The Inn at Eagle Point by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online

to
count."

"Then it amazes me that it has yet to sink in," she retorted.
"And actually that's exactly why I called. When was the last time you
spoke to her?"

"A few days ago, I suppose," he said, searching his memory, but
unable to come up with anything more precise. That gave some credence to his
mother's accusations, but he wasn't planning to admit that anytime soon. He
hadn't spoken to Abby or Bree, either.

"More like a month, I imagine," she said. "If I had to guess,
I'd say it was when she drove you to the airport. I doubt you've given her a
second thought since then."

He winced as the barb hit its mark. "Okay, that's probably right. What's
your point? She's a grown woman. She doesn't need her dad checking up on
her."

"Checking up on her, no," his mother agreed with undisguised
impatience. "But how about checking in just to see how she's doing, maybe
asking how the inn is coming along, inquiring if she could use any help in
getting it ready to open? Would those things be too much to expect from a
loving parent, especially one with an entire construction company at his
disposal?"

Mick bristled at the suggestion that he wasn't interested in his own daughter's
life or that he'd been unwilling to help her out. "Jess made it plain she
didn't want my interference. You sat right there at the kitchen table when I
offered to send one of my guys around to look things over and she turned me down
flat."

"Mick, for a bright man, you can be denser than dirt," she chided.
"Maybe she didn't want one of your men over there. Maybe what she needed
was you. "

Mick might be past fifty, but he still hated being called on the carpet by his
own mother. He'd rather face down a hundred bureaucrats than be made to feel
that somehow he'd let down his family. It wasn't as if he didn't know he'd
failed them by making life so miserable for Megan that she'd left him. He
hadn't been able to fix that, and it was likely that whatever was going on
right now with Jess wasn't something he could fix, either. What kind of man was
he? He'd built an international reputation as an architect and urban planner,
but he couldn't keep his own damn family together.

"Ma, why don't you just say whatever's on your mind? Is Jess in some kind
of trouble? Does she need money? One of my crews? What? You know I'll do
whatever I can to help. All she needs to do is ask."

His mother sighed heavily. "Mick, you know she'll never do that."

"Why, for God's sake?" he asked, frustrated. "Who else should
she ask? I'm her father."

"Exactly. And she's been trying to prove herself to you since the day her
mother left. She thinks that was her fault because she was too much trouble,
because she wasn't smart enough."

"Jess is smart as a whip," he protested, exactly as he always did.

"Well, of course she is, but learning came hard for her. She thinks that
was what sent her mother running. Kids as young as Jess was back then always
think a divorce is their fault."

"You've been watching Dr. Phil again," he accused. "Don't try to
psychoanalyze my relationship with Jess."

"Well, somebody has to fix it. It's way past time. How soon can you get
back here?"

"A few weeks, maybe. Longer unless you tell me what the hell is going on
in plain English that my poor denser-than-dirt male brain can comprehend."

"Don't smart-mouth me. I'm still your mother."

Mick nearly groaned. "Ma, please."

"I think it's possible she's going to lose the inn before she even gets the
doors open. If that happens, it will break not only her heart, but her
spirit."

The news caught him completely off guard. Even he recognized how that could
affect his daughter, assuming it was true and not just the product of the local
gossip mill. "What makes you think she's going to lose the inn?"

"I've heard rumors the bank is considering foreclosure. And before you
dismiss that as nothing more than speculation, I'll tell you my source was
reliable."

Mick's frustration mounted. "Dammit, I knew she was getting in over