Saving Sandcastles

by Meredith Summers

  Claire was tense as she slipped into the public washroom and turned on the tap. Water poured out in a slow stream, but it appeared to be working. The toilet flushed, taking a long time to fill up again. She checked under the sink for a leak but found none. Everything seemed to be okay, but did the low water pressure indicate some catastrophe was lurking?

  Maybe she should call Sally, just in case.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jane had a thousand and one things to do to keep the inn running smoothly, but most of her time was spent checking that her mother hadn’t removed her slippers and bandages. Her feet were still raw and cut up from her escapade on the beach, and her nurse friend had said they would be for another week at least. She would have thought that would keep Addie out of trouble because it made her less likely to walk away.

  Not so.

  It was only just after noon, but Addie was sleeping now, curled up on her bed with a blanket thrown over her shoulders and her feet peeking out from the bottom edge. The slippers were still on, and the socks and bandages underneath. She looked so peaceful while asleep, even though the lines etched into her face had appeared to deepen over the span of just a few months. She was aging so fast, right in front of Jane, and she didn’t know what to do. She loved her mother. All she wanted was to keep her safe and happy.

  But doing this, running after Addie to make sure she was still in the inn or hadn’t left a dangerous appliance running or kicked off her shoes, made Jane feel like the mother rather than the child.

  Softly, she closed the door and sighed. What was she going to do?

  She wasn’t about to ask her sister for help. Andie had left after high school and seemingly didn’t care what happened back in Lobster Bay. Sure, she’d tried to be a comfort when Jane’s son had died, and again when her husband, Brad, had died. But Jane could always tell that Andie couldn’t wait to get back to her fancy life in New York City. She’d kept Andie apprised of their mother’s condition but had glossed over how bad it was. What would be the point of going into details?

  She retreated back downstairs to the lobby, where she’d taken out the ledger. A family was due to check out of the inn today, and an older woman, Mrs. Weatherlee, who used to live in town ages ago, wanted a reservation in a few weeks. At least they had a few reservations. Bookings had dropped off that summer, and Jane had no idea why. Perhaps word had gotten out that the innkeeper’s daughter didn’t know what she was doing.

  Jane went to the foyer, where she’d put the ledger books to work on while she watched the inn. At least her accounting background helped with the financial aspect of running Tides. Numbers were what she knew best. Numbers were soothing. Numbers always made sense.

  Unless they were scratched in her mother’s handwriting.

  As a headache built behind her eyes, Jane scrunched up her nose and saught the exact sum on the chart that had turned the numbers so awry.

  The door opened, letting in a burst of salty air and a broad-shouldered male form. Jane glanced up, smiling despite her weariness. It deepened when she saw that the newcomer was not a customer but Rob Bradford.

  “Good morning.”

  He smiled and held up a sheaf of papers. “Good morning. I brought the information I have on memory care facilities. I visited a lot of these in person before, to look around. Would you like to go through them together?”

  Jane’s shoulders rounded inward. She didn’t want to have to face this alone. Maybe she should wait for her sister. But no, Andie probably wouldn’t stay long enough to sort any of it out, and besides, Jane wasn’t sure she even wanted her sister’s input with something that important.

  Rob couldn’t help her make her decision, but he could give her the information she needed. She nodded and slipped off the stool behind the rustic counter they used as a check-in desk. She slid the ledger out of sight and beckoned him toward the kitchen. “That would be nice. Come, I’ll make you a cup of coffee.”

  Once they were ensconced at the table, steaming mugs between their hands and the papers spread out before them, Rob looked around. “No muffins today?”

  “I haven’t gone down to Claire’s bakery in a few days. I take it she’s very busy preparing for the sale tomorrow. How are your preparations going for your grand opening?”

  “Very well,” he said with a smile. “I think—I hope—Claire and I will be working together to cross-promote. I spoke with her yesterday about setting up a table in each other’s stores, and I think she might be coming around.”

  Jane was surprised. So, Claire had finally come to her senses. Good. “That’s great to hear. I hope all three of our businesses can work together in the near future.”

  He raised his mug to her. “That is my plan, as long as Claire is amenable to it as well.” He sipped, pausing. “Unless she said something different to you?” He asked casually, but there was something about the way he didn’t meet her gaze that hinted the question was weighing on his mind.

  “I’m sorry, I haven’t spoken to her recently. Is something worrying you?”

  He took another sip to cover his reaction, but Jane noticed the color tinging his cheeks. “No, it’s just—well, we didn’t actually make the final plans. I’m hoping she’ll come to me.”

  Jane could tell that he liked Claire, not only liked her as a person but was attracted to her. And from the way Jane had witnessed her friend behave around the mere mention of Rob, she was almost certain that the attraction went both ways. There was something familiar, comforting, about Rob that Jane couldn’t put her finger on. It wasn’t only the kind way he’d treated her mother or how he’d rescued Addie from the storm. It was him. After the way Peter had treated Claire, Rob would be a refreshing change.

  He was a good man with a good heart. He’d gone to all this trouble to help Jane with Addie. She looked down at the myriad pamphlets and notes strewn between them. Immediately, she felt out of her depth, like a fish out of water. She was far more comfortable thinking about Claire’s love life.

  Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and looked Rob in the eye. “Okay. Tell me what you know about these facilities.”

  More than an hour later, Rob left, and Jane was still conflicted. Her head swam with all the new information. If she put Addie in a memory care facility, she had three top contenders to choose from. All had professional, caring, patient staffs and were close by.

  But as clear-cut as all that data was, Jane was still struggling. In more lucid days, Addie had mentioned she never wanted to go to a facility. But she’d been referring to a nursing home, one where the patients were lined up in beds and neglected.

  These places that Rob had shown her were more like residences. Rob assured her it was like having a room in her own home. The staff was lovely, the food good. Jane didn’t want to betray her mother, but she felt like a ghost of herself trying to look after Addie and run the inn at the same time. She didn’t know what to do. She needed advice. Luckily tonight was the night she’d promised to help Claire frost the cupcakes for her sale. She would get all the advice she needed from Claire and Maxi.

  Chapter Twenty

  The shop Rob had leased in Lobster Bay was small. In any other location, he would have set up aisles to stock as much bread on the shelves as possible. However, he didn’t want Claire to think he was ungrateful for her advice or that he’d only concocted it as an excuse to spend time with her.

  So instead of baking more bread for his shelves, he pulled down the window blinds so no one could see what he was doing and spent the day rearranging the store to accommodate a cozy cluster of tables near the door.

  Across from those, in the most prominent spot in the store, he arranged a table with paper wrappers ready to be filled with cupcake samples. He even made a sign with her bakery name to pin to the front of the table with the location of those delicious cupcakes. All that was left was for her to add the product and any promotional materials she had about the cupcake sale. Since Claire couldn’t see inside with the shades dra
wn, he hoped it would be a pleasant surprise.

  All day, he waited for her to march over and agree to his bargain, but she never came. When her store was about to close and she still hadn’t made her way across the street, despite seeing her look his way several times in the distance, he decided to bite the bullet. He’d gone through all that trouble to accommodate her store. Surely it wouldn’t be too untoward of him to ask her to take a look.

  Yes, she would probably want to see it. And besides, they should talk about any strategy they might want to use to draw in more customers and send them to each other’s stores.

  Decided, Rob locked up his store and crossed the street, empty of tourists at this hour. Claire was clearly getting ready to close. She’d already pulled her sandwich board inside the shop and was wiping down the tables. He reached for the door latch, hoping that he wouldn’t find it locked.

  A bell tinkled overhead as he stepped into her bakery. It smelled sweet, chocolate and vanilla scenting the air and making his mouth water.

  At the noise, Claire raised her head with a cheerful smile. It faded the moment she saw him. The disappearance was like a punch to the gut.

  “I was just closing up.”

  The formal words were spoken in the frostiest tone he’d ever heard. She had been so open and friendly with him last night. What had changed?

  “I don’t want to keep you from your work, but you hadn’t gotten back to me regarding our joint promotion. I set up a table, and I thought—”

  Claire scrubbed at the table, barely giving him a glance. “Oh, sorry. I got to thinking maybe that wasn’t the best idea.”

  “Really? Why?” Last night she seemed receptive. What happened to change her mind?

  When she turned to face him, her expression was conflicted. Her face was stony, but her eyes flickered with indecision. They stared at each other for a few seconds, then she lifted her chin, defiant. She looked away, focusing on wiping down the already spotless table. “I just feel it might not be in my best interest.”

  “I don’t see why not. I mean, our products complement each other’s, and we’re both having a sale—”

  She turned from her task, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m not interested right now. Maybe next time. But now, I have dozens of cupcakes to frost, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to close up.”

  He met her gaze, trying to read the truth in her eyes. This was not the friendly woman he’d had cupcakes with last night. Had he done something to offend her? Or had last night been the aberration, when she was caught off her guard due to her crisis. He sensed there was no more to say. Claire had apparently made up her mind.

  “Okay, well, good luck tomorrow, then.” He left, disappointed and more than a little disheartened.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “What was that all about?” Hailey stood in the doorway that led to the kitchen, the keys to her grandfather’s car dangling from her hand. She hadn’t been eavesdropping, not exactly. She just hadn’t wanted to interrupt what seemed like a very intense conversation.

  Claire glanced out the window, a look of regret passing across her face. “That was the owner of Bradford Breads. He wanted to combine forces for the sale.”

  “And you think that’s a bad idea?” Hailey had heard enough to know the man sounded sincere whereas Claire had been standoffish, almost rude. “It sounded like you guys had an arrangement worked out prior.”

  Claire sighed and returned to wiping the table quite vigorously. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you, but he came over last night and fixed the pipe in the bathroom. It sprung a leak.”

  Hailey frowned. That didn’t sound like something a competitor would do. “So it turns out he’s a nice guy, then.”

  Claire straightened and folded the cloth into a neat square. “Well, he seemed nice last night.”

  Hailey felt relieved. If the bread store didn’t want to put them out of business, then that made her job more secure and perhaps opened the opportunity for more responsibility and more pay. “Then maybe working with him would increase business. Why did you say no?”

  “I found out that he puts people out of business. I think he was sneaking around, trying to find out things to use against us.” Claire went over to lock the door, pausing to look out across the street.

  Hailey wasn’t so sure about the motivation being to get information. What kind of information could he possibly get that would hurt them? From what she’d overheard, the Bradford guy was clearly disappointed they wouldn’t team up, and Hailey sensed something else too. The man was interested in more than just a business relationship. He was interested in Claire. Couldn’t she see that? Or was rejecting his business proposal a way for her to keep anyone from getting around the wall she’d built around her heart after her divorce?

  Judging by the regretful look on her face, Claire might feel the same way about him.

  “Anyway, it’s not going to happen now. We’ll see what happens in the future.” Claire turned from the door and headed to the kitchen. “Aren’t you supposed to be taking off? Oh, that reminds me. I saw that you were driving some old beater the other night. Is something wrong with your car? If you need money for it, I can give you a loan or maybe a bonus if we make a lot on the cupcake sale.”

  Hailey was horrified. Her pride would never let her take a handout, especially not from Claire, who had been so good to her already. “Oh, no! Frank just had to—umm—wait for a part. Mine will be fixed soon. Don’t worry.”

  Claire looked at her a bit too long, and Hailey almost confessed, but then Claire nodded. “Okay great.”

  Hailey walked with her back to the kitchen. “I put out all the ingredients for you. Have fun tonight. I wish I could help.”

  “No worries. We’ll be up past Jennifer’s bedtime, and I have plenty of help with Jane and Maxi. I need you rested for tomorrow. It’s going to be a big day.”

  Claire left the side door unlocked. Jane and Maxi would be there any minute, so she took out the big mixing bowls, spatulas, and frosting bags and set them next to the ingredients that Hailey had taken out. The flyers she’d had printed sat in the corner. Claire had already posted some around town, but she’d set a few aside for Jane, as she hadn’t had a chance to get them to her yet.

  She’d already put several dozen cupcakes out of their containers to let them get to room temperature, and she lined them up on the table in front of the chairs, then started on the frosting. She made three bowls, a lemon flavor, a vanilla, and a mocha.

  “Jane Miller reporting for duty.” Jane peeked her head in the door, holding up a brown bag. “I brought you a sandwich compliments of Brenda.”

  “Thank you.” Come to think of it, Claire hadn’t eaten. She took the bag and opened it. “Ham and swiss? My favorite. You want half?”

  Jane shook her head. “I ate at the inn.”

  “Knock, knock.” Maxi opened the screen door, careful to latch it behind her. “I brought you a salad.”

  “Thanks.” Claire’s answer was muffled since her mouth was full of sandwich.

  “Oh, I see you’re already eating.” Maxi smiled at Jane. “Great minds think alike.”

  “I appreciate them both.” Claire put the salad on the table and took another bite of the sandwich. While still chewing, she grabbed the bowls of frosting and set them on the table next to their respective cupcakes. “Okay, I figure we can each take a flavor. Maxi you get lemon raspberry, Jane you can do the red velvet, and I’ll do the chocolate mocha. I use a pastry bag so that the frosting is a big thick swirl.”

  Claire loaded her bag and demonstrated how to frost the cupcakes, twirling the bag so the frosting spiraled up in a thick swirl then pulling the top to a peak. “Got it?”

  “Yep.”

  Claire watched them focus intently on the task. Jane was more meticulous, calculating the swirl so that it was precisely even. Maxi more creative. Claire started in on her own.

  “I passed Hailey on the way down here. She’s still driving that car,
” Maxi said.

  “I asked her about it.” Claire set her cupcake down and picked up the next. “She’s just waiting for hers to be fixed.”

  “That’s not what Frank told me.” Jane looked at Claire over the top of her cupcake. “He said her car needed a lot of work, and she can’t afford it. That’s her grandfather’s car she’s driving now.”

  Claire frowned. “Why would she tell me that she was just waiting for Frank to fix it?”

  “Pride. And maybe she didn’t want to worry you with all this going on.” Maxi gestured to the cupcakes spread out on the table.

  Worry bloomed in Claire’s gut. If Hailey was concerned, did that mean she thought Sandcastles might lose business? For Claire to worry was one thing, but if others did too…

  “Well, nothing to worry about at all now that you’re teaming up with Bradford Breads. That must be a relief,” Jane said.

  Claire’s fist tightened, and frosting surged out of the bag in an unsightly blob. “Where did you hear that?”

  She put the unsalvageable cupcake down on the table. Great, one less piece of inventory for the sale.

  The messy frosting blob didn’t seem to bother Maxi though. She pulled it in front of her and started peeling off the paper wrapper. “We get to eat the mistakes, right?”

  “Yes, eat the mistakes,” Claire said to Maxi, but her eyes were on Jane, who now looked confused.

  “Rob told me. He came over to Tides earlier.”

  Interesting, now why would he do that if he wasn’t supplying them with bread? Claire’s gaze fell on the flyers. Aha! He’d probably brought her a flyer for his shop, likely trying to get his posted in front of Claire’s.

  Claire grabbed the flyers from the counter and handed them to Jane. “Here are those flyers. I suppose you already put the one for Bradford Breads up.”