself. The natural high continued the whole drive back to the inn. Grabbing her bags with her purchases, she stepped into the lobby and felt her entire high crash down as Brent turned away from the main desk, a suitcase at his feet.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, rushing over towards the desk.

  Genie had been smiling at the man like he was a god. No doubt because he’d just smooth talked his way into getting upgrades for free. The man had a way about him, until he didn’t.

  “I’ve come to pay my respects to your great-aunt,” he said smoothly. She could instantly tell that he’d forgotten Ramona’s name.

  “Ramona,” she supplied and crossed her arms over her chest, only to have one of the bags she’d been holding slip from her fingers.

  Of course, with her luck, it was the one filled with the red silk. Its contents slipped from the tissue paper and the bag, pooling at Brent’s feet.

  She watched in horror as he bent over to pick it up. She rushed to grab it before him, but he was too quick.

  “What’s this?” Brent smiled and held up the sexy thong with the attached garter belts.

  Just seeing the lingerie that she had planned on Dylan slowly removing from her body held in Brent’s hands had her stomach rolling over.

  “Nothing.” She reached to grab it, but stilled when she heard a deep voice behind her.

  “Yes, Eve, what is all this?” Closing her eyes, she turned to Dylan. His sea-green eyes were filled with anger and hurt.

  “Dylan, Brent Stein, my ex.” She yanked the material from Brent’s hands and stuffed it back in the bag, prepared to return the purchase since it was now tainted in her mind.

  She tossed the bags over the counter and turned back to Dylan, who was standing there, looking hurt and pained.

  Brent, however, had a full Cheshire cat smile on his face as if he’d been the one that Eve had purchased the sexy underwear for. She wanted to punch him.

  “You are not welcome here,” Eve growled out after turning back to Brent.

  His dark eyebrows shot up. “No?” He jiggled a set of keys. “I’ve already paid for an entire week. Signed the paperwork and all.” He motioned to the front desk, where Genie blushed.

  “I… didn’t know,” she told Eve.

  “It’s okay.” Eve sighed and waved Genie away. The girl took the hint and rushed into the back room.

  “I’m sorry,” Eve said, “but I’ll give you a full refund.”

  “Not going to happen,” Brent said, his eyes still on Dylan. “Is this my replacement?” he asked.

  “I’m no one’s replacement,” Dylan said, stepping forward.

  “No.” Brent chuckled. “Of course not. More like a stand-in.”

  Eve stepped between Dylan and Brent when Dylan moved forward, his fists clenched by his side.

  “Dylan, why don’t I meet you in my office after I handle this?” she said softly, wrapping her hand around his fists. “Please,” she said softly. She felt Dylan deflate slightly. His eyes met hers and searched them. After a moment, he nodded, turned, and started to walk away.

  “Wow, he really is whipped. I would never let a woman tell me what to do,” Brent jeered.

  Dylan glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “That’s the difference between you and me. I know how to respect a woman’s wishes.” He smiled at Eve and continued down the hall. Her heart melted a little more at his words.

  She’d told Dylan everything that Brent had put her through, all the pain, the control. If one thing was even more clear now it was that Dylan was the man of her dreams. The man she was meant to be with.

  Turning back to Brent she narrowed her eyes. “You’re wasting your time here. You have no legal leg to stand on. You won’t get your hands on me or this place.” She moved closer. “So, if you want to give me a little of your family’s money by staying here”—she shrugged—“by all means, I hope you have a wonderful stay.” She walked around the desk and picked up the phone. “Timothy, we have a guest that needs help up to his room,” she said sweetly, knowing that Genie would have already told the older man who their guest was. Within an hour, the entire inn would know that Brent was staying there. She doubted he would get the kind of service he was accustomed to.

  Timothy stepped out from the back room, his eyes running over Eve’s face before taking up Brent’s luggage and climbing the stairs without waiting to see—or caring—if Brent followed.

  27

  Puppy kisses

  Before Eve could say a word, Dylan pulled her into his arms an
d kissed her.

  “I’m sorry I acted out,” he said when he came up for air.

  Eve smiled up at him and he relaxed slightly. “I understand.” She blushed a little and avoided his eyes. “I… I’m going to return them.”

  He remembered seeing her ex holding up the sexy red underwear and nodded. “Good, because pink is more my color.” He smiled.

  She slapped him on the shoulder and hugged him. “Thank you.”

  “For?” he asked, enjoying the way she felt in his arms.

  “For not killing him.”

  He laughed. “The day’s not over yet.”

  “Jon said he and his family haven’t got a legal right to anything. When Brent signed my divorce papers, my contract with his family’s business ended.”

  “That’s good news.” He relaxed a little more. “And your family?”

  “The same. Well, sort of. They can’t have the inn. Their injunction was denied.” She smiled up at him.

  “That’s even better news.” He leaned down and kissed her.

  Having her in his bed for the last week had been pure heaven. He hadn’t realized how lonely he’d been since Kendra had passed away. A part of his life had been missing and he hadn’t even known it. Now, his home was complete. Well, almost. His father was right about one thing.

  “I was thinking.” He ran his hands over her hips. “We can leave early today.”

  “Yes,” she purred and started to rub her body against his.

  “Yes, you can return whatever that little patch of silk was…”

  “Exchange,” she corrected, and his body went hard instantly.

  “Exchange,” he agreed with a soft groan as she moved against him. “Then, we can celebrate…”

  “Yes?” She leaned up on her toes slightly to brush her lips across his.

  “By stopping by the animal shelter.”

  She stilled, her eyes searching his. “Why?”

  He smiled. “It’s Palmer’s birthday in a few weeks.”