“It’s a big decision to close the inn,” she says.
“It is, but if it’s no longer profitable, it’s a no-brainer.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I’m just sad to see it close.”
I hate to see her sad. I hope she doesn’t think she failed at owning her very first business. “Me, too, but I have a really good feeling about the teahouse and the gift shop.”
“Really?” She looks up from the computer. “You aren’t afraid they’ll fail, too?”
“No, not at all. But to be honest, the inn just took so much time to run. Someone always had to be here and we spent an entire day once a week cooking.” I look at her so she knows that I’m ready to move on. “We’re too young to be confined to a business that requires so much time to operate.”
“But you said you loved it and it was the best job you ever had. I just don’t want to let you down.”
“Don’t forget I’m a nurse. The inn was a breeze to run and operate compared to nursing.” Taking a deep breath, I say, “I guess with the teahouse, I’m being selfish. Fewer hours to work, more time to do non-work things we want to do. No more 5:00 am wake ups. We’ll be able to spend Sundays watching football and sleeping on the couch.”
“Let’s do it,” she says quickly.
“Really?” I ask questionably.
“Yeah, I think you’re right. The inn is a money pit. We’ll focus on the teahouse and an amazing gift shop. We’ll be able to actually rotate days and maybe have some full days off to do something.” This is definitely a better business for two young people to have. “I hate that we sunk all that money into the inn. What’ll we do with all those empty rooms?”
Drew’s idea of them moving back into the inn comes to mind. I love Ava and Chase. Having them and those darling little babies in the house thrills me. “Maybe we could fill those empty rooms up with babies?”
Her eyes get big. “Why, are you expecting?”
Sometimes I think Chase’s ignorance is rubbing off on my friend. “No, but you have two babies and from the looks of it, you could use the extra room.” I try to say it as nicely as I can. I hate that they’ve already outgrown their newly renovated home.
“I know, I never dreamed we’d have twins.” She looks around the room at all of the baby things lying around. “In another year, we won’t fit in this house.”
“Drew suggested last night that y’all should move back into the inn with us.”
“That’s very sweet, but we couldn’t barge in on your privacy. You just got married, and moving in with you wouldn’t be right.”
Chase
“Where do you want Jami’s things to go?”
“Put her stuff in Xander’s old room,” Ava yells from the bottom of the stairs.
I should have known. She is his namesake. Only makes sense she would be in his old room. Ava and I needed only a day to take Drew up on his offer to move back into the inn. We both knew while she was pregnant with the twins that ultimately we would need to move to a bigger house. Just the bare necessities for the twins was filling up the small area in which we lived.
I watch as Ava puts our things in the next room and Eva’s things in the room to the right. Although the twins sleep together now, when they do sleep in their own rooms, Ava wants to be close to both of them. Being in the middle of their bedrooms is a sure way to do it. We even turned one of the bedrooms from the inn into a sitting room for Ava and me. We needed someplace to put the living room furniture and the toys the girls will grow into. Although Drew offered for us to move back into the inn, Ava and I will desperately try to not take over the entire house. I know Skylar and Drew will want their space. All of this is overwhelming, even for me. If this doesn’t spook Drew, nothing will.
“I think this is the last of everything,” I say.
“Moving a family of four is hard work,” Ava says, looking around the upstairs.
“Even if it was a short distance.” I wipe the sweat from my brow.
“I hope this is our last move for awhile. It’s exhausting.”
I look at Ava. “Do you think this is our forever home?”
“I hope so. I love this house.”
I think about my life with Ava. I think about the girls and how much has happened since Ava got her memory back. I never dreamed that I’d be married to Ava and we’d have a family. My life is perfect and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Ava
Over the next two weeks, Skylar and I close the inn permanently. It was a bittersweet moment. We both knew it was time to cut our losses. We forwarded all of the existing reservations to Steve and Lou Ann. Closing the inn, expanding the tearoom, and opening the gift shop was the best thing for us to do. When we bought the inn, it was perfect for us, but as our family grew, we realized we needed more time to dedicate to them. I honestly had no idea how much time and commitment it took to run a successful bed and breakfast.
Deliveries are starting to come in for the gift shop, and we’ve decided to expand the tearoom. Business is great and the hours we set up for operation has given us a lot of free time. Drew and Daniel added an outside entrance just for the tearoom and the gift shop, thus eliminating the traffic into the house. Since we’ve had the girls, we needed to eliminate the number of people coming in and out of the building. The separate entrance to the tearoom was also helpful in separating work from family life.
Since the twins were born, I think everyone is trying to find a new normal. Drew and Skylar are enjoying being newlyweds and he is no longer spooked about babies or pregnancies; I think Skylar is finally trusting that he’s fine with the idea of having children and he’ll no longer run out on her if he’s troubled with something. Since the twins’ birth, Skylar is no longer talking about having children. Chase and I offered for them to move into the carriage house, but they declined. I love having her so close to me and if they never move out of the house into their own home, I wouldn’t care.
Jimmy and Kathy are just as involved in our life as my parents are. I’m thrilled for Chase to have his parents back. I can tell he’s still isn’t convinced they’re here to stay, but every day he believes a little more. I’m excited that the girls have both sets of grandparents to love them. It’s important for me to surround them with love.
Nichole and little Connor are also adjusting to their new life. The bakery is doing well and since she doesn’t have any family, we make sure to see them at least once a week. Once when I went over to see her during business hours, I saw Luke Tanner leaving. I have high hopes that Nichole could be the woman of his dreams. I just want everyone to find love and to have a happily-ever-after. Chase says I’m a hopeless romantic. Maybe he’s right, but is it so wrong to want everyone to be happy? World peace would be nice but that seems so far out of our reach. I’ll just plan for love and happiness one couple at a time.
It’s taken some time, but while forgetting the past and living for today, I’m finally able to see things for what they are while seeking the future with the man I’m truly meant to be with. Chase is my happy-ever-after and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have him as my partner for life.
Books by Brenda Kennedy
I support Indie Authors. If you read this book, please take the time to go to the purchasing site and give it a review.
Independent authors count on your reviews to get the word out about our books. Thank you for taking the time to read my books and taking the extra time to review them. I appreciate it very much.
Disclaimer: People and places in this book have been used fictitiously and without malice.
You can continue with Nichole and little Connor’s story with the spin-off trilogy called…
The Learning Trilogy
Learning to Live…Coming March 21st, 2017
Learning to Trust… Coming soon
Learning to Love… Coming soon
The Forgotten Trilogy
Book One: Leaving the Past (Free)
Book Two: Living for Today
Book Three: S
eeking the Future
Other books written by this author include:
The Starting Over Trilogy
Book One: A New Beginning (Free)
Book Two: Saving Angel
Book Three: Destined to Love
The Freedom Trilogy
Book One: Shattered Dreams (Free)
Book Two: Broken Lives
Book Three: Mending Hearts
The Fighting to Survive Trilogy
Round One: A Life Worth Fighting (Free)
Round Two: Against the Odds
Round Three: One Last Fight
The Rose Farm Trilogy
Book One: Forever Country (Free)
Book Two: Country Life
Book Three: Country Love
Stand-alone books in the “Another Round of Laughter Series” written by Brenda and some of her siblings: Carla Evans, Martha Farmer, Rosa Jones, and David Bruce.
Cupcakes Are Not A Diet Food (Free)
Kids Are Not Always Angels
Acknowledgements
My husband, Rex: Thank you for supporting me and for coming with me on this ride. Thank you for understanding that although I am in my pajamas, I am indeed working. You are my partner for life, and I love you.
My children: Thank you for reminding me what is important every single day. I love you.
My grandchildren: Thank you for reminding me that I am somebody; I am your grandma and nothing else matters. I love you all.
My sisters and brothers: Thank you for your endless support. I love you.
My brother David: Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to publish the first book. Thank you for making my ideas better and for all you do. Editing, proofreading, polishing, formatting, ideas, articles, and research websites. See, I do pay attention. Thank you. Thank you for pushing me until I get it right. Maybe someday I’ll learn the right place to put the commas. I love you and I can never thank you enough. I love you. David writes collections of anecdotes such as The Funniest People in Art, and he retells classics in such books as William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew: A Retelling in Prose. His books can be found for sale on all leading online electronic book sale platforms.
Christina Badder, Owner and Operator of CBB Productions: My P.A., and my friend. Thank you for taking care of all of my promotional needs. The blog tours, author spotlights, book cover reveals, give-a-ways, Rafflecopters, ARC’s, and everything that I don’t know that you do or things I forgot to mention. I hope you know how much I appreciate your hard work and dedication. Girl, I love your work and your vision. You are so amazing and I am so glad I found you. I plan on keeping you, forever. For more info on Christina and her amazing work, see www.cbbproductions.com.
Becki Angle Martin: Thank you for designing this stunning cover. You saw my vision and brought it to life. Thank you.
Thank you to all of my Beta readers: You are amazing and I couldn’t do it without you. I appreciate your honest opinions and reviews, and I love the bond that we have developed. Also, I appreciate that I can trust you and count on you. Thank you for encouraging me to write and for giving me ideas. You never disappoint. I love you guys!
Thank you to “Brenda’s Street Talkers” for sharing my books, making teasers and banners, and for the love and support I receive from you every day. I love you girls.
Thank you to all the bloggers who shared in the author’s spotlight and the blog tour for Forgetting the Past. I appreciate you more than you know.
A very special thank you to author DB Jones for your endless and continuous support. I feel like I’ve known you my entire life.
To my readers: Thank you for reading and reviewing my books. Thank you to my loyal readers who have followed me from the beginning and to those who are new to my books.
For those readers who enjoy a darker, more intense read: My daughter Carleen Jamison has recently published her debut novel, titled Inappropriate Reactions. It is Book One of the Mind Games Series. This book is intended for mature audiences only and is available on all leading platforms. You can follow her on
Smashwords Author’s page: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/carleenjamison
Facebook Author’s Page: https://www.facebook.com/author.c.jamison?fref=ts
Info for David Bruce, My Brother
Smashwords (Books for Sale, and Free Books)
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/bruceb
WordPress Blog
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com
About the Author
When I first started writing, I wanted to write about real people whom others could relate to with real-life problems and real jobs. I love to read about the billionaire 20-something-year-old, but knew this wasn’t the kind of story I want to write. When my first trilogy, The Starting Over Trilogy, took form, I was thrilled to be able to make the book as close to realistic as I could.
I wanted to touch on real-life problems. Not because I want to show the weakness in my characters or to show the disturbing truth, but because I want to show my characters’ strengths. The Starting Over Trilogy dealt with domestic violence: a problem that is all too familiar to too many women and men.
Next came The Freedom Trilogy, a spinoff of The Starting Over Trilogy. The series started off with the All-American military family and the real problems some face during deployment. I picked my daughter Amanda’s brain and used her real emotions during the deployment stage. Thank you, Amanda. Then the story turned to drug abuse and rehabilitation.
The Fighting to Survive Trilogy focuses on battles of a boxer, depression, and how to move forward after the loss of a child. It tells the story of two families who are fighting the same battle.
Then The Rose Farm Trilogy took form. This series takes place in my old hometown in rural Ohio. I was excited to revisit my country roots and quickly learned that although I now live in Florida, I was never far from home. This series focuses on poverty in rural areas and how little a person needs to be truly happy. Although it takes place in my old hometown, the people and the circumstances are purely fictional, except for Rick Crooks and his sister.
I hope that in my future books I am still able to continue to write about problems most of us face while continuing to give my characters the happily-ever-after that they deserve. On a lighter note: I moved to sunny Florida in 2006 and never looked back. I love freshly squeezed lemonade, crushed ice, teacups, wine glasses, non-franchise restaurants, ice cream cones, boating, picnics, cookouts, throwing parties, lace, white wine, mojitos, strawberry margaritas, white linen tablecloths, fresh flowers, lace, mountains, oceans, and Pinterest. I also love to read and write and to spend time with my family.
My books, thus far, have been inspired by the things I love and the people who influence me, every single day, to be a better person.
You may follow me on:
FB author page : http://on.fb.me/1ywRwmI
BookBub Author’s Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/brenda-kennedy
GoodReads : http://bit.ly/1szWiw5
Twitter : https://twitter.com/BrendaKennedy_
Webpage: http://brendakennedyauthor.com
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