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He pulled on his shirt as he climbed back inside the cab and a moment later, he headed down Main Street toward the inn. This time of day was quiet along the otherwise busy street. Most offices didn’t open until nine and the shops around ten. The pace of small-town life suited him just fine. He waved to Jessica, seeing her load her delivery van outside Delicious Delicacies, and she smiled back at him as she worked. She must love having Sarah in town for a while. Jessica, Sarah, and Whitney had been inseparable through the school years. They were all so different personality-wise that they seemed to complement one another. Balance one another out. Jessica was the bubbly, optimistic, friendly one who was as sweet as her baked goods. Whitney was a determined go-getter with a fierce loyalty to her family and friends. And Sarah was the quirky, lovable, slightly self-deprecating optimist often masquerading as a pessimist.
Or at least that’s who she used to be. He couldn’t really claim to know her anymore. After high school, she’d left Blue Moon Bay for college and had never looked back. They were Facebook friends, but he wasn’t a fan of social media, so he hadn’t really used the platform to spy on old acquaintances.
Wes slowed the truck as he approached the vacated office space on Main Street that used to house his office. TheFor Leasesign had gone up on the property again the week before. Pulling to the side of the street, he got out. Cupping his hands around his face, he peered in through the front window. The thousand-square-foot space was small, but it suited his company perfectly. A comfortable reception area, two offices, a boardroom, bathroom, and kitchenette. Nothing fancy, but at least it wasn’t his kitchen. A law firm had moved into the space after he’d vacated it three years before, but now it was available again.
If there was any way…
The inn renovations might be enough to secure first and last month’s rent on the space, but he’d need to generate more future business to ensure he could sustain the payments. Real estate on Main Street was higher than other parts of town, but the visibility was worth it.
His goal was to expand his company from repairs and renovations to new construction projects, new developments on vacant property around town. Unfortunately, he needed the money to invest to get started, and so far there was nothing on the horizon.
Climbing back into his truck, he headed home.
“Morning, Carmen,” Wes said, entering the kitchen twenty minutes later, the smell of banana bread making his mouth water. “Something smells amazing,” he said. He really didn’t deserve Carmen. She not only kept track of the books, she cared for Marissa and insisted on spoiling them with her delicious baked goods.
He’d always been close to his only aunt. His parents had both been workaholics, climbing corporate ladders for big corporations in town, and therefore his aunt had stepped in to help raise him over the years.
She peered at him over the rim of her glasses as she held up an unpaid invoice that had been sitting on her desk for weeks. “Did you tell Mrs. Sampson that you wouldn’t charge her for painting her deck?”
Wes opened the fridge for a bottle of water, avoiding his aunt’s disapproving stare. “Mrs. Sampson is eighty-six years old.”
“And she’s using her age to take advantage of everyone in town,” Carmen said, waving the invoice at him.
That might be true, but no one could call the sweet old woman out on it. A former elementary school teacher, Mrs. Sampson had taught Wes in the fourth grade. She volunteered on all the committees and was just as much of a landmark as the statue of the town’s first mayor in the center of Main Street. “The deck was small. It only took a few hours.”
“Every few hours of work adds up, and no one should expect you to work for free.” Carmen sighed. “Look, honey, I know you have a good heart, but no more freebies, okay?”
He nodded. “You’re right.” It wouldn’t be easy to start charging all the familiar faces in town, but if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have the business much longer. He couldn’t keep making plans to build his company if he wasn’t proactively taking the right steps toward success. “I should take a shower and head out…” He wanted to get an early start on the inn. Overhearing Sarah’s conversation the day before with her boss, he needed to ensure the renovations were done as soon as possible.
Getting her out of town quickly had nothing to do with the fact that his body’s reaction to her the day before had him slightly freaked out.
“Hey, honey, any chance you could bring Marissa with you today? I forgot about a doctor’s appointment I have this afternoon,” Carmen said.
Wes frowned. Doctor’s appointment? Those words stopped his heart these days. Since so much of Kelly’s last year had been spent at hospitals and medical clinics, Wes tried to avoid them at all costs. Whenever Marissa so much as got a sniffle, he was on high alert. “You okay?” It was probably none of his business, but he couldn’t not ask.
She nodded as she reached for the oven mitts. “Just fine, honey. Yearly check-up, that’s all. Nothing to worry about.”
He swallowed hard. Kelly had said the same thing after the first couple of appointments. She hadn’t admitted she was sick—really sick—until she’d had no other choice but to tell him. “Okay. Well, yeah, of course I’ll take Marissa. I’ll get her.”
“Great. I’ll package some of this to go,” she said, setting the banana bread on top of the stove.
“Thanks.”
“Oh, and Wes,” she said as he turned to leave the kitchen.
“Yeah?”
“You need to tell Marissa she can’t go to that science camp this year. Time’s running out,” she said, cutting into the loaf.
Shit. His aunt was right. He needed to grow a set and be honest with his daughter.
Chapter Six
The delivery truck was right on time. Bringing the B&B into the twenty-first century made sense. Sarah could still preserve its charm and uniqueness, while transforming it into a property people would want to buy. She wasn’t installing virtual reality or anything…not yet anyway. Just the basics that guests expected from other vacation properties.
She’d done her research. Countless searches and online tourism review sites had provided all the data she’d needed to finalize a list of upgrades that would make Dove’s Nest more appealing to travelers and help establish it as the place to visit along Highway 1.
A few rush overnight order shipments had cost more than she’d originally planned on spending, but adding these elements to the renovations were increasing her confidence level, and they would only help her secure the best price when the time came to sell.
