Chapter 17

seventeen

T he loud tooting of a car horn brought Shelby outside to the courtyard around five o'clock on Friday afternoon. She watched with wide eyes as a group of young women piled out of the party bus. They were all dressed from head to toe in varying shades of pink—stiletto heels with short skirts and low-cut tops that revealed an obscene amount of their fake boobs. Their eyes were caked with heavy eyeliner, their pouty lips painted hot pink, and their blonde hair extensions curled and teased. Shelby recognized the type—girls from questionable backgrounds with lousy taste, no manners, and wealthy daddies.

The last young woman off the bus wore a slim-fitting white sundress. Shelby covered her mouth to hide her smile. This wasn't a bachelor party. It was a bachelorette party.

A striking brunette wearing gray slacks and a white silk top emerged from the passenger-side front seat. She approached Shelby with an outstretched hand. "Hey! I'm Jenna Blevens, and we're here for the Tucker bachelorette party."

"We have your reservation for twelve people booked in seven rooms in the main house, although we were unaware of the occasion." Shelby feared this seemingly rowdy crew might be disappointed with the remote setting. "Are you a bridesmaid?" She cut her eyes at the women tripping over one another as they removed their luggage from under the bus.

Jenna peered at Shelby over the top of her sunglasses. "Do I look like one of them?"

Shelby laughed. "Just checking."

"I'm an assistant to the wedding planner. Brandi, the bride, hired me to organize the weekend. I booked my room separately, under my name."

Shelby gave a curt nod. "I remember the name. If I'm not mistaken, you're booked in the garden house. Will that be okay?"

Relief crossed her face. "That'd be great. Also . . ." Jenna pulled Shelby to the side, out of earshot of the others. "I realize it's last minute, but do you have any extra availability? Brandi made the room reservations, and I neglected to check behind her. She hired the bus driver for the entire weekend but forgot to get him a room."

As best she could remember, Shelby's was the only available room, and she wasn't ready to give it up. "I'm pretty sure we're booked solid, but I can check our reservations system just in case."

Brandi teetered toward them on black Christian Louboutin pumps. "I'm ready to go to my room now." Following closely behind her, wheeling two suitcases with tote bags strung around her neck, was a woman who looked enough like Brandi to be her sister.

Jenna whispered to Shelby, "That's her twin, Candi."

Shelby's brow hit her hairline. Brandi? Candi? "I'm not touching that with a ten-foot pole," she whispered back to Jenna.

Silas rushed to Candi's aid, relieving her of her luggage.

"You can take the group upstairs," Shelby instructed Silas. "They can decide who sleeps in which room. I'll bring them their keys in a bit."

Shelby and Jenna followed Brandi's entourage inside.

Brandi stopped midway up the stairs and called out to Shelby, "Have a bottle of Champagne sent to my room right away."

"I'm sorry, but we don't offer room service," Shelby said.

Brandi gasped. "Surely, you're joking. No room service?"

Shelby shook her head. "Sorry. We only offer breakfast, which is why we call ourselves a bed and breakfast."

Brandi's head swiveled to her wedding planner. "Jenna! Get Alvin to drive you to the store. Load up on Champagne, bottled water, and snacks. And buy me some cigs while you're there."

"Sorry again," Shelby said. "Our property is nonsmoking."

"Then I'll smoke on the beach."

"Suit yourself. But be sure to pick up your butts." Shelby turned away from the staircase and went to her desk in the living room.

She was searching her reservations system for a vacancy when a notification regarding a cancellation for the weekend popped up on her screen. "You're in luck!" she said to Jenna. "I have an extra room in the garden house for the bus driver."

A loud crashing noise followed by laughter reverberated throughout the house. Shelby had a bad feeling about this bachelorette party. She worried her grandmother's beloved house would never be the same. She held a hand out to Jenna. "I'll need a credit card to cover the cost of the rooms plus a five-hundred-dollar deposit for any damages."

Jenna slapped a credit card with Brandi's name in Shelby's hand. "If I were you, I'd charge that deposit on each room."

"If you say so. The deposit will be credited to her account when they check out, provided there are no damages." Shelby slid two keys across the desk to Jenna. "Here are the keys to the two rooms in the garden house. Both are the same size, but number four has a better view."

"Then I'll take number four," Jenna said, sliding the key into her pants pocket. "I'll earn every bonus I get this weekend."

"For sure. Have you made dinner plans yet? Reservations are recommended for a party this large."

Jenna nodded. "I've booked a large table at The Nest for tonight. And tomorrow, we're making a day trip to Charleston."

"Sounds like fun." Shelby spotted Silas coming down from upstairs and called out to him. "Silas! Can I borrow you for a second?"

"Sure. What's up?" Silas asked, joining them at the desk.

Shelby introduced him to Jenna. "She's in charge of the bachelorette party."

A slow smile spread across his face. "Nice to meet you, ma'am."

"Please take Jenna to the garden house," Shelby said. "And be sure to show her how to use the keypad entry systems to enter the buildings. They're going to dinner in town and might be late returning."

"Sure thing," Silas said, and the twosome headed outside together.

No sooner had they left than Matt entered the house. Squeals of laughter from above greeted him in the foyer. He strolled into the living room, his neck craned as he looked up the stairs. "I gather that's not a bachelor party."

"Nope. Wrong gender. Your bachelor party is a bachelorette party." Coming from behind the desk, Shelby took him by the arm and hurried him to the front door. "You need to go."

Matt placed a hand on his chest, wounded. "I don't understand. Why are you making me leave?"

"I'm saving your life. When they see you, those women will be all over you like bees on honey."

Shelby was reaching for the knob when the door swung open, and there stood Izzy, her face flushed with anger and hair on end.

"Whose god-awful vehicle is that parked in my driveway?" she said, tossing a thumb over her shoulder.

"That's the party bus for the bachelorette party."

Izzy flinched at the sound of laughter from above. "Did you say bachelorette party?"

"You heard me. And you booked it," Shelby said, unable to resist the urge to rub it in. "From now on, ask more questions when taking group reservations."

"I won't be taking future reservations. That's now your job." Izzy turned her attention to Matt. "You're the young man Shelby's been sneaking around with."

"Izzy! Geez! I told you, we haven't been sneaking around. This is Matt Hitchcock. Matt, this is my rude grandmother, Isabelle St. Clair."

Izzy narrowed her eyes at him. "Hitchcock? And who are your people, son?"

Shelby stared down, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole. "Izzy, please. You're embarrassing me."

Matt chuckled. "No worries. You probably know my grandmother, Adele?"

"I know her." Izzy's reaction gave nothing away regarding her feelings for Adele.

Shelby's gaze shifted to Silas who was speaking to a couple in a Cadillac with handicap tags. Silas left the car and rushed over to Shelby. "Pardon the interruption, but our new arrivals need a wheelchair-accessible room."

Izzy zeroed in on his tattoos. "Cover up those vulgar inkings. Can't you wear a long-sleeve shirt?"

Silas's lips twitched as though suppressing a smile. "With all due respect, ma'am, I refuse to wear long sleeves in this heat."

"Then put makeup on them. I find them offensive." Izzy spun on her heels and strode across the courtyard to the cottage.

Silas watched her go and then turned back to Shelby. "About a room that is wheelchair accessible—do we have one?"

"Not one that is officially designated as such. We may have something suitable on the first floor of the pool house. I'll check the room chart."

"They're a real nice couple. The man was paralyzed from the waist down in a boating accident years ago. I'll take them some bottled water while they wait," Silas said, heading down the hall to the kitchen.

Matt followed Shelby to her desk. "You were kinda hard on your grandma, Shelby. She's an old lady. You should show her some respect."

"Respect works both ways, Matt. Izzy has been mean to me since I got here." She swiveled her chair toward her computer. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find suitable accommodations for the man who just arrived."

"I didn't mean to make you mad. I'll let you get back to work," Matt said, slipping out of the house.

Tears blurred Shelby's vision as she attempted to study the room chart. Who did Matt think he was reprimanding her like that? She felt like a child being called out by her parents for dissing her elders.

Shelby was dabbing at her eyes with a tissue when Blossom entered the room. "I ran into Matt outside. He looks like he lost his best friend."

"He'll live." A thought occurred to Shelby as she turned away from her computer. "Say, Blossom. I could use your help. I have a guest in a wheelchair, but we don't have an official accessible room. Another one of our many oversights."

Coming behind the desk, Blossom peered over Shelby's shoulder at the rooming chart. "Are you sure? Look at pool house number three. The print is small, but isn't that the handicap icon I see?"

Shelby squinted at the computer. Once again, Blossom had waved her magic wand. "I do believe it is." She shot out of her chair and threw her arms around Blossom. "You're the best. Thank you so much."

"You're most welcome." Holding her at arm's length, Blossom said, "Make things right with Matt, baby girl. He's one of the good guys. You'd be a fool to let him get away."