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Maybe some things just weren’t meant to be.
Years ago, Dove’s Nest had helped her grandmother cope with heartache and loss, and now this new event venue would help her heal from her disappointment as well.
She wiped a tear from her cheek as she silently said her own goodbye to the man who’d meant so much to her grandmother; then she turned to head back.
Her cell phone chimed with a new email from Whitney, and Sarah smiled to see the new reopening brochure her friend had redesigned for the inn. Sarah gulped. This was it. She was doing it. She was staying in her hometown and taking a chance at her own dream, while preserving her grandmother’s.
Climbing into her car, she took her time driving along the coast toward the inn. For so many years, she’d been desperate to leave. She’d always felt out of place in the small town and hadn’t thought she could accomplish the things she wanted living there. She’d been wrong. She’d just needed to carve out a place for herself and let the community embrace her.
Just like they were embracing the new Dove’s Nest.
She pulled into the driveway, and seeing Wes’s truck parked in front, she swallowed hard. He must be there to fix the cellar door. She hadn’t really seen him since their argument, and the idea of seeing him now had her chest tightening even more. Staying in Blue Moon Bay and not being with him was going to be torture. But she’d made her decision.
Checking her reflection in the rearview mirror, she climbed out of her car and slowly made her way to the front door. A deep breath and she entered.
The ominous sound of the buzz saw had her eyes widening as she entered the foyer. She frowned as she moved in farther and glanced up the stairway to the guest bedrooms.
Wes stood on the top step, dressed in his jeans and paint-splattered T-shirt, his utility belt on his waist as he used the saw to cut into the landing where she’d fallen through. What the hell was he doing? Destroying the place? Her heart raced as she hurried up the stairs toward him. “Wes!”
He continued to work, cutting a huge piece of wood out of the landing.
“Wes, what the hell are you doing?” She’d just decided to keep the inn and now she’d have to pay him to repair the landing again?
He finished cutting and turned off the saw. Removing his safety goggles, he turned to face her. “Hi,” he said, looking nervous.
He should be nervous. “Hi?” How about an explanation for destroying her newly renovated staircase?
“So, I heard a rumor that you’ve decided to keep the place,” he said, his thoughts on the subject undecipherable.
“So, naturally you decide to destroy it?” Her pulse raced. He looked so freaking good and despite the situation, she had to hold herself back from rushing toward him.
“I’m not destroying it. I needed to show you something,” he said, bending to lift the piece of wood from the landing. He turned it around and handed it to her.
With a slightly shaky hand, she took it. Then frowned as she flipped it over. He’d written something on the plank of wood.
“A lot of builders like to leave their mark somewhere in their builds and renovations. A little signature on the drywall…a family photo…”
Sarah squinted to read what he’d written.
The incomparable Sarah Lewis was here.
Her laugh was more of a half sob as she stared at it, feeling new tears well in her eyes.
Wes put the saw down and moved toward her. “So it’s true. You’re staying?”
She nodded. “Yes. I’ve decided this…place, Dove’s Nest, is too important to let go of,” she said, fighting to keep her emotions from overwhelming her.
The last few days had taken their toll, and as ready as she was to move forward with her plans, she was still as conflicted as ever.
“So this decision to stay had nothing to do with me? With us?”
Her heart pounded. Was he saying there was still a chance for them?
Just days before, he was willing to let her go. She refused to let her guard down so quickly this time, but she couldn’t lie to him. “It wasn’tnotbecause of you…of us,” she said quietly, glancing at the piece of wood in her hands.
He took several strides toward her, and his chest rose and fell as he took several deep breaths. “I was wrong, Sarah. About everything. You were right about Marissa needing freedom and space to be who she is…and about me needing to let go of the past and tradition and embrace the new.”
She shook her head. “I understood you being angry about the app. I should have been more careful—”
