The Second Chance Inn

by Susan Hatler

  The photo in front of me was horrid. It was a hotel that looked like thousands of others, with nothing charming or special about it at all. I flipped back to the previous page and read the final line again, wondering if I’d read it wrong. But I hadn’t. The Totskys planned to tear down the Inn at Blue Moon Bay and put up a franchised hotel in its place.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I walked into Scotty’s Seafood Restaurant and the familiar scent of fresh seafood and slow roasting onions, tomatoes and garlic greeted me like an old friend. It was probably a good thing I hadn’t eaten much all day because Scotty’s was known to be heavy on butter and cream. So heavy that the mayor of Blue Moon Bay had once had a major heart attack while sitting at the table enjoying a hearty special that featured crab and lobster, boiled up with potatoes, corn and whole Vidalia onions, all soaked in drawn sweet butter and seasoned with a large dose of salt.

  A petite woman with dark eyes approached, and I smiled at her. She’d been working there for as long as I could remember. “I’m meeting someone, and oh . . . there he is.” I pointed to a small booth where Max sat, waving one hand at me. I headed for the table.

  Max stood and I went into his arms and hugged him tightly, smelling salt water and cologne on his shirt. My heart beat a little faster as he hugged me back. I’d been worried he’d be upset with me for the way I’d behaved on the beach. He’d vanished all morning, and I’d spent most of the day texting him, but not getting an answer. Part of me wondered if he’d given up on me, and headed off to Tokyo.

  When I finally got a text back from him saying he would meet me here for dinner, I was so relieved that I had spun around my room like a giddy teenager. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I decided not to delay getting this off my chest. “I’m sorry for getting upset with you yesterday on the beach. And for texting you so much. I don’t usually do that, I swear.”

  He chuckled. “I’m not upset with you, beautiful. I completely understand why you were upset. I’d tried to do a nice thing, but obviously should’ve checked with you first. I’m sorry.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry for. But, thanks.” I blew out a breath, relieved that he wasn’t mad, and it still appeared he wanted to date me. “Should we sit down?”

  He released me, and we sat on opposite sides of the table. Max folded his hands on the table top, and I looked down at the carved in names, hearts, and stars that had been there for years.

  “Look, that signature is mine, and that’s Megan’s,” I said, smiling.

  Max looked down at the table, then wiggled his brows at me. “We’ll have to fit our names in here when the waiter’s not looking.”

  “Great idea,” I said, laughing. He looked great, too. His hair was a little messy, and his tan was deepening every single day. When he smiled, the tiny lines around his eyes deepened. He just got better looking every time I saw him. I’d never met anyone who could make little butterflies wing around in my belly like he could. Sitting here with Max, everything felt right in my world again. “How do you like Scotty’s? Have you been here before?”

  He shook his head. “No, this is my first time. I love the décor in here.”

  I gazed around the place. It hadn’t changed at all. The same old woven rope nets hung from the ceilings, the occasional colorful glass ball gleamed from the nets, while everything from old, framed pictures of Blue Moon Bay to school sport uniforms covered the walls. It was wonderfully tacky and funky, and I’d never known until that second how much I adored it.

  The view from outside our window was spectacular, all long sweeps of ocean and the marina. The boats lined up in rows, bobbing up and down in the water. I remembered going out on that marina with Max, the night I admitted to myself that I’d fallen for him. It seemed like eons ago, and it was hard to believe I’d ever tried to fight my feelings.

  I didn’t want to seem like a stage three clinger, but I wondered what he’d been doing all day, and as he sat there silently perusing his menu, my curiosity won out. “So . . . what did you do today?” I asked.

  He waited until the server brought us our drinks, took our orders, and left again. Then he gazed across the table with a mischievous look and answered me. “I leased a house in Blue Moon Bay.”

  My mouth fell open. “What? Why? I thought you were going to Tokyo.”

  “I’m still going to Japan, for business. But when I come back, this is where I plan to be.”

  “But you haven’t been here very long. You can’t be serious.”

  “I’m entirely serious.” He reached across the table and took my hand. His eyes glowed, and the smile on his face was both huge and happy. “I told you Blue Moon Bay was my home, and I meant it. I love the town, the people, and that view.” His hand swept toward the windows, and I looked out again at the vast, shining ocean and the sky hovering above it.

  “How do you know it’s your home?” I asked, truly curious.

  “Where to start?” He rubbed his thumb against the back of my hand, sending skittering tingles up my arm. “I love that there is still a Pumpkin Festival, and that people care enough about each other to say hello, and ask how they are doing. I love the crazy patchwork streets and the little downtown area with its cobblestone streets. I love waking up to the sound of surf, and the smell of salty water. I love the Kissed by the Bay legend, and the way people believe it. I love the moon when it’s high and full over the ocean. I love everything about this place.”

  “I love all those things, too. This isn’t where my home is, though.”

  Before he could answer me the server brought our food. The plates were piled high with fresh shrimp and fish, coleslaw so creamy it begged to be eaten, and plenty of delicious steamed vegetables covered in melted butter. I dug in, not even caring that I might have to loosen a seam on my dress later. Maybe two seams.

  The delicious food and Max’s company took my mind off my problems, momentarily. But as our meal wound down, I couldn’t ignore them anymore. “I received a fax from the couple who want to buy the inn. They intend to tear it down.”

  Max stopped chewing, then swallowed his bite. “You’re going to sell the inn to them?”

  “Yes, but we’re lucky for that offer since the inn was never officially on the market. It isn’t even show-ready. Tearing down the inn will be devastating, and Brian’s going to hate me.”

  “He loves you, beautiful. You have to know that,” he said, then his expression changed. He raked his fingers through his thick, dark hair. “I’m stunned that you’re accepting the offer, especially knowing the buyers will tear it down. You love the inn, Wendy. I thought you’d change your mind, and keep it. Don’t you think your grandma thought that, too?”

  My eyes blurred. I had no idea what my grandma had been thinking. “I c-can’t keep the inn. I’m going back to Sacramento.”

  A line formed between his brows. “I’m thrown by this. I never thought you’d sell. . . But, no matter what happens with the inn, I’m not going anywhere. If you’re in Sacramento, we’ll still see each other. We’ll figure something out.”

  He was always trying to make this work. I wanted us to work, too, but it was impossible. Deep down, he had to know that. “Max, long distance relationships never work out.”

  “Why not?”

  “You travel for long periods of time. Plus, I am a Realtor so I work crazy hours. Put that together, and we’ll never see each other. We’ll drift apart and—”

  “Have some faith in me, beautiful. In us. I’m sure we could work that out with a little scheduling. Plus, for someone who doesn’t like traveling, you’ve shared a lot of happy memories of doing just that.”

  A small laugh escaped. “You’re right on that point. I did like traveling with my parents. Just not all the time.” I squeezed the napkin in my lap, afraid things wouldn’t work out with us, and also afraid to hope that they could work out. Both were equally scary. “Our lives are so different, Max. We’re so different.”

  He merely grinned at me. “I think we’re a
lot alike. We’re both ambitious and determined to succeed on our own terms. We would make an amazing team.”

  “People get lonely when they’re in a long distance relationship,” I said, softly.

  “I imagine those people get lonelier when they are in no relationship at all,” he countered.

  “You have an answer for everything.” I smiled, loving his optimism. Finally, I threw my hands up. “Are you going to eat the rest of that?”

  He looked down at the particularly tasty looking large shrimp on his plate, stabbed it with his fork, and lifted it to my mouth. “It’s all yours, beautiful.”

  I took the bite, savoring the delicious flavor, and savoring my evening here with Max. A bar of sunlight came through the window, illuminating his face and it hit me again, that I-can’t-even-breathe feeling ensued. Ah, heaven.

  “Now that we’ve finished dinner. Are you up for dessert?” he asked.

  I patted my bulging belly, and shook my head. “If I ate another bite, I’d have to walk around in yoga pants for the next week,” I said, then giggled.

  He suggested a walk on the beach instead. That was the best offer I’d had all day. Maybe it would take my mind off the fact that I had to sell my beloved family inn to those vultures, and that soon the only home I’d ever known would be gone.

  I walked into Bay Side Coffee the next morning, and the barista smiled, lifting a hand in greeting. I waved back. There were plenty of tables open, and I spotted Megan and Olivia already waiting at one of them. I stopped, surprised. I hadn’t known Olivia would be here and I wondered if someone else was joining us, since there were already three cups on the table. This was supposed to be a business meeting. Had Megan turned it into a girls get together?

  I didn’t mind if she had. Seeing them together made a lump rise in my throat. When we had been teenagers, we had met at Blue Moon Burgers almost every day. I missed that ritual, and I’d miss them when I went back to Sacramento.

  That halted my feet. These were my friends, but would they still be my friends after I sold the inn to developers? Neither of them wanted to see it torn down, but it wasn’t like I had a choice. I hoped Brian, and everyone understood there was nothing else I could do.

  Olivia caught my eye and waved. “This coffee isn’t going to stay hot forever, you know.”

  I headed for their table, then dropped in the chair, reaching for the cup Olivia pushed toward me.

  Megan raised her brows. “Do you want to share this chocolate scone with me? I asked Olivia already, and she practically forked the sign of the evil eye at me.”

  Olivia sighed. “Those things should be illegal. They are just pastry covered death you know.”

  “I’ll take a little pastry covered death,” I said. “We can’t have you dying alone.”

  Megan cut the scone in half with a little plastic knife, and I took a section, biting into it while Olivia made a face.

  Olivia sipped her coffee. “How are you? You look better than I thought you would after seeing your mom the other day.”

  I swallowed the bite of pastry, and rich chocolate. “Yeah, it’s been hard having her at the inn. She and my dad are holding Grandma’s memorial today. Brian and I are supposed to attend.”

  Olivia gave me an odd look. “Oh, I thought your grandma didn’t want a memorial service.”

  “She didn’t. But my parents decided they wanted to have one for her anyway.”

  Megan chewed thoughtfully. “Well, it must be nice to see your parents again. I know you must miss them.”

  I bristled. “They’re driving me crazy.”

  “Come on, Wendy.” Megan shot me a look that said I wasn’t fooling her. “You may be mad at your parents, but we know you love them. Besides, your parents are cool in a hippy fly-by-night kind of way. I’m sure the memorial is at least going to be interesting.”

  I leaned back in my chair. “That is definitely one way to put it.”

  Olivia sighed. “Wendy, I know what they did hurt you. But you need to let that go, and forgive them.”

  I took a long sip of my coffee. “Everyone keeps saying that to me, but I don’t know how.”

  “You just do it,” Olivia said, fingering the lip on her coffee cup. “Remember how I told you my parents separated? Well, I didn’t tell you they broke up because my mom reconnected with an old high school flame online. She left my dad for him.”

  My mouth fell open. When we were young, Olivia’s parents had been so happy. Plus, her mom was so nice. I would never have imagined she could do something like that. “But your mom loves your dad. It was so obvious.”

  Her gaze drifted downward, and she studied the table. “Yes, she did love him. She loves us. But she left anyway. The worst part is that I’m the one who got her onto the social media site, where they reconnected. In a way, I was the catalyst, which sucks. She hurt me, and believe me I’m mad. I still love her, though. I’m going to forgive her, too. I don’t understand why she’s acting this way, but she must have her own reasons.”

  Like my parents had their reasons for leaving us with Grandma. Could forgiving them be that simple? I reached out, and touched her arm lightly. She looked down at my hand, smiled, then covered it with her own. “I’ll try my best. That’s all I can promise,” I said.

  She smiled back at me. “Fair enough.”

  I changed the subject by asking, “Have you gone back out on the boat with Mr. Perfect lately?”

  “Yes, and believe it or not, I get less nervous each time.” She smiled, and turned to Megan. “You going to start dating again?”

  Megan made a face, as she dipped her finger into the pastry crumbs. “The way I feel right now, I might join a single-for-life program. At least I have my work. Speaking of which, I have your website finished. Do you want to see it?”

  “Absolutely.” I wanted to tell her to never mind, since the new owners were just going to tear my beloved inn down, but I couldn’t give her the bad news since she was obviously so proud of her work.

  Megan dug around in her bag and pulled out her laptop then booted it up. She hit a few keys then pushed it over to me. I stared at the screen. The ocean spread out, glittering and shimmering under a large blue moon hanging slightly low over the water. A whale appeared, leaping high into the sky, its back brushing against the bottom curve of the moon. The whale splashed back into the ocean and the water formed the words, “Blue Moon Bay, Live the Legend.” The words vanished and a couple appeared embracing on the beach.

  Megan beamed and peeked around the corner of the laptop while Olivia leaned in close to watch the whole scene play out again. Megan asked, “Isn’t that awesome?”

  It was awesome, like a sweet romantic movie, where you could also book a room at an inn. What it was not, was the straightforward, business-like website that I had envisioned. It was fanciful and cutesy, and I loved it. I hated to break the news to her that the inn was going to be torn down. A little voice in my head urged me to tell her the truth, but I couldn’t when she looked so happy. “Launch it,” I said.

  Chapter Fifteen

  We all gathered near the end of the spit, the same spot where the Blue Moon Bay lovers had said goodbye to each other and sworn their vows by the light of the blue moon. It was a perfect afternoon, the sky hung above us, a long lovely expanse of solid blue, not a single cloud in sight. The ocean stretched beyond us, its rim meeting the horizon, and the two things met and blended there, giving the impression of utter infinity.

  Mom and Dad had set out huge sky lanterns for each of us to light later. The crisp white domes of the lanterns poked up from the green grass, making a stunning contrast that I could not stop looking at. They had brought out a low table filled with cake, wine, and flowers. Long streamers of red and yellow fabric that rippled in the low breeze swaddled every available surface and Mom stood near the table, lighting dozens of fragrant candles while Dad began to beat a small drum slowly. The sound of that drum was low, deep, and mournful.

  Brian stood next to me, tilting
his head toward mine. “Well, it is colorful, isn’t it?”

  I shot him a “whatever” look. Mom and Dad had insisted that we all wear yellow and red, too, and I was far from happy about it. “We look like escapees from some time-travelling disco. Grandma would die again if she saw us like this. You know we should be wearing black, and she would have been the first to say so.”

  Brian glanced down at his yellow shirt. He had tucked a piece of red fabric in the pocket and Mom had made him a little belt thing out of twisted together yellow and red fabric. “It is a bit bright. I guess it’s a good thing we weren’t drinking last night.”

  “Speak for yourself,” I muttered.

  Brian chuckled. “I was speaking for you. I was definitely drinking last night. I had no idea that you were, too. On the plus side, I think I can wear this get up to the Pumpkin Festival.”

  I gave the outfit a glance. “Will you be working as a clown?”

  Brian waved the colorful flowers he held, almost hitting me in the nose with them. I managed, barely, to suppress the urge to wave my own bouquet right in his face. “That’s not nice, Wendy. But for your information, I am going to be a clown. Megan talked me into it. She said Olivia was sad that the old tradition was going by the wayside.”

  “Clowns are freaky,” I whispered. I’d definitely be snapping pictures of him in the outfit and using it for blackmail with his kids someday.

  Mom began to hum along with the drum. It was oddly soothing and pretty but I wished they would stop already and finish up the memorial they had insisted upon. Mom started walking around in a circle.

  I leaned toward my brother, since he was the only other sane person here. “What is she doing?” I asked.

  Brian answered in a cheerful voice. “No idea. Just go with it.”