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He got out of his chair and moved to the window overlooking the southwest corner of the wide, sandy beach. Across the lake treed lots and tapering hills gave way to agricultural spots above. Thick stands of green covered the farthest hills, and the movement of boats, personal watercraft and sailboats dotted the long, slim finger of Canandaigua Lake.
She hadn’t come looking for Addie. He and Addie had stumbled onto Josie because of his job, nothing more sinister than that.
His parents needed to know the truth.
He hated that reality. But to keep it from them would be wrong, especially now that others knew what Ginger had done.
And Josie…
He pinched the bridge of his nose, because he owed her an apology. Maybe she’d talk to him. Maybe she wouldn’t. That would be her choice. But he couldn’t leave without apologizing, because if this woman hadn’t been willing to save Addie’s life twice, then he’d have no daughter. A gentleman owned his blame and his shame, and in this case, Jacob claimed both. But first, he’d face his parents.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Friday would be Jacob’s last day at the inn. Josie had seen the internal memo thanking him for his service and wishing him well in future endeavors.
He’d be gone. And Addie would be gone.
She couldn’t think about it, but she couldn’t stop thinking about it, either, wishing she could have one more moment. One more glimpse. But she’d made a promise, and if there was one thing Josie had learned to do, it was to keep her promises.
Terry stepped in to take over at four on Thursday. Josie shed her sauce-splattered work apron and ducked out the back. She ran straight into Jacob’s parents and Addie, coming toward her as they aimed for the beach. “Young lady, I was hoping to run into you again!” Bob Weatherly moved her way, smiling.
Josie had nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. She’d promised Jacob she’d stay away from Addie, but she drank in the sight of her as Sheila and Addie approached. “You guys must have had a fun day.”
“Amazing!” Addie laughed, and then she did it. She surged forward and grabbed Josie around the middle and wouldn’t let go, a hug Josie wished could go on forever. “Oh, Josie, it was so much fun! We went down to the fish hatchy place where they have so many teeny, tiny little fishies and they’re all just babies! And then they take them and they let them go in the—” Her forehead knit as she searched for the word.
“Creek,” Josie supplied.
“Yes, you know this stuff!” Addie had loosened her grip, but then hugged her again, the best present ever. “So they let them go into the creek and they all go—” She let go of Josie and frowned at Bob. “Where do they go, Pawpaw?”
“The lake. And they grow up in the lake and when they want to have baby fish, they swim back up the very same stream they came from.”
“No way! Really?” Josie couldn’t help it. She feigned surprise as she lifted a brow. “They know which one to go to?”
“Yes! This is the coolest part! They go to that very stream and swim up and then the fish hatchy place knows they’re doing a good job.”
Sheila put a hand on her shoulder. “Hatchery,” she corrected in a soft, Southern drawl. And Addie beamed up at her and recreated the word with all the Yankee twang she’d been using for months. “Hatchery.”
Sheila sighed, but smiled, too.
“A fine summation,” Bob told her, laughing. “So Josie, I was looking around this area, and it seems there have been a bunch of barbecue places scattered around, but not much longevity in them. Why is that?”
“You know the truth in this business better than anyone,” she replied. “It’s hard to get a restaurant up and running and make enough money to keep it running unless you’ve got really low overhead. And that’s how I started out, with a no-rent, I’ll-fix-it-up sweat equity deal. Start-up costs can be a crusher.”
“And yet you thrived when others failed.”
She started to protest, but she didn’t dare carry this chance meeting longer. She made a promise to Jacob, and she didn’t want to break it. “Good timing, perhaps.”
