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For Now and Forever
Chapter Nineteen
Sunset Harbor’s town hall was a formal but quaint red-brick building. There were small trees on the lawn and a vintage wooden sign outside with gold, embossed lettering. As Emily raced up the stairs, almost dropping her folder of papers in her haste, she could almost sense the ancestors of the town watching her.
She burst in through the double doors and ran up to the reception desk, where a woman smiled at her kindly.
“Hi, I’m late for the meeting,” Emily said, rummaging through her papers to find the letter that informed her what room she was supposed to be in. “I can’t remember which room it was in. It’s about the property on West Street.”
“You must be the B&B lady,” the receptionist said with a knowing smile. “Here’s your name tag. The meeting’s been moved to the main hall because of high level of interest. Just go through the double doors on your right.”
“Thanks,” Emily said, fastening her name tag to her dress and wondering what a “high level of interest” meant.
She went over to the double doors the woman had indicated and pulled them open. She was stunned to see how crammed full of people it was. A large number of the townsfolk had turned up for the discussion. She noticed the Patels, Joe from the diner, the Bradshaws, and Karen from the general store. Clearly whether her property was a B&B or not mattered to more people than she’d anticipated.
Her heart soared as she noticed Daniel right at the front. He’d come. He hadn’t let her down this time. Heads swiveled as she rushed up to the front and took her seat beside him. He squeezed her knee and gave her a wink.
“You’ve got this,” he said.
Just then, Emily saw Trevor Mann in the next aisle along peering over at her with a raised eyebrow and a sneer. She returned his cool expression with narrowed eyes.
Thankfully she’d only missed the first five minutes of the meeting. The mayor was just finishing up introducing people on the panel and running through the agenda.
“So,” he said, gesturing to Emily and Trevor, “I give you the floor. Your arguments please.”
Trevor didn’t waste a second. He leapt up to his feet and turned to face the audience.
“I live in the property behind this house,” he began. “And I am fully opposed to it being repurposed as a B&B. We already have B&Bs in the town, there’s no need for one on a quiet residential street like West Street. The disruption to my life would be immense.”
“Well,” Emily said, her voice small, “strictly speaking you don’t live on the property. It’s your second home, isn’t it?”
“Strictly speaking,” Trevor hissed, “yours isn’t your home at all.”
“Touché,” Emily muttered under her breath, realizing that Trevor Mann was not going to be holding anything back, certain that he would play dirty if he needed to.
She shrank back in her chair, feeling overwhelmed by the situation, listening as he rattled off statistics about noise pollution and increased refuse collections, the tourist trade and locals being priced out of the area by exactly “this sort of thing.” Emily kept trying to speak but Trevor never gave her a chance. She started feeling like a gaping fish, just opening and closing her mouth.
“At the end of the day,” Trevor Mann said, “we’re dealing here with an inexperienced woman who doesn’t know the first thing about running a business. I for one do not want the land behind my house to be used in her little vanity project.”
He sat down triumphantly, expecting to hear some applause or sounds of agreement. Instead he was met by deafening silence.
“Are you going to let the poor woman speak now?” Dr. Patel said.
A cry of “Hear, hear” went up from the audience. It made Emily happy to know that the townspeople had her back. For the first time, she felt like she’d made some true friends here, something she needed at the moment what with Amy and her fighting. Thinking of Amy made the butterflies in her stomach flutter even more.
She stood up, feeling that every eye on the room was on her. She cleared her throat and began.
“First and foremost, I need you all to know how touched I am that you came. I think it’s safe for me to say I wasn’t very popular when I first got here. I was guarded and skeptical. But this town showed me nothing but love, warmth, generosity, and friendship. Thanks to you, I’ve grown to love this place, and to love all of you. I feel like I did when I came here as a girl. You’ve all been like parents to me, mentors, showing me how to grow into a woman. I am not looking to get rich. I just want the chance to be able to live in this town, and to find a way to support myself doing it. I want the chance to fix up my father’s house, which meant more to him than anything in the world. I’m not ready to leave it yet. And I also just want the chance to give back to this community.”
Emily noticed all the encouraging smiles in the room. A few people were even dabbing their eyes with tissues. She continued speaking.
“The house on West Street belonged to my father. Most of you knew him. I believe, from the fond stories you’ve told me, that he was a cherished member of the community.” She felt emotion threaten to choke her. “I miss my dad. I think you miss him too. Restoring his home feels like a way of honoring him. Turning it back into a B&B feels like a way of honoring the town he adored. All I ask is that you give me the chance to do him proud, and do you proud.”
All at once, the room erupted into applause. Emily felt overjoyed by those around her, by the love and care they’d shown her once she’d been willing to let them in.
Before the clapping even had a chance to die down, Trevor Mann was back on his feet.
“How touching, Miss Mitchell,” he said. “And as lovely as it is that you want to give back to the community, I have to highlight once again how grossly underqualified you are to do up a property of that magnitude, let alone successfully run a B&B.”
This was it. The fight was on. And Emily was ready for it.
“Contrary to Mr. Mann’s beliefs,” she said, “I’m not inexperienced. I’ve been working on the property for months and during that time I’ve completely turned it around.”
“Ha!” Mr. Mann called out. “She blew up the toaster just yesterday!”
Emily ignored his attempts to bring her down. “I’ve also obtained all the necessary permits for the work that’s been done, and plans for the work that would need to be done in order to convert the property from a home into a business.”
“Oh really?” Trevor sneered. “Are you telling me you’ve gotten plumbing and electrical permits? From licensed tradesmen?”
“Yes, I’ve got those,” she said, pulling the forms out that Cynthia had given her.
“Well, what about your HHE-200 Sub Surface Wastewater Disposal form?” Trevor said, sounding increasingly frustrated. “Have you filled in that?”
Emily produced some more of Cynthia’s documents from her folder. “Three copies, as required.”
Trevor’s face was beginning to turn red. “What about that barn that was damaged in the storm? You can’t leave it like that, it’s a hazard. But if you fix it up, it will have to comply with the land use ordinance.”
“I’m well aware of that,” Emily replied. “These are my construction drawings for the damaged outbuildings. And before you ask, yes, they comply with the 2009 International Building Codes. And,” she continued, raising her voice to stop Trevor from interrupting, “I’ve had them stamped with the Maine State Architect’s stamp.”
Trevor scowled.
“This is all irrelevant,” he finally snapped, no longer able to contain his frustration. “You are forgetting the gorilla in the room. This house was deemed uninhabitable years ago. And she has not paid her back taxes. She is living there illegally, and technically, this house is no longer even hers.”
The room grew silent as all eyes turned to the mayor.
Emily’s heart pounded in her throat; this was the moment of truth.
Finally, the mayor stood and faced everyone. He was trying to hide his smirk but failing miserably.
“I think we’ve all heard enough, haven’t we?” he said. “The house was deemed uninhabitable because it was sitting empty for so many years. But we’ve all been through it, and it is more than inhabitable now – it is beautiful.”
The crowd let out a light cheer of agreement.
“And as far as the back taxes,” he continued, “Emily can pay them over time. I know our town would rather have a resident paying them off, however belatedly, than not collect any taxes at all. Besides, the new taxes and commerce a B&B would generate would much more benefit the town in the long run.”
He turned to Emily and smiled wide.
“I am prepared to grant Emily the permit to convert the house into a B&B.”
A cheer went up from the audience. Emily gasped, hardly able to believe what had just happened. Trevor Mann sat back in his seat, stunned into silence.
People came over to Emily, shaking her hand, kissing her cheek, clapping her on the shoulder. Emily bit her bottom lip, overwhelmed with emotion. Birk and his son Jason, the fire fighter Emily had met, came and congratulated her. Raj Patel reminded her about the chickens he was trying to rehome.
“If you need some help with plumbing or electric, I’m eager to get on board,” a man said, handing her his business card.
“Barry,” she said, reading the name. “Thank you. I’ll be in touch.”
Karen said that if she used the general store for all her goods she’d be able to work out some kind of wholesale deal. Emily was overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity and encouragement.
“When you open your B&B, I’m going to be resident artist, right?” Serena said, giving her friend a big hug.
Emily replied with a laugh.
Daniel made his way through the crowd, then swept her up into his arms and held her close to him. “I’m so proud of you.”
“I can’t believe it!” Emily cried, throwing her head back and laughing as he twirled her around. “We got the permit! I bet you never thought I’d get this far when you first met me.”
Daniel shook his head. “To be perfectly honest, I thought you were going to do something ridiculous like leave the gas on accidentally and blow up the house. Helping you was only ever out of self-interest,” he added, jokingly.
“Is that so?” Emily said, leaning in and planting a gentle kiss on his lips.
Daniel kissed her back tenderly. Emily breathed in the scent of him, thinking about how unpredictable life could really be. It hadn’t been that long ago that she’d been kissing Ben, thinking she was going to marry him. How stupid she’d been. How completely different Daniel’s kisses felt.
When he set her back down on her feet, Emily glanced up at him and took his hand. Amy’s words were ringing in her mind, about how difficult it really was to start a business. That the majority of them failed in the first year. “Now the serious stuff starts,” she said to Daniel. “The planning. The financial investment. It’s a big, big risk.”
Daniel nodded. “I know. But why don’t we celebrate first? Just enjoy the moment.”
“You’re right,” she said, smiling. “This is a victory. We should celebrate. But you’d better not drink too much. You need to be up early in the morning.”
Daniel frowned, confused. “I do? Why?”
Emily gave him a look. “I know where you’ve been disappearing to,” she said. “The marina.”
“Oh, that,” Daniel said, suddenly awkward. “What about it?”
“I’ve arranged for someone to deliver a new engine for your boat.”
Daniel’s eyes widened with surprise. “You have? But you don’t have the money!”
She smiled. “You didn’t have the money when you bought me the toaster but you did it anyway, just to pick me up when I was down on my luck. So I wanted to do something for you, to say thank you.”
Daniel looked thrilled, and Emily knew the small financial sacrifice was worth it just for the look on his face.
“Right, this calls for Gordon’s bar!” Daniel said.
Emily raised an eyebrow. “Really? You want to go out into town? What about all those busybodies and their whispering?”
Daniel just shrugged. “I don’t care about them anymore. You’re what’s important to me.” He pressed a kiss into the crown of her head.
Emily looped her arm around his waist.
As they turned to leave, she spotted someone standing at the door watching. It was Amy. Emily paused and braced herself. But instead of starting any kind of confrontation, Amy gave Emily the thumbs-up sign. Then she blew her a kiss and left.
“Who was that?” Daniel asked.
Emily smiled to herself. “Just someone from my past.”
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.
At midday the house quieted down as the workmen left for lunch. Emily stood and looked around, the last of the items in the room now boxed up and placed in their special spot in the attic, the room standing bare and empty. Tomorrow the renovation work would begin. The pink wallpaper would be stripped and the room painted white. The wood on the mezzanine was to be painted white too. Emily had already bought all the bedding and shabby chic furniture for the room, so it would just be a case of bringing it in and setting it up.
Emily sank onto the bed and stared out at the gorgeous sea view and the beautiful, cloudless sky, content in the knowledge she’d made absolutely the right decision. For once she’d put the future ahead of the past, had looked forward rather than letting herself be dragged backward. By choosing this particular room for the B&B, Emily felt like she was giving herself permission to move on with the next step of her life, that she could finally let go of the past and the misplaced guilt she felt over her sister’s death.
She picked up the final box and went to take it to the attic. As she reached the door, she heard a thud and turned to see that a picture had fallen from the wall; she must have forgotten to take it down. She went and picked it up from the floor and placed it on the top of the final box. As she did so, she realized it was a picture of her and Charlotte, dressed in their raincoats, smiling broadly. In that moment, Emily felt certain it was a sign from her sister giving her permission to move on with her life.
Just then, Emily heard someone knocking on the front door. She set the last box down on the floor and went downstairs. When she opened the door, she saw that the lawn was sun-drenched. The midday sun was high in the sky, beating down on the beautiful grounds of the house, brightening the vibrant colors of the flowers Raj had planted, and the hanging flower baskets that matched.
There was a UPS man on the doorstep. “Emily Mitchell?”
“Yes, that’s me,” she said, taking his pen to sign for the package, excitement coursing through her as it dawned on her what had arrived.
“What’s that?” Daniel asked, coming up in the hall behind her.
Emily thanked the UPS man and he strolled away. Then she turned to Daniel. “It’s the sign.”
“It came already?” Daniel exclaimed. “What name did you decide on?”
She’d worked in secret on the name, not wanting anyone else’s influence on her decision. People kept offering her suggestions but she knew the name had to mean something to her, had to come from her and her alone.
“No peeking,” she said, as she tore the wrapping off and examined the sign. It was beautiful, a blend of tasteful and rustic, which would complement the house perfectly.
With Daniel’s help, she hoisted the sign into place. A thrill of excitement rippled through her as she stepped back and looked at the shiny new sign hanging proudly above the door.
“The Inn at Sunset Harbor,” Daniel said, reading the sign.
“What do you think?” Emily replied.
“I love it,” Daniel said, pulling her closely into him.
Just then, Emily heard the sound of crunching gravel under tires. She and Daniel turned and saw an unfamiliar car driving up along the path. It stopped in front of the house, then a man got out of the car, dragging a suitcase after him.
“Morning,” he said. “The lady at the general store recommended your B&B. Do you have any vacancies?”
Emily’s heart leapt with joy. She glanced quickly at Daniel and grinned, before turning back to the man and, in her most professional voice, replied:
“I think we can squeeze you in.”
