Seaview Inn by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online Page A

that. “Well, she’ll be somewhere. Right this second a psychiatric facility sounds like just the place.”
    She was about to storm inside and have it out with her grandmother when Luke stopped her.
    “Hold it, Hannah. If me being here is going to be a problem, I’m sure I can find somewhere else to stay. I noticed a couple of new motels when I drove off the ferry.”
    She was about to take him up on the offer when she realized she was being absurd. There was no reason he couldn’t stay in one of the guest rooms, even if having him underfoot was going to dredge up a whole lot of old memories of unrequited longing. It was only the fact that her grandmother had done this behind her back that grated.
    She sighed and sat down in the rocker next to his. To buy herself a couple of minutes so that she didn’t sound totally irrational, she poured herself a glass of the ice-cold lemonade and took a sip.
    “Sorry about sounding so inhospitable,” she said eventually. “You just caught me off guard. We’ve been closed since before my mother died a month ago. I had no idea that my grandmother had started taking reservations again.”
    Luke looked genuinely shocked. “Your mother died? I didn’t know. I’m so sorry, Hannah. She was a wonderful woman. I always enjoyed talking to her. She really listened to all us kids.”
    Hannah blinked back a fresh batch of tears. For a woman who’d always prided herself on keeping her emotions in check, since coming back here, she was turning into a regular waterworks.
    “She was a good listener, wasn’t she?” she said, a catch in her voice. “I remember how often you or one of the other kids would sneak off to the kitchen to spill some secret to her. I swear she always knew stuff about my friends before I did. I was halfway jealous of that.”
    “Your grandmother didn’t say anything about her dying when I called. I thought your mom must just be away on a trip or something.”
    “Don’t feel bad. I know she’s dead and I feel the same way. I can’t quite believe I won’t turn a corner and bump into her.”
    He hesitated, then studied her with a gaze filled with compassion. “Do you want to talk about it or should we move on to another topic?”
    “To be honest, I’m not ready to talk about it yet. She had cancer and things didn’t go well, practically from the beginning, and…” She couldn’t bring herself to say the rest, that she was terrified her own future was destined to follow the same path.
    “It’s an awful disease,” he said quietly. “And it’s really difficult to watch a loved one suffer.”
    “You have no idea,” she said softly, then stood up abruptly. “Look, I have to catch the four-thirty ferry to the mainland and I really do need to talk to my grandmother about you staying before I go. Not that you being here is a problem, because it’s not, Luke. Really. I just have to be sure you’re not the tip of the iceberg and that hordes of other guests aren’t descending without warning. There’s a lot going on around here right now and, believe me, more unexpected visitors are not a complication I can handle.”
    “My offer to find another place is still good,” he said. “I don’t want to add to whatever stress you’re under. I get what it’s like when things start piling up. Big or little, it doesn’t matter. Sooner or later, it’s just too much.”
    Hearing the real sympathy in his voice, she fought back tears again. She shook her head, this time with more certainty. “No, stay. Please. Just be prepared for anything to happen. Once my daughter, Kelsey, gets here in a few hours, we may give new meaning to the phrase ‘dysfunctional family.’”
    He smiled at that. “You’re not scaring me, if that’s what you’re trying to do. As it happens, I know quite a lot about dysfunctional families. I’ve recently taken a crash course.”
    She studied him curiously. “Do you want to talk about that? ”
    “Nope. I want to forget about it,