Page 20 of Second Chance at Sunshine Inn

Everleigh dropped a pair of socks in the suitcase, then took Mom’s hand in hers. “What’s wrong? Do you not want me to stay at the inn?”

“Oh no, it’s not that. Staying there might be a good idea. But being there and going through Alana’s stuff was just too much for me today. Do you think you can finish the job while you’re there? I trust you to decide what you think we should keep.”

“Sure.” Everleigh gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Are you okay, Mom?”

She wiped her eyes. “I just miss her.”

“I do too.” She smiled as a funny story from Alana made its way through her mind. “You know, Alana told me about that disastrous double blind date you two had when you were in college.”

A burst of laughter escaped Mom’s mouth, sending a happy glow through Everleigh. “I can’t believe she told you that story.”

“She explained how you went to meet these guys for dinner, and after you took one look at them, you wanted to escape out the back door.”

Mom continued to laugh. “That’s true. They weren’t what we expected, but one of the guys recognized Alana and called us over to the table. We didn’t want to be rude, so we had a couple of Cokes with them. But then the boys turned out to be a bit rude themselves.”

“So you fled the scene?”

“We sure did!” She snickered. “We excused ourselves and went tothe ladies’ room. Then we crawled out a window, got into Alana’s old Volvo station wagon, and hightailed it out of there!”

Mom’s laughter was music to Everleigh’s ears.

“I wish I had been a fly on the wall for that,” Everleigh said.

“It was a sight.” Mom wiped her eyes. “I was never very athletic. I half jumped, half fell out the window and landed in a puddle.”

Everleigh grinned and rested her elbows on her thighs. She loved hearing stories about when Mom and Alana were young.

“We had some wonderful adventures together.”

Then Mom’s laughter faded, and her expression became serious again. “Please think long and hard before you sell the inn, okay?”

“I will.” Everleigh paused for a beat. “But you need to trust me on this. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Alana.” Leaning over, she hugged her mother.

“I know.” Mom stood. “We still need to go shopping at the boardwalk.”

“We will. I promise.”

After Mom left the room, Everleigh continued packing. She would show everyone how she was going to make Alana proud. She just needed to start by convincing Cade that to best honor Alana’s legacy, they needed to sell the Sunshine Inn.

Chapter 6

The following morning, the sound of a vehicle driving toward the inn drew Cade’s attention from the foyer to the front of the house. He finished tightening a new bulb into the elegant brass fixture above the door and then climbed down the ladder. Once out on the porch, he found Alana’s Jeep parked with the trunk open.

What in the world?

Everleigh’s grunts and groans floated through the air as he jogged down the steps to the back of the SUV, where she struggled to pull her enormous suitcase out of the trunk.

He grabbed the suitcase before it fell on her and set it on the driveway. “What are you doing?”

“Moving in!” Her smile was nearly as bright as the September morning sun.

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope.” She held her head high. “I’m going to stay in Alana’s suite so we can get to know each other better and work out a plan for the inn, partner.”

“Fantastic,” he grumbled. Now he wouldn’t be able to get away from her.

She pointed to her suitcase and grinned. “Would you mind carrying my rock collection up the stairs for me?”

---