Page 65 of Brass Anchor Inn

“I have some ideas.” She yawned. She was so tired after a restless night. “I need to head into town and see what I can find.”

“I’d help you if I could.”

“You’re already helping me by staying on top of things here. I really appreciate you going above and beyond while this contest is taking place.”

Sara’s face lit up. “I don’t mind. After all, we all have to pull together if you’re going to win the contest and protect the inn.”

The pressure for her to win mounted. So many people were counting on her to win the contest. “I’ll do my best.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got things under control here.”

“Thank you.” Josie passed by Sara as she headed out the door.

Once in town, her first stop was at the store to pick up a new phone. Luckily, they were able to transfer her phone number but they weren’t able to pull anything from her memory chip. She would deal with all of the information she lost later, but at least she felt connected to the inn when she wasn’t there.

She needed to give this competition her full attention. And that meant a caffeine boost after her long night. Instead of heading home to brew some, she headed for The Lighthouse Café. They had some of the best coffee on the island.

The place was bustling with people having a late breakfast. She made her way to the back counter. Lucy took her order for one coffee to-go.

While she waited, she glanced around, taking in a number of familiar faces. She smiled and waved whenever she made eye contact. And then she spotted Hannah and Lily. What were they doing here instead of being at work?

Just then Lily glanced up and waved her over. She let Lucy know where she’d be and then moved in her friends’ direction. She really needed to get to work on the room, but she would always make time for her friends.

“What are you guys doing here?” Josie slid into the booth next to Lily.

“We ran into each other on our coffee break,” Hannah said. “Aren’t you supposed to be working on the contest?”

Josie nodded while gazing at the Formica tabletop. “That’s what I’m doing in town. I need some supplies.”

“We heard about the flooring mix-up.” Lily picked up her coffee cup. “What are you going to do?”

“I’ll figure something out.” She wished she could bounce ideas off her friends, but she wasn’t about to break the rules. If she was going to beat Lane, she would do it honestly.

“I wish we could help,” Hannah said.

“Me too,” Josie said. “Especially now that I know Lane is still intending to sell the inn if he wins.”

Lily frowned. “But I thought he was starting to like it here.”

“Me too. I think it was the accident last night. If only I had stopped him from going out on those rocks, maybe he would have decided to keep the inn. This is all my fault.”

“It’s not your fault,” her friends said in unison.

Technically, she knew her friends were right. Lane had arrived on the island intent on selling the inn, but she’d thought that he was changing—that he was coming to appreciate the island—that there was something starting between the two of them. Boy, had she been wrong about Lane—about being able to change his mind—about them.

“Why don’t you buy him out?” Lily asked. “Then you would own the inn and nothing would have to change.”

“I wish,” Josie said. “There’s no way I can afford to buy him out.”

“You could take out a loan,” Hannah said.

“I thought of that, but when I stopped at the bank, I was turned down for a loan of that size.”

Her friends sympathized with her. Josie felt as though she was letting everyone down. The inn had been around for generations. It was part of the fabric of the island.

For the inn to be sold to some outsider, it would be devastating. Who knew what the new owner would do with the inn—possibly tear it down and build condos. The thought had her inwardly shuddering.

She thought of Sandra and wondered if she knew this would happen. Josie wondered what Sandra would do if she was in this situation. How would she convince him not to sell the inn?

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