Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

After the hike, Nora came home feeling the most rejuvenated that she had since she'd been home. Even the early hour that she'd gotten up and the physical exertion hadn't worn her out, and she came back to the inn eager to dive back in to planning for the festival. The inn had been quiet when she came back, but she'd grabbed a couple of banana muffins and another mug of coffee, and hours had passed before she'd looked up from her notebook and realized it was past lunch.

Her high spirits extended into the evening. She knew that part of it was because of the kiss with Aiden—a kiss that she had to admit a small part of her had been hoping for, but that she hadn't been sure would really happen.

She knew too, that she was starting to have feelings for him. It felt impossible not to. The easy way they were able to talk to one another, the way she felt so comfortable around him, the clear respect he had for her and her accomplishments even though her life had been so different from his—and it didn't hurt that he'd grown up to be an incredibly handsome man. She could feel the casual interest starting to grow into something more. Surprisingly, it didn't frighten her as much as she had thought it might.

Everything with him felt so different from how it had with Rob—night and day, so different that it felt impossible to compare, even if she had really wanted to. Which she didn't, because for the first time in a long time, everything about her romantic life felt so good .

It felt right. It made her feel as if she were finally on the right path, while simultaneously making her realize that she hadn't been before. Rob had never been right for her. She just hadn't been able to admit it, because it would have felt like failure. She hated failure.

She would have rather been trapped than admit a mistake. But now, she saw it all more clearly.

Her mother came in just then, her father just behind Rhonda, and Nora's excitement crested. She'd been waiting all day to share her ideas with them, and she waved excitedly at her parents, gesturing at the chairs next to the fire.

"Can you sit down for a minute? I want to tell you something I've been thinking about."

"Of course," her father said affably, sinking into the chair. Rhonda sat down next to him, a curious expression on her face.

"What's going on, Nora? You look like you're about to explode at the seams."

"I have an idea." Nora turned to face them, trying to speak carefully through her excitement. "You told me a few days ago that things have been slow at the inn. Fewer guests than usual, this time of year."

Her mother's expression shuttered a little. "Well, yes, but?—"

"I think I have something that will help it pick back up." Nora pressed her lips together, her enthusiasm nearly bubbling over. "The festival is coming up, right? We could offer a special promotion for the inn during the week of the festival." She tugged the sheet out from underneath her planner where she had written all of it down, handing it to her mother. "Anyone who stays here for three or more days during that week will get a discount on a stay of the same length during the following six months. They'll have an incentive to come back."

"Is that really a good idea?" Caroline's dry voice came from the doorway, and Nora's head shot up, along with Donovan and Rhonda's. None of them had realized Caroline was standing there listening, she realized. She'd just snuck up on the conversation, as she often did, Nora thought a little bitterly.

She was taking an interest in the inn for once, and she would have thought Caroline would be pleased by that, but of course she wasn't.

"I think it is," Nora said firmly, gathering her courage. "It could book out the inn months in advance. You need the guaranteed business, and it would incentivize people to give you exactly that. Guests you can plan for. You can even court more repeat business by making them feel special for returning. Maybe an extra add-on?—"

"Why are you doing all of this?" Caroline interrupted again. "You've always made it very clear that you think the festival is silly and beneath you. That you don't have any interest in how this place runs. You've ignored it all this time, and now you've decided that since you have some spare time, you're going to stick your nose in? Because you know better?"

The tension in the room thickened, and Nora felt a cold sensation in the pit of her stomach. She bit her lip, unsure of what to say.

"Caroline." Rhonda spoke up. "There's no need for this."

"You never cared about the inn," Caroline snapped. "This is all just to make you feel good about yourself. You're bored, or… I don't know. When I said we needed you, you had better places to be. But now?—"

Tears filled Nora's eyes before she could stop them, burning behind her eyelids. "Just because I didn't dedicate my whole life to the inn doesn't mean I don't care about its success," she protested, her voice cracking as she tried not to let the tears spill over.

She'd been so excited, so hopeful, and she could feel the idea falling flat, turning into something that she hadn't meant for it to be. An argument, when she'd truly just wanted to help.

"I do care about it," she insisted, looking at Caroline's impassive face. "And the festival. Would I really be putting so much work into helping it get publicity if I didn't?"

"Oh, for goodness' sake." Caroline shook her head, turning on her heel. She left in a huff as quickly as she'd come, and Nora stared after her, feeling bereft.

"Your sister doesn't mean to be so harsh," Rhonda started to say, leaning forward, and Nora turned, giving her mother a small smile.

"It's all right," she managed, trying to brush off the hurt feelings. "I get it."

And she did , a little better than she had before. These problems had clearly cropped up before Nora had become aware of them, and Caroline had been dealing with them for longer than Nora had realized. She couldn't entirely fault her sister for being so stressed and rigid, when so much was on her shoulders.

But at the same time, Caroline's words—and her dismissal of Nora's idea—had still hurt. She wasn't entirely sure how to reconcile the two feelings.

"I'm just going to keep working on it," Nora said quietly. "The festival, and ideas for the inn."

"I think it might be a good idea," Rhonda said, glancing at Donovan. "We'll have to run some numbers, and look at what that would mean for us, but it's certainly a starting place."

"It is," Donovan agreed, smiling at his daughter. "And I'm glad to hear your ideas."

Nora returned the smile, tapping her pen against the table.

If I keep trying , she thought to herself, Caroline will see my actions mean something. It won't just be words.

She had to hope so anyway. She didn't want to leave again with things so cold and tense between the two of them. She wanted Caroline to see that she really did care.

There was only one way to accomplish that though.

And she'd always been nothing if not determined.