Meant to Be by Nan Reinhardt

Author:Nan Reinhardt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance
ISBN: 9781950510733
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2022-11-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Megan gazed out at the group of River’s Edge citizens who had come to the emergency town meeting she’d called, but the person she’d most hoped to see wasn’t in the crowd. She sighed and watched as her assistant scurried around a long table set with a checked tablecloth, loaded with trays of Paula Meadows’s cookies and two huge vats of icy cold lemonade. Stepping across the impromptu stage that had been put up on the grass across from the River Walk, she shook herself and focused on the task at hand—calling the citizens to order. It was time to unveil the plan she’d been working on for most of her term as mayor.

Over her shoulder was the old Parrish cotton mill. The historic structure, which was the best remaining example of nineteenth-century industry on the riverfront, had been abandoned when the mill ceased production back in the late nineteen eighties. Built in eighteen seventy-four, it had served the town well for over a hundred years, providing jobs and security, but now with its broken windows and crumbling façade, it was an eyesore. The last owner had died several years ago and left the building to the town, bless his heart, so the town had to decide what to do with the place. So far, two other mayors had passed, letting the building continue to decay.

The local historical society had been rallying to get the building designated as a National Historic Landmark. However, they had no ideas for it either, except to put the marker out front. Megan had a plan, but she needed the town behind her. Originally, she’d been talking to a developer, who wanted to turn the mill into condominiums, but that idea had soured when Meg realized the condos would probably be super expensive and provide few jobs and little income for the town. She’d been searching for an alternative when Gerry Ross, a hotelier from Indianapolis, expressed interest in buying the building, restoring it, and turning it into a hotel. It was the perfect solution, and Gerry and his team of five stood on the riser behind her, ready to share their vision.

She tapped the wireless mic that had been brought from the town hall to get everyone’s attention, and after much milling around and chatter, folks finally settled down to listen. The hotelier had done this very thing with old buildings quite successfully in Indy, Cincinnati, and Lexington. He’d set out his plan on big boards that rested on easels along the sidewalk leading up to the building, and he’d brought a 3-D model that took up an entire conference table. Megan was impressed.

Hotel rooms were at a premium in River’s Edge, a town that depended on tourism to survive. Chautauqua, the big festival that happened in October, brought in visitors from all over the country, even from Canada, as did the Regatta, the boat race that was held on the mighty Ohio River every July fourth weekend. The rest of the year,

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