Page 48 of Can't Fight the Moonlight

Vanessa and Roger Holt were in their seventies and were a somewhat reserved and quiet couple from Dallas. Roger and his grandfather had immediately gotten into a discussion on golf and were looking forward to a game they had lined up for Friday. Carlos and Gretchen Rodriguez were in their early sixties. They were gregarious and funny with lots of stories to tell, and Gretchen seemed to be entertaining the group with one of those stories.

Noah and Patty had also joined his grandparents' group. They appeared to be great friends now. Patty put her hand on Noah's arm and leaned in to whisper a secret. It was difficult to believe that only yesterday she'd thought he was a stalker and had had him arrested. But in Whisper Lake, even enemies became friends when there was a friendly innkeeper in the middle of the situation. Speaking of which…

Where was Lizzie?Her friends Gianna and Zach were already here. They were talking to Keira and an older woman he didn't recognize. Brodie and Chelsea had also just arrived and were talking to another young couple who he didn't recognize. They were probably more of Lizzie's friends.

He recognized a few other people he'd seen around the inn: a single woman in her forties, a couple of newlyweds who couldn't keep their hands off each other, and a man in his sixties, who always had his head buried in a book while the young male teenager with him was constantly engrossed on whatever was happening on his phone. Those two reminded him a little of his grandfather and himself. When they'd been in a room together, they'd always each been wrapped up in their own little world of a book or a TV show or a video game. But he had still liked having his grandfather there, even if they weren't talking. It had been a nice change from all the days he'd spent completely alone.

He was alone now, he realized. Although, he could easily join any group. He just wanted that group to include Lizzie. Since she wasn't here, maybe he'd check his phone, see if he had any emails or texts to answer. Before he could do so, Keira wandered over, a troubled, tired expression on her face, which was quite a contrast to the energized, fun-loving woman he'd met at the bar last night.

"Hi, Justin. How's it going?" she asked.

"Good. You?"

"So-so." She lifted the margarita glass in her hand. "I'm hoping this improves my mood. But it's my second one, and so far, I still feel shitty."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, wondering why he was surprised by her candor. The people in Whisper Lake seemed very comfortable with expressing their emotions to anyone who would listen. He wasn't used to so much sharing. On the other hand, it did make him feel like he was part of the group, and he kind of liked that.

"I blew it, Justin," she continued.

"What do you mean?"

"I hurt my friend and I didn't mean to, but I did. She told me not to worry about it, but I can't stop worrying about it. Because she's too nice. She probably hates me right now but can't bring herself to say that."

"Are you talking about Lizzie?" He wondered if whatever was bothering Keira was the reason for Lizzie's absence.

"Yes." She took a long sip of her margarita. "And now I'm starting to feel a buzz, but it's still not helping."

"What did you do?" he asked curiously.

"I brought a potential investor to the party." She tipped her head toward the silver-haired woman, who was still talking to Gianna and Zach. "Paula Wickmayer. She's a former realtor who now works for a large hotel chain, and they're interested in buying the inn. She thought I might know Lizzie, which, of course, I do. I heard her pitch, and Paula is a straight shooter, so I thought Lizzie should hear her out."

He was more than a little surprised that someone wanted to buy the inn. "What did Lizzie say to the offer?"

"She didn't hear the offer. She said she wasn't interested, but Paula insisted she take the packet of information, which she agreed to do."

He suspected she'd only done that under duress.

"I know Lizzie loves this inn and it's her dream, but I think she's drowning. She won't say that, but she's more exhausted every time I see her. I just thought she should know her options. But I could see the anger in her eyes and the hurt. She thinks I don't believe in her abilities, but I do." Keira took another long drink. "I don't know how to make it right."

"It sounds to me like you brought Lizzie an opportunity. That's not so bad."

Keira gave him a hopeful look. "You don't think it's terrible?"

"No. It's not like she has to accept it."

"That's what I said."

"I'm sure she was just surprised by the offer."

"I hope she can see that I'm just trying to help. Lizzie is just the sweetest person, you know? She's been so nice to me and to my mom. I don't know if she told you, but my mother was in a terrible car accident several years ago, and she has a lot of cognitive dysfunction."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thank you. Anyway, I once told Lizzie how certain memories seem to bring my mom back into the world, and for some reason, the smell of oatmeal raisin cookies does that. The next Friday Lizzie sent over a plate of those cookies, and she's done that every week since then. They're always hot and fresh and smelling of happiness. My mom perks up when they arrive. That's just one example of how generous Lizzie is. But now I've probably wrecked our friendship."

"Lizzie doesn't seem like the kind of person who would let a friendship get wrecked over something like this, Keira."

"I'd like to believe that, Justin. And I'm sorry you had to listen to all that. I couldn't say anything to Gianna and Zach while Paula was there, and Chelsea and Brodie are wrapped up with Hunter and Cassidy and I can't say anything to them, because they're all related to Lizzie, and they're investors in the inn."

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