“Oh my goodness, Brenna," she said, walking towards me.
Karly and I played softball together all through high school. We weren’t close friends, but we weren’t enemies either.
I opened the door and motioned to my foot.
“I’m sorry I can’t get out and hug you,” I said. “I’m injured.”
“But I can come and hug you," she said. She leaned inside the truck and hugged me tightly.
“What on Earth are you doing here?” she asked. “I thought you lived in New York.”
I briefly explained that I moved back in town and that I was now renovating the Tide’s Pull.
“Oh, that’s wonderful news!” she said. “We were all so worried about what was going to happen to it once we knew that Mr. Reynolds was sick.”
“Why were you worried about it?”
Karly looked around the parking lot and then leaned in conspiratorially.
“I guess everyone was worried that Josh Kingston was going to get his hands on it.”
My heart started pounding, but I tried to keep my voice calm as I asked, “What do you mean?”
“Well, I don’t know if you remember him. He was a senior when we were freshmen. Anyway, apparently, he is some big real estate guy now, and he makes his money by going in and taking over little bed-and-breakfast type places and then turning them into these gaudy monstrosities. We were all afraid he was going to do the same thing here, especially since he still lives in town.”
“Oh my goodness,” I said, not knowing what else to say.
“Yeah,” she said. “I was shocked to hear it because he always seemed like such a nice guy, but apparently, he did something really cruel to this woman in Santa Barbara.”
“What did he do?” I asked, feeling my face grow hot.
“Well,” she said, “Apparently this woman owned this cute little inn on the coast. Josh came in and befriended her, took her out for dinner, and really seemed like he was just being nice, or actually even made it seem like he was trying to date her.”
“What happened next?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Well, he and his company offered to partner with her, so she agreed. Then about a year after that, they took over completely. They pushed her out and left her with nothing. She ended up having to leave town and move back in with her parents.”
“That’s awful,” I said, feeling sick to my stomach. “How do you know this?”
“Her mom is one of my aunt’s friends.”
I shook my head. “That is just so sad.”
“I know,” Karly said. “She was absolutely heartbroken. So be careful, now that you’re here and that you are running the business. Josh is still around, and I don’t know if you have seen him lately, but he is very good looking. He’s charming, and he knows what he’s doing. So just be on your guard.”
“I will be," I said. “Definitely.”
Karly hugged me again. “I have to go, but I come back to town once a month or so to see my parents. Next time I’m here I’ll come by and see you at the B&B and we can catch up even more!”
“That sounds great,” I said. My heart was pounding fiercely, but I didn’t want Karly to know I was upset.
I hugged her and when she left, I leaned back, put my head on the back of my seat, and tried to stop my hands from trembling.
Chapter 12
Josh
I set the roller back into the tray and stepped back to admire the room. I had just finished painting the final bedroom. Everything had gone so smoothly, and with everyone’s help, it went a lot faster than I thought it would. It had only been one week, and we had accomplished more than I thought we would get done in two weeks.
