The Inn at Dolphin Bay (Dolphin Bay Novel Book 1) by Mia Kent

Author:Mia Kent [Kent, Mia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-06-02T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

“Yoo-hoo! Tana!”

Tana glanced up from where she’d been kneeling in the grass, her hands and knees covered in dirt, and shielded her eyes against the sunshine. She’d decided to get an early start to the morning, and had spent a couple of hours at the island’s small nursery, talking to the owner and selecting a variety of beautiful plants and flowers to brighten up the inn’s front yard. But before she could start planting, she had to pull out what seemed like five years’ worth of weeds that were sprouting up everywhere. So far, she had made good progress, but the task at hand was a monumental one.

She groaned inwardly as she saw Daphne walking up the inn’s cobblestone sidewalk, waving enthusiastically. While she was looking forward to their coffee date, and hearing what her old friend had been up to in the years since they’d last seen each other, Tana had intentionally set up their meeting at a place in town, far away from the inn, so she didn’t have to answer any awkward questions about its current state.

But now Daphne was here, and by the looks of it, she’d brought a thermos of coffee and a plate of pastries for them to share. “I hope you don’t mind,” Daphne said, holding up the coffee and goodies with a smile. “I haven’t been to this beautiful place in years, and after seeing you, I was feeling a little nostalgic. I thought maybe you could give me the grand tour, for old time’s sake?”

Tana’s heart sank a little, and Daphne must have read the expression on her face, because she quickly backpedaled, looking embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have just barged in on you like this. I don’t know what I was thinking—you probably have a dozen guests to take care of, rooms to clean, paperwork to fill out…” Her whole body seemed to wilt, and Tana stepped forward, shaking her head.

“It’s not that. It’s…”

She hesitated, trying to find the right words, and then sighed. Dolphin Bay was a small island, and the truth about the inn would come out eventually—if it hadn’t already. After all, the townspeople only needed to walk by the place to see that it had turned into a shell of its former self. She was probably protecting a reputation that had been damaged long ago, and for what? Uncle Henry clearly needed help. There was no shame in that. If he had only asked for it to begin with, instead of hiding himself away, maybe things wouldn’t have gotten so bad.

Time to come clean. “It’s just that the inn doesn’t look quite like you remember it, Daph. In fact, it looks nothing like it used to.”

“I know.” Daphne nodded, a sad smile playing around her lips. “So many of us have offered to help Mr. Turner maintain the inn throughout the years, but he’s always pushed us away. Things might not be as beautiful as they once were, but they can be that way

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