Shay looked at her quizzically. “Piper?” Piper Davidson was a friend of Hannah’s and the younger sister of Shay’s friend, Laurel. Laurel owned the Rankins Press, the town’s newspaper. Piper wrote the “Happenings” column in addition to being the biggest gossip in town.
Hannah seemed pleased with herself. “I texted Piper asking if she knew that Jonah was back in town, and she texted back saying that she hadn’t heard that yet. So, yay—scoop.”
“And this is news, why?”
“Come on, Shay. Jonah coming home is kind of a big deal. Small-town boy goes off to the big city, has tons of success and makes piles of money. He’s good-looking, he’s a bachelor, he owns a ’69 Boss 429. I can guarantee you that everyone will be talking about this.”
“You know what kind of car he drives?” Shay heard Hannah’s phone buzz again, no doubt Piper with a follow-up question. She hoped it didn’t involve her. After all, it’d been ten years since she and Jonah had broken up, Sometimes though it felt as if it was only yesterday. She and Jonah had been friends throughout their childhood, and it had seemed inevitable when they’d started dating during their senior year of high school. They’d gone away together to the University of Alaska and earned their undergraduate degrees. Jonah proposed soon after he’d found out that he’d been accepted to Yale Law. They’d come home to Rankins to enjoy one more carefree summer with plans to elope in the fall before they moved to Connecticut. Life was as perfect for Shay as it had ever been—before or since.
But then, as that summer was drawing to a close, her world began to unravel.
Shay’s Grandpa Gus died and left her the inn. Shay had spent much of her childhood working at the inn with her grandfather and while it was her dream to have her own hotel one day she hadn’t expected it to be the Faraway Inn.
Shay had been touched and honored and hadn’t felt like she had any choice but to stay in Rankins and take over the business. Grandpa Gus had taught her so much, showered so much love and attention on her. She owed it to her grandfather—to her family, to continue the inn’s success.
Jonah and Shay had been left with two different dreams—two different lives—that couldn’t possibly merge. Hannah asked, “Do you have any idea what’s wrong with Caleb?”
“No, I...no idea...”
“I really hope he’s all right, Shay. You know I love him, too.”
“I do know that, Hannah.” The entire James family adored Caleb.
“So, how did it go when you saw Jonah? Was there weirdness? Or was it like old times?”
“Okay, Hannah, you’re my sister and I love you, but can we not talk about this? About Jonah? I’m anxious for Jonah to call, but it’s only because I’m waiting for some news about Caleb—”
Hannah interrupted, “I can help you there.” Hannah held up her phone so Shay could see the display. “Jonah is at the Cozy Caribou having breakfast right now with Bering and some of the guys. So, I’m guessing that Caleb must be fine or else Jonah wouldn’t be...”
Every vein in Shay’s body seemed to throb at once. Jonah had said that he would call her after Caleb met with Doc, but he was hanging out at the Cozy Caribou instead? Having breakfast? No doubt chowing down on a pile of biscuits and gravy. How was she supposed to help him if he didn’t keep her informed? Why had she been so foolish as to think that he had changed even one bit in this selfish regard?
Shay stood up. “I have to go. Can you handle things while I’m gone?”
Hannah nodded. “Sure. Go kick some lawyer butt. But before you go—that Adele person called again.”
“Adele?”
“Yep.” Hannah looked down at the paper in front of her. “She called last night, too—twice. I told you.”
Shay shook her head, vaguely recalling the conversation. She’d been so distracted after the evening at Caleb’s she didn’t remember the details. “Did you get any details?”
“I tried, but she said she only wanted to talk to you. She said it was very important.”
“I don’t know anyone named Adele. Did she say what it was about?”
“Nope, but I think she’s from Utah. I recognize the area code.”
Hannah would recognize the area code for Utah—she’d spent a lot of time there in her ski-training days. Probably something to do with a reservation. Shay was continually surprised by how often guests thought only the manager could handle their special requests.
“Can you put her name and number on my desk? I’ll call her back later. I don’t have time right now.”
“Will do, but when you get back we need to talk about the staffing issues in the restaurant.”
“Have you had a chance to look over the applicants for the server positions?”
Hannah grimaced. “I have, but there’s not a lot to choose from there. Kyla Randle applied, but we know she was fired from the Cozy Caribou for stealing from the till. Randy Baxter applied, but Shay, he hasn’t showered in three years. There are a few other applicants with literally no experience and/or dicey references—Crystal Scower is a known meth dealer from Glacier City and this other guy who just got out of jail because of some brutal animal cruelty charges.”
“Nope. No way on that last one. I’d rather hire the drug user—but seriously, her name is Crystal and she deals meth?”
“Yes, and I agree—you know what Agnes used to say—if a person isn’t kind to animals then there can’t be much for kindness in there at all.”
“That’s the truth. We’re having open interviews on Friday, so maybe someone will show up then.”
Hannah looked doubtful and Shay felt the same. This was a problem. She was also short at least one more maid and a front desk person. But the restaurant was the most pressing problem. She and Hannah were picking up the slack, but it was becoming increasingly difficult with the tourist season officially upon them.
Shay had not only expanded and remodeled the dining room; she’d hired a professionally trained chef, Javier, who had overhauled the menu. Shay had been skeptical when Javier had introduced a few of the dishes—like honey-glazed salmon and halibut with mango chutney. She would have lost a lot of money betting that the men in this town would never eat “fish with jam,” as her friend Cricket Blackburn had taken to calling the dish.
The Faraway Restaurant was now quite a bit more upscale than Rankins’ other two eateries—the Cozy Caribou and the Top Rock Café. This didn’t include the Donut Den, but her sugar-addicted cousin-in-law Emily was the only person she knew who considered a donut a proper dinner.
Shay hadn’t realized there were quite so many people in Rankins hankering for a fine dining experience. Well, fine dining Rankins-style consisted mainly of changing out of your work clothes before grabbing a bite, but still the restaurant was filling a niche she hadn’t expected.
“Don’t worry—we will figure this out. I need to go, so let’s recap quickly—what are you going to do with the fish if Mr. Takagi shows up?”
Hannah looked skyward and slowly tapped a pink-polished fingertip to her pursed lips before pointing it at Shay. “Lightly bread and panfry?”
“Hannah—”
“Shay, chill—seriously, you need to lighten up. I’ve got this. You can leave the expensive lipstick-kissed koi in my capable hands.”
Shay wasn’t so sure about that, but she picked up her bag and headed out of her office. She had more important matters to attend to, because family trumped everything in her life—even the inn. And she considered Caleb family,