Ivy wasn’t entirely sure. “I don’t want to disappoint people if the construction runs longer. Old houses often have hidden problems that only surface during renovation.”
Shelly grinned. “Are you saying we might find skeletons in the closet? I don’t mind if they were bankers with pockets full of cash.” She snapped her fingers. “Or some of those guys that ran the gambling barge off the coast during Prohibition. If the maid hid silver coins in her wall, maybe someone else tucked away gold.”
Laughing, Ivy swatted her sister on the sleeve. “Come on, Shells, I’m serious about our guest.”
Poppy nodded as she scraped the last of the yogurt from the bowl. “We should watch her.”
“She seemed okay to me,” Shelly said. “She’s a librarian, not a serial killer.”
Poppy shook her head. “Technically, she could be both. Highly unlikely, unless an awful lot of books go missing. That might set her off.”
“Sounds like you’ve been reading mysteries.” Shelly poked her niece in the ribs. “LikeThe Case of the Lethal Librarian.Good title, right?”
Ivy laughed at the idea. She could always count on Shelly to bring the humor.
“Maybe I’ll write that someday,” Shelly said thoughtfully. “As for now, I’m going to harvest more lemons and plant tomatoes.” Shelly grabbed a tart kumquat and tossed it into her mouth.
“What about the spring flowers you usually plant around the perimeter?” Ivy asked.
“With Reed’s workers trampling the flower beds and sawdust flying everywhere?” Shelly shook her head. “I’ll wait until the construction storm passes. It’s that or spend every day screaming at them.”
With a chuckle, Poppy left to check on their guests, leaving Ivy with Shelly.
Shelly eyed her. “Are your instincts tingling?”
“I just have a lot on my mind.” Ivy chewed her lip in thought.
“That’s not what I asked, but if that’s the way you want to be?—”
“Libby asks a lot of questions, that’s all. And her replies are vague,” Ivy added.
“Maybe my book should beThe Case of the Too Curious Librarian Who Gets Wacked.” While Ivy laughed, Shelly added, “You can take me out of the Big Apple, but you’ll never get rid of my New York attitude. I adopted that, and it stays with me for good.”
“You’re incorrigible,” Ivy said, grinning. “But I can’t shake the feeling that Libby is looking for more than she’s letting on.”
Still, what if Shelly was right? Ivy’s skin crawled as she thought about it.
8
Light streamed through the music room’s open doors, illuminating dust particles dancing in the air. Ivy stepped onto the protective paper covering the hardwood floors, joining Reed, who was measuring and making notes in a spiral notebook.
“Good news,” Reed said. “The project is well under budget. You planned for cost overruns, so you’ll have extra funds for other updates you want.”
Ivy was pleased to hear this. “Then I’d like to customize some of the public spaces to improve efficiency.” This was a chance to reshape the inn to update its casual beach comfort and historic elegance.
Her nephew looked up from his measurements, a pencil tucked behind his ear. “What did you have in mind for this room?”
Ivy surveyed the space thoughtfully, seeing it as it usually was in her mind’s eye. Plastic sheeting covered the grand piano in the corner, protecting it from construction dust and paint splatter. Other furnishings were draped in the center ofthe room. The ornate fireplace and vintage light fixtures were similarly protected.
“To improve the ease of our daily tea and wine gatherings, I’d like a wall of built-ins right there,” Ivy said, pointing to a blank wall. “We need cabinets to store napkins, serving platters, extra music stands, electrical cords, batteries. All the practical things we spend time searching for and ferrying around the inn when we host events. That’s time lost every day for set up and clean up.” Running an inn with a lean staff was all about efficiency.
Reed nodded, jotting notes. “Smart. Cabinets above, too?”
“The same.” Ivy ran her hand along the wall. “I want something that feels upscale but beach casual. Guests should feel comfortable coming in with sand in their shoes but still feel like they’re somewhere special.”
“Got it,” Reed said. “Like the rest of the house. Relaxed. Elegant but not pretentious.”
The door swung open, and Shelly breezed in, her cheeks flushed. “Sorry I’m late. Just dropped Daisy at Darla’s for a little while.”
