Jane glanced out into the ocean. “There used to be a lot more shells when we were kids. I used to comb the beach religiously for them every day. I got pretty good at identifying them.”
“Me too,” Mike said. “It’s kind of sad that there’s not as many shells anymore. Where do you think they’ve all gone? And the sea glass too. There used to be tons of it in all different colors.”
“I remember.” Jane bent and picked something out of the surf. She held it out in the palm of her hand. It was a smooth, round shell in a bland beige, just shy of being luminescent. “What’s this one?”
Mike took it from her and turned it over in his hand. There were several types of shells that were similar in shape and size and color, but Mike knew the subtle differences. “That’s easy—this is a Northern moon snail.”
Jane laughed. “I guess I can’t trip you up.”
“Nope.” Mike handed the shell back to her, noticing how her nose crinkled and her blue eyes lit up when she laughed. She seemed less stressed than usual. Maybe it was being out at the beach, but he liked to think it had something to do with him. Probably more to do with Cooper, though.
As they sauntered along the edge of the beach, he resisted the urge to grab her hand. He wasn’t sure if that would be welcome. He thought it might be, but he didn’t want to do anything to ruin their blossoming friendship.
Cooper ran up and dropped a stick at their feet then proceeded to shake his wet coat, spraying drops of saltwater everywhere.
“Look out!” Jane and Mike both held up their hands, and Mike stepped in front of her to try to shield her from the onslaught.
It didn’t work, and they were both covered with droplets. Jane didn’t get mad, like some other girls he knew. She didn’t whine about her hair or makeup being ruined. She simply laughed and rubbed Cooper’s neck.
“You know, Cooper has a way of making one forget about their troubles. He lives in the moment and always has fun,” Jane said.
“That’s not a bad way to be,” Mike said. “So, what’s going on with the wedding at Tides?”
“Didn’t I tell you? They sent in their deposit.”
“That’s great!” Mike glanced at Jane, but instead of looking happy about the wedding, she looked tense. “You don’t seem very happy about that.”
Jane sighed. “The truth is I’m a little worried about it. I’ve never taken on anything this big, and there may be a snag with permits.”
“What kind of snag?”
Jane waved her hand dismissively. “Something about the bathrooms, but the person who mentioned that isn’t exactly reliable. I’ll know more when I talk to the people at the town hall. It’s probably nothing.”
“I’m sure that whatever it is, you can handle it.”
Jane smiled and glanced at him. “I appreciate your confidence in me, but you don’t know me that well. I like to stay in my comfort zone, so this is all scary territory for me.”
“I know enough to know that you’re confident and capable. You’re going to do fine. And besides, sometimes it’s good to get out of your comfort zone, don’t you think?”
Jane hesitated for a minute, as if thinking it over. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re right.”
Mike decided to steer the conversation toward something that would give Jane a positive outlook on the wedding. “I’m going to have your website finished tonight.”
“Already? That’s great! I don’t feel like I paid you enough for that, though,” Jane said.
“You might want to wait until you see it before you say that. I’ll come over for breakfast tomorrow and walk you through it. You might decide it’s not worth a few breakfasts.”
Jane laughed. “I doubt that.”
“Besides, you’re keeping Cooper, and that’s worth a lot. You know what it would cost to put him in the kennel?”
Jane glanced at Cooper. “Having him around is my pleasure. But you can still come for breakfast every day for as long as you’re in Lobster Bay. I owe you at least that much.”
Mike glanced over and tried to read her face, but she was looking away from him toward the ocean. Did she really want him to come for payment, or did she like his company? “Home-cooked breakfasts are always welcome, but you don’t need to do that. Are you sure?”
“Yes, of course. We have plenty of food.”
“Okay, then I guess I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
Jane smiled and tossed a piece of driftwood for Cooper. “Cooper will be very happy about that.”
Chapter 20
The next day, Jane helped Brenda with breakfast. Even though they only had two guests and Mike to feed—and Brenda could surely manage that on her own—Jane sometimes liked to help, as the familiar task of cooking breakfast helped her think.
“We might have a full inn again with this wedding. I’m going to need a lot of eggs and bacon.” Jane took care not to splatter her hand as she flipped over the pieces of bacon that sizzled in her grandmother’s cast-iron pan. “I’ve booked the Lobster Bay Clambake Company for the wedding, so we don’t have to worry about cooking food for that.” Good thing, too, as the kitchen was much too small to provide the types of meals that a wedding would require. If they were going to do weddings, they would all have to be catered.
Brenda soaked a thick piece of bread in the egg mixture she’d just mixed. “I might come up with some different dishes for breakfast. Maybe something fancier.”
Jane glanced at Brenda. New dishes? Tides had served the same things for breakfast for as long as she could remember. Then again, maybe fancier dishes would bring in more people. She thought back to Mike’s comment about getting out of her comfort zone. That applied to the small things as well. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. Eggs Benedict, quiche, breakfast sandwiches.”
“That does sound good. Maybe I should do some research and see what other inns offer.”
Brenda sliced off a chunk of butter and put it in another cast-iron frying pan, watching it melt. “Andie has already been down to eat. I told her to wait for a hot breakfast, but she grabbed a muffin and took it back to her room.”
Jane frowned. “Really? Was she not feeling well?”
Brenda picked up the egg-soaked bread with tongs and laid it in the puddle of butter. “She didn’t say much. Seemed a little down in the dumps.”
It was probably that job she’d lost. Maybe Jane should’ve gone to her and said something to make her feel better. But now Jane had to wonder… if Andie’s job wasn’t so good back in New York City, would staying in Lobster Bay appeal to her?
Andie had offered to help with the inn, but were those just hollow words? Jane battled the urge to ask her sister to stay. What if Andie said no? Jane wasn’t quite ready to open herself up to disappointment. Still, maybe she should run up there and see if Andie was okay. But Mike would be here any minute to show her the website. Maybe after that she could talk to Andie.
Jane’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the kitchen door. Outside stood a man in a suit holding a clipboard.
She went to the door and stood on the threshold. “Can I help you?”
The man stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Bob Grover from the Lobster Bay town offices. No one was in the lobby, so I figured I’d find you out back in the kitchen anyway.”
Jane’s stomach tightened even as she smiled at him and motioned for him to come into the kitchen. “What can I do for you?”
“I heard you’re planning a wedding here, and I’ve come to check your facilities and make sure you have the appropriate permits.”
“Where did you hear that?”
“I got a note on my desk.” Bob smiled. “It might seem a little informal, but that’s the way things happen here in Lobster Bay. Is this a bad time?”
Jane doubted someone randomly found out about the wedding and put a note on Bob’s desk. No one knew about it except her friends, Andie, Mike, Shane, and Sally. None of them would go to the town hall. Jane knew exactly where t
he information had come from. Sandee Harris. It was no coincidence she had been blathering on about permits just yesterday. But why would Sandee try to ruin things for Jane? Was she purposely trying to make it so that Tides would fail so she could scoop it up at a cheap price?
“Not at all. What do you need to see?”
Jane walked Bob through the inn, showing him the main gathering area, the porch, and where everything would be set up outside.
“So, you won’t be cooking for the guests in the kitchen here, then?” Bob asked.
“No. We’re not set up for that. It’s going to be a catered lobster bake.”
“And the only structures are the portable dance floor and arbor?”
“Yep.”
Bob jotted something on his clipboard. “Okay, then. Looks like you don’t need a building permit, and since you’re not using the kitchen, there’s nothing to inspect there.” Bob pressed his lips together. “I’m not sure why this landed on my desk. I think you just need a variance for the clambake and gathering on the beach, but that’s no problem. You can see Mary down at the town offices and get one today.”
Jane had an idea why it had landed on his desk. Sandee was trying to make trouble. But that had backfired, as Bob had given the inn his blessing, and it wouldn’t be any problem to get the variance.
“Great. Thanks for coming.” Jane started walking toward the driveway, but Bob paused and turned. “How many guests did you say this wedding was going to have?”
Jane’s hopes sank. “About forty to fifty.”
Bob turned toward the inn. “And how many public bathrooms do you have in there?”
“Well, there are ten bathrooms, but those are with the rooms. The common area has one because every room has its own private bathroom.”
Bob rifled through a battered codebook. “That doesn’t matter. Even if the rooms are booked. Page fifty-six, section seventy-three, subsection A of the beach-gathering code says you have to have one toilet for every thirty guests at a gathering.” He looked up from the book, apologetic. “So that means you’re going to need another toilet. Of course, you can get Clean Day to bring some porta potties.”
Shoot! Porta potties wouldn’t do. “Maybe I could add a real bathroom…” She glanced around over at the inn. Where could she carve out some space for another bathroom? Off the living room? Maybe close off part of the porch? “How long would it take to add a bathroom?”
Bob shook his head. “I don’t think you can add one. That takes a special meeting with the town sewer-and-water committee. Because the property is on the beach, there are special considerations, and they don’t meet until next month. No exceptions there. Sorry, but you’re only allowed as many bathrooms as the house originally had or were added before 1953.”
Jane wanted to cry. She’d been getting her hopes up, thinking this wedding could solve all her financial problems, but now it looked like she might have to refund the deposit money that she’d already spent.
“I’m very sorry,” Bob said.
“It’s not your fault.” Jane walked him up to the driveway, her hopes sinking even further. As if sensing her mood, Cooper pressed himself against her for comfort.
“Morning!” Jane turned to see Mike coming up the beach toward them. Cooper ran to him and did his tail-wagging routine.
Mike petted the dog, then his eyes filled with concern as he looked at Jane. “What’s wrong?”
She told him about Bob’s visit and the distressing news about the bathrooms.
He put his hand on her arm. It was warm and comforting. “That can’t be right. There’s got to be something you can do.”
Jane sighed. “I don’t know. It seemed pretty cut-and-dried. He made it pretty clear that the committee doesn’t meet until next month, and the wedding is supposed to be in almost four weeks. Even if the meeting is the week before, it’s not enough time. I can’t keep the client hanging on, as they’d need to find another venue as soon as possible. It’s almost impossible to get something last minute.”
Mike pressed his lips together. “Let’s not give up. There’s got be a way. We just need time to think about it.”
“Maybe.” Mike’s words gave Jane a little encouragement. Maybe he was right and there was a way to work this out.
But what was this “we” stuff? He didn’t need to make this his problem. Determined to think positive, she brightened. “Either way, I’m going to need a website, so let’s go inside and see what this thing looks like.”
Chapter 21
Andie’s grip tightened on the phone as she listened to Susie fill her in on everything that had been happening at work.
“And Elise has been spending a lot of time in Doug’s office,” Susie whispered into the phone after verifying that Elise had gotten the lead-appraiser position on the Richhaven job.
Andie used to spend a lot of time in Doug’s office, too, but surprisingly the fact that she’d been cast aside for Elise didn’t bother her at all. Her feelings for Doug had evaporated with his shoddy treatment. “Is there anything else going on? Any rumors of new jobs coming in?”
“Nope. Dull as a doornail here… whoops, I gotta go. Marcy is looking for me.”
They hung up, and Andie glanced at the airline app on her phone, where she’d made a reservation for a flight for the next day.
It was time she headed back to New York City. If she didn’t do anything to protect her job, she might end up as the low person on the totem pole. But unlike her previous visits to Lobster Bay, this time she was in no rush to get back. Maybe after all these years, the excitement of antiques appraisal had worn off. If she hadn’t made that exciting find yet, what were the odds it would come along now? It wasn’t like her career had been unsatisfying. There had been plenty of exciting small finds over the years.
Outside her window, the sunlight sparkled on the tops of the waves. Her visit to Lobster Bay had been a great change of pace from the city. It was slower here, less hectic. There were no interoffice politics, no married bosses. If only there was more to do in this town—something she could sink her teeth into. Something that gave her a purpose.
She’d enjoyed working in the garden more than she’d thought possible. Speaking of which, she didn’t want to leave it half finished. She’d have to get a move on if she wanted to complete the garden and visit her mother at Tall Pines before her flight tomorrow.
Standing, she stretched and made her way downstairs, creeping down the stairs slowly and peeking over the railing to make sure she didn’t run into Shane Flannery. One good thing about leaving tomorrow was that it would ensure that she wouldn’t have to see him again.
Jane was in the living room, staring at the wall of paintings that Chandler Vanbeck had said were so valuable. “Hey, sis, I…”
Jane turned, and Andie could sense that something was wrong. “Is something the matter?”
Jane shrugged. “I think we might have to sell one of these paintings after all. If you’ll agree.”
Andie’s eyes flicked to the painting, a seascape with turbulent waves crashing on jagged rocks.
“What? Why?” She had a sinking feeling that the finances were a lot worse than her sister had let on. She’d felt something was off all along and should’ve insisted that Jane give her specifics, but she’d felt like it was none of her business. Jane had been taking care of this all along, and Andie was ashamed that she’d never once offered to help or asked how things were going. Who was she to butt in now?
Jane sighed. “I’m afraid the wedding might not happen. We have to put in a new bathroom to accommodate all the guests.”
“Oh. Well, that seems problematic, but why do we need to sell a painting because the wedding is off? Are finances that bad?”
Jane looked as if she might cry, and Andie resisted the urge to hug her, not sure if the gesture would be welcome.
“I’m sorry. I guess I should’ve fessed up sooner. I just didn’t want you to think that I’d ruined the family business, but the truth is finan
ces are not okay. This wedding was going to bail us out,” Jane said.
“Ruin the family business? I never would’ve thought that.” Andie felt like a selfish jerk. How could things have gotten so messed up between them that Jane felt like Andie would blame her for ruining the business instead of knowing she would jump in to help her?
Plagued with guilt over leaving everything on Jane’s shoulders, Andie was moved to solve the problem. “Okay, so the client doesn’t want porta potties. Who could blame them? But could we add another bathroom?” Andie mentally added up the money in her 401(k). She could take some out—the heck with the penalty. Her sister needed her help, and that was more important.
“Where would we put it? The space is tight down here. Even if we could add another one, would we get it done in time for the wedding? And how would we pay for it? Not to mention that we need to wait for some special approval that we can only get during a meeting that doesn’t happen until next month.” Jane flapped her arms. “It’s hopeless.”
“Can you request an emergency meeting? What about the upstairs bathrooms? We have plenty of those.” Andie couldn’t believe how backward things were in these small towns.
“Those bathrooms go with the guest rooms, so they don’t count. According to the man from the town hall, if we put in more bathrooms than the house originally had or were added when plumbing came along, then we need some special variance.”
Standing there with her sister, surrounded by their family belongings and the ocean in the background, she could feel the memories bubbling up. How many times had she stood here with her sister? Her mother? Her grandmother?
This house was full of those memories. She should have read between the lines and realized things were this bad, but she had been too involved in her own problems. Suddenly, Andie realized that more than anything, she wanted Tides to prosper. More than her job back at Christie’s, more than being part of a significant antiques find. She felt a sudden closeness with Jane that she hadn’t felt since they were kids. Jane needed her. And not only that, but something about what Jane had just said sparked an idea in her brain.
Changing Tides Page 12
