by Kay Correll
Chapter 12
The next morning Susan woke up and stretched like a lazy cat. For a brief moment she couldn’t remember where she was, then everything came back to her. She was staying at the inn to give Jamie and Cindy privacy, and Russell was a jerk, and she never wanted to see Adam again. That about summed up her life right now in one lightning strike of comprehension.
She got up, dressed, and headed downstairs. Might as well start her day. There certainly was enough work to keep everyone busy.
She entered the kitchen and saw the cook standing by the stove. Just standing.
That was a problem.
The cook should have already had things started by now.
“There you are, Susan. I’ve tried everything, but this stove is not going to come on no matter what I do. We have the old stove—well, the really old stove— as opposed to this old stove, but I won’t be able to keep up with all the orders with just the one.”
“I’ll put a notice in the menus that it’s just a continental breakfast today. I’ll call Julie and see if I can pick up more baked goods. We’ll have cereal, yogurt, granola, fruit and pastries.” Susan sighed. “I’ll have Jamie call Harry and see if he can fix the stove. He can fix just about anything. We don’t want to be buying a new stove now.”
Susan left the kitchen to type an insert for the menus and a sign to place at the receptionist stand letting their guests know there was only a light breakfast available today. At least they could heat up the bakery items in the oven… if that didn’t give out on her, too.
She called Julie, who answered on the first ring. “Julie, I need your help.”
Of course Julie agreed when she heard Susan’s predicament. “Sure, I can help you out. I’ll bring some extra over on my delivery and have Nancy start baking some more for the shop. It won’t be a problem. We haven’t been that busy.”
“I really appreciate it.”
“It’s not a problem, really. I’ll see you in just a bit.”
Susan clicked off the phone, printed up a paper that would do for a menu today—offering a twenty percent discount to their guests for the trouble—and went into the dining room to explain to the hostess what was happening.
By the time she got back to the kitchen, Julie, laden with baked goods, was walking in the back door. Susan hurried over and took a tray from her, then walked out to the van to bring in more items.
“Thank you, you really saved me this morning.” Susan looked at the trays of muffins, danish, and cinnamon rolls on the counter. “I don’t know what we’ll do about dinner. Might have to close if we can’t get the stove working.”
“I’m sorry.” Julie gave her a hug. “It’s always something, isn’t it? Like you need this on top of Russell’s shenanigans yesterday.”
Susan accepted her friend’s hug gratefully. This hadn’t been her best week. “Thanks for the bailout.”
“Listen, I gotta run. Let me know if I can do anything else to help.” Julie turned and slipped out the back door.
Jamie entered the kitchen. “What’s this I hear about the stove?”
“The cook can’t get it to work.”
“I’ll call Harry and see if he can drop by. I know we need to replace at least one of these old stoves with a new one, but it keeps getting pushed down the list. I’m thinking now is the time to get a new one. I guess we’ll shut down the restaurant until we can get one in if Harry can’t coax this one back to life. But either way, I think we should order a new one.”
“I’m afraid you’re right. There goes the money we had set aside to paint the outside this year.”
“Ah, let’s just say the weathered look adds to the inn’s charm.” Jamie grinned.
Susan laughed. “Okay, we’ll go with that bit of marketing until we can scare up more money for the painting.”
“I’ll go call Harry.”
“Thanks, son.” Susan watched Jamie walk away and looked around the kitchen. More than just the stove needed replacing, but they’d been getting by okay.
Getting by just fine, right?
* * *
“Thanks, Harry.” Jamie walked his friend out of the kitchen. “I guess we’ll have to order that new stove.”
“Well, I have it working for now, but, honestly, it’s not going to last much longer. I rewired it, but I make no guarantees.”
“I’ll be looking at new stoves today.”
“Sorry I don’t have better news.”
“No, I just appreciate your help, as always.” Jamie smiled at his friend. “Ever wish you weren’t the handiest guy that everyone in town knows?”
Harry laughed. “Nah, I don’t mind fixing things. Glad to help out. You owe me a beer for this one, though.”
“Okay, next time Cindy works late and I can get away, I’ll give you a call.”
“You know, you’re welcome to actually bring Cindy out with us. I’m thinking she’s here to stay.” Harry’s face crinkled into a big grin.
“Okay, we’ll set something up.”
Jamie walked back to his office and sat at the computer. He pulled up a few sites and looked at prices on new stoves. It wasn’t pretty.
What if Russell was right? It seemed like they were always just one repair away from disaster. His uncle hadn’t kept up with repairs and updates in his later years of running the inn. They were constantly playing catch-up now.
Jamie gritted his teeth. There was no way—no way—that Russell was going to be right. Jamie opened their bookkeeping program and looked at the numbers.
That wasn’t a pretty sight either. He got up and walked to the window, staring at the gathering storm clouds. He did not want to fail his mother. He’d find a way to make this work.
Chapter 13
Jamie headed to the mainland to visit the restaurant supply store and check out new stoves. His mom had left him to pick out a new one, but he wasn’t ready to make a decision. He wanted to talk to someone in person about their needs and figure out which one to order. It always made him second guess himself when they had major purchases at the inn.
He left the supply store more confused than when he’d been looking online. Or maybe he just hated spending the money. They had just replaced the hot water system that had finally given up on them this summer. Now the stove. All the carefully saved money was swirling away in a constant stream of repairs.
He decided to stop in at the Hamilton Hotel to see Cindy. Maybe she’d even have time for lunch. He pulled into a parking space and strode into the hotel lobby. The hotel that Delbert Hamilton had bought to rehab and make into one of the Hamilton Hotels was an older boutique hotel. Cindy said the hotel had great potential. They were planning on keeping it open while they did the renovations, then having a grand opening of it when it was ready to officially become a Hamilton Hotel.
He texted Cindy as he walked into the lobby. Within a minute she came hurrying out to the lobby and gave him a quick hug. “This is a nice surprise.” She smiled at him then looked at him closely. “But something is wrong, isn’t it? I can tell.”
“Just repairs and replacements at the inn. The stove is dying just like the hot water system died. There are so many old things at the inn that need to be updated.”
“I’m sorry.” Cindy’s face filled with concern.
He kissed her quickly. “It’s okay. I’ll figure it out. Anyway, do you have time for lunch before I head back to the island?”
“I have a bit of time. Let’s just grab something here in the restaurant. Is that okay?”
“That sounds perfect.” No better way to boost his spirits than spending time with his bride.
They walked into the restaurant and got a table. They ordered, but Cindy got called away. “I’ll be back in just a few minutes, I promise.”
“No, go ahead. I’m fine. I know you’re busy.”
“Just a few minutes.” She leaned over, kissed him, and hurried out of the restaurant. He watched her walk away, still a bit in shock at his good fortune that she was his w
ife.
* * *
Adam strode into the restaurant with a file of papers under his arm. He’d only had coffee for breakfast and his rumbling stomach reminded him it was time to eat. He’d have himself a working lunch. He looked over and saw Jamie sitting at a table by himself. Without thinking, Adam threaded his way over to Jamie’s table.
“Hello.” Adam stood in the aisle.
Jamie looked up in surprise, then his eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here? Following me?”
“No.” Adam gave a wry smile. “Mr. Burns and I are staying here at the Hamilton. Listen, Jamie, I want to apologize to you. I tried apologizing to your mother, but… well, she wasn’t having it. I don’t blame her. But I assure you I had no idea that Mr. Burns was your stepfather.”
Jamie sat stony faced.
“I didn’t mean for your mother to get hurt. That was the last thing I wanted.”
“Was it?” Jamie tilted his head. “I’d think the last thing you wanted was to not be able to get the hotel for Russell.”
“Okay, I deserve that, but I like your mother. I like her a lot. She’s charming, and funny, and I enjoy her company. The time I spent with her… well, it’s the best time I’ve had in a long, long time.”
“She’s hurt.” Jamie’s eyes glistened with a piercing glare.
“I know that, and I can’t apologize enough.”
“No, you can’t.” Jamie stared at him. “What is it you want? You already know our answer.”
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry how it all went down.”
Jamie searched Adam’s face. “Maybe you’re sorry, but it really doesn’t change things. My mother loves that inn. She works hard. I want more than anything in the world to make the inn a success. For her. To prove Russell wrong. For me. But mostly for my mother. She deserves that and so much more.”
Adam felt an immediate kinship to the young man, a bonding, because truth be told he felt the exact same way about his mother. She deserved so much better than life had dealt her, and he’d do anything to make her life better.
It didn’t help his already piled-on guilt that Jamie was just trying to do the same thing for Susan, that he was trying to do for his own mother. To give her what she needed. Jamie was a good son and Adam admired his fierce protectiveness of Susan.
Adam had a sinking feeling that he was never going to close this deal, never get the bonus he needed, and he’d hurt someone he’d come to care about in the process. Oh, and let’s not forget he’d let his mother down, too, when she needed him most.
* * *
Susan bit her lip as she paced back and forth in the office. Why was the county inspector here? They weren’t due for another inspection for quite a while. Had someone turned in a complaint?
The man was taking his own sweet time looking over everything. He’d already been in the kitchen… thank goodness they’d gotten the stove working. He’d noted that the elevator wasn’t working now. Bad timing. Unfortunately, one of their handicap accessible rooms was on the top floor. Susan had made sure they had one rehabbed room with a view that was handicapped accessible. But, of course, it wasn’t handicapped accessible if the elevator wasn’t working. Which meant it probably put them under the required number of handicapped rooms. It hadn’t been a problem because they hadn’t had two handicapped rooms requested at the same time when the elevator was out… but that probably wasn’t going to make a difference to the inspector.
Jamie walked into the office. “Hi, Mom.” He stopped and looked at her. “What’s wrong now?”
“Oh, Jamie, the inspector is here.”
“That’s not good. We’re trying hard to make sure we’re up to code… but why is he here again anyway? He was just here a few months ago. We passed everything.”
“I don’t know and that worries me. Do you think we had a complaint?”
“Well, none that we’ve heard about.” Jamie frowned.
Susan paced back across the office. “I wish he’d just finish up and give us his preliminary findings.”
“Excuse me.” The inspector stood in the doorway.
Susan pasted on a welcoming smile. “Hello, I hope you found everything fine just like you did a few months ago. Was there a problem? Is that why you’re back?”
“A hotel is always subject to inspection. We try to do surprise visits every so often to just check on things.” The man held out a piece of paper. “You have quite a few violations now.”
Susan took the paper and had to stifle a gasp. The paper held a long, long list of items. She looked at the man. “You found nothing just a few months ago.”
“Must have missed a few then.” The man shifted from foot to foot and looked down at the ground.
Jamie took the paper from her. “Are you joking? Look at some of these things.”
“Well, they’ll need to be fixed. I understand the non-working elevator is a common occurrence. I’m going to suggest that you be required to rehab another first floor room to be handicapped accessible, along with fixing those items.”
“What?”
“There are laws, ma’am. You need a certain percentage of your guest rooms designated handicapped. With an undependable elevator, I’m afraid we can’t count your upstairs room.”
“Of course not.” Jamie rolled his eyes, and Susan didn’t miss the heavy sarcasm dripping from each word.
“We’re going to have to downgrade your rating on the restaurant, too, until these items are fixed. I’ll send the written report and be back to check on the changes.” The man turned and left.
Susan frowned. “That whole visit was strange. We never have more than minor write-ups. Look at some of these. They are costly to do.” Susan sank onto her chair, frustrated.
Jamie scowled. “You don’t think Russell had something to do with this, do you?”
Susan looked at her son in surprise. “I don’t know. He wouldn’t do that, would he?” She thought back on hearing all the discussions at the business dinners she’d held when she was married to Russell. The men did laugh about ruthless moves they made in their dealings.
Susan set the page on the desk and turned to Jamie. “I’m afraid you might be right. Russell might stop at nothing if he wants the inn badly enough.”
“The guy is a heartless jerk. Always has been. Always will be,” Jamie growled the words. “Well, he’s not going to win this time. I’m so over the man. We’ll figure something out, Mom, I promise.”
She only hoped her son was right.
Chapter 14
Adam tapped his phone to answer the incoming call. “Hi, Mom.”
“Adam, I thought you were only going to be gone a few days.” His mother’s voice sounded concerned.
“I was. I’m sorry. Things got… complicated. It’s taking longer than I thought.”
“I just wanted to be sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine, Mom.” He should have called her more regularly, just one more thing he’d messed up this week. He’d only talked to her once since he’d gotten to Belle Island. “I think it will still be a few more days.”
“Okay, son. You do what you need to do. I’m fine here. I just wanted to check and make sure everything was okay with you.”
He should be checking on her, not her checking on him. She sounded fine, but he’d feel better if he spoke with her caretaker. “Can I talk to Martha?”
“She ran to the grocery store. I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”
Adam knew that Martha wouldn’t have left for long. He’d been lucky to get her to stay with his mother while he was out of town. Usually Martha just came by for an hour or so each day to check on his mother while he was at work. “Okay, I’ll call her later and check in.”
“Okay, I’ll see you soon.”
“Bye, Mom. Love you.”
The phone went dead and he sank into the chair in the corner of his room. He set the phone on the table and sunk his head into his hands. His mother deserved so much better and he was going to make sure she got
it.
But was he going to have to destroy Susan and Jamie’s life in order to give his mother the life she deserved?
* * *
Jamie set the table while Cindy finished making the meal. It had been days since they’d actually both been able to sit down for dinner together.
“Can you pour us some wine?” Cindy turned from the stove.
“Yep, sure will.” Jamie poured two glasses and set them on the table. Cindy had added a pretty tablecloth and matching placemats. She always had some pretty flowers or other centerpiece on the table, too. She liked things arranged and neat. He and his mother had always just eaten on the bare table, and even then it was a rare occurrence. He had to admit he’d eaten standing up at the sink more times than he cared to admit. At least the window over the sink had a view of the ocean…
Cindy sat across from him and passed him the shrimp risotto she’d made. “Here you go. Hope you like it. I do love that we can get so much fresh fish here. I’m learning more recipes using seafood.”
Jamie took a bite. “This is really good.”
Cindy beamed. “Glad you like it.”
Jamie was pretty sure he could spend the rest of his life like this and be the luckiest man alive. A wife he loved, a job he enjoyed, and quiet evenings like this.
Cindy took a sip of her wine. “So you ran into Adam at the Hamilton?”
“I did. He kept apologizing, but that doesn’t really fix it, does it?”
“I really think he’s telling the truth. He actually seems like a nice man.”
“For a nice man, he certainly is causing enough problems.” Jamie set down his fork. “And now we have more problems. The inspector came today and gave us a long list of things to fix.”
“Really?”
“Really. And he downgraded the restaurant until he comes back and sees the fixes. We’ve never had a list like this. Plus, you know Mom, she keeps the kitchen spotless and is always on everyone for safe handling of food and keeping it clean. She was shocked.”
