Red Clover Inn. Carla Neggers

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       Three

      Charlotte stood by the window in Samantha’s room on the second floor of the hotel, overlooking the garden terrace where the wedding ceremony and reception had taken place a few hours ago. It was back to normal now, extra tables put away, tablecloths and decorations gone, wedding vases exchanged for pots of herbs. Samantha had changed out of her wedding dress into comfy travel clothes. Charlotte had switched her maid-of-honor dress for jeans and a sweater.

      “The front-door key is hanging on a hook by the socket for the hose,” Samantha said as she tossed clothes into a suitcase open on the bed. “You can’t miss it. Neither could a thief, but thieves aren’t interested in Red Clover Inn. It’s not a dump, I promise. It’s just that it doesn’t look as if it holds anything of value.”

      “No pirate treasure tucked in the attic?”

      “I wish. The quarreling heirs to the last owner would have discovered and claimed anything of value before they sold the place. Not that I blame them. Justin and I are moving our stuff into the innkeeper’s suite on the main floor. We’ll live there during renovations. We can’t wait to get started, but we got a bit ahead of ourselves with our work schedules and the wedding.”

      “Totally understandable,” Charlotte said.

      “We’ll have more time when we’re back home. Are you sure you want to house-sit?”

      “I am. I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure.”

      Samantha walked over to the closet. “Weddings can do funny things to people’s heads.”

      “Especially my head,” Charlotte said.

      Her cousin looked horrified. “I didn’t mean that! Charlotte...”

      She smiled. “It’s okay. Imagine if you’d bolted today. We Bennett women would have had a tough reputation to live down when it comes to weddings. But you had the right guy waiting for you. I’m really happy for you, Samantha. Don’t spend half a second worrying about me. It’ll be fun to stay at your inn for a few days. Then I can head to Washington and sort out Max’s house. The last renters moved out in May. I need to decide what to do.”

      “Time to fix it up or sell it?”

      “Or both.”

      “I miss Max and Harry,” Samantha said simply. She pulled a top out of the closet, rolled it up and placed it in the suitcase. “You can let us know about any quirks or issues you discover at the inn. We’ve cleaned up the place and put fresh sheets and towels out in a few of the rooms in case family or friends want to stay, but nothing formal. Mostly we were just getting a feel for the place. We can manage without someone there—there’s no dog to walk or anything and we have family in town—so no problem if you change your mind.”

      Charlotte moved away from the window. “It sounds like a great place to unwind.”

      “I can’t wait for us to be in Knights Bridge together.”

      “It’ll happen, probably sooner rather than later. Don’t worry about a thing, okay? Your wedding was the best, Sam. I’m glad I was a part of it. Thank you.”

      “It was everything I wanted it to be.”

      “That’s fantastic. I imagine you’re ready for your honeymoon now.”

      Samantha laughed. “Definitely. I’m so happy, Charlotte. I didn’t think it was possible to be this happy. Justin and I are perfect together. Harry always said I’d end up with someone who surprised me.”

      “He and Max would have enjoyed today,” Charlotte said, no question in her mind.

      “Harry wouldn’t have believed the good weather. He always said it rained all day, every day whenever he was in London.”

      “He had a gift for hyperbole.”

      “No kidding.” Samantha shut her suitcase. “I didn’t realize Tommy would stop by today. Mom and Dad didn’t, either. They saw him a few weeks ago. He’d heard I was getting married. They’re so polite—they’d never tell him to stay away. I hope it wasn’t too awkward for you.”

      “No problem. We both moved on within four seconds of our wedding that wasn’t.”

      “Just as well.” Samantha reached into a small bag on the dresser and withdrew a set of keys. “Here are the keys to Harry’s house in Boston in case you want to stay there or just have a look around. Feel free to use his car. We like to run it periodically. My folks and Uncle Caleb are still figuring out what to do with it and the house but might as well enjoy them for now.”

      “I shall seize the moment,” Charlotte said lightly. “Leave Red Clover Inn to me. Relax and enjoy your honeymoon.”

      “Ten days in Scotland. Justin’s never been. He’ll love it. We leave tonight to get a head start on the drive north.”

      And no doubt to get away from lingering guests—including a slew of Sloans. As much as she and Justin loved their family and friends, it was time for each other. “We’ll have that get-together soon,” Charlotte said, hugging her cousin. “Have a great time on your honeymoon.”

      She left Samantha to her packing. She ran into Justin in the lobby. He’d changed out of his tux and was as eager to be on his way to Scotland as Samantha was. “I won’t keep you,” Charlotte said cheerfully.

      Isaac gave her a ride back to the pub. He was bussing tables at a London restaurant for the summer, before heading to New England for college. He hadn’t decided on a major—except that it wouldn’t be in maritime anything. “Sorry,” he said. “Whatever I end up doing, it won’t have anything to do with sunken wrecks. I’m not a big fan of the water.”

      “Don’t be sorry. It’s good to keep your options open at your age.”

      “Did you always want to be a marine archaeologist?”

      “A diver,” she said. “I always wanted to be a diver and explore what’s under the ocean.”

      He shuddered as he pulled to a stop in front of the pub. “I’d stay up in my warm ship and let a mini submarine or a robot do the exploring.”

      Charlotte laughed. “You always were a smart kid. It’s still hard for me to believe you’re old enough to drive, and now you’re off to college. Stay in touch, okay?”

      “You, too.”

      As she headed into the pub, she noticed the sky had turned grayer, rain likely on the way. She’d checked out of her room before she’d left for the wedding but hadn’t taken her bag. Now that she was alone, she wanted to have a pint and lick her wounds. Tommy. What had she ever seen in him? A whirlwind romance, a brief engagement, a slapped-together wedding...and cold feet.

      Not cold feet. She’d come to her senses.

      She СКАЧАТЬ