been out on the water long before her alarm had gone off that morning. Meg hadn’t entered the Inn, but she could hear Celia bustling around inside. Zoe and Shawn lived in cottages on the premises, but neither of them had made an appearance yet.
A sedan crunched over the gravel in the driveway and rolled to a stop in front of the house.
“Is it okay to park here?” Taylor called out the window.
Meg pointed to a short driveway about forty feet away that led to a gravel parking lot. “You can park in there. I don’t think there are any events today, but better safe than sorry.”
He nodded in understanding and moved his car. When she saw his tall form walking back toward her, Meg grabbed everything off of the table, hooking her left index finger through the handles of the mugs so she wouldn’t drop them.
He met her on the lawn in front of the porch and nodded at the yellow box she held in her hands. “Great minds think alike.”
Until he’d said something, she hadn’t even noticed the white box he was holding.
“Are those donuts from A Hole in One?” she asked, eying the box. She’d been craving donuts, but had decided it was better to support Cassie’s bakery. Not that Meg minded the absence of donuts—her friend was an amazing baker and had yet to make something that Meg hadn’t loved.
“Yep, they sure are. Here, let me help you.” Taylor flashed her a bright smile and took the other box from her, stacking it on top of his.
“Thanks.”
He looked around and whistled. “Wow, you guys have done a great job on this place.”
Her heart swelled with pride. “Thanks. It was mainly Shawn and Zoe, but I helped a bit too.”
“So, where’s the barn?” he asked, craning his neck around. “I don’t remember seeing it before.”
“It’s on the other side of the property and kind of blocked from view by a stand of trees. Are you ready to get started?”
He nodded. “I’ve been curious to see the barn after hearing you talk about it so much.”
Her cheeks warmed. She’d probably been blabbing about it and her future restaurant far more than any of her friends had ever wanted to hear. “Sorry.”
He stopped. “No, I’m serious. I really want to see it. It sounds interesting.”
She checked his face for signs that he was patronizing her, but didn’t see any. After the disappointment she’d experienced when showing the barn to Theo, she had no illusions that other people would see it the same way she did.
“It’s over here.” She led him to the path down to the old barn. The peeling paint, shattered windowpanes, and rotting shingles were painfully apparent in the harsh light of the morning sun. She slid the door open, then stepped aside to allow Taylor room to view the interior.
He strode past her, as if eager to get inside. Sunlight streamed through broken windows, catching dust motes dancing in the air. He paused in the middle of the hay-strewn main floor and surveyed the interior, zeroing in on the stalls.
“How many horses did they have at the resort back then?” he asked.
She shrugged, loosening some of the tension in her shoulders. “I’m not sure. I think most of the stalls were for horses that the guests brought, but the Inn did have a few of their own for guests to ride on the beach.” She watched as he slowly turned a full circle, taking a painfully long time to see the barn in its entirety.
His gaze landed on the ladder to the loft. “Can we go up there?” he asked.
“Sure.” She led him over to it and stepped on the bottom rung. “Shawn said the ladder is sound, but just to be on the safe side, wait until I’m at the top before you come up, okay?” She stashed the coffee mugs and Thermos in her vintage fabric hobo bag, hoping nothing would break or spill as she climbed. The satchel she’d bought at a flea market in Portland was one of her most prized possessions. It was like a Mary Poppins bag, seeming to expand to hold everything she could possibly need.
Taylor nodded, and she climbed to the top. While he followed her up, balancing the two bakery boxes with the agility of a monkey, she took a quick look down into the barn. Somehow, the objects stored below looked even worse from here. A thick layer of dirt or dust covered everything, and from