Page 17 of Believing in You

Chapter Nine

Nyla snuggled deeper into her heavy coat as she trudged up the walkway to her parents’ three-story bed and breakfast. The Chicago Greystone, with its Italian architectural style was gorgeous inside and out and had seven-bedroom suites, a huge eat-in kitchen, dining room, living room, and a library. If that wasn’t enough, there was a two-bedroom, two-bathroom innkeeper’s cottage directly behind it where her parents lived.

Jogging up the concrete stairs, Nyla entered the enclosed foyer of the B & B. When she opened the interior door, she was immediately greeted with an aroma of something savory and sweet. Hopefully, it was French toast because she could already envision eating the thick slices of sweet bread that tasted of vanilla, cinnamon, whip cream, and maple syrup.

She was getting hungrier just thinking about the delicious treat. Her youngest sister, Dorian, was a master in the kitchen, even if she hadn’t had formal training. No matter what she’d prepared, it was guaranteed to be good.

Setting her bag down, Nyla took off her gloves, hat, and scarf, surprised there was no one at the front desk. She could see the wide stairs that led to the second and third floors, a long hallwayto the side of the guest desk and living room to her right. In there, the brick fireplace had a fire going, but no one appeared to be in the room. Besides voices coming from the kitchen, the building was quiet.

Nyla made quick work of shedding her coat, and as she stored the items in the coat closet, she heard footsteps tapping against the hardwood floors. Then her mother appeared from the back of the house where the kitchen was located.

Virginia Priestly, dressed in a nice sweater and pants set with her hair piled on top of her head, was the ultimate hostess. She always greeted everyone with a smile, and it was impossible not to smile back. Some of the stress that Nyla had been carrying around for the last couple of days began melting away.

“Hi, baby. You look tired,” her mother said as she wrapped her into a hug.

“Hey, Mom.” Nyla’s voice was muffled as she held on tightly.

She closed her eyes and breathed in her mother’s comforting scent. She was always baking, either for their B & B guests or for the family, and she often smelled like fresh baked bread or something sweet.

“Thanks for the hug. It was just what I needed,” Nyla said as she stepped out of her mother’s embrace. “I’m surprised you’re not at the cottage resting up before you guys start dinner.”

“We had a full house this morning and fell behind schedule. Now that everyone is out and about the city, we’re playing catch up. I’m glad you stopped by. Dorian is in the kitchen, and your brother said he was going to stop by during one of his breaks. Are you hungry?”

“Definitely.”

They started toward the kitchen, but then the front desk phone rang.

“Go on back. Your sister is baking, and I’m sure there’s still some breakfast left.”

Nyla stopped at the half bath and washed her hands before going to the kitchen.

“Hey, sis. It smells amazing in here,” Nyla said, giving her little sister a quick hug, and then smirked at the apron she was wearing that read,I know what I’m doing. I watched a YouTube video.

“Hey yourself. I’m glad you’re here, so you can help eat up the rest of this French toast. You might want to grab what you want now. You know once your greedy brother gets here he’ll eat everything.”

Dorian, who was two years younger, had a slightly lighter skin tone, but she and Nyla were often mistaken for twins. They were the same height and size, but Dorian usually wore her hair in long braids.

She had recently started working for the B & B full time after deciding she needed to part ways from her marketing job. Their parents were thrilled to have one of their children help with the operations of the bed and breakfast. Last Nyla heard, Dorian planned to take over the business once their parents retired, which they’d been talking about more and more lately.

“I’m glad I got here before Zion,” Nyla said as she prepared a plate, happy to see there were sausages, breakfast potatoes, and fruit to go along with the French toast. She hadn’t eaten since the night before, and even then, it had only been finger food at the club.

Lack of food might be why she’d been dealing with a low-grade headache since she woke up. That and maybe the stress of realizing she was still twenty-three thousand dollars short of Gordon’s asking price for the club.

The one thing she didn’t want to do was take out a loan to buy the business, but it looked like she might have to take out a small one after all. At least her credit was solid, and she shouldn’t have a problem getting it, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Cree’swords from the other day. If Nyla spent her life savings on the business, what would she live on?

Don’t give up, a small voice in the back of her mind said.

There were still a few months for a miracle to happen, and since she still believed in them, she’d hope for the best. Currently, her only other option, other than taking out a loan, was to get some of her family to invest.

She shook her head. Nope, she wasn’t going that route, and she was going to stop worrying. Starting now.

“Where’s Dad?” Nyla asked as she sat at the table. Her father loved staying busy, and knowing him, he was probably somewhere in the house repairing something.

“He was in here a few minutes ago.” Dorian grabbed oven mitts and removed what looked like blueberry muffins from the oven. “He’s probably working on his to-do list, which he claims is long enough for three people to tackle. Of course, when Mom suggests he hire help, he insists he doesn’t need any.”

“That sounds like him.”

Nyla squinted against the sunlight pouring through the open blinds and right into her eyes. She stood and closed them, and before she reclaimed her seat, her brother Zion strolled into the kitchen.

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