Page 47 of Waves of Hope

Jed smiled and nodded. “He’s a great guy, but he can be a real heartbreaker.”

“What do you mean?” she said, surprised.

“Women go crazy over him, but he ends any relationship that becomes too serious. I’m not sure why. Maybe something to do with his mother.” Jed pulled his fingers through his brown hair. “Don’t know why I said that. Let’s see the rest of the Inn. A lot of people I know like to get out of Miami once in a while. This might be a nice place for them to stay.”

Charlotte pushed aside thoughts of Shane. “Well, then, let’s take a look.”

###

After showing Jed around the Inn, Charlotte led him into the office once more to discuss what to look for in hiring a head of volunteers for Family First.

Livy surprised them by bringing in a plate of cookies and iced water. “Here. You can be my testers. It’s a new recipe for molasses cookies.”

Charlotte made the introductions, amused by the admiring looks Jed gave to both Livy and the plate of cookies.

“Wow,” said Jed, biting into a cookie, his hazel-eyed gaze settling on Livy.

“Enjoy,” she said and turned to go.

“Wait! I know we just met, but are you free for dinner?” Jed asked. “Charlotte and Shane can vouch for me.”

Livy paused, studied him, and nodded. “Make it early. Let’s say six.”

“Okay, thanks,” said Jed. He turned to Charlotte. “Do you have an available room for tonight?”

She laughed. “I’m sure we do.” Charlotte admired Livy’s cool attitude. In her own way, she was as magnetic to men as Shane apparently was to women.

###

That evening, Charlotte was sitting on Gran’s porch reading a book to escape the pressure of trying to come up with new ideas for the Inn’s website. As she’d discovered working with the Family First project, things behind the scenes had to be in place before the website could be completed. Until the rooms were renovated, she couldn’t take new photographs of them for the Inn’s website. The same held true for the rest of the property. She needed to meet with Brooke and Livy as soon as possible to finalize the purchase list for the Inn so she could move forward.

She sighed and stared out at the water moving in its usual rhythmic pattern. If she were honest with herself, she’d admit that more than websites were on her mind.

She was in the middle of her cozy mystery when a face appeared at the porch railing. She jumped. “Shane, what are you doing here? I thought you were in Miami.”

He chuckled. “Sorry to scare you. I came back for the rest of the weekend. Have time to go out for a drink?”

“No, thanks,” said Charlotte. “I’m staying in tonight and relaxing.”

“How about something right here, then?” His smile was engaging.

“Okay, come on in. I’ll get something for both of us,” she said, rising. “How about a glass of red wine?”

“Fine with me. I’m going to turn in early, too.”

After hearing Jed’s words about him, Charlotte wanted to know more about Shane. She went into the kitchen to fix their drinks.

Shane came inside and followed her there. “How did it go with Jed?”

“Pretty well. I’m sure he’ll talk to you about it, but it’s apparent you need to hire a fulltime coordinator for the project.”

“Makes sense. We’re getting busier and busier,” said Shane accepting the glass she handed him. “Glad you had a chance to meet Jed.”

“I liked him. He was sincere and straightforward. Even about you.”

His brow creased. “Me?”

She smiled playfully at him. “It seems you have a reputation as a love ’em and leave ’em sort of guy.”

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