For Now and Forever (The Inn at Sunset Harbor-Book 1)

CHAPTER TWENTY

The house was alive with people, buzzing in and out. There was lots of work to do now that the permit had been granted and it had begun immediately. So many people came forward offering their services to Emily—plastering, sanding, even window cleaning—in exchange for a company endorsement, and she was more than willing to accept their generous offers. It felt odd having so many people traipsing through the house after months of just her and Daniel. But Emily knew that she'd have to get used to it; she'd signed up for daily life intrusions when she'd decided to go ahead with the B&B.

She oversaw the delivery of the front desk Rico had donated to her. It looked incredible in the foyer. Then Barry the electrician worked downstairs installing the new till system that would sit upon it. Then Raj arrived in his white van.

"Flower basket delivery!" he said, smiling.

"Great," Emily replied.

No sooner had Raj gotten out of his van than another drove up the drive.

"We have a rug, a corridor runner for one Miss Emily Mitchell," the delivery man said, looking down at his clipboard. "Where do you want it?"

"This way," Emily replied, leading him in through the house.

Daniel was in the kitchen making coffee for everyone; she could hear him chatting with the dogs from the kitchen. Emily had managed to find homes for all the puppies except for Rain the runt and Mogsy the mother. Cynthia was taking one for her son Jeremy, Raj had agreed to give her the flower baskets for free in exchange for Thunder, the most boisterous of the puppies, Jason the firefighter was going to take one as a gift for his new baby daughter, and the final one Joe from the diner had asked for. It made Emily feel happy to know the town was once again helping her out, and she knew all the puppies would love their new homes.

Emily led the carpet deliverer up the stairs and to the landing. "Right here," she said.

She watched as he unfurled the new cream runner. It looked wonderful in the hall, perfectly complementing her gray, blue, and white color scheme.

The house was well on the way to transforming into a proper B&B and Emily began to let herself feel excited about how everything was coming together. Though her nerves were still present, they felt more like nerves of anticipation than fear. It was as though her whole life had been leading up to this moment, that she was finally where she was always supposed to be.

Emily thanked the delivery man and he left. As soon as he was gone, she walked along the soft new carpeting, trying it out like a child with a new toy. She felt thrilled, excited for the future. But then she remembered there was one very important room that she had yet to complete any renovation work on, the one that was in fact the most important. She'd been avoiding it thus far, but suddenly she felt able to go in there, to do what needed to be done.

She walked the length of the new corridor runner, past the myriad of rooms that would one day become part of the B&B but for now were empty, then stopped when she reached the closed door to the room that had once belonged to her and Charlotte. Emily laid her hands against the wood and took a deep breath. She hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she'd made the right decision after all. This was the room that had the most potential to wow, what with the mezzanine and the floor to ceiling windows with their stunning sea views. Plus, it was in the quietest part of the house. It made business sense to turn this room into the guest room. But that meant Emily couldn't delay boxing it up any longer. The success of the business hinged upon renovating this room.

Bracing herself, Emily opened the door and stepped inside. She took her time, letting it all sink in, letting the memories it held permeate her skin. Then she sat on the floor and carefully packed up all the children's books, toys, and clothes with a painful jab in her heart. As she did so, she knew that she'd made the right decision. Though boxing up her childhood hurt, ignoring what had been behind that door had been hurting her too, more than she'd realized. Perhaps now she'd be able to put that part of her life behind her and move on.