Room For Love. Sophie Pembroke

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      Nate nodded. Of course he’d seen it. Nancy had obviously trusted him. Still, the idea of someone else knowing her inn better than she did made Carrie want to grind her teeth. Especially since it looked as if the surveyor hadn’t found a single part of the inn that didn’t need something done to it.

      “New windows, rotting terrace... Possible roof issues?” Carrie sighed. “Well, this is going to be fun.”

      Nate winced. “Yeah. Looks like your redecorating might have to wait.”

      Carrie couldn’t quite decide if he sounded pleased. “It all needs doing, sooner or later.” Nate might not like the idea of updating the inn, but, if Carrie managed to find a way to pay for the structural work, she’d need to give the place a thorough facelift to have any chance of earning the money back.

      “There are some other papers, too,” Nate said, his voice softer. He held a small pile of letters out before him, and Carrie reached across, feeling some resistance when she tugged them out of his hands.

      On the top sat an envelope marked ‘Carrie’. She’d have recognized the handwriting anywhere in the world. But here at the Avalon, there was only ever one person it could be from.

      Carrie swallowed around the lump that had taken up residence in her throat and wondered how long it would take her to work up the courage to open it. She put it to one side, and turned to the next paper in the stack—a copy of Nancy’s will.

      There, in black and white, signed by her grandmother herself, was the proof that Nancy hadn’t believed that Carrie could save the Avalon on her own. With the proviso that Nathanial Green be given full control of the gardens, for as long as he wishes it.

      Perfect. Well, at least he didn’t get any say in what happened inside the inn. However much he obviously thought he should.

      Nate braced his hands against the arms of his chair and pushed himself to his feet, his gaze still fixed on the will in her hands. Carrie glanced up. He looked even more absurdly tall when he was the only one standing.

      “Well, you don’t need me here for this,” he said, just as Izzie stuck her head around the door from the bar, saying, “Nate? Jacob’s got some kind of childcare crisis, and he’s supposed to be giving me a lift home. Can we...?”

      “Yeah, sure,” Nate said, with a wave of his hand. “I’ll walk you out. I need to talk to Jacob about menus for next week, anyway.” He stopped by the door and turned back to where Carrie waited patiently for him to realize his mistake. “If that’s okay with Carrie. I mean, Miss Archer.”

      For the first time, Carrie felt properly in charge. But it was spoiled rather by the sarcastic lilt Nate put on the words ‘Miss Archer’. “Fine. I’ll see you both tomorrow, Izzie.”

      The receptionist disappeared into the bar, but Nate still hovered in the doorway. “I don’t know if anyone mentioned, but I live on-site,” he said, as if he couldn’t decide whether telling her was a good idea or not. “I’ve got the summerhouse, down by the woods. So I’ll be around later if you want to discuss anything.”

      “I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Carrie told him, and he nodded and left.

      She’d be damned if she needed to ask Nathanial Green for help any time soon.

       Chapter 3

      Cyb wasn’t sure she liked the Red Lion very much. She’d never had cause to go there before. Why would she, when the Avalon Inn was so friendly? Even when her Harry was alive, they’d gone away to hotels, or nice restaurants, and to the theatre. Never to a sticky pub on High Street. And didn’t it used to be a hardware store? Surely she remembered Harry buying a new broom there, once. He wouldn’t recognise it now. Of course, he’d been gone a very long time. He might not recognise her either.

      No, Coed-y-Capel had changed in fifty years, and Cyb wasn’t all that interested in living in it now. Much better to remember how things were, and recreate them as best as possible at the Avalon.

      “Now, then,” Stan said, getting to his feet on the beer-stained floorboards. What kind of a place couldn’t even afford a nice carpet? Cyb tried to pay attention to Stan, as she always did, but really, with all the flashing lights and the pounding music, who could stay focused? “I call to order the first official meeting of the Avalon Inn Avengers.”

      Across the table, Moira raised her hand just enough to get Stan’s attention and said, “Can I just be very clear on one point? The Avalon Inn Avengers is a stupid name.”

      Stan’s face reddened, but he had good manners so he didn’t shout. Cyb liked that about Stan. He always looked as if he might bellow, but he never did. A good quality in a man. “Your opinion is noted, Moira,” he said instead. “But until such time as we have a better suggestion, or until the group is no longer necessary, we will stick with what we have. Yes?”

      Moira nodded but Cyb thought she might have been smiling, just a little bit. Moira didn’t really appreciate Stan. Not the way she did.

      “It is clear to me,” Stan said, leaning his hands against the table, “that our way of life, our inn, is being threatened. I’d hoped Nancy’s granddaughter would have better sense than to change what has worked for decades. But now she’s here, and from what I saw today...”

      “What exactly did you see today?” Moira asked. “I noticed you’d sloped off when Cyb and I headed home earlier.”

      Stan bristled. “I thought somebody should take responsibility for keeping an eye on what was going on at the inn.”

      “You mean you followed Carrie and Nate around on their tour.”

      “Not exactly.” Stan’s gaze darted away. “But I can report that she didn’t look happy with what she saw.”

      Of course, Stan wasn’t perfect. He did get worked up about things, sometimes, when it really wasn’t necessary. A sign of a passionate nature, though, Cyb supposed.

      “Carrie seemed perfectly darling to me,” she said, without really thinking, and felt her cheeks getting warm as Stan turned his stern gaze on her. “Of course, we only just met...”

      “Exactly. Who is to say that tomorrow she won’t close the inn and start making it all...froofy.” Stan waved a hand on the last word, as if to say you know what I mean. Cyb thought she did, anyway.

      She usually did—even when Stan was blustering and fussing, she knew it was all for show.

      Moira, however, obviously felt the need to question. As usual. “Froofy?”

      Stan sat down with a sigh and turned his full attention to the dissenter. “Tell me, Moira. Do you want to lose your bridge nights? Or our dances? Or your garden patch?” Cyb sucked in a breath at that. Stan really was bringing out the big guns if he was threatening Moira’s garden. But he wasn’t done. “Do you want your grandsons to lose their jobs and for Nate to go back to London?” Cyb shook her head. Threatening Nate and Jacob was a step too far.

      “Nancy said she’d take care of all those things,” Moira said, but even she looked doubtful now. “She said she’d make sure we’d all get to stay. Especially Nate. Why else would she leave him the gardens?”

      “Nancy said,” Stan echoed. “And I’m sure she did her best. But the inn is Carrie’s now. How much do you think she’ll respect her grandmother’s wishes? Besides, Nancy only left Nate control of the gardens while he wanted it. If he feels pushed out by Carrie…you know what he’s like. The boy will walk. Again.”

      “Sorry I’m late,” Izzie said, slipping into an empty chair at the table. Cyb hadn’t even noticed her enter the pub. She, at least, looked as if she belonged there, with her blue jeans low on her hips and her blonde hair swinging across her shoulders. Cyb had looked like that once. Without the jeans, though, of course. “Jacob had to get home so the childminder