Then she gave in to what she knew she had to think about. Her conversation with Eric. What if this place really was his?
What was she going to do? For the life of her, she didn’t know if she could survive more turmoil. Or starting over again.
Thank goodness she’d put money aside. She actually had put quite a bit in the bank. Not enough to put down on another business, but more than enough to take some time to figure out what she wanted to do.
She supposed she could rent a room or lease a place for six months. Or maybe even put her things in storage and take a trip out west. Everyone always talked about how much fun those bus trips were. Maybe she should pick up some brochures about them one day soon.
Yes, taking a long bus trip might be fun. And what an opportunity, to have three or four weeks with nothing to do but make friends with her travel mates, play cards in the evening, and explore new places during the day.
She could read a book. She could read a lot of books. Take time for herself.
Thirty minutes later, her lawyer stopped by. Since he was semiretired and lived just a few blocks away, she wasn’t too surprised to see him. After explaining her situation again, she gave him all the paperwork she could find.
Then, her stomach in knots, she did her best to be patient.
“Beverly? You’re daydreaming again,” Sadie said from the front sidewalk.
“Oh, hey. How are you?”
“I’m gut.”
As Sadie approached, she examined Beverly through narrowed eyes. “Are you ready for tea already? Usually, this time of day, you’re hustling and bustling around.”
Beverly started, then looked down at her simple Timex watch. “Oh, gosh, I’ve been sitting out here over an hour. I guess the time got away from me today.”
“I would say you’ve been working hard, but it doesn’t look like it. It looked like you were lost in thought.” Her lips twitched. “Yet again.”
“I guess I can’t stop that habit, no matter how hard I try.”
“Can’t think of a reason why you’d want to stop your daydreams. You always seem to look right pleased about them. Besides, I have a feeling they are just as much a part of you as your brown hair and brown eyes. That’s who you are.” Sadie winked. “Your tendency to drift off into thought is one of the reasons I like you so much, dear. I’ve always thought it was rather sweet.”
Beverly felt even more at a loss. For some reason, Sadie’s kind words made her feel kind of choked up. What was she going to do if she really was going to have to leave the Orange Blossom Inn? She’d lose all her friends. She’d be alone again. “You’ve been a gut friend to me, Sadie. For sure.”
“Just like you’ve been to me, and to everyone you’ve come in contact with.” She sat down next to the flowers, on a wooden bench that Beverly had painted a pale green. “Ah, it smells like heaven here.”
“I think so, too.”
“So, are Marvin’s sisters driving you crazy? Are they being mean?”
“Not at all. Actually, they’re making me wish they lived here full-time. They really enjoy life. We went to the library this morning.”
Sadie smiled. “They got you to go out and about? Praise God.”
“I know. It was a minor miracle. We were only gone a few hours, but getting out of here for a little while did me a world of good.”
“So if it isn’t those two ladies who have you in a tizzy, who is it?”
“You know me that well, huh?”
“I do. And you know me well enough to know that I’m not going to let you push off my questions.”
Until that very minute, Beverly had been sure that she was going to keep her problems to herself. She hadn’t wanted to burden anyone else. But Ida and Jean’s arrival had forced her to reevaluate everything in her life.
The women’s no-nonsense ways combined with their desire to retain her friendship, even when she wasn’t being much of a friend, encouraged Beverly to rethink things.
Maybe it really was time to begin deeper conversations and reveal her real feelings with people who cared about her.
“Actually, I think I need your help, Sadie.”
Sadie clapped her hands. “Gut. I’ve been waiting to feel useful all day. What is on your mind?”
“Well, I happened to meet a man at the library.”
Sadie’s pleased expression turned into something akin to bliss. “Truly? That is wonderful-gut!”
Beverly waved a hand in the air. “This meeting was definitely not wonderful.”
“Oh?”
“See, I accidentally ran into him and his books fell. Then, because his books were about the area, I made the mistake of asking him if he had any questions about Sarasota.”
“That doesn’t sound like a mistake.”
“It was,” she said around a moan. “It turns out that he’s here because he believes he inherited this very inn from his friend John.” Thinking again of how shocked she’d been, she pressed her lips together. “What are the chances, you know?”
“It does seem unlikely. Really unlikely.” Sadie’s brow wrinkled. “Furthermore, it doesn’t make sense, Beverly. This is your inn.”
“It didn’t make sense to me, either. When I first moved to Florida, I was so devastated by everything that had happened with my fiancé and best friend that I think I was kind of numb. I took everything my Aunt Patty said at face value.” She paused, remembering her kind, elderly aunt who’d always had a reputation for having a heart of gold and the attention of a gnat. “She was so proud of this place, and I was so grateful that she trusted me enough to run it with her. All I remember her saying about the inn was that she had the lease for a lifetime.”
She glanced at Sadie, appreciating that her friend was willing to listen to her problems but also not wanting to overwhelm her with too many details. But instead of looking puzzled or bored, Sadie merely nodded and smiled encouragingly . . . allowing Beverly to tell a story that she now realized she should have never tried to keep inside.
“When Aunt Patty passed away, I simply took over the lease. For the last three years, I’ve hardly given the owner a second thought. I simply wrote my check on the first of every month, posted it, and didn’t think about it again.”
“I wouldn’t have, either, dear.”
“After we got back from the library, I called my lawyer and left him a message with what Eric told me. He came right over and looked at the papers about the inn and Aunt Patty’s estate that I’d stuffed into a back cabinet.”
“And?”
“He took everything with him, but his first thoughts were that there’s a mighty good chance that everything Eric said was true. Aunt Patty actually was leasing this inn from her ex-husband. And she definitely did have that lease for life, but it was her lifetime, not her niece’s,” she added ruefully.
“What a story.” Sadie’s eyes were wide with disbelief.
Beverly nodded. “I should have remembered long before now that Aunt Patty was a pretty ditsy lady when it came down to details.” Feeling terrible, she added, “Actually, it seems I have inherited that trait from her.”
“I’m so sorry that this happened, Bev.”
“Me too. Putting all the blame on her shoulders might make my pride feel a little better, but I truly cannot. I should have looked into things long before now.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Bide my time.”
Sadie waited a beat before giving her a chiding look. “That’s it?”
“I don’t have much choice. I want to continue here, but that may not be an option. Eric is coming over the day after tomorrow to see the inn and to talk about things.”
“At least he’s giving you a couple of days.”
“Barely. He wanted to come over today, but I said I needed time.”
“So you don’t actually know what his plans are,” Sadie said.
“That is true. Eric hasn’t come right out and said that he wants me to leave. So he might want me here. If
that’s the case, then I’ll start leasing the inn from him.”
“I don’t like the idea that some Englischer can pretty much pop out of nowhere and take over your life.” Sadie frowned. “It don’t seem right.”
Beverly didn’t like it, either. But she also knew if the situation was reversed, she’d do the same thing Eric was doing. “It’s out of my hands.”
“Well, it’s in God’s hands, that is true. But there must be something you can do.”
“What I can do is start looking for another place to live.”
“Definitely not.” Getting to her feet, Sadie started walking toward the inn’s back door. “Let’s go on in. You might be thinking that now is a gut time to lie down and let some strange man walk all over you, but I for one do not. I’m going to take over this problem of yours and fix it.”
“Sadie, you can’t. It might be in God’s hands, but at the moment it’s in the lawyer’s hands, too.”
Instead of grinning at her joke, her friend was treated to a pointed look. “Last time I checked, lawyers worked for their clients. We’re going to see what all we can discover about your ditsy aunt, her ex-husband who suddenly realized he had an inn to give away, and a man named Eric who has suddenly decided he wants to run the Orange Blossom Inn.” She rolled her eyes. “Though, who would want to compete with everything you’ve done, I surely don’t know. Can he even bake?”
The irreverent question startled a chuckle out of Beverly. “I have no idea. I guess if he can’t, he’s going to have to hire someone.”
“I wish him luck with that.”
Feeling a bit like a lost puppy, Beverly followed Sadie inside. Sadie was right. That whole matter was in God’s hands in the end. “No matter what happens, I want you to know that I appreciate your support.”
Sadie pursed her lips. “You can thank me when it’s all over. And then you can make me a coconut cake,” she said as they entered the gathering room, where Ida and Jean were already setting up the afternoon tea.
Ida popped her head up. “Did you say you wanted a coconut cake?”
“Not today,” Beverly said in a rush. “Sadie was simply making me a bet.”
Then, luckily, the room started filling up with her guests and no less than four of her girlfriends. Eventually, she knew she was going to have to come to terms with the fact that her afternoons serving tea might one day be a thing of the past. And she might have to look for a new place to live.
But all that could be dealt with later.
At the moment, she needed to concentrate on the job at hand. She needed to make sure that her guests were happy, that there was enough tea, lemonade, and coffee, and that the cookie trays were filled.
Those were things she could do right now, and do well.
Chapter 17
The bus ride home from Siesta Key was way too short. As each minute passed, feeling like mere seconds, Zack did everything he could to make Leona want to see him again, and soon.
Every hour in her presence deepened his feelings for her, so much so that it caught him off guard. Never before had he been so certain that he’d found the right woman.
Now, unfortunately, he was fighting a whole new set of worries. Ones that had everything to do with the fact that she was going to head back to Ohio very soon. That meant he only had days to convince her that he was worth taking a chance on.
In an effort to keep such dark thoughts at bay, from the time they’d taken their seats on the bus, he’d talked to Leona about the beach, and Mattie and Danny, and her suspicions that a romance was blossoming between the two of them. He’d asked her questions about their attic room in the inn. Then they’d told each other a bit more about their families.
Through it all, Leona had been responsive and just as chatty. And the way she gazed at him from time to time made him feel like everything he had to say was important.
He hoped he’d been able to convey that he felt the same way about her.
Only when the bus was just minutes from their stop did he dare ask her more about Edmund.
And that was when she’d visibly retreated. “I’d rather not talk about him anymore right now,” she’d said.
In a normal relationship, Zack would have given her space. It wasn’t in his nature to push people too much, especially when it came to discussing things that obviously made them uncomfortable.
But each time he saw her, he became more aware that their time together was winding down. And though he’d never been in a serious relationship, he sensed that it was necessary for her to open up to him. Otherwise, when she left, they’d have more lying between them than miles and miles—they’d have her secrets.
“Leona, I know this makes you uncomfortable, but I really do want to know more about Edmund and what went wrong.”
“Why?”
“Because I like you,” he said simply. If she trusted him enough to tell him about her breakup, he figured he should trust her enough to be completely honest.
She blinked, then to his surprise, she looked amused. “You do?”
He couldn’t resist asking. “Does that amuse you?”
“Nee. Of course not.” She looked down at her hands, swallowed, then seemed to come to a conclusion. “I like you, too, Zack.”
He couldn’t help but smile, though he was trying his best not to look like a love-struck fool. “What are you going to do about Edmund?”
“Nothing.”
“Really?”
She shrugged. “It’s over. It really is.”
“I can’t help but wonder why you aren’t fighting for him.” He would have never thought she was the type of woman to drift in and out of a relationship so easily. Especially when they’d been engaged.
Looking down at her hands again, she asked, “Zack, have you ever been in love before?”
“I think so.”
Humor lit her eyes. “What does that mean?”
It meant he was actually starting to have fairly strong feelings for Leona. He wasn’t sure if it was love, but if it wasn’t, it was surely something close to that. Whenever he was around her, he couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything else.
More disconcerting was the realization that he didn’t want to do anything but be around her.
Was that love? He wasn’t sure. But if it was, he didn’t want the feeling to end anytime soon . . . even if feeling this way made him feel off-balanced.
But of course he didn’t dare speak that openly. “I’m fairly sure I’ve come kind of close to being in love.”
She shrugged. “Maybe that was how I felt. Maybe I’ve been really close to love. Maybe I simply wanted to be in love and he was right there. And when I thought I was in love? It was strong and sure. I knew I was doing the right thing. Now that it’s over, I feel almost as sure.”
“I can’t imagine falling out of love like that.”
“I still feel like I’m at sea, but I do know that what happened on the phone last night was the right thing. And I have to guess that perhaps Edmund thought the same. Otherwise, why would he have broken up with me so easily?”
“I can’t answer that.”
“I don’t feel sad, exactly. I just feel a little bit hollow. Like it’s time I was filled up with something good. Something new.”
He nodded just as the bus stopped and it was time for them to get out. Once they’d stepped off the bus, he said, “Do you know your way back to the inn? I’m sorry but I’ve got to get back to the house so I’ll be there when Effie gets off the bus.”
She pointed down the street. “I go down two blocks then turn left?”
“Nee.” Unable to help himself, he curved his hands around her slim shoulders. “You go this way,” he said into her ear as he carefully turned her around. When she shivered, he gave in to temptation and let his hands drift down her back, following the path of her shoulder blades before dropping back to his sides. “Then you turn right,” he finished, barely remembering what they were talking about in the first place.
“O
kay.” She bit her lip. “Danke. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Zack noticed that while she said all the right things, she didn’t look all that convinced. He wasn’t all that convinced, either.
Thinking quickly, he said, “Give me your hand.” When she did, he pulled out a pen and wrote the cross streets of the Orange Blossom Inn on her hand. And then, just because he couldn’t resist, he wrote down his home phone number, too.
She let him write on her palm, but she was looking at it like no one had ever done something so impetuous before. “The two streets I understand. But why are you giving me your phone number?”
“So you can call me if you want to see me again.”
“I couldn’t call you. That would be way too forward.”
“Maybe you wouldn’t call men at home in Walnut Creek. Maybe you would be perfectly happy to wait for the chance for the two of us to just happen to run into each other sometime, but we’re not in Ohio, and we’re on a time crunch here.”
Her eyes brightened with amusement. “A time crunch, is it?”
“You know I’m right. Before we know it, you’re going to be getting ready to go back home, and if we want to see each other again, one of us will have to take the bus. So, if you want, give me a call and let me know when you have some free time before you go.”
“And you’ll make time to see me?”
“Of course I will.” The pull he felt toward her was so strong, Zack was pretty sure he’d drop everything in order to see her again, and soon. Even if it meant calling in Violet or Karl to help with Effie so he could make that happen.
She looked at her palm again, closed it into a fist, then started walking.
The wrong way.
He darted forward, rested both hands on her shoulders, and turned her around. “This way, Leona,” he murmured. “Go four blocks up until you see the cross street, then turn right.”
“Okay.”
“Sure?” He really needed to go. But he really didn’t want to spend the rest of his evening worrying about her wandering up and down the streets of Pinecraft.
The Promise of Palm Grove Page 12
