Read The Inn at Eagle Point for Free Online Page B

the inn, I'm sure Dad was the first to suggest she was making a mistake
and will be the first to say I told you so if she fails."

"That's it in a nutshell," Gram agreed. "I don't remember him
being that ornery with the rest of you."

"Trust me, he was," Abby said. "But with the rest of us, we could
let it roll off our backs. We knew we had you and Mom in our corners, no matter
what. With Mom gone, Jess has always taken everything Dad said to heart, even
offhand comments he's forgotten about as soon as he's made them."

"You're right. I've talked to him about that myself, but he doesn't see
the problem. Your father's always believed that blunt honesty is a virtue, even
when it hurts. He thinks mollycoddling is a waste of time. He believes you
children should know without a doubt that he loves you, no matter how harsh his
criticism might be."

"That worked fine with the rest of us, but not with Jess. She's had too
many obstacles to overcome."

Gram regarded her worriedly. "Are you going to be able to help her to
straighten this out?"

"I'm going to try," Abby said. "Don't worry, Gram. I know how
important this is. The bank won't take that inn away from her without a fight
from me."

Gram's expression turned thoughtful. "Maybe it would be better if she had
to save it for herself, instead of letting you rush to the rescue."

"It probably would be," Abby admitted. "But based on what she
told me last night, I don't think that's going to be an option. She's waited
too long, and now there's not enough time for her to pull everything
together."

"Does she want to borrow money?"

Abby shook her head. "She's adamantly opposed to that. All she's asked for
is my business expertise."

"Is that going to be enough?" Gram asked.

"I won't know until I see her books," Abby said honestly.

"Well, Jess made the right decision when she called you," Gram said.
"She's been counting on you since she was a little bitty thing, and you've
never once let her down."

"Pile on the pressure, why don't you?" Abby replied as she stood up.
She leaned down and pressed a kiss to her grandmother's cheek. "Thanks,
Gram. I love you."

"I love you, too. And Jess. It's going to be okay. When O'Briens stick
together, there's nothing we can't do."

"That's what you've always taught us," Abby agreed.

Unfortunately, she was very much afraid it was going to take a lot more than
family spirit and loyalty to save Jess's inn.
    3
    M ick
hadn't been home for a month, not that Chesapeake Shores felt much like home
anymore. He'd spent most of that time in a frustrating battle of wits with
officials over building permits for his latest planned community north of San
Francisco. Given the number of hurdles, he was beginning to question the wisdom
of going through with the development. Then again, he'd put his reputation on
the line for this one, and what would it say if he folded up and went away
without a fight?

He'd just finished a meeting with his associates from O'Brien Company,
his contractors and the subcontractors about the latest delay when his cell
phone rang. Glancing at caller ID, he saw that it was his mother, who rarely
ever called him these days. In the past she'd only called in an emergency, and
there'd been plenty of those with five kids in the house.

"Hey, Ma, how are you?" he said, walking away from the other men so
he could have the conversation in private.

"Fit as a fiddle," she said. "Wish I could say the same for your
daughter."

Mick felt his pulse speed up. "Is something wrong with Abby? Or
Bree?" he asked. Then added almost as an afterthought, "Or is it
Jess?"

"Interesting that your concern for Jess came last," she said, her
tone accusing. "That's always been the problem between you two. Sometimes
I think you forget you have three daughters. It's little wonder the girl works
so hard to try to get your attention."

"I hope you didn't call just to give me another lecture on how I've
shortchanged Jessica. We've had that conversation too many times