The Second Chance Inn

by Susan Hatler

  And behind her was Max.

  He was peering down at me, his blue eyes stormy, and I stopped in my tracks. My hand gripped the wooden railing for support, then I started up again. I hurried past Lucky’s licks, giving her a quick pat, then I stopped on the step above him so we were eye to eye.

  “I can’t believe you’re here.” I wanted to throw my arms around him, but twiddled my fingers instead, hoping he wanted to hear what I had to say. “I was just coming to the airport to tell you I’m sorry. When you get back from Japan, I’ll be right here, waiting for you, no matter how long you’re gone. We can email, call each other, do video chat, or whatever else we have to do. That is, if you still want to. I was just scared, but I’m not anymore. Can you forgive me? And what are you doing here?”

  He bent his head, giving me an intense look that reached my soul. “I thought I had blown it, too. I should’ve talked to you about my reason for being in town, but I was afraid of messing things up. Looks like I managed to do that, anyway. I need to go on this business trip, but I couldn’t go without giving you the present I’d found for you.”

  I blinked. “What?”

  He handed me a small box. “Open it.”

  My fingers shook as I lifted the lid. Lucky bumped my legs and then licked my hand, whining softly as she did so. I patted her head, then opened the tiny box, which revealed a small Peridot earring. I gasped, putting my hand to my mouth. “Oh, Max. You didn’t have to replace this. I could’ve lost the earring in the ocean when my hysterical twin appeared.”

  He chuckled. “I got it for you the very next day, but I was afraid of scaring you off if I gave it to you too soon.” He smiled, then handed me a long rectangular box. “Since you seem all right with the earring, this is for you as well.”

  “Another gift?” I bit my lip as I lifted the top off the second box. Inside lay a gorgeous pendant on a platinum chain. It was a perfectly round blue opal, with splashes of green that matched the gems in my earrings. I smiled up at him, knowing exactly what this pendant was supposed to represent. “Is this a full moon?”

  He nodded. “The second full moon of the month, which makes it a blue moon.” He clasped the necklace around me, then planted a light kiss to the back of my neck, sending a rush of tingles down my spine. “The perfect time to kiss the girl I want to be with forever.”

  “I feel the same way about you.” I slipped my arms around his neck, staring up into his beautiful blue eyes. He peered down at me with a look of longing and love.

  No more words were needed. He pressed his mouth to mine, which said it all. It was the kiss of a lifetime, on the steps that led to the spot by the bay where dreams were promised to come true, and people were guaranteed to fall in love forever. I could hear the waves breaking, and feel the steady throb of Max’s heart against my chest.

  When we came up for air, I kept my arms around his neck. “If you’d still like me to have the inn, I’d like to buy it back from you after escrow closes. We have to sell the inn, per the will’s instructions, but there are no restrictions on us buying it back.”

  “Clever thinking.” He chuckled, his breath warm against my cheek. “I’ll sell it back to you with one request. I’d like to keep the abandoned restaurant. I’m sorry I never told you the details about my business. I own a restaurant group, but we usually lease the properties. My dad wanted to purchase the inn, and let me lease from him to combine our companies. He was not happy when I refused to sign that contract.”

  “A restaurant, huh?” I pressed my lips to the corner of his mouth, loving the feel of my mouth on his skin. Keeping my kiss there, I asked, “Will I get a discount on my meals?”

  He smiled, then captured my mouth with his in a long, warm, kiss. “That is definitely negotiable.”

  I sighed in his arms. “My grandma would have loved you.”

  “I think she did love me when she saw the awesome job I did on her hedges.” He held me in his arms, and stared out at the weathered pillars below. “It wouldn’t shock me at all if she’s the one who sent me back here at the same time she conned you into coming home.”

  “It wouldn’t surprise me, either. My grandma always had some kind of plan up her sleeve.” I laughed, before kissing him again and again.

  The Pumpkin Festival was in full swing. Local pop and rock bands played on a little stage, and while some people grumbled about new changes, most were ecstatic to see them there. The dunking booth was in working order and I recognized one of my high school teachers sitting in the booth, his feet dangling into the water while he heckled the crowd in a good natured way to get them to try their luck at sending him into the cold ocean water.

  Per his word, Brian dressed like a clown, and wandered around the festival giving out giant cones of pastel pink cotton candy to the kids. “Great job, Olivia. This is the biggest turnout I’ve ever seen.”

  Olivia looked pretty in a yellow sundress. “It was a lot of work, but well worth it. I can’t believe you let Megan talk you into being a clown. The kids love it.”

  “Everyone loves a good clown,” Megan said, stealing a piece of Brian’s cotton candy.

  Max pointed to a suspiciously creaky mini roller coaster. “We have got to ride that.”

  “I hope your life insurance is paid up in full,” Brian joked. “I saw them putting it together and trust me, there were some parts left over. That can’t be a good sign.”

  I elbowed my brother, and cuddled up to Max. “Ignore him. He’s a big scaredy cat, and always has been. We can’t ever get him on a roller coaster.”

  “It’s because I have good sense.” Brian dabbed a piece of cotton candy against Megan’s nose.

  “I’m with you, Brian.” She giggled, snatching more cotton candy, and eating it. “Oh, Wendy! I have the mock-up ready for that billboard design you wanted for the inn. Should I come by tomorrow and show it to you?”

  “Sounds great.” I nodded, grabbing a piece of cotton candy, too. The billboard would hang right by the highway and with Megan’s creativity on full display it was sure to attract new guests.

  I headed for the game next to the house of mirrors, while Max stopped to play a game beside that one. Just as I was about to decide to plunk my money down and play, my phone rang and I paused to see who was calling me.

  It was Janine, so I answered, “Hi, Janine.”

  “Guess who just got their real estate license?” she blurted.

  I grinned. “You.”

  “Yes! I passed that test with a great score, thanks to you. So when are you going to start your own company down there so I can come and work for you?”

  I chuckled. “One day, maybe soon. Right now I’m still trying to get my inn and family back on its feet. Priorities, you know.”

  “Well, efficiency is one of your strong suits, so I’m sure I won’t be slaving away up here forever. Oh, and guess what?”

  “What?”

  “The people who bought your dream townhome claim it’s haunted and has a bad foundation. You dodged a bullet there.”

  I laughed and said goodbye, but then my phone rang again. I glanced at the screen, thinking it was Janine again. But, nope. It was my mom. I stood there, staring at my phone, and then I answered it. I sucked in a breath. “Hello?”

  “Wendy?” Mom’s voice cracked, and she sounded close to tears. “I-I was just going to leave a message. I didn’t think you were going to answer.”

  “I love you, Mom,” I said, and what I also meant by that was that I forgave her.

  She hiccupped into the receiver. “Oh, Wendy. I’m sorry to disappoint you again. I wanted to stay because you needed us, but I felt suffocated in Blue Moon Bay. I don’t know why. It’s not your father’s fault . . .”

  She loved him enough to take all the blame, even if it meant that I was mad at her. I thought of Grandma’s letter, and her saying that Dad was always looking past the horizon long before Mom came into his life. Grandma hadn’t wanted to lose him, but she had set him free to find his own way. She�
�d chosen to let them be happy no matter what that meant for her.

  I decided she’d been trying to set us free when she forced us to sell the inn. I was sure she thought she was setting Brian and me free, but she didn’t realize how much we loved the inn. Probably because we’d never told her. Sigh.

  “Where are you two?” I asked.

  “In a mountain cabin near Tahoe. We’re thinking of staying here awhile.”

  I wanted to laugh. That could mean anything with those two. It could mean a week, or a year. Who knew where the wind would blow them? But that was who they were and I accepted that now. “Mom, it’s okay. I understand. And maybe we can all come up and visit you at Thanksgiving.”

  She took a long audible breath. “I’d love that, Wendy. I really would.”

  “Me too,” I said, and meant it. Nine years was a long time to ignore someone, and it was time to stop that. Maybe she and Dad would never be the traditional parents that I had always wanted, but they were my parents, flaws and all.

  “I love you, Wendy. Give Brian my love, too.”

  “I will.” I spotted Max coming toward me with a big cheesy grin on his face and his hands behind his back. “I have to go, but we’ll talk soon. Call me any time you want, Mom. I’m not going to ignore you anymore. I promise.”

  “I’m not going to ignore you, either. Not ever.”

  We said goodbye and hung up. Max walked up and smiled mischievously. “Look what I won in the dart game for you. I hit three balloons in a row.”

  He pulled his hands from behind his back, and held out a glass whale filled with clear blue liquid. Tingles prickled up my arms. I stared at the glass whale in awe. This was the prize I’d always wanted to win at the Pumpkin Festival, and now Max had given it to me. I wanted to tell my grandma, but I had a strong feeling she already knew. In a way, I felt this was a sign from her, to tell me she knew I’d healed my old wounds, and that she was happy for me.

  “I love it.” I lifted up on my tiptoes to give Max a long, slow kiss.

  “I love you,” he breathed, then he took my hand and led me toward the ride that Brian and Megan were afraid to go on. He turned to me. “Do you like roller coasters?”

  “I’m game if you are.” I lifted my brows. In answer, he slipped his arm around my waist and led me to the roller coaster, where we rode up and down at high speed, until it felt like my stomach would fall out. But through our laughs and screams, we survived. We stepped off the ride, planted our feet on firm ground again, and our friends surrounded us.

  A feeling of peace washed through me. I glanced out at the bay, the sun glinting off the waves in diamond-shaped flashes of light. I hadn’t wanted to return to Blue Moon Bay, but in the end—just like always—Grandma had been right. Finally, I was home.

  My life may not have gone the way I’d planned, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t gone according to a greater plan. I’d dreamed of the legend as a child . . . that being kissed at that special spot by the bay, under the blue moon, would lead to love that lasted forever. Somewhere along the way I’d lost hope, but deep down I’d always believed.

  The feelings Max and I had for each other were built on genuine emotion and trust. We’d have to work hard to nurture our relationship every day of our lives. Yet, I’d always cherish the knowledge that our love was strengthened by fate from that sacred kiss we shared the first night we met. Together, we’d made the Kissed by the Bay legend come true.

  The End

  * * *

  If you enjoyed spending time

  with these characters,

  be sure to read Olivia’s story in:

  The Sisterhood Promise

  (Blue Moon Bay, 2)

  About the Author

  SUSAN HATLER is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author, who writes humorous and emotional women’s fiction and young adult novels. Many of Susan’s books have been translated into German, Spanish, French, and Italian. A natural optimist, she believes life is amazing, people are fascinating, and imagination is endless. She loves spending time with her characters and hopes you do, too.

  * * *

  ** To receive a FREE BOOK, click the following link now to sign up for Susan’s Newsletter: susanhatler.com/newsletter **

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  You can reach Susan here:

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  Blog: susanhatler.com/category/susans-blog

  Titles by Susan Hatler

  Do-Over Date Series

  Million Dollar Date

  The Double Date Disaster

  The Date Next Door

  Date to the Rescue

  Fashionably Date

  Once Upon a Date

  Destination Date

  * * *

  The Wedding Whisperer Series

  The Wedding Charm

  The Wedding Catch

  My Wedding Date

  The Wedding Bet

  * * *

  Blue Moon Bay Series

  The Second Chance Inn

  The Sisterhood Promise

  The Wishing Star

  The Friendly Cottage

  The Christmas Cabin

  The Oopsie Island

  The Wedding Boutique

  The Holiday Shoppe

  * * *

  Better Date than Never Series

  Love at First Date

  Truth or Date

  My Last Blind Date

  Save the Date

  A Twist of Date

  License to Date

  Driven to Date

  Up to Date

  Déjà Date

  Date and Dash

  * * *

  Christmas Mountain Romance Series

  The Christmas Compromise

  ‘Twas the Kiss Before Christmas

  A Sugar Plum Christmas

  Fake Husband for Christmas

  * * *

  Treasured Dreams Series

  An Unexpected Date

  An Unexpected Kiss

  An Unexpected Love

  An Unexpected Proposal

  An Unexpected Wedding

  An Unexpected Joy

  An Unexpected Baby

  * * *

  Young Adult Novels

  See Me

  The Crush Dilemma

  Shaken (Mind Reader Series, 1)

  Linked (Mind Reader Series, 2)

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