He’d done his share around the inn, helping keep it in good repair, even though it was Ivy’s asset. Once, when she’d protested, he said,If I can help make your life easier, why wouldn’t I?
He was definitely a keeper.
Shelly nudged her. “Are you okay?”
Ivy had to trust the process and her team. She swept a hand over her hair. “Sure.”
“Then why do you have that look, Ives?”
Ivy was a little perturbed her sister could read her so well. “What look?”
“See? That look.” Shelly grinned in triumph. “Like you forgot how fabulous this place will be when the work is complete. This is what we’ve needed. It’s what you envisioned the first time you saw this old beast of a place. I still remember standing in the front yard when you had your epiphany about keeping the house and moving in. I was reluctant, but you knew what you wanted.”
“It wasn’t like we had any other place to go.” Ivy chuckled at the memory. “Bennett was shocked, but we made it work for us.”
“No thanks to him in the beginning,” Shelly added, quirking a grin. “He thought he’d made a sale. Still, he turned out okay in the end. Bet you never thought he’d be your future husband.”
“Not for a minute,” Ivy said, slinging an arm around her sister. “I couldn’t have done this without you. Or you, Poppy. You two are the marketing brains.”
Their niece’s delicate face flushed. “I love working here with you two.” Poppy paused, frowning a little. “I’ll sort of miss the old shabbiness, though. I hope it’s not so fancy that guests are afraid to track sand from the beach inside.”
“I want it to be comfortable,” Ivy said. “Only with plumbing that works, lights that don’t flicker, and windows that don’t whistle in the wind.”
Shelly laughed. “That’s true luxury.” Something outside caught her eye, and she peered from the window. “Chief Clarkson and Imani just pulled up.”
“They’re here to help Gilda move,” Ivy said. “Since Jamir started medical school, Imani has extra room.”
Jamir had helped her youngest daughter, Sunny, stay focused on her studies.
In the end, that had paid benefits. Sunny graduated and was awarded a scholarship for a master’s program in hospitality. Now, she was away on a fieldwork assignment, consulting at a major hotel under her professor’s tutelage.
A staccato clatter erupted on the stairs in the foyer.
“Pixie is loose,” Shelly cried.
“I’ll get her,” Ivy said, racing to catch the Chihuahua before she escaped. Pixie and her guardian were relocating during the construction. “Would you direct Clark and Imani round the back to the car court?”
Ivy tried trapping Pixie on the last stairstep, but the dog broke through her clutch. Ivy gave chase.
Pixie round the corner and headed for the music room, leaping over electrical cords with nimble moves. She stopped in front of a wall, sniffed it, and began to bark.
Ivy swept her into her arms. “You almost made a break for it, didn’t you? Silly dog, barking at walls.” Cuddling the shivering little creature, she turned back to Shelly, who’d followed her.
Shelly frowned with concern. “Gilda and Pixie will return when the work is finished, won’t they?”
“They’re like family now,” Ivy said, nodding. “Would you look out for Poppy’s last guest? I need to return Pixie and see how Gilda is doing. She’s feeling unsettled and displaced.”
After Shelly agreed, Ivy climbed the stairs to Gilda’s room.
Keeping a tight hold on Pixie, Ivy peered into the open door.
“Where in the world is your rhinestone collar?” Gilda muttered, rummaging through items strewn across the bed. Her bracelet, heavy with travel charms, jingled with every movement. “I swear I just had it in my hand.”
Ivy suppressed her laughter. “If that belongs to Pixie, why don’t you ask her yourself?”
“Good heavens, I thought she was right beside me. She wriggled out of her collar again.”
“And she made a break for it. Likely for the beach.” Ivy didn’t want to concern Gilda with Pixie’s strange behavior in the music room. “I think Pixie is jealous of Brother Rip’s surfing collie.” She handed the wayward pooch to Gilda and peered under the bed. “I see the collar way in the back. I can reach it for you.”
