Chapter Sixteen

Isaac walked the road that would lead him to the bed and breakfast, whistling like he didn’t have a care in the world. And he really didn’t. It had been a week since he and Leanne had officially patched things up, but with how much time they spent together, it might as well have been a month. It had been enough that her dad, as happy as he was that things had been worked out between them, had given Leanne a strict work schedule so he could count on her being at the bed and breakfast when he needed her.

Isaac glanced at his phone. Looked like he’d be right on time. She’d have just finished working with her dad, and they’d be able to grab some food at the diner before heading to the beach for the sunset stroll.

No rules, thank goodness. Isaac cringed when he thought of the stipulations they’d put in place last week in their attempt to prove to the town that they didn’t hate each other.

As Isaac approached the bed and breakfast, he noticed a sleek black car parked in front. Looked expensive. He walked around it, admiring it, but knowing it wasn’t his style. Still, it was nice. Usually the tourists who could afford that kind of car stayed at the resort about a half mile up the coast.

Probably some fancy pants who wanted to know what it was like to live the small-town life. One weekend in a bed and breakfast wasn’t going to do it, though. Oh, well. Let them live the illusion that they’d stepped outside their lives for a brief moment.

He walked up the front steps and onto the wraparound porch, but paused when he saw a man walking around from the back. There was no mistaking that the man was the owner of the car. He wore a suit, his graying hair slicked back like he could be in a mobster movie. Who knew, maybe they’d inadvertently welcomed the mafia to their small town. Isaac glanced around, making sure there weren’t more suited men.

The man spotted Isaac. “Do you work here?”

“No, I don’t,” Isaac said. “But I know the owners. Can I help you with something?”

The man had a smooth gait as he worked his way around the porch and Isaac walked back down the steps to meet him.

“I’m looking for an acquaintance of mine, and I was told I could find her here.”

Warning signals went off in Isaac’s head, and every movie he’d ever watched jumped to the forefront of his mind. Maybe this acquaintance had gotten in over their head—owed someone money or something—and was now trying to hide out in a small-town bed and breakfast. Or this man was an abusive ex-husband, trying to get his wife to come back home. Neither of these situations ended well.

“Does she know you’re coming?” Isaac asked, trying to act nonchalant, like he didn’t really care about the answer.

“I tried calling, but wasn’t able to get ahold of her,” the man said, now starting to seem impatient. Both scenarios grew more probable by the minute. “Are you able to help me, or shall I continue in my search for whoever runs this place?”

Isaac decided that dinner with Leanne could wait. He’d better stick around until the man left, just in case he did anything rash. Isaac could hold his own against this guy, much better than Leanne’s parents could. “There’s usually someone at the front desk, or close by,” Isaac said, walking back up the steps toward the front door. “Did you ring the small bell that was on the counter?”

The man grunted. “Yeah, I rang the bell. About twenty times.”

Isaac paused mid-step, surprised, but then remembered he needed to continue to act naturally. It was strange though, that no one had shown up. Leanne’s family prided themselves on their positive relationships with their guests. The picturesque view and comfortable beds weren’t the only reasons their bed and breakfast had been featured in several national magazines.

“I’ll help you find someone,” Isaac said, opening the front door for the man. The man didn’t bother with a thank you as he walked past Isaac and into the brightly lit entry way. “If you wait right here, I’ll see where they’ve gone off to.” He nodded toward an antique bench that sat against one wall.

The man grumbled, and didn’t sit, but instead leaned against the front desk. “I prefer to stand.”

Alrighty then.

Isaac stepped around a corner. He pulled his phone out and texted Leanne.

Hey, I’m here. But there’s a man here looking for someone. Said he rang the bell a ton of times.

Isaac waited a moment, but there wasn’t an immediately reply.

You okay?

It was another moment before his phone chimed.

Yeah, sorry, be right there. I was helping another guest. Isn’t Jules down there?

As if Leanne’s text had summoned her, Jules bustled in through a side door, holding a large bag of produce.

“Oh good,” Jules said, peeking over what looked like carrot tops protruding from the bag. “Can you take this into the kitchen for me? Mom and Dad left for a date night, and everything went nuts as soon as they left.” She pushed the bag into Isaac’s arms before he could answer.

“Uh, yeah. Of course.” Isaac lowered his voice. “But just so you know, there’s a sketchy guy hanging out at the desk. Says he’s looking for someone, but seemed very hush hush on the details.”

Jules cocked an eyebrow. “Like this night couldn’t get any weirder.” She straightened her shoulders, plastered on a smile, then moved toward the entry way to greet their newest guest—or, whatever he was.

Isaac went through a door on the opposite side of the room and quickly made his way to the kitchen. He didn’t want Jules alone with that man any longer than necessary. When he entered, he saw Jessie chopping up vegetables at a long industrial sized counter. Smelled like she was making stew. “Hey Jess.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” she said, glancing up, but not stopping the chopping motion. “The delivery didn’t come in this afternoon and I had to send Jules out to the store. Wouldn’t have had dinner, otherwise.” She nodded at a spot on the counter next to where she worked. “You can just place it right there.”

Isaac followed her direction. “I didn’t realize you cook the meals around here, I thought you mostly delivered your tarts and that kind of stuff.”

Jessie grabbed a pot and scraped the chopped vegetables from the cutting board into it. “I’ve been considering taking on a more full-time role once Dale and Cindy retire. Tonight was going to be a bit of a trial run, but as you can see, it hasn’t exactly turned out how I’d expected.” She rustled in the paper bag and pulled out a handful of potatoes.

Isaac glanced toward the open doorway, itching to get back out to the entry way, but also not wanting to leave Jessie as she frantically tried to put dinner together. “Is…there anything I can do to help?” Isaac felt a bit guilty because he secretly hoped she’d say no. He wasn’t left disappointed.

“I appreciate the offer, but if I’m going to be tackling this thing during tourist season, I need to get used to the pace of things, especially because the place isn’t even a quarter full right now,” Jessie said, washing the potatoes and placing them on the cutting board. She began chopping them with anxiety-induced fervor. “I don’t know why they offer dinner, when they are clearly advertised as a bed and breakfast. But I suppose they don’t get the high ratings they do because of skimping out on their guests. At least they don’t serve lunch, or I’d be in big trouble.”

Jessie was rambling, and she continued talking about how she didn’t know how Leanne’s family had managed it on their own for so long. Isaac doubted she even noticed when he slipped out, anxious to check on Jules.

When Isaac approached the entry way, however, it wasn’t Jules who was talking with the suspicious man, but Leanne.

“I’m not going back to L.A,” she was saying.

“Just hear me out. This is the big break you’ve been waiting for. Think about it—he wants your script, the one that was the reason you ended up in L.A. in the first place. And he wants you on set so you can make the necessary changes it needs during production.”

“Can’t he get someone else to do revisions?”

The man frowned, crossing his arms across his chest. “He only wants you. Remember how I told you that he does things his own way, not playing by the rules? This is the type of stuff I was talking about. But I can guarantee it will be a big hit. You’d be crazy to say no.”

“Frederick…”

Isaac paused in the doorway, stunned into silence. This wasn’t going to end in a shootout. Because the man wasn’t a crazy ex-lover, or about to knock off someone who had double crossed him. It was the arrogant screenwriter that he’d heard so much about. The one that had sent Leanne running back home, determined to never be a part of the Hollywood life that she’d dreamed of.

But Frederick had come back for Leanne. She’d only been home a month, and somehow Frederick had found the person who could make all of her dreams come true.

“I invested two years of my life for this moment,” Frederick said. “You can’t possibly turn it down. Not after how hard we both worked for it.”

Leanne hesitated.

Isaac could practically see the internal debate that was waging inside. He knew this was something she’d always wanted—always dreamed of. And now here it was, being presented on a greasy, expensive platter, in the form of Frederick what’s-his-name.

“At least give me a chance to think about it,” she finally said.

Frederick seemed to stiffen, but then gave a curt nod. “Do you have any rooms available?”

He wanted to stay there? At the bed and breakfast? That was enough to get Isaac moving again. He did not want that man any closer to Leanne than he needed to be.

“Wouldn’t you be more comfortable at the Starlight Resort just down the road?” he asked, approaching Frederick in the entryway. “I’m sure they have more of the amenities that you’re used to.”

Isaac thought he’d been doing Leanne a favor by stepping in. This was the man who had scarred Leanne, after all, trying to make her into someone she wasn’t. Those had been Leanne’s own words. But the daggers her gaze threw at him said a different story.

“I don’t require much,” Frederick said. “And whatever you’re cooking smells delicious. It’s been decades since I had a home cooked meal.” His stiff demeanor didn’t match his words, but he seemed determined to stay. And Leanne seemed determined to let him.

Which meant that she was seriously considering his offer. After all Isaac and Leanne had been through in the past month, and she was going to leave again?

Jules spoke up, and Isaac hadn’t realized she’d been there. She sat, half-hidden behind the tall desk. “I’ll get you checked in.” She turned to Leanne. “When I’m done I need to check on dinner and see if Jessie needs any help. Can you show him to his room?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Isaac’s insides twisted. “Leanne, can I talk to you for a moment?” He nodded toward the front door. She seemed annoyed at the request, but she gave Frederick a polite smile and said, “I’ll be right back.”

As soon as they were outside, her frown returned. “Abandoning a guest isn’t exactly a good way to maintain our reputation here.”

Isaac couldn’t believe what she was saying. “Guest?” he said, incredulous, waving his hand toward where Frederick was currently checking in to stay in the same building his girlfriend lived. He liked being able to call Leanne that again—girlfriend—and had hoped that ‘Fiancée’ would be just around the corner. “That isn’t a guest. It’s the man who made your life a living Hell. And now you’re treating me like I’m the bad guy here.”

Leanne took a couple of long, deep breaths, like she was attempting to not start yelling back. She walked down the steps, pausing at the fancy black car. She spun back toward Isaac. “Frederick is the highest profile guest we’ve ever had at our bed and breakfast. If he likes it and has a good experience, that could do wonders for our little place. He might write a review and sign a picture that I could place on the wall for other guests to see. People care about silly stuff like that. But none of that is going to happen if I leave him waiting longer than I already have.” She didn’t give Isaac a chance to say more, instead half-sprinting back up the steps, then disappearing through the front door.

Isaac stared where Leanne had just stood. Guess dinner was off.

Was she deluding herself into believing what she’d just said, or did she actually think that Frederick cared anything about her bed and breakfast? He wasn’t staying there because he found the rooms charming. Frederick was keeping Leanne close so he could better influence her decision.

And Isaac was afraid what that decision would be.

The pull on his gut told him that she’d already made it, whether she admitted it or not.