Inn at Last Chance

by Hope Ramsay

  Jenny didn’t want to leave The Jonquil House. But when Sabina showed up, followed shortly thereafter by Wilma, Elsie, Lola May, and Nita Wills herself, she knew she was going to have to leave her home. Every single one of them was ready to blame Gabe for what had happened, especially since the vandalism had been pulled right from the pages of one of his books.

  They all wanted to talk at the same time so she put every single one of them to work, helping her clean up the crime scene, walk the dog, and entertain Joshua. Nita was the last one to arrive. She came storming in the back door, the picture of outrage.

  “Jenny,” she announced to all assembled, “we’re canceling the library event. I’m not going to give that man a platform.”

  Jenny looked up from the floor where she was trying to get chicken or hog’s blood out from the grout between her beautiful floor tiles. “By that man I assume you mean Gabe Raintree.”

  “I do. It’s clear he’s trying to get you to sell out.”

  “No, it’s not at all clear.” Jenny stood up. “Gabe didn’t do this. And more important, if you cancel the event, the people who want to shut down our library and ban Gabe’s books win the day. Is that what you want?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, then. If you ask me, this incident looks more like something the church ladies might have staged—or the political hacks who want to make you and the mayor look bad.”

  Nita stood there for a moment, clearly thinking things through. “You think that’s possible? I mean Lillian Bray might be a narrow-minded woman, but I don’t see her doing something like this.”

  “I don’t either, but Sheriff Rhodes told me that Dennis Hayden has hired some outside political people. I could see them doing this. And the sheriff said that my locks were probably easy to pick.”

  “We should still cancel. I don’t want you to be in danger.”

  “No, Nita. We are not canceling. I’m going to stay in town for a few days. I’ll be fine.”

  “You really think Dennis Hayden might be behind this?”

  “I do.”

  “Good Lord. I need to tell Kamaria about this.” Nita turned on her heel and marched out of the door in the same hot hurry as she’d marched in.

  Jenny sagged back against the counter, and Wilma gave her a little shoulder squeeze. “You’re turning into quite a brave woman. I’m proud of you. I don’t much like Mr. Raintree, but I like the way you’re standing up for him and standing against those holy rollers. But you should do it from a distance, you hear?”

  “Amen to that,” said Lola May, putting away the mop. She gave the kitchen a once-over. “I think we’ve got the place almost back to rights. You’ll need to get some industrial cleaner for that grout, but aside from that it doesn’t look like anything bad happened here.”

  “Thank you all for being such good friends,” Jenny said.

  And she collected hugs from each and every one of them. And then they all departed except for Maryanne, who dragged Jenny up the stairs to the Rose Room.

  “All right, I’ll pack for you while you take a shower. You look like you need one.”

  “I don’t really want to go.”

  “You’re going.” Maryanne gave her a determined look that reminded Jenny of her grandmother. There was no doubt that Maryanne was a Carpenter.

  The expression on Maryanne’s face relaxed into a little smile. “Please,” she said in a pleading tone. “I just found you, and I don’t want to lose you. I’m scared, Jenny. What happened in your kitchen was horrible, and Sheriff Rhodes is right—it won’t hurt you to spend a couple of days away from here. Now, where’s your suitcase”

  Five minutes later, Jenny was standing under a stream of lovely hot water, wondering if she was crazy to have such faith in Gabe.

  She had a miserable track record with men. She’d entirely misread the Bill Ellis situation. And years ago, when she’d been living in Chattanooga right after college, she’d made the mistake of a lifetime. She’d been looking for work as a teacher and filling in as a part-time secretary at a law firm when she’d fallen head-over-heels for one of the handsome associates. Jamie Kendrick had been young and ambitious and handsome as the devil. He’d also been interested in her, which made him irresistible.

  She’d given him her virginity, and the two of them took to sneaking around having sex during their lunch hours. Jamie’s wife interrupted them during one of those trysts. Jamie’s wife. The one he’d neglected to mention.

  Jenny hadn’t especially regretted giving Jamie her virginity, but she was devastated by the fact that she’d given that gift to a man who wasn’t interested in true love. She’d been so sure of Jamie’s love. And she’d been so wrong. The truth had been embarrassing and devastating. She’d run away from Chattanooga and come back to Last Chance. She’d told herself it was because Mother needed her, but she’d been lying to herself for years.

  She’d confronted that truth when she’d decided to give up being a schoolteacher and do something important, like becoming an innkeeper in a town that desperately needed an inn. Bill’s sudden marriage to Hettie had underscored the fact that Jenny had wasted half her life waiting for that nebulous “someday” when her prince would arrive.

  But damn it, “someday” was right this minute.

  She needed to quit waiting for it.

  So she’d been wrong twice in her life. Did that mean she would always be wrong? No. Gabe had started something last night, and Jenny wanted to finish it. She wanted to finish it even if it turned out that he wasn’t her prince.

  If she kept staying out of the game because she was afraid to make mistakes, afraid to risk her heart, then she’d spend the rest of her life waiting instead of living.

  And then it came to her. If she didn’t care if Gabe Raintree had a wife, or a lover, or some other woman in his life. If she wasn’t looking for forever… if all she wanted was another kiss that might lead to something else, well then, there wasn’t anyone standing in her way except her own foolish self. She was running out of time to enjoy her own sexuality. And if she wanted to be a strong, independent woman, why on earth would she even care about a lifetime commitment?

  The moment she allowed that thought into her brain, she became a changed woman. She wanted to seduce Gabe Raintree. She wanted him, even if it was only to share a few carnal moments. And why not? She wasn’t interested in marriage anymore. She had embraced the freedom of spinsterhood. Like Wilma was always telling her, she was her own person. She was free. She could pursue a night with Gabe Raintree if she wanted to and not even feel guilty about it.

  But if she planned to make a play for Gabe, then she needed to spruce herself up a little, or else he might do exactly what he’d done last night: Put her aside and treat her with emotional kid gloves. Sabina was right, she’d put all her effort into remaking The Jonquil House. It was time to remake herself.

  When she emerged from the shower, she discovered that Maryanne had packed the biggest suitcase Jenny owned. She could probably live for a week and a half without doing laundry. “Jeez, I’m only leaving for a couple of days.”

  “You don’t know that,” Maryanne said.

  “Look, Maryanne, I know you and the sheriff and half of Allenberg County have passed judgment on Gabe, but I haven’t. I’m leaving only because I made a deal with you. And once the locks are changed, I’m moving back in. I’m tired of being afraid of life. Sometimes being safe and secure is stifling. Sometimes you just have to take risks. But I’m thinking a day away would be good, especially if we can talk Ruby Rhodes into giving me a makeover.”

  Maryanne blinked. “Honey, you’re fine the way you are. I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” she said, her voice wavering a little. Jenny opened her arms, and Maryanne came into them. They gave each other a fierce hug.

  “I promise I’ll be careful,” Jenny said. “But this is just like when you decided to throw caution to the wind and drive here without really knowing if you’d find your family. The Jonquil Ho
use is sort of like that for me. It’s my statement or something. It’s me telling the world that I’m strong, and I can deal with adversity, and that I’m free and independent. If I go running away at the first sign of trouble, then I’m just falling back into my safe and secure and boring life.”

  Maryanne nodded. “I get it, but, really, Jenny, safe and secure has a lot to recommend it. And what happened in your kitchen should scare the bejesus out of you.”

  “It did for a little while. I guess I still feel kind of violated. But I don’t want to run away, okay? I’ve restored this house. And I’m not leaving it. I’m just starting to think that, before I open for business, I need to do a little work on myself. I’m going to do what Sabina has been telling me to do for a long while now. I’m going to cut my hair and update my wardrobe. I’m going to show the world that I’m a lioness, not a mouse. So let’s go see what Ruby can do for me, and then maybe we should just take the weekend and go shopping down in Charleston or Hilton Head or Savannah.”

  “Uh, I can’t go with you. Daniel and I have plans, but I’ll bet you could talk Sabina into it. You could browse the antiques stores while you’re there.”

  Jenny suppressed a momentary pang of jealousy. Maryanne deserved her happiness. She put on a brave smile. “I think I’m about to make Sabina’s day.”

  Jenny set her suitcase by the door and headed into the living room, where Gabe and Ms. Ianelli were apparently having an argument about his book. Bear was lying with his giant head between his paws, watching the play-by-play like it was a tennis match.

  Jenny hated to interrupt, but she needed to let them know that she was leaving for a few days.

  Of course, the moment she set eyes on Gabe, looking a little worn and sleep-deprived with his hair falling over his forehead and his chin covered with stubble, her insides melted and her heart rate climbed.

  She was going to seduce him. She just needed to work up the courage and get herself a new dress. She glanced at Ms. Ianelli’s spike-heeled shoes. And maybe a pair of slutty shoes if she could figure out how to walk in heels that tall. Heck, if the town was going to think about her as a chicken-hurling hussy, she should have footwear to match.

  But first she needed to tell him good-bye. Maybe her absence would make his heart grow fonder.

  She jumped on that thought and expunged it from her brain. She was not interested in Gabe Raintree’s heart. She was interested in other parts of his body, some of which she’d gotten a pretty good look at last night.

  Ms. Ianelli cleared her throat and looked in Jenny’s direction. “You wanted something?”

  “I’m going away for a few days,” she said.

  Gabe grimaced and shot to his feet. “Why?” He took several steps in her direction, his dark eyes burning with more than fatigue. His display put her back a few steps. Could Sheriff Rhodes be right about him? No, surely not.

  “I’m just going to Charleston for a little shopping.” She waved her hand to indicate the living room. “You may have provided the furniture, but I need some accessories.”

  “You can’t go,” he said.

  The words made her heart swell. He wasn’t trying to get rid of her, even if he was trying to boss her around.

  “I can and I will. I’ll be back on Monday. In the meantime, please take care of Bear for me, will you? And be careful to lock the doors. The locksmith has promised to come early Monday morning to install more security. I should be back by then. If anything happens, you can reach me on my cell phone.” She handed Gabe a yellow sticky note with her number on it.

  “I’ll go with you. I don’t trust you to pick out accessories. You’ll come back with china figurines or some other stupid, frilly stuff that the—” He bit off the rest of the sentence, but she knew what he meant to say. The ghost didn’t like stupid frilly stuff. Of course, the ghost was a fifteen-year-old boy who was a bit spoiled. When she came back, she was going to have a serious talk with Gabe about trying to send the ghost on to the next world or wherever he needed to go.

  But first she was going to go through with the seduction, and she wasn’t about to have him come along on her shopping trip.

  “No, you need to stay and write,” she said in a no-nonsense voice.

  Ms. Ianelli jumped to her feet. “That’s right, Gabe. We’ve lost an entire morning, thanks to the events of last night. You need to stay here and fix this story. What you’ve given me is too dark and has very little action in it. We’ll need major revisions.” His editor turned toward Jenny. “You should stay and take care of us like the innkeeper you’re supposed to be. And you shouldn’t be foisting the care of your giant of a dog off on Mr. Raintree.”

  Jenny chomped down on the guilt Ms. Ianelli’s words raised. “I guess I shouldn’t. Mr. Raintree, should I take Bear with me? I’m sure I can board him for a couple of days at the—”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I feel safer with Bear here,” Gabe said.

  Jenny turned toward Ms. Ianelli. “I know you think you are entitled to breakfast, but the fact is, I’m still getting ready for business, and I haven’t run your credit card because I don’t even have my merchant services set up. I’m letting you stay here because Mr. Raintree is here, and I promised the book club that I’d give him a place to stay until the library program. I keep my promises.”

  “You know what I think?” Ms. Ianelli said. “I think you staged that mess in the kitchen. I’m glad to see you cleaned it up.”

  “Barbara, please, Jenny wouldn’t have done that to her kitchen.” Gabe turned his back on Ms. Ianelli and spoke again in a near whisper. “You’re running away, aren’t you?” His black eyes burned with emotions Jenny could only guess at.

  “No, I’m going shopping.”

  His mouth twitched. “Is this like that old T-shirt about when the going gets tough, the tough hit the malls?”

  “Exactly. Look, I promised Sheriff Rhodes a few days to hunt down the dirt bag who trashed my kitchen. He was concerned about my safety, and he communicated that to half the female population of Allenberg County. Honestly, I have no choice. I’ll give him a couple of days, and I’ll be back.”

  “You promise?”

  “Of course I do. This is my house, not yours. And besides, I haven’t given up on wooing Bear away from you. Please remember to feed him. Sometimes you forget.”

  He nodded, and his lips twitched a little, as if he was amused.

  “But there is one bit of business that I need to talk with you about,” she said.

  “Business? What?”

  “It’s about Ms. Ianelli. You see, I’ve been working on the assumption that you’re planning to stay here for a total of three months. That’s what you told me the first day you came banging on the door. I need to know if Ms. Ianelli will be staying that long. I really do need a checkout date. I’m about to launch my website and reservation system, and right now, between you and her, I only have one room to let, and that’s the one that has no furniture. I’m assuming that you and Ms. Ianelli will be leaving together.”

  His brow lowered into a scowl. “What makes you say that?” His voice took on a keen edge.

  “I just assumed that you and she were—”

  “Well, don’t assume anything.”

  Her heart took flight. Maybe Ms. Ianelli would be leaving sooner rather than later. Perfect.

  “All right,” she said in her best schoolteacher voice. “We’ll discuss her departure date when I return.” She turned her back on him and headed into the foyer.

  He followed her. “Good God, it looks like you packed for a month, not a weekend,” he said.

  She turned to find him staring at her with color in his cheeks. Was his heart beating as fast as hers? She thought maybe it was.

  “I’ll be back on Monday.”

  “You won’t let the sheriff or the church ladies change your mind?” One of his dark brows rose in question.

  “No, I’ll be back.”

  She bent to pick up her suitcase, but he snagged her hand
. He held it in his for the longest moment, his fingers strong and warm. “Good-bye, Jenny. Come back to me.” And then he raised her hand to his lips and pressed a single kiss to her palm. It was no less and no more than what she’d done to him last night.

  The breath caught in her throat, and she might have melted right there in the foyer but Ms. Ianelli called to him from the other room in a slightly panicked voice.

  “Gabe, help, that gigantic dog of yours is all over me with… Yuck! Down, you smelly thing!”

  “Go, rescue Bear,” Jenny said. “I’ll be back in a few days.”

  CHAPTER

  18

  Zeph sat in his favorite rocking chair, reading Great Expectations for the umpteenth time. He had a view of the river out his living room window, and his driveway wasn’t much more than a dirt track leading up to the highway. He never had visitors out here, so he had plenty of time to escape into books. And now that the ghost had left him to haunt Gabe, he was feeling a little bit lonely.

  For the last twenty-five years, since Luke died, Zeph had been living down here on the patch of bottomland that his daddy had purchased back in the mid-1950s. He’d torn down his daddy’s tin-roofed shack and replaced it with a four-room house built entirely from deadwood that he’d had milled into lumber. The house was an eclectic mix of swamp chestnut oak, loblolly pine, and red cedar. Hand fitting the cabinets and making the furniture had kept Zeph busy for a long, long time. He’d learned a lot about woodworking by building his own house from the ground up.

  He was entirely off the grid. His water was pumped up from the river. His electricity came from a microturbine hydroelectric system he’d installed a few years ago. His sewage went into a septic tank that was pumped every year or so. He didn’t have TV or Internet.