Page 23 of Second Chance at Sunshine Inn

“Alana came into my mom’s store one day, and Mom mentioned how I needed a job. Then she invited me for an interview.”

“Your mom owns a store?”

“Crafty Creations.”

“She owns the art supply store in town?” she asked. “I had no idea.”

He nodded. “Been there for years.”

“And I’ve been in there at least a hundred times.” If all of this was true, then he reallywasa local. Now she yearned to know even more about him. “What did you do in Alabama?”

“Owned a business.”

“What kind?”

“It didn’t work out.”

A long pause suffused the air, and her posture drooped. Just likethat, he was reticent again. She pointed toward the sliding glass door. “Did you paint the sunroom?”

Suspicion flooded his features. “Why?”

“What if I brightened it a bit?”

“Why? It’s too hot to sit out there between May and October.”

“How about yellow?” she offered. “I love bright colors. They make me so happy.”

“Whatever knocks your socks off, partner.” He pushed himself up from the ground and stood up to his full height. “I should finish the tune-up,” he muttered.

“See you later.” She wished he’d chat for longer, but at least she was finally starting to get to know him—sort of. Surely that was a step in the right direction for their partnership and maybe even a friendship.

He started toward the garage. “Come on, Bryant,” he called to the cat, and the feline loped after him.

Everleigh rested her chin on her palm while he made his way back to the garage.

***

Cade sat on Roger’s porch later that evening. After finishing the tune-up on his bike, he had taken it for a test drive and wound up near Roger’s house. When he saw his buddy’s truck in his driveway, Cade parked and knocked on the door.

Roger handed him a cold bottle of Coke, and the sound of waves crashing in the distance and the smell of the salt air floated over Cade. He would never get tired of living on the coast.

Roger opened his Coke, and the bottle fizzed. “How’s it going with your partner?”

Cade groaned. “Terrible. She wants to sell the inn.” He twistedoff the bottle cap and let ahissescape. “Oh, and she moved in today. Now she can bug me about it all day long.”

Roger held his hand up like a traffic cop. “Whoa. Why does she want to sell it?”

“To start a nonprofit she insists Alana wanted.”

Roger’s brow wrinkled. “A nonprofit?”

Cade shrugged and took a sip of Coke.

“What are you going to do?”

“Stand my ground.” He rested the bottle on the arm of the Adirondack chair. “She needs to go back on the road and let me run the inn. We could split the profits, and I’d only have to deal with her when she comes to visit, which hopefully would be rare.”

Roger nodded.

---