“It’s not exactly a dump. It just needs some sprucing.” Rose glared at Constance for a second then smiled again. “Now, here’s what we propose.”
As Rose listed off ideas on how to spruce up the town, some of the others in the room got excited too. Soon people were making suggestions of their own. The excitement was contagious, and Maddie found herself throwing in a few ideas too. Even though she’d just arrived in town, she felt at home there. Maybe she felt a kinship with the people who were just regular folks with their dreams tied up in the town. She wanted to help them get their dreams back. And maybe she wanted to find a dream of her own.
“It’s not just that the town is off the main road,” Lorna Baxter said once the conversation died down. “It’s that people don’t want to drive here because there’s not much to see. For the same drive, they can go to Bar Harbor or Old Orchard Beach. We need to give them a reason to come.”
“Pffft…” Dwight spouted from the back. “That takes work and planning.”
Work and planning? Those were Maddie’s specialties. Before she realized what she was doing, she stood up and opened her mouth. “Don’t worry about the work or the planning. I think I have an idea. We need an event.”
* * *
Jules stared at Maddie.Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes sparkled with excitement. Did she really have an idea, and had she just volunteered to do all the work and planning?
Dwight spoke, his expression skeptical. “An event? You mean like a fair or something? How would we do that? We’re all just hanging on by a thread here.”
“Something better than a fair.” Maddie tapped her pen on the day planner she was holding open in her lap. “And it won’t cost a lot. Maybe a little for advertising.”
“I don’t know. Why would anyone come there? The place isn’t as inviting as it used to be,” Constance said.
“It won’t take that much to fix it up,” Rose said.
“But why bother?” a man leaning against the wall asked.
Leena jumped up from her seat in the front row and turned to address the crowed. “Why bother? Because this is our town, and we love it. Because we’ve spent our lives here building our businesses. Because we can revive this town and have it back to the way it once was. That’s why we should bother.”
The room was silent.
Deena cleared her throat. “I think we should at least try.”
Cassie nodded. “I agree. What do we have to lose?”
Dwight made a face. “Okay, I guess. I had a lot of respect for Rena, so as long as these girls”—Dwight waved his hand toward Jules, Maddie, and Gina—“are going to do right by the motel, I guess we should give it a shot. A town ain’t no good without a motel.”
“Okay, it’s settled, then. We’ll let Maddie come up with a proposal then reconvene.”
The words were barely out of Rose’s mouth when everyone pushed their chairs back and rushed toward the food table. As they stood in the aisle, waiting for the table to clear, Jules turned to Maddie. “Where did that come from?”
“I have no idea. I just blurted it out.” Maddie grimaced, but then her expression turned determined. “But it felt like the right thing, and I’m sure I’ll figure out something. The town and the motel need it.” Maddie’s gaze drifted over Jules’s shoulder, and her brows rose. “Looks like someone wants to talk to you.”
“What?” Jules turned to see Nick coming toward her.
“Hi.” Nick looked good, casual in a T-shirt and jeans, which was a difference from the suit he’d worn at the bank.
“Hi. Maddie and I were just—” Jules turned back only to find empty space where Maddie had been. “Oh well, she was here a minute ago.”
Nick laughed. “Guess I scared her off.”
“Guess so.” Jules smiled, feeling a little awkward. Why had he come over? Maybe he had news about the loan.
“So how do you like our little town so far?” he asked.
“It’s great. Needs some work like the motel.”
“Sounds like your cousin has a good idea for that.”
Jules turned to look for Maddie. She was over at the food table talking to the welcome-wagon ladies and some other townsfolk. “Yeah, she does. We need to attract guests at the motel to pay off the loan that I hope we’ll be getting.”
Nick looked uneasy for a split second before a coughing sound drew their attention to a man seated in a folding chair against the wall. He was eating a piece of cake and appeared to be ignoring them.
