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you at the inn?"

"Nine?" Jess suggested. She owed her sister one lazy morning at
least.

"Make it eight."

Despite her emotions being all over the place, Jess grinned. "Not bad. You
must be relaxing. I was figuring you'd say seven."

"Watch it, kid. I could change my mind."

Jess was on her feet at once. "See you at eight," she said hurriedly,
then started down the steps. At the bottom, she turned back. "I'm glad
you're home, Abby, but I'm sorry I dumped all this on you."

"That's what family's for," Abby said. "Don't ever forget
that."

Despite her sister's words, Jess wondered if she'd ever truly believe that, at
least where her disapproving father was concerned. Once Mick heard about this,
there'd be plenty of I-told-you-so's to go around.

And once Abby realized that she was going to be dealing with Trace Riley and
that Jess had kept that fact from her, Jess was very much afraid she might walk
away and leave Jess to fend for herself.
    *
* *
    Abby walked into the kitchen shortly after dawn, awakened by
the sound of the robins, bluebirds and wrens outside her open bedroom windows.
She'd forgotten how noisy nature could be, especially in the spring. As early
as it was, she wasn't surprised to find her grandmother there ahead of her.

"You're up early," Gram said, her tone chiding. "I thought you'd
sleep in for a bit on your first morning home."

"I have a lot to do today," Abby said, pouring herself a cup of the
strong tea Gram had brewed. She laced it with milk, then sighed with pleasure
after the first sip. "It never tastes like this when I make it."

"That's because you use tea bags and brew it in the microwave, I'll
bet."

Abby grinned. "Could be."

"A good pot of tea takes time to steep. If you put a little time and love
into it, it shows."

"I have enough trouble finding time to love my girls without worrying
about how my tea feels," Abby replied.

"Which means you're working too hard. You never have learned how to relax.
Why don't you grab a book and take it outside to the hammock this morning. I'll
keep an eye on the girls. I'll take them into town and show them off."

"If you wouldn't mind watching the girls, I'll take you up on that,"
Abby told her. "But the hammock will have to wait. I promised Jess I'd
meet her at the inn in an hour."

Gram's expression immediately sobered. She sat down across from Abby and
stirred her tea, then lifted her gaze to Abby's. "She's in trouble with
that, isn't she?"

Abby didn't want to betray her sister's confidence, but she'd always been a
lousy liar. She settled for asking, "What makes you think that?"

"For one thing, this is Chesapeake Shores, where gossip is everybody's
favorite hobby. For another, Violet Harding's sister works at the bank. She
told Violet that she'd seen something about foreclosure on a file with Jess's
name on it. Of course that old gossip couldn't wait to spread the word. The
Hardings are still furious that Mick bought up all their family's land to
develop this town. Never mind that it was their good-for-nothing father who
sold it to him because he needed cash, somehow it's Mick's fault that they
don't own all that acreage anymore." She waved off the topic. "None
of that matters. Is Jess going to lose the inn the way Violet said?"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Abby told her firmly.
"And please don't tell her you know. She's so afraid of letting all of us
down."

Gram shook her head. "Does she honestly believe we care more about that
inn and whether she succeeds or fails than we do about her?"

Abby nodded. "I think she does. She wants desperately to prove herself,
especially to Dad."

"Now that I understand," Gram said, her mouth set in a grim line.
"Why those two can't communicate without starting a fight is beyond
me."

"It's because they're exactly alike," Abby said. "They both have
more pride than sense and a mile-wide stubborn streak. And neither one of them
can stand to be wrong about anything. Even though I wasn't around when Jess
bought