Innkeeping with Murder - Tim Myers [65]
Alex shook his head. “That can wait until you’re better. You can have the job if you want it, on one condition. I want you to recover what you can as discreetly as possible. After all, I don’t want to open up a mine. I like running an inn.”
“That sounds like a fine offer. I accept,” she said as she looked steadily at Mor.
Alex motioned gently to Elise, and they walked out together onto the porch. They had an excellent view of the lighthouse from where they stood.
Alex said heavily, “I guess you’ll be leaving us now.”
“Why do you say that?”
He stammered, “I just assumed, you know, with Peter coming here and all...”
Elise said softly, “I’m staying, Alex.”
“What about Peter?”
“What about him?” Elise asked pointedly. “I’ve decided to stay, unless you don’t want me here.”
“No, that’s not it at all. You can work at Hatteras West as long as you want.”
He couldn’t believe it!
Was there a chance Elise was staying at Hatteras West to be close to him? He fought the urge to tell her he’d broken up with Sandra. On the heels of her decision to stay, it might look as if he was pressing her.
No, Alex would bide his time and wait for the right moment to come along.
Though its beacon was dark, the light of a full moon gave the lighthouse lens a soft, gentle glow above them. As a fleeting cloud passed over the moon, the lighthouse seemed to wink at him, offering its approval.
And now a peek at Reservations for Murder, book 2 in the Lighthouse Inn mysteries by Tim Myers.
Reservations for Murder
By Tim Myers
Chapter 1
“Alex, we need to talk.”
Alex Winston looked up from the pile of bills he’d been wading through to find The Hatteras West Inn’s housekeeper, Elise Danton, standing by his desk. He’d seen that determined look in her eyes before. “Can it wait, Elise? I really need to go through these bills this morning.” Though they’d uncovered a handful of gems a few months earlier on the property, there hadn’t been enough from the sale to do everything Alex wanted to with Hatteras West. Emma Sturbridge, his resident gem expert, hadn’t yet been able to locate the vein where they’d originated, and Alex was beginning to wonder if she ever would.
Most of the money from the sale of the emeralds had gone into the reconstruction of the Main Keeper’s Quarters, a building that had burned to the ground earlier. Alex’s inn was a near replica of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and its outer buildings, with one major exception. Instead of being close to the ocean, his lighthouse was deep in the foothills of the North Carolina mountains.
And Alex was determined to return the place to all its former glory.
“Alex,” Elise said, “you know you can do those later. I’ve already taken care of the urgent ones. We’ve got an inn full of people, and the fair starts in two hours.” She frowned slightly. “That’s what I need to talk to you about.”
Alex said firmly, “Elise, I know you’re not happy, but I’m not going back on my word. I made a promise to Shantara Robinson that she could tie her Golden Days Fair in with the Lighthouse Lighting, and I won’t disappoint her. I’m sorry.” The Lighthouse Lighting was the annual county-approved testing of the tower’s beacon. People gathered from seven counties to see it, and it had always been one of the high points of Alex’s tenure as the innkeeper at The Hatteras West Inn.
“Alex, we agreed that in order to stay in business, we need to start attracting a wealthier clientele. The fair defeats that entirely.”
“But Shantara was desperate when Lucius Crane reneged on his offer to use his farm for the fair. There was no place else she could hold it on such short notice.”
Elise paced around the room. “I know how much friendship means to you, Alex, but you’ve got to think of your inn first. I shouldn’t have to remind you how close you came to losing Hatteras West before.”
Alex shook his head. “Believe me, I know that better than anyone. Don’t worry. The fair will tie in perfectly with our lighting ceremony. I wouldn