For You, Forever (The Inn at Sunset Harbor—Book 7)

CHAPTER ONE The windows in the nursery wide open, their lace curtains billowing in the breeze, Emily folded baby clothes, placing them neatly into the chest of drawers. She sighed with contentment. The beautiful weather—unseasonably warm for post–Labor Day—was most welcome. Feeling a little tired, Emily sat in the nursing chair and rested a protective hand on her belly. Baby Charlotte was squirming around inside. “Do you like the Indian summer?” Emily asked her. “Ninety degrees at this time of year isn’t the norm. You’ll have to get used to the cold at some point.” Baby Charlotte was due in December, on the cusp of winter, in just three short months. Emily could hardly believe how quickly the pregnancy had gone, and how fast the time had flown by. The weather they were enjoying at the moment made winter seem very far away, and Emily certainly wanted to keep it that way. Because with each new season that dawned, Emily thought of her father, of the fact that it would be the last time he’d ever experience that particular season. She’d tried very hard to keep his terminal illness from her mind. Every time she spoke to him—which was daily—he didn’t mention it, instead telling her of all the fun activities he had planned. And the letters were starting to stack up now. They’d promised to write each other a lifetime’s worth of correspondence. Roy wasn’t wallowing in his impending demise, so Emily wasn’t going to either. The door flew open then and in waltzed Chantelle. She was carrying a packet of diapers in her arms. “Where should I put these?” she asked. “On the changing table, please,” Emily said, smiling at her sweet daughter. She and Daniel were going out of their way to make Chantelle feel included. At the moment, that took the form of her buying a practical item of her choice from the grocery store on each trip. Today it was diapers. Yesterday had been binkies. She’d also purchased bottles, burp cloths, teething rings, and a rattle. Emily loved the way Chantelle found purpose in her task. She took it very seriously. Chantelle walked over to the changing table and dumped the diapers down. Then she turned and faced Emily. “Have we had any news yet?” she asked. Emily knew Chantelle was referring to the island that she and Daniel had put in an offer on. She asked every day. Emily checked her cell phone for what must have been the millionth time. She saw no missed calls or messages from the real estate agent. She looked at Chantelle and shook her head. “Not yet.” Chantelle pouted with disappointment. “When will we find out?” she asked. “Will it be before Charlotte arrives?” Emily shrugged. “I don’t know, sweetie.” She stroked her soft, blond hair. “You do know we might not definitely get it, right?” She’d been preparing Chantelle for the worst from the get-go but the little girl had a tendency to get carried away at times. She talked about the island as though it were a definite, bringing up in conversation how great it would be once they could go and play on the island, or how pretty it would look once Daniel had finished the construction work there. “I know,” Chantelle said, a little glumly. Emily smiled brightly then, seeing that the child needed cheering up. “Come on, let’s go downstairs and have some lunch.” Chantelle nodded and took her hand. They headed into the kitchen together. To Emily’s delight, Amy sat at the kitchen island. She’d been in Sunset Harbor for weeks now, staying with her new boyfriend, Harry, dipping her toes in the water of domesticity. Emily loved having her nearby, and Amy was certainly making the most by dropping around whenever she had time between conference calls and remotely managing her business. She was drinking coffee and chatting with Daniel, who was busy putting away the last of the groceries. He kissed Emily as she entered. “Hey, gorgeous,” he murmured, fix one of his intense looks of love on her. Emily smiled and stroked a finger along his firm jaw line. She murmured, “Hey.” Just then, Amy coughed. Emily tore her gaze from Daniel and looked over her shoulder. “Hi, Ames,” she added to her friend, rolling her eyes jovially. It still felt unusual for Emily to have Amy so readily accessible. Her temporary move to Sunset Harbor had been wonderful for them both, bringing back the easy friendship they’d shared before Emily disappeared from New York City without telling her. And Amy’s organizational skills were certainly useful when it came to planning the logistics of Charlotte’s birth. “I didn’t know you were coming over today,” Emily said to her friend. “I just came to speak to Dan about the checklist,” Amy replied. Emily took a seat opposite her, frowning with curiosity. “What checklist?” “Of baby things,” Amy said in a tone that suggested it should have been obvious. “You need your night bag ready for the hospital, a plan for how to get there, where to park, who to call. We’ve written a communication hierarchy, where Dan calls me and I’m responsible for passing it on to Harry, Jayne, your mom, and Lois. Harry does the announcements for Sunset Harbor folk, Lois tells the rest of the staff at the inn, et cetera. Honestly, Emily, I’m shocked you haven’t gotten this stuff down yet.” Emily laughed. “In my defense, I’m not due for three months!” “You have to be prepared,” Amy said, knowingly. “If Charlotte felt like coming tomorrow, that’s a very real possibility.” Chantelle’s eyes widened. “She could come tomorrow?” she asked, looking thrilled at the prospect. “I could have a sister tomorrow?” Emily touched her stomach protectively, a nagging worry growing in the back of her mind. “I hope not.” Daniel came and sat next to them. “Don’t give Emily nightmare scenarios to worry about,” he said to Amy. “And don’t get Chantelle’s hopes up, either. She’s desperate to meet her little sister.” He turned to Chantelle. “Charlotte will stay in Mom’s tummy until December. There’s only a very, very small chance she’ll come sooner than that.” “So you mean she could come on my birthday?” Chantelle asked, grinning from ear to ear at the prospect. Daniel laughed and shook his head. “Halloween and two birthdays?” he joked. “I don’t think so!” “It would make it easy to remember,” Amy said with a chuckle. Just then the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it,” Emily said, wanting a distraction from the thought of Baby Charlotte being born prematurely. Out in the foyer, the inn was a flurry of activity. The busy summer period was over but there was always plenty to organize, especially now that the dining room served three meals a day and the speakeasy was open every night. Once the restaurant and spa opened they would never get a moment’s peace, Emily thought. She hurried past Lois and Marnie, who were busy at the reception desk, then opened the door. A smartly dressed gentleman stood there. He looked to be around fifty years of age, with salt and pepper hair and a smattering of laugh lines around his eyes. “Paul Knowlson,” he said confidently, holding his hand out for Emily to shake like their meeting was some kind of business transaction. She took it and shook. “I’m sorry, Paul, I don’t think I know you,” she said. “I’ve booked an apartment,” he said, pulling a slip of paper from his inner suit jacket pocket. “In Trevor’s House,” he said, reading off it. “Oh!” Emily exclaimed. He was their first guest in the new apartments! “That’s in the house across the lawn,” she said. “Here, I’ll lead the way.” “Fantastic,” Paul replied. Emily led him along the pathway. She felt a thrill of excitement knowing this would be the first time of many she’d be doing this. It was wonderful to see all their hard work on Trevor’s House come to fruition, and to know the gift he’d left them was being utilized rather than left to languish. “Now, I think I heard a hint of a New York City accent,” Paul said as they walked. “Is that where you’re from?” “You’re right,” Emily replied, smiling. “Born and bred. Do you know it well?” Paul nodded. “Yes, I grew up there. But I’m based in Florida now.” “And you’re in business?” she added. Paul laughed, gesturing to his expensive-looking suit. “What gave it away?” They reached Trevor’s House and Emily led him inside. The main area downstairs was now completely open plan, with just a hip-high glass partition between the brand new, sparkling restaurant and the route to the staircase that led up to the apartments. The restaurant hadn’t yet opened its doors but it wouldn’t be long now until that happened, Emily thought with excitement. “You’re in apartment four,” Emily said, gesturing toward the stairs. “It’s got a lovely balcony looking over the ocean.” “Sounds perfect,” Paul replied. Emily led him up the stairs to the mezzanine floor, then gestured to a Parisian-style wrought iron gate with a sign in gold reading Guests Only. She showed him the large key that opened the gate, and then they headed along the corridor and stopped outside apartment four. Emily remembered the excitement she’d felt the first time she’d looked around the new apartments. They’d been masterfully designed by the Erik & Sons triplets. She hoped that Paul would be as impressed on first sight of the apartment as she had been. She unlocked the door and pushed it open, then gestured for Paul to enter. “This is fantastic,” Paul said with a nod. He seemed like a nice man, but Emily could get the sense of a business-savvy sharpness about him. It was the same quality that Amy had, an almost hawk-like ability to sniff out money and quality, to assess one’s surroundings and make an instantaneous judgment. It was a huge compliment that someone like that would want to even book into her humble inn! Emily handed him the key. “Meals are served in the main house at the moment,” she explained. “So please join us whenever you wish. The restaurant downstairs isn’t open yet so everything will be very quiet.” They said goodbye and Emily headed back out toward the main house. She caught up with Lois in the foyer. “I forgot we had a guest in Trevor’s,” she said. “Is everything arranged for him? Clean bedding, bath robe, coffee pods for the machine?” Lois nodded seriously. “Yes,” she said, sounding a touch insulted by the insinuation she might have forgotten something. Emily blushed. “Sorry, of course you’re on it.” It wasn’t always easy for Emily to remember that Lois wasn’t the flustered, over-emotional scatterbrain she’d once been. She’d really flourished recently, probably due in part to her promotion and pay raise, and Emily knew she could trust her to run the inn perfectly. She’d even taken well to dealing with the suppliers and putting in grocery and goods orders. In fact, Emily realized, she could probably leave the country for a month and entrust the inn to Lois’s capable hands; something she’d once have never thought possible! Emily went back into the kitchen. Daniel, Amy, and Chantelle were still sitting around the kitchen table, chatting animatedly. No doubt Amy was using her business brain to force Daniel into planning every last detail of Charlotte’s birth down to a tee, employing the sort of organized precision that babies paid little heed to. “There she is.” Daniel beamed when he saw her enter. “I’ve got some news.” “You do?” Emily said, taking a seat. “But I was only gone a minute.” “Jack called,” Daniel said, referring to his boss at the carpentry workshop where he’d been working for the last year. “Oh? And what did he say?” Emily asked, curiously. “It’s his back again,” Daniel said. Jack had injured himself at work not that long ago and hadn’t been back to normal since. “You know how it gives him problems. Well, his wife has finally managed to convince him to reduce his hours at work. She’s inherited some money and wants them to take an early retirement, cruise around the Caribbean, that sort of thing.” Emily frowned. “Your exciting news is that Jack and his wife are going on a cruise?” Daniel laughed. “Yes!” “I don’t get it,” she added, looking with bemusement at Chantelle’s and Amy’s excited expressions. “What’s the joke? What am I missing?” Daniel continued. “Think about it,” he encouraged her. “He’ll need someone to run the wood store in his absence. Someone to deal with the shop.” Emily gasped. “You mean… you?” Chantelle couldn’t contain it anymore. She burst out her joyful exclamation. “Daddy’s getting promoted!” Emily clapped a hand over her mouth. “That’s amazing!” she cried. “You deserve it.” She couldn’t believe the good fortune and hopped off her stool, going around behind Daniel and hugging him tightly. Daniel blushed shyly. He wasn’t one to readily take compliments. “He’s going to give me a raise and a new title. It will mean longer hours though,” he added, sounding very serious. “I’ll need to be the first in to open up and I’ll need to be the last there at night to lock everything up properly. There’s expensive equipment and products in there and Jack never lets anyone else lock up, so it’s kind of a big deal for him to release the reins on that front. My shift pattern will be really odd as a result. Jack never minded driving to and from the woodshop at all hours, but now that I’ll be expected to do the same it will be an adjustment.” Emily didn’t want to think about any of the possible downsides to the good news yet. Long shifts, extra responsibility over safety and security, and the inevitable stress that would cause him were all things she would deal with at the time. Right now, she wanted to ride the high of the good news. “I’m so proud of you,” she said, pressing a kiss into the crown of his head. “You should do something to celebrate,” Amy said from the other side of the breakfast bar. “Definitely,” Emily agreed. “I think we should go down to the beach!” Chantelle suggested. “Well, while the weather’s like this, I don’t see why not,” Emily said. “We shouldn’t waste it.” Chantelle punched the air. She loved the beach, the outside in general. Any opportunity to run and sprint in nature she took greedily. “Amy?” Emily asked. “Are you joining us?” Amy consulted her watch. “Actually, I’m supposed to be meeting Harry soon so I won’t have time.” Emily couldn’t be sure, but she thought she heard an undertone in her friend’s voice, a kind of exasperation. She wondered if there was an issue between her and Harry. But there was no time to discuss it now. The Morey family was in full action mode, Chantelle hurrying off in search of the dogs’ leashes, Daniel flinging open cupboards and pulling out bags, juice boxes, and snacks. Emily touched Amy’s hand across the counter. “We’ll talk later,” she said. Amy nodded, her expression a little downcast. Then Emily was swept up in the chaos of her family, like a tornado spinning around her pulling her in. “Let’s go! To the beach!”