From the Shadows (Buckhorn, Montana #2) - B.J. Daniels Page 0,48

felt her stomach growl as she poured herself and Vi a cup of coffee. She put the cups on a tray along with some pastries. She thought about bringing out a carafe for refills but was determined that, whatever Vi wanted, it wouldn’t take that long.

The woman’s eyes widened as Casey put a cup of coffee and a turnover in front of her. “Are these Bessie’s?” Vi asked and took a large bite. “Oh, they are. She does make the best pastries.”

Casey sat down and picked up her cup. She cut off a forkful of one of the turnovers. It was sweet, buttery and flaky, the berries inside bursting in her mouth. No one baked like Bessie.

“Aren’t they heavenly?” Vi said as she devoured hers and then slurped most of her coffee. “I can imagine how much you must miss Buckhorn and Bessie’s sweets and your grandmother. This old place has to remind you of her.” The woman shuddered. “It must be so hard for you, staying here all alone.”

“I’m not alone,” she said, as if Vi didn’t already know that.

“Oh, yes, that...that man who’s been staying here.” Another shudder conveyed what Vi thought of Finn. “He seems...dangerous, don’t you think?”

Vi had no idea what having such a man like Finn around was like—let alone a half-dozen murder suspects.

“I heard some other people have moved in as well,” Vi said. “More homeless?”

She hurriedly changed the subject. “I’m sure that’s not why you’re here.”

“I don’t want the hotel destroyed,” Vi said, putting down her cup a little too hard.

Casey shook her head. “Why?”

“Because it’s a local landmark. I can’t bear the idea of someone tearing it down. Half this town worked here at some point in their lives. All of us in town are a piece of it.”

The woman was right. A lot of the locals had been a part of the hotel, not to mention all the teens who’d worked at least a summer here. It had almost been a rite of passage to work at the Crenshaw. Now it was the end of an era.

Vi cleared her voice, finally getting to business. “I want to buy the hotel.” She tossed the papers in Casey’s direction.

Casey gathered them up, shocked. She’d wanted to sell the hotel and grounds for months. Where had Vi been all this time?

“What would you do with it?” Casey asked without looking at the papers.

“Does it really matter to you? Isn’t my keeping the Crenshaw better than razing it and building a truck stop?”

“I think a truck stop would be more useful,” she said honestly. Picking up the offer, she saw that it was ridiculously low. “This is generous of you, Vi, but I’m sorry—the hotel is already sold.”

“What? But Devlin told me—”

“I didn’t sell to Devlin.”

“You can’t have sold it that quickly. You have to give me a chance. At least consider my offer.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve already agreed to another offer.” She tried to hand back the paperwork, but Vi refused to take it.

“Think about what your grandmother would have wanted.”

After being in the tower, sensing her grandmother there, Casey felt too vulnerable to have this conversation right now. If there were any way to keep the hotel, to make it viable, she would know. She’d been in this business for years. Vi had no idea how to run a hotel or what was involved. It wouldn’t be a year and the place would be closed again. How long would Vi hold on to it before she sold the property just as Casey planned to do?

“Look at this place,” Vi said, taking in the huge main hall. “You can’t destroy it. It would break Anna’s heart.”

“Vi, the answer is no. The deal is done.” Which wasn’t quite true, but close enough. “I’m sorry. My grandmother knew I had to sell it.”

“Not to have it torn down.”

Casey shook her head. She needed to know that she’d taken care of things and not let the hotel limp on as something it wasn’t or couldn’t ever be again.

Vi pursed her lips, reached for her napkin and wiped her mouth. “You’re making a mistake. Your grandmother will be rolling over in her grave when the bulldozers start taking this place down.”

“My grandmother was cremated.”

“You know what I mean. I’m offering to save the hotel.”

“If there was a way to save it, I would do it myself.” Casey pushed to her feet.

“At least let me send Emery over to get the boards off the windows so you can enjoy it