Page 5 of The Magical Bed & Breakfast

“Oh, thanks a lot.” Rory hated being managed, even if that was Nolan’s job.

“Or the drummer,” Dustin cut in. “No one will miss me, either, and it’s a great thing because Raina’s due any day. I plan to be there when my daughter is born. If I can step away for a couple of months, so can you. Even Ven is off to India to visit his extended fam for three weeks.”

“Listen, it’s a couple of talk shows and radio spots. The fans mostly want the lead singer and guitarist anyway.” Nolan just would not let up. Rory was really getting annoyed.

“Sorry, but you know it’s true,” Kyler grinned. “I’m the real star.”

They all groaned.

“Disappear for a while. She’ll get a new obsession, and all will be well when you come back for our Thanksgiving weekend booking.” Nolan spoke like it was already decided.

“Write us some new songs,” said Ven. “It’s what you do this time of year, anyway. The earth dying back, all these dry leaves. Weather turning cooler. Holiday time. Write us another Top40 love song. It makes a nice contrast to our heavier songs and gives me a break on the bass.”

“You’re the romantic,” Kyler laughed at Rory. “You write it, I’ll sing it, and the fans’ll love it.”

Rory rolled his eyes.

But the intensity on his manager’s face said it all: he would have to step back for at least a month. And that wasn’t all bad. He had the freedom to do that. They weren’t tied into a record contract, not yet. As much as Nolan pushed them, they hadn’t achieved Rolling Stones style popularity.

Maybe stalker-girl would lose interest. She might have figured out where he lived in New York, but he could go home, back to Hazard, Rhode Island for a while. Visit his granddad in that Art Deco monstrosity overlooking the ocean. If he traveled incognito, maybe even the town wouldn’t know him. He didn’t want any local pieces popping up in theHazard Gazetteto publicize his location.

He looked way different than he had as a youth. He’d grown a few more inches and filled out. He wasn’t the scrawny kid he’d been when he left. If he grew a bit of a beard and added sunglasses, probably no one who knew him from before would even recognize him. He had been invisible as a kid. If the people who might still know him were anything at all like him, they would all have escaped from Hazard—the land of non-opportunity—as fast as he had.

He could fade into the woodwork. He gave a thoughtful nod. It was a decent plan. “Okay, you win. I’ll drop out of sight until November. I’ll write five new songs, one for each of us to showcase our talent. By then, this latest crazed fan will have moved on to a new target and won’t be a problem to us anymore.”

One could only hope.

Chapter Four

Workmen pounded inthe upstairs, working their modern plumbing magic in the second-floor rooms. The plans Kate had received from the local architect were all coming into fruition. Each guest room would have its own bathroom. When she’d bought the inn, there had been three bedrooms on both the second and third floors, with only one bathroom per floor. Some creative designing by Langford Architectural Enterprise had revolutionized the space. There were even balconies for the second and third-floor rooms facing the courtyard. But boy, were plumbing costs expensive.

When she’d bravely purchased the inn, Kate knew she’d need extensive funds for remodeling, but she was blowing through her savings way faster than she was comfortable with. And you couldn’t cut costs on plumbing. Walls and doors had been rearranged to make the existing baths part of the two largest guestrooms. And smaller baths with no tubs and only shower stalls were added to the other rooms. The third-floor plumbing was finished. The second floor, with one last bathroom on the schedule, should be done by the end of the week.

What she loved most were the fireplace guestrooms on each floor. Those added ambience and charm. She wanted to turn those into gas fireplaces that you could turn on with just the flick of a switch. Oh, the plans! She had such amazing ideas for the inn.

Amidst all the pounding, she thought she heard a knock on the front door. Kate headed that way. Not all the deliveries came to the back entrance, and she didn’t want to miss anything important. She might need to sign for it.

Kate hurried her way to the front. Upon opening the door, she blinked at a young woman in a red power suit with a sturdy Samsonite suitcase at her feet.

“Can I help you?”

The platinum blonde gave her a luminous smile. “Yes, I’d like to rent a room.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, we aren’t open for business yet.”

The woman tossed her curls. With an eye roll a teenager would have approved, she added with confidence, “Surely, you have at leastoneavailable room.”

Just the one Kate slept in, and she was not giving that up. “No, I’m sorry. We don’t have furniture yet, and we’re still remodeling the bathrooms.” The pounding recommenced. The blonde frowned, her raspberry-painted lips curving in a childish pout. Kate continued, “I don’t plan to be open until after the first of the year. Can I ask how you heard about us?”

“From everyone.” The woman waved a hand out at the town green in the square. “Everyone I’ve met in this,” she paused, as if choosing her words carefully, “charming…little…community…says this is the only place to stay in town.” They were the right words, but her emphasis belied their truth. Kate wondered why she wanted so much to stay in town.

Still, she did have a point: Kate’s Mayfield Inn would be the only place to stay in the center of town. “There are a couple of motels on the edge of Hazard near the coast. I’m sure you can find something there. They usually aren’t overbooked. Or, if you’re looking for a more vacation-type experience, you can always try Newport. They have some beautiful inns. I can make a recommendation. If you’d like to wait a moment, I have some information I can give you.”

“I want to stay here in Hazard.” She stomped her Tory Burch-booted foot. “It’s better.”

Better than Newport? Kate was baffled. She expected that tempting tourists away from Newport would be a difficult feat. “Do you know someone in town?”

The woman’s eyes widened in manufactured affront. “That’s none of your business.”

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