He seriously doubted that. But he’d never been able to say no to her. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then he could see for himself what kind of mess she’d gotten herself into this time. Or, more accurately, gotten both of them into?
“And Robby? Don’t look so worried.” As usual, Violet got in the last word as she clicked off her phone. He was left staring at his screen saver.
Chapter 2
Evelyn went out into the cafe to help clear the tables after the lunch crowd. She’d been right about the chilled soup. It was a hit today. She’d have to put it in her recipe rotation.
The Jenkins twins stopped her as she walked past their table. “Evelyn, dear, the soup was fabulous. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a chilled soup before, but I know I adore everything you make, so I tried it. It was wonderful.” One of the twins smiled at her.
She waited for a clue so she could figure out which one was which. You’d think by now she could tell them apart, but she still, after all these years, had no clue.
“I enjoyed it just as much as Jackie did.” Jillian gave her the much-needed clue.
“I’m glad you both liked it. I’m sure I’ll make it again soon.”
“Oh, did you hear the news?”
What juicy town gossip did the twins have to share now? “I don’t think so.”
“Someone bought the old Murphy Resort. A woman. Looks to be in her forties? Can you imagine that? A young woman running the resort?” Jackie shook her head. “She sure has a lot of work to get that place back into shape. It’s gotten so run down. I’m surprised Murphy could even find a buyer.”
“I hope she’s successful. It used to be a cute little place.” Kind of. Murphy hadn’t put a lot of energy into keeping it maintained. But she could see the potential in it. Possibly.
“I heard that Murphy moved to Sarasota after he sold the place.” Jillian seemed eager to impart yet more of their town gossip.
Murphy was quite the character. Grumpy and standoffish. And the whole town just called him Murphy. She wasn’t even sure what his first name was.
“Moonbeam is getting to be quite the town of woman-owned businesses. The Parker General Store. The Parker Cafe.” Jillian listed them off on her fingers.
“And Margaret owns Barbara’s Boutique,” Evelyn added, not bothering to remind her—yet again—that it was actually Sea Glass Cafe. “That’s another woman-owned business.”
“That’s right.” Jackie turned to Jillian. “Maybe we should think of some kind of business to run.”
“Maybe we should.” Jillian frowned. “But what could we do?”
The twins had inherited a small family fortune. She’d never known them to have a job and couldn’t quite imagine them going to work every day either.
“We should think about it.” Jackie’s face creased into a pensive look.
“We should,” Jillian agreed.
“Well, I need to get back to work,” Evelyn said. “Enjoy your afternoon.” She gathered a tray of dishes and headed back into the kitchen.
Melody was busy rinsing dishes and putting them in the dishwasher. “Here, give me those. Should just about finish up this load.” Melody reached for the tray.
“The Jenkins twins told me Murphy’s Resort sold. Did you know that?”
“No, I didn’t. I’m surprised Mr. Murphy found a buyer. The place is a mess.”
“Well, he did. Some woman. She sure will have her work cut out for her.” Evelyn turned to check on the dough she had rising for another batch of sourdough bread. Maybe the new owner would come into the cafe soon and she’d get a chance to meet her. Or maybe she’d bake something and drop by the cottages and introduce herself. Make the new owner feel welcome. Yes, that’s what she should do.
Rob pulled his rental car into the drive to Murphy’s Resort. Althoughdrivewas not quite what he’d call the grass-filled ruts that led to the main office, jarring his teeth as he drove over them. He climbed out of his car and looked around in disbelief. When they used to come here, the cottages had been painted a cheerful, if faded, color. Now it was hard to tell what color they actually had been. The door to one cottage was gaping open. Another cottage had a blue tarp covering its roof.
Had Violet even looked at this place before she bought it? He heard noise coming from the direction of the far cottage and headed that direction. He paused when he got to the beachside of the property and looked out over the white sand beach sprawling before him.
Now,thislooked the same. The beach had always been his favorite part of staying here. That and the ice cream at the general store in town. He could only hope the store still existed and the ice cream was still as good. He stared at the waves rolling to shore and a pair of gulls swooping by. Royal palm trees lined the edge of the beach, providing a bit of shade without impeding the view. He regretfully pulled himself from the view and went to find Violet.
He walked over to where the noise was coming from and saw Violet standing with a man who was—his eyes widened in surprise—the man was putting in a central air conditioning unit.
