With Richard Goldsmith’s words still ringing in their ears, Emily and Daniel returned to the inn, hoping for some quiet time to reflect on their situation. Instead, they found that the inn was buzzing with activity.
The several guests who had arrived over the weekend were being served food in the dining room by Matthew, the young chef Emily had taken on full time to help Parker out now they’d started serving lunches and evening meals. Colin, who was still occupying the carriage house and now took most of his meals in the inn, was amongst them, his handsome face attracting stares from the women that he seemed impervious to.
Colin had kept mostly to himself since Thanksgiving. He always disappeared off to the carriage house as soon as he’d finished eating to immerse himself once again in his work. His dashing good looks were the talk of the town (amongst the female residents at least), and his quiet brooding just added to the mystery. Emily knew that he’d recently separated from his wife and wondered whether he’d thrown himself into his work (whatever that may be) in an attempt to take his mind off his troubles. His head was always buried in his laptop. Either that or he’d be scribbling furiously into a notepad, just as he was doing now at his dining table in the corner. Emily was intrigued about what his job may be but of course didn’t want to be nosy and actually ask.
As Daniel and Emily walked through the corridor, Emily noticed a young woman in brightly patterned leggings standing at the empty reception desk waiting for service. Serena’s shift was over and it was Lois, the new girl who’d only been with them a week or so, who was supposed to be covering reception duties. But she was nowhere to be seen. Emily looked at the rusty bronze antique till she’d purchased from Rico’s sitting upon the heavy marble top. Theft wasn’t exactly high on her list of concerns in a place like Sunset Harbor but you could never be too careful.
“I’m so sorry,” Emily said to the waiting woman, rushing behind the desk in a hurry. “Can I help you?”
“I’m Tracey,” the short woman said, beaming brightly and swishing her mousy chin-length hair. “The new yoga teacher.”
“Oh!” Emily exclaimed, noticing for the first time the rolled up yoga mat beneath the woman’s arm.
It had totally slipped Emily’s mind that she’d arranged for yoga classes to be taught in the ballroom as a way of bringing in a tiny bit more income. She and Tracey had agreed on the telephone that twenty percent of the profits would go to the inn, but since Tracey’s classes were only $10 and only Karen and Cynthia had thus far shown any interest, Emily wasn’t expecting it to turn into much of a money spinner.
Still, on first meeting, Tracey seemed like she’d be a calming and reassuring presence in the inn. Emily was glad to know there’d be another person around the place since Daniel was soon going to be absent more often.
Emily led Tracey to the ballroom.
“It’s so much more wonderful than I expected,” Tracey gushed in her floaty voice as she gazed around her, taking in the polished floors and beautiful Tiffany glass windows. “This is a very relaxing environment,” she continued. “Inspiring.” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then released it slowly. “Yes, this will do nicely. The room has a wonderful aura.”
Emily managed to contain her smile. Then she left Tracey to set her yoga station up and rushed back to the still unmanned reception desk to grab the ringing phone.
“The Inn at Sunset Harbor,” she said, distracted by the fact that Daniel was now nowhere to be seen.
She glanced all around, searching, then noticed him through the partly open door to the living room. He was hunched over a copy of the Sunset Gazette. His job hunting had already commenced, Emily realized, and though she admired him for getting right on it, she couldn’t help but project her mind into a future where he was never available, and that caused her anguish.
“Sorry, what?” Emily said, realizing she hadn’t listened to a word of the voice on the other end of the line. “Oh, no, I’m perfectly happy with my current Wi-Fi provider.”
She hung up, her gaze still focused on Daniel and the intensity of his job hunting. Just then Lois emerged, coming down the staircase in a fluster.
“There you are,” Emily said.
“I’m so sorry,” Lois stammered. “I was helping Marnie fold the bedding.”
Marnie was the new housekeeper. Emily loved the fact that her staff were becoming good friends, that they were helping one another out, and in her mind she immediately forgave Lois for straying from her duties.
“That’s okay,” Emily told the young woman. “Just remember it’s important to keep the desk attended whenever possible.”
With Lois finally located, Emily clocked off and went into the living room to see Daniel. He was sitting at the table in the bay window, chewing the end of his pen, the newspaper spread out in front of him and covered in red circles.
“Looks like you’ve had some luck there,” Emily said, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
“Yeah, I’ve found a couple of things,” Daniel said distractedly. “Handyman jobs mostly. But they’re all just the same kind of casual work I do here. Nothing permanent.”
Emily thought he sounded a little despondent.
“You can’t expect to find the perfect job the first time you open a newspaper,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll find something soon.” She kissed the crown of his head and looked up at the clock. “We need to go and pick Chantelle up from school.”
Daniel looked up from the paper, shocked. “It’s that time already?” He looked back down at the newspaper and then up at Emily with a slightly pained expression. “I’ve got a ton of calls to make. Is it okay if I stay here and plow on with the job hunt?”