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Chapter Nine
Armed with a list of food,cleaning supplies, and items to start basic repairs, Holly and Nelly piled into Nelly's little Honda. It wasn't the most spacious of vehicles, but it had more room than Holly's Jag did. Plus, Holly hadn't had a chance to make it over to the shop and get the new tire put on yet.
As Holly explained the various things she wanted to tackle first to get the inn back up to snuff, she noticed Nelly perking up a bit more. It was almost like her mother was starting to find her purpose in life again. And in a way, maybe they both were. On the way to the store, Nelly confirmed Holly's suspicion— she somehow hadn't hired the necessary staff for the restaurant for this summer due to not having enough funds. She did get Nelly to call Chef Stevens and apologize and promise to get him at least one additional staff right away even if Holly had to fork out the funds until things were figured out.
It was a little late to be hiring on, but there had to be people out there still looking for work. Or people looking to swap to a different place. That was one thing the island was almost never short on— people wanting to make a bit of extra cash. The biggest question was how much extra cash did the inn have on hand? If the appearance of the place was anything to go by, the business probably hadn't been booming.
She made a mental note to sit down with Uncle Roger and go over the finances, so she could get a clearer picture of the situation.
Hours went by, but the two of them managed to get everything on Holly's list. It wasn't everything they would need, but it was the most important things. No matter how badly Holly wished she could fix everything all at once, she had to prioritize if she wanted to make any progress at all.
"Let's get lunch before we go back," Nelly suggested as they pulled out of the grocery store parking lot.
Holly shrugged and then nodded. She hadn't gotten to eat very much of her breakfast before she'd had to take over the kitchen, so some lunch was definitely due. They decided on this little cabana-like restaurant not too far away from where they were.
The place was busy since it was right in the middle of the lunch rush. But even with that, they didn't have to wait very long to get a table. Nor did they wait long for a young waitress to come over and take their order. Holly watched the woman carefully, something nipping in the back of her mind. It was like she knew the girl somehow, but considering the girl couldn't have been much older than twenty-two or twenty-three, there was almost no way for Holly to have known her.
At least, not until a few minutes later when the door leading into the kitchen opened and another woman walked out. At that moment, time ground to a sudden halt. Melissa. Now it was abundantly clear why the young woman looked so familiar. She was the spitting image of her mother, Holly's childhood best friend.
Melissa made a beeline toward their table; a broad grin etched across her face. "Holly Archer!" the woman squealed, and Holly barely had time to stand before she was enveloped in a bear hug that threatened to break her ribs.
Holly hugged her right back. She was grinning now, too, her heart beating rapidly. Just like everyone else she had known in the Keys, she hadn't seen Melissa in years. But God, it felt so good to be with her again, to see the shimmering excitement in her eyes.
"God, Melissa!" Holly gushed, trying to contain her own excitement. She felt a bit like the girl from the front desk right then. "How have you been? What are you doing here?"
Melissa took a step back and laughed. Still grinning, she waved an arm around, gesturing toward the restaurant. "I own the place! Well, alongside my husband. But yeah, we bought it a couple of years ago, fixed it up, and now we've got a booming little restaurant on our hands!"
"Well, good for you! The place looks amazing. And that was your daughter waiting on us, wasn't it?" It didn't seem right, Melissa having a grown adult daughter. But then, Holly had two adult kids of her own. God, where had the time gone?
Melissa nodded eagerly. Holly didn't have to prompt her before she grabbed a chair and dragged it over to their table. "It is. She's really grown up, hasn't she? And you should see Todd! He's over six feet now. It makes me feel tiny when I stand next to him."
Somehow, Holly had forgotten Melissa had a girl and boy like she did. Maybe there was some truth to what Will had said the day before she had left. She really had neglected the people in her life for the sake of her career. It may have been too late to change the past, but dang it, she could still change the future, right?
As it turned out, Melissa only had a few minutes to sit and talk with them. It was a shame, really, since Holly hadn't seen her in so long. She desperately wanted to reconnect with her former best friend and see if maybe she could rekindle the relationship the two of them had had all those years ago.
"Hey, we're having a bit of a party tomorrow night," Melissa said as she stood up. She slid her pilfered chair back in front of the table it belonged to and then turned to face them again. "It's going to be here at the Cabana, but it's locals-only, you know? You should come hang out. I'm sure everyone would be excited to see you again. You know how much we all miss having you around the island."
Holly blinked at her in surprise. How excited would anybody, other than Melissa, of course, be about her returning to the Keys? While she didn't think there was much animosity around town, other than between her and her family, she didn't think anyone else would really be all that overjoyed to have her back.
But with Melissa standing right there, she couldn't very well just tell her no, could she? Besides, what else did she have to do? It wasn't like she could spend every waking moment working on the inn. Not unless she wanted to become as rundown as her mother had become.
"Sure, I'll be there," Holly said, forcing a smile. Just because she was apprehensive about the party didn't mean she had to let Melissa know that. Besides, if no one else cared about her being back in town, at least she would get to spend some more time with Melissa, right? That alone would be worth the effort.
Once Melissa left, though, Holly turned an accusatory glare toward her mother. She had sat there quietly, smiling through the entire encounter, not letting out so much as a peep. That was all Holly needed to know this had been a set-up. "You knew Melissa and her husband ran this place, didn't you?"
Nelly tried to hide her smile and shrugged. "It must've slipped my mind," she insisted.
Holly wanted to stay mad at her mother. She didn't like being set up. But it was hard to stay angry. Seeing Melissa again, getting to talk to her for a few minutes... It was like she had gone back in time for those brief moments. She had been transported back to before her life had gone to crap.
Sure, back then, she had thought her life was horrible and miserable, but boy, had she been wrong. And now, she would have given anything to go back there, to fix things before they could collapse under her.
Before she could say anything else, Melissa's daughter returned, carrying plates of food for the two of them. She left them on the table with a wink and then slipped off to wait on other tables. Holly may not have recognized her right away, but apparently, the young woman had known Holly.
That had to be a good sign, right?
At least, that's what Holly wanted to believe. She needed some hope right about then.
