to let them see the pain in her eyes. Hardened her jaw. Clenched her fists. “Let’s hear it.”
Shelley blinked. “Hear what?”
“Your ideas. I’m open to input. You have my full attention. What do you want to say?”
Mouth dropping open, Shelley sat down.
“Well?” To show she was accommodating, Madison sat down, too.
“I-I don’t know. I’m so used to you taking charge that I haven’t had time to think.”
“Go ahead. Think. I’ll wait.” Madison stretched her hands out on the table, palms down, and glanced at Gia. “How about you? Got any ideas on how we could raise money to save the inn?”
“I—um . . .” Gia moistened her lips.
Yeah, that’s what she thought, and they wondered why she made all the decisions.
Madison passed her gaze over to Darynda. “Do you?”
“My two cents?” For a moment, Darynda’s polished tone slipped into a lazy West Texas drawl. “Whatever the solution, you three girls should do it together.”
Madison ironed her mouth into a straight line. She wasn’t a girl. Hadn’t been one in a long time.
“Fundraiser. We need some kind of fundraiser.” Shelley snapped her fingers.
“Thanks so much, Captain Obvious.”
“Maddie,” Gia chided.
“Okay, sorry for the smartass quip,” Madison apologized to Shelley, who looked amused, not offended.
“How about Kickstarter like I did for the kite store? Or a GoFundMe campaign.” Gia twisted another strand of hair around her finger.
Madison recalled one time when Gia was little she’d gotten her finger caught in a curl tunnel like a Chinese finger trap and she couldn’t pull it out. Her high-pitched screams brought Madison running to the rescue.
“I don’t like the idea of taking donations to save the place,” Madison said. “It feels desperate.”
“Well, aren’t we?” Gia asked.
Shelley used her hands to simulate an airplane dropping a bomb, ending with clenching her fists, then opening them quick with her fingers splayed, indicating an explosion.
Madison cleared her throat and ignored Shelley. “All right, I’ll try not to dismiss your ideas out of hand. How about we put Kickstarter as a possibility?”
Darynda got up and fetched a pen and paper from beside the house phone. “I’ll make a list.”
“Thank you.” Madison nodded and lowered her shoulders, which had crept up to her ears. “Next?”
“How about a pop-up store?” Gia suggested. “We could shoot for the Fourth of July weekend. It’s the biggest holiday weekend of tourist season.”
“I’m liking . . .” Madison nodded, yet didn’t finish her sentence.
“But?” Shelley propped her chin in her upturned palm.
“The Fourth is six weeks away. We need money now. I have some money put back that I can access to fend off the impending foreclosure, but we need to get the inn opened, ASAP. Grammy needs to get out from under that mortgage. And that’s not even considering the medical bills that are piling up.”
“Helen can’t run this place on her own anymore.” Darynda said it as if Grammy was going to pull through. “There are three of you. She shouldn’t have to do this alone.”
If her intention had been to shame them, it was working.
“I’ll stay here and run the inn,” Shelley said.
Madison snorted.
“What?” Shelley glowered.
“Don’t pretend you’re Miss Altruistic. Truth is, you don’t have anywhere else to go, do you?”
“Madison,” Shelley said, “do you have to work at being a jerk, or does it just come naturally?”
Madison gritted her teeth. No one here had any idea what she was going through. It was so easy for them to judge. They saw the external trappings—her own TV show, a glamorous life in New York City, enough money for a very comfortable life. But it came at a price and they had no idea of the personal cost, or how much she’d paid.
Because you’re too proud to share that with them. It was Finn’s voice in her head again.
“The upshot is that Shelley has graciously volunteered to run the Moonglow Inn.” Darynda’s tone was light, but her expression left Madison feeling scolded. “Don’t dismiss your sister out of hand.”
“If we’re going to keep the inn open, we’ve got to renovate,” Gia said. “Or we’ll have the same problems with those Yelp reviews.”
“How will we afford the renovations?” Madison asked.
“You’re rich.” Shelley drummed her fingers on the table. “Why don’t you pony up the cash?”
“My money is tied up in investments.” Heat burned up the back of Madison’s neck. Did they expect her to sacrifice her future to save the inn?
“Madison shouldn’t have to foot the bill for everything,” Gia said. “I could ask Mike to donate his time. He’s good with his hands. And