Wind Chime Café (A Wind Chime Novel) by Sophie Moss Read Free Book Online

calling her on her cell? This was not good. Annie walked a few yards away, signaling to Grace that she’d be back in a minute. “Is everything all right?”
    “There’s been a complication with the sale of the inn.”
    Annie’s gaze fell to a trail of crushed oyster shells. “What kind of complication?”
    “As you know, I took a gamble on your loan because my son was closing a deal with Morningstar to build a resort on this island. Your restaurant seemed like a good investment at the time. But we’re not sure that sale is going to happen anymore. This is a small bank, Annie. We don’t take many risks, especially in this market. I made an exception in your case, but after re-reviewing your finances today, I’m concerned.”
    Annie twisted the toe of her boot into the oyster shells. “I’m still going to make the payments.”
    “How?”
    “I have a plan.”
    “Would you mind sharing it with me?”
    “I’m still working out the details.”
    “Come by the bank on Monday. I’ll review your new proposal and decide if we can still issue the loan.”
    The line went dead and Annie lowered the phone.
    She heard Grace’s footsteps coming closer.
    “Is everything okay?” Grace asked again.
    Annie looked up at her. “I think I could use that drink now.”
     

     
    “A resort?” Grace gaped at her. “On Heron Island?”
    Annie nodded. They’d gotten a table outside on the deck, overlooking the water. Workboats bobbed in the slips in Magnolia Harbor. The gravelly voices of a dozen watermen sorting through the day’s catch rose over the Bay. “I’m surprised Spencer didn’t say anything. I figured everyone knew.”
    “Spencer!” Grace seethed. “That little weasel. I should have known he was behind this.” She dug in her pocket for her cell phone. “We definitely did not know.” She searched through her contacts, pressing a button before lifting the phone to her ear. “If we’d known, we would have been fighting to stop it.”
    “You don’t want a resort here?”
    “No,” Grace said emphatically.
    “But what about the jobs it would create?” Annie asked. “The tourists it would bring to the island?”
    “That would only be the beginning ,” Grace said. “Within a few years, they’d be planning an eighteen hole golf course and a gated community that would cut the land off from the people who grew up here.”
    Annie twisted the stem of her wine glass. “That seems extreme.”
    “I’ve seen it happen before.” Pulling the phone away from her ear, Grace cursed as she hung up. “He’s not answering.”
    “Who?”
    “Spencer!” Grace tossed the phone onto the table, narrowing her eyes. “I’m going to kill him.”
    “But you live in the city,” Annie protested. “You know what it’s like to want to get away, to escape to a place like this on the weekends.”
    “A place like this !” Grace swept her arm out, emphasizing the casual picnic table seating and salt-weathered siding of Rusty’s, the marina filled with workboats and undeveloped marshlands beyond. “Heron Island is one of the last places on the Eastern Shore that still feels like the Shore. A resort would completely change that.”
    “What would change besides having a few more people here?” Annie asked. “A few more restaurants and shops on Main Street to cater to them?”
    “Nothing, at first,” Grace admitted. “But over the years, the businesses that moved in would cater solely to the tourists. The rents on Main Street would skyrocket and the current businesses would be forced out by chic restaurants, upscale decorating shops, and designer clothing stores—places no local could afford.”
    Annie looked out at the water, watching a blue heron stalk out of the marshes. She’d moved here to open a fine dining restaurant, but she had no intention of putting anyone else out of business. Yes, she had planned to cater more to the tourists, but she’d hoped to provide a place for the islanders to come on special