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.All the windows and storefronts along Main Streetseemed to sleep, content to doze away in the balm ofthe summer night.She should do the same, Hope thought.Settle down,stretch out.Sleep.That would be the sensible thing to do, and sheconsidered herself a sensible woman.But the long dayhad left her restless and, she reminded herself, Caroleewould arrive bright and early to start breakfast.The innkeeper could sleep in.In any case, it was barely midnight.When she d livedand worked in Georgetown, she d rarely managed tosettle in for the night this early.Of course, then she dbeen managing The Wickham, and if she hadn t beendealing with some small crisis or handling a guestrequest, she d been enjoying the nightlife.The town of Boonsboro, tucked into the foothills ofMaryland s Blue Ridge Mountains, might have a rich andstoried history, and it certainly had its charms amongwhich she counted the revitalized inn she now managed but it wasn t famed for its nightlife.That would change a bit when her friend Avery That would change a bit when her friend Averyopened her restaurant and tap house.And wouldn t it befun to see what the energetic Avery MacTavish did withher new enterprise right next door and just across TheSquare from Avery s pizzeria.Before summer ended, Avery would juggle therunning of two restaurants, Hope thought.And people called Hope an overachiever.She looked around the kitchen clean, shiny, warmand welcoming.She d already sliced fruit, checked thesupplies, restocked the refrigerator.So everything satready for Carolee to prepare breakfast for the guestscurrently tucked in their rooms.She d finished her paperwork, checked all the doors,and made her rounds checking for dishes or anythingelse out of place.Duties done, she told herself, and stillshe wasn t ready to tuck her own self in her third-floorapartment.Instead she poured an indulgent glass of wine and dida last circle through The Lobby, switching off thechandelier over the central table with its showy summerflowers.She moved through the arch, gave the front door onelast check before she turned toward the stairs.Herfingers trailed lightly over the iron banister.She d already checked The Library, but she checkedagain.It wasn t anal, she told herself.A guest mighthave slipped in for a glass of Irish or a book.But the have slipped in for a glass of Irish or a book.But theroom was quiet, settled like the rest.She glanced back.She had guests on this floor.Mr.and Mrs.Vargas Donna and Max married twenty-seven years.The night at the inn, in Nick and Nora, hadbeen a birthday gift for Donna from their daughter.Andwasn t that sweet?Her other guests, a floor up in Westley and Buttercup,chose the inn for their wedding night.She liked to thinkthe newlyweds, April and Troy, would take lovely,lasting memories with them.She checked the door to the second-level porch, thenon impulse unlocked it and stepped out into the night.With her wine, she crossed the wide wood deck,leaned on the rail.Across The Square, the apartmentabove Vesta sat dark and empty now that Avery hadmoved in with Owen Montgomery.Hope could admitto herself anyway that she missed looking over andknowing her friend was right there, just across Main.But Avery was exactly where she belonged, Hopedecided, with Owen, her first and, as it turned out, herlast boyfriend.Talk about sweet.And she d help plan a wedding May bride, Mayflowers right there in The Courtyard, just as Clare s hadbeen this past spring.Thinking of it, Hope looked down Main toward thebookstore.Clare s Turn The Page had been a risk for a bookstore.Clare s Turn The Page had been a risk for ayoung widow with two children and another on the way.But she d made it work.Clare had a knack for makingthings work.Now she was Clare Montgomery, Beckett swife.And when winter came, they d welcome a newbaby to the mix.Odd, wasn t it, that her two friends had lived right inBoonsboro for so long, and she d relocated only the year not even a full year yet before.The new kid in town.Now, of the three of them, she was the only one stillright here, right in the heart of town.Silly to miss them when she saw them nearly everyday, but on restless nights she could wish, just a little,they were still close.So much had changed, for all of them, in this pastyear.She d been perfectly content in Georgetown, with herhome, her work, her routine.With Jonathan, thecheating bastard.She d had good, solid plans, no rush, no hurry, butsolid plans.The Wickham had been her place.She dknown its rhythm, its tones, its needs.And she d done ahell of a job for the Wickhams and their cheating bastardson, Jonathan.She d planned to marry him.No, there d been noformal engagement, no concrete promises, but marriageand future had been on the table. and future had been on the table.She wasn t a moron.And all the time or at least in the last several months they d been together, with him sharing her bed, or hersharing his, he d been seeing someone else.Someonefrom his more elevated social strata, you could say,Hope mused with lingering bitterness.Someone whowouldn t work ten- and twelve-hour days and oftenmore to manage the exclusive hotel, but who d staythere in its most elaborate suite, of course.No, she wasn t a moron, but she d been far tootrusting and humiliatingly shocked when Jonathan toldher he would be announcing his engagement tosomeone else the next day.Humiliatingly shocked, she thought again, particularlyas they d been naked and in her bed at the time.Then again, he d been shocked, too, when she dordered him to get the hell out.He genuinely hadn tunderstood why anything between them should change.That single moment ushered in a lot of change.Now she was Inn BoonsBoro s innkeeper, living in asmall town in Western Maryland, a good clip from thebright lights of the big city.She didn t spend what free time she had planningclever little dinner parties, or shopping in the boutiquesfor the perfect shoes for the perfect dress for the nextevent.Did she miss all that? Her go-to boutique, her favorite Did she miss all that? Her go-to boutique, her favoritelunch spot, the lovely high ceilings and flower-framedlittle patio of her own town house? Or the pressure andexcitement of preparing the hotel for visits fromdignitaries, celebrities, business moguls?Sometimes, she admitted.But not as often as she dexpected to, and not as much as she d assumed shewould.Because she had been content in her personal life,challenged in her professional one, and the Wickhamhad been her place.But she d discovered something inthe last few months.Here, she wasn t just content, buthappy.The inn wasn t just her place, it was home.She had her friends to thank for that, and theMontgomery brothers along with their mother.JustineMontgomery had hired her, on the spot.At the timeHope hadn t known Justine well enough to be surprisedby her quick offer.But she did know herself, andcontinued to be surprised at her own fast, impulsiveacceptance.Zero to sixty? More like zero to ninety and still going.She didn t regret the impulse, the decision, the move.Fresh starts hadn t been in the plan, but she was goodat adjusting plans.Thanks to the Montgomerys, thelovingly and effortfully restored inn was now herhome and her career.She wandered the porch, checking the hangingplanters, adjusting minutely the angle of a bistro planters, adjusting minutely the angle of a bistrochair. And I love every square inch of it, she murmured.One of the porch doors leading out from Elizabeth andDarcy opened.The scent of honeysuckle drifted on thenight air.Someone else was restless, Hope thought.Then again,she didn t know if ghosts slept [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.All the windows and storefronts along Main Streetseemed to sleep, content to doze away in the balm ofthe summer night.She should do the same, Hope thought.Settle down,stretch out.Sleep.That would be the sensible thing to do, and sheconsidered herself a sensible woman.But the long dayhad left her restless and, she reminded herself, Caroleewould arrive bright and early to start breakfast.The innkeeper could sleep in.In any case, it was barely midnight.When she d livedand worked in Georgetown, she d rarely managed tosettle in for the night this early.Of course, then she dbeen managing The Wickham, and if she hadn t beendealing with some small crisis or handling a guestrequest, she d been enjoying the nightlife.The town of Boonsboro, tucked into the foothills ofMaryland s Blue Ridge Mountains, might have a rich andstoried history, and it certainly had its charms amongwhich she counted the revitalized inn she now managed but it wasn t famed for its nightlife.That would change a bit when her friend Avery That would change a bit when her friend Averyopened her restaurant and tap house.And wouldn t it befun to see what the energetic Avery MacTavish did withher new enterprise right next door and just across TheSquare from Avery s pizzeria.Before summer ended, Avery would juggle therunning of two restaurants, Hope thought.And people called Hope an overachiever.She looked around the kitchen clean, shiny, warmand welcoming.She d already sliced fruit, checked thesupplies, restocked the refrigerator.So everything satready for Carolee to prepare breakfast for the guestscurrently tucked in their rooms.She d finished her paperwork, checked all the doors,and made her rounds checking for dishes or anythingelse out of place.Duties done, she told herself, and stillshe wasn t ready to tuck her own self in her third-floorapartment.Instead she poured an indulgent glass of wine and dida last circle through The Lobby, switching off thechandelier over the central table with its showy summerflowers.She moved through the arch, gave the front door onelast check before she turned toward the stairs.Herfingers trailed lightly over the iron banister.She d already checked The Library, but she checkedagain.It wasn t anal, she told herself.A guest mighthave slipped in for a glass of Irish or a book.But the have slipped in for a glass of Irish or a book.But theroom was quiet, settled like the rest.She glanced back.She had guests on this floor.Mr.and Mrs.Vargas Donna and Max married twenty-seven years.The night at the inn, in Nick and Nora, hadbeen a birthday gift for Donna from their daughter.Andwasn t that sweet?Her other guests, a floor up in Westley and Buttercup,chose the inn for their wedding night.She liked to thinkthe newlyweds, April and Troy, would take lovely,lasting memories with them.She checked the door to the second-level porch, thenon impulse unlocked it and stepped out into the night.With her wine, she crossed the wide wood deck,leaned on the rail.Across The Square, the apartmentabove Vesta sat dark and empty now that Avery hadmoved in with Owen Montgomery.Hope could admitto herself anyway that she missed looking over andknowing her friend was right there, just across Main.But Avery was exactly where she belonged, Hopedecided, with Owen, her first and, as it turned out, herlast boyfriend.Talk about sweet.And she d help plan a wedding May bride, Mayflowers right there in The Courtyard, just as Clare s hadbeen this past spring.Thinking of it, Hope looked down Main toward thebookstore.Clare s Turn The Page had been a risk for a bookstore.Clare s Turn The Page had been a risk for ayoung widow with two children and another on the way.But she d made it work.Clare had a knack for makingthings work.Now she was Clare Montgomery, Beckett swife.And when winter came, they d welcome a newbaby to the mix.Odd, wasn t it, that her two friends had lived right inBoonsboro for so long, and she d relocated only the year not even a full year yet before.The new kid in town.Now, of the three of them, she was the only one stillright here, right in the heart of town.Silly to miss them when she saw them nearly everyday, but on restless nights she could wish, just a little,they were still close.So much had changed, for all of them, in this pastyear.She d been perfectly content in Georgetown, with herhome, her work, her routine.With Jonathan, thecheating bastard.She d had good, solid plans, no rush, no hurry, butsolid plans.The Wickham had been her place.She dknown its rhythm, its tones, its needs.And she d done ahell of a job for the Wickhams and their cheating bastardson, Jonathan.She d planned to marry him.No, there d been noformal engagement, no concrete promises, but marriageand future had been on the table. and future had been on the table.She wasn t a moron.And all the time or at least in the last several months they d been together, with him sharing her bed, or hersharing his, he d been seeing someone else.Someonefrom his more elevated social strata, you could say,Hope mused with lingering bitterness.Someone whowouldn t work ten- and twelve-hour days and oftenmore to manage the exclusive hotel, but who d staythere in its most elaborate suite, of course.No, she wasn t a moron, but she d been far tootrusting and humiliatingly shocked when Jonathan toldher he would be announcing his engagement tosomeone else the next day.Humiliatingly shocked, she thought again, particularlyas they d been naked and in her bed at the time.Then again, he d been shocked, too, when she dordered him to get the hell out.He genuinely hadn tunderstood why anything between them should change.That single moment ushered in a lot of change.Now she was Inn BoonsBoro s innkeeper, living in asmall town in Western Maryland, a good clip from thebright lights of the big city.She didn t spend what free time she had planningclever little dinner parties, or shopping in the boutiquesfor the perfect shoes for the perfect dress for the nextevent.Did she miss all that? Her go-to boutique, her favorite Did she miss all that? Her go-to boutique, her favoritelunch spot, the lovely high ceilings and flower-framedlittle patio of her own town house? Or the pressure andexcitement of preparing the hotel for visits fromdignitaries, celebrities, business moguls?Sometimes, she admitted.But not as often as she dexpected to, and not as much as she d assumed shewould.Because she had been content in her personal life,challenged in her professional one, and the Wickhamhad been her place.But she d discovered something inthe last few months.Here, she wasn t just content, buthappy.The inn wasn t just her place, it was home.She had her friends to thank for that, and theMontgomery brothers along with their mother.JustineMontgomery had hired her, on the spot.At the timeHope hadn t known Justine well enough to be surprisedby her quick offer.But she did know herself, andcontinued to be surprised at her own fast, impulsiveacceptance.Zero to sixty? More like zero to ninety and still going.She didn t regret the impulse, the decision, the move.Fresh starts hadn t been in the plan, but she was goodat adjusting plans.Thanks to the Montgomerys, thelovingly and effortfully restored inn was now herhome and her career.She wandered the porch, checking the hangingplanters, adjusting minutely the angle of a bistro planters, adjusting minutely the angle of a bistrochair. And I love every square inch of it, she murmured.One of the porch doors leading out from Elizabeth andDarcy opened.The scent of honeysuckle drifted on thenight air.Someone else was restless, Hope thought.Then again,she didn t know if ghosts slept [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]