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If Josie remembered correctly, her brother had dated Sara’s older sister in high school. It hadn’t lasted long, but that was many years ago. “I don’t know for sure. Why do you ask?”
“Because she’s moving back to the island, and she wants to get in touch with him. She’s asking me to be the conduit.” There was a distinct frown on her face.
Josie’s immediate reaction was not to get involved in her brother’s dating life. It was a sure way to stir up family drama. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
“Is he dating anyone?”
Josie shrugged. She didn’t know of anyone he was interested in, but that didn’t mean a whole lot. Her brothers didn’t share much about their dating life. “You’d have to ask him.”
Color bloomed in Sara’s cheeks. “Okay. Thanks.”
Sara moved away to help a guest. Josie had no idea what that was all about, but she had a feeling Kent was going to find out really soon. And she was staying clear of the whole thing. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder why Sara’s sister didn’t contact her brother directly.Interesting.
Thinking that at last the coast was clear for her to step away from the inn, she saw Harvey walk in the door. He wasn’t usually there during daylight hours. She was surprised to see him and worried something was wrong—like he might be retiring. She wasn’t ready to replace him—no one could replace him.
“Hey, Harvey, what are you doing here?”
“Can’t a guy just stop by and say hi?” He sent her a warm smile.
She arched a brow. He was up to something. She just wasn’t sure what it was. “Is something wrong? Do you want to go to my office to talk?”
“Relax. There’s nothing wrong.” His voice held a firm tone.
“Then why are you really here?”
“I need a little advice.”
“Sure. About what?” She had absolutely no idea what advice he would need from her. Usually, it was her going to him since he’d worked at the inn most of his life. He’d worked most of the inn’s positions from janitor in his youth to front desk clerk to manager.
“You know my wife passed a while back.” As Josie nodded, he said, “Well, I was thinking about being more social.”
Her mouth gaped. “Harvey, are you telling me you want to start dating? That’s wonderful. I think you should go for it.”
She knew how lonely he’d been without his wife. At times she thought he’d never be ready to move on.
Above his white beard his cheeks took on a rosy hue. “Not exactly. I was thinking of something a little less.”
“I understand.” She wanted to give him the best advice that she could. “Why don’t you ask the person to meet you for coffee? And then you can let things progress from there. If it goes well, you might consider having lunch together. If it doesn’t go well, you can move on with no hard feelings.”
He ran his fingers over his beard. “Coffee, huh?”
She nodded. “Or ice cream.”
His eyes widened. “I love ice cream.”
“There you go. Good luck!”
“Thanks.” He smiled and moved on.
She glanced at the time. It was definitely past her quitting time, and at last she could meet up with Lane. She rushed to her office and shut everything down. And then she was out the door. Nothing was going to delay her now. She couldn’t wait any longer to see Lane.
She rushed along the garden path to the bungalow. When she reached the front door, she let herself inside. There was no sign of Lane.
Perhaps he’d fallen asleep after traveling. When she flew to San Diego to visit him, it wore her out. She never figured out how sitting idle on a plane for hours could be so tiring, but it was for her. She checked the couch; he wasn’t there. She made her way to the bedroom, but he wasn’t there either.
When she made her way back to the great room, she noticed the glass door leading to the deck was open. Her steps quickened at the thought of feeling his arms wrapped around her. And yet when she stepped outside, he wasn’t there either. But there were red rose petals on the deck.
They trailed over to the side and down the steps. Josie was intrigued. A smile pulled at her lips as she followed the rose petals to the beach. It was there she found Lane. He was holding a long-stemmed red rose.
