Page 14 of There I Find Hope

He remembered what Sunday’s letter had said, including one of the things that he wanted to bring up with Franklin.

“When we talked about the hotel, we said we wanted to benefit the people of Strawberry Sands, not just make money for us. I just heard today that the owner of the bed-and-breakfast is a little concerned that we’ll take away her customers.”

“People who stay at a bed-and-breakfast are different customers than people who stay at hotels.”

“I know. But I’d like to ease her worry if we can.”

“You have an idea?”

“Well, I just found out today, but I was thinking the hotel can put brochures for the bed-and-breakfast in the lobby. We can have directions, pricing, contact info, and even write up a history of the bed-and-breakfast. Lena had her husband walk out on her, and she was able to keep the farm together and still run the bed-and-breakfast. That’s a great story.”

“I remember that vaguely. That is quite a story. And people love stories. I think we could work it.”

“Me too. I can see if she offers anything else. I don’t know if she makes soaps or candles or sells canned goods or something. But we could even carry some of her wares in the lobby. Actually, anyone in Strawberry Sands who has a business could have it advertised in our lobby.”

“That’s a great idea!” Franklin was more about the business aspect, but he loved Strawberry Sands too. They had both agreed that they wanted their investment to benefit the community and not be a hindrance. Noah smiled at his excitement.

“All right. We’ll keep thinking about other things we can do. But in the meantime, maybe one of us can go and talk to Lena.”

“I’ve got a meeting at three in Chicago. So if you want to do it today, it’s going to have to be you.”

“All right. I’ll do it.” It wouldn’t be a hardship to go to Lena’s. He knew Sunday had her own place above the candy shop, but as far as he knew, the candy shop was still closed and Sunday had been staying with her mom.

They continued to talk, with Franklin pulling out his briefcase and spreading papers over their table. When Chi came back with their drinks, they stopped to discuss the specifics of renting their apartments. She understood that it was only going to be until they could find or build houses of their own.

Noah didn’t want to mislead her. He’d already started looking at land, and there were several places where he would like to make an offer once they had things with the hotel running smoothly.

The entire time he was in the restaurant though, he was aware of Sunday and that she was just a little ways away.

Therefore, when he and Franklin walked out together, shaking hands before Franklin walked to his car, Noah walked on down to the beach.

He found a place to sit on the dunes, where he could see the horses and the water both, and then he pulled out his notebook and pen. Before he left for Chicago, he was going to drop a letter in the mail.

Dear Lover of the lake,

I like that you signed your letter that way, because I think you really meant what you said. You don’t hate the lake.

I suppose as much as that, I was worried that you might have bad memories associated with it. But that doesn’t seem to be the case either. I haven’t lost a lot of people in my life, so I’m not sure, but I know I can tell you where I was when I heard bad news. It seems to be forever associated with the place that you were when you heard it. I cannot imagine having it happen to you. Those associations would probably be strong.

Regardless, we definitely have that in common.

I wasn’t sure whether it was okay for me to write you back or not. I don’t want to bother you if you’re busy. Or if you prefer not. But I guess it’s partly from my desire to help. You said my letter came at a good time, and back when people used to send actual mail, it was always fun to get something in the mailbox other than bills. So I thought maybe if I continue to write, you would continue to smile when you saw that you got a letter.

Anyway, let me know if that’s okay.

Also, I think the people who are building the hotel want to be careful that they don’t take business away from Strawberry Sands. They’re building it to help the community, not hurt it. From what I understand, they’re going to have brochures in the lobby with your mother’s bed-and-breakfast on it. I think someone is going to contact her so she can help design the brochures.

Noah looked out across the lake. Up the beach, three people rode horses right along the sand where the waves crashed on the shore. The view was majestic and pretty.

Did he want to tell Sunday who he was?

Part of him thought that maybe there were deeper feelings of antagonism toward the people who were bringing the hotel in. She was concerned about her mother’s business; she might not have good feelings about someone who was potentially going to take it away.

He decided not to.

But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t put a plug in for the “businessmen who were building it.” He smiled. He didn’t want to manipulate Sunday or deceive her, but the purpose of the letters was to make her feel better.

Someone might be in contact with you. I... I’m not sure if you still have your candy shop open, but if you’re interested in promoting it, I’m pretty sure the owners of the hotel are interested in having anyone with a business in Strawberry Sands in their lobby.

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