Room for Love Read Online Free PDF

for the things that needed fixing. There were some builders’ quotes for most of the work detailed in the survey and, underneath, a letter of refusal from the bank, not sounding very sorry at all that they couldn’t extend Nancy’s existing loan with them to cover it. Carrie sighed, pulled out her notepad and jotted down the contact details for Nancy’s accountant, builder and bank. Time for the next folder.
    This one, labeled in Nancy’s sprawling hand, boded a little better. “Current bookings,” Carrie read aloud, and smiled. If people were willing to stay at the Avalon when there was a good chance it might fall down around their ears, just wait until Carrie had finished with it.
    Flipping the folder open, she started reading, her smile slipping with every word.
    It wasn’t a long list, but what there was would take up a great deal of the inn’s resources, with very little recompense. It also explained why Nate’s Seniors had been lined up in the lobby earlier. They were waiting to see which way she was going to jump.
    “ Bridge night, every Wednesday evening, in perpetuum. Dance night–themed–every Monday evening, in perpetuum. Sing songs, in bar, at will and as needed. Who makes bookings this way?”
    Carrie slammed the file shut. Not one decent, proper booking in the lot. There wasn’t even any information on what the groups paid for the use of the Inn.
    “Oh God, what if she wasn’t charging them at all?” Carrie let out a moan, and dropped the folder to the floor.
    How was Carrie supposed to turn an old people’s home into a designer wedding venue?
    She leaned back in her chair, rubbing circles at her temples with her index fingers, and considered. The most important thing was keeping the inn. To do that, she needed money, and apparently the banks weren’t likely to provide it. So it had to be Anna. And for Anna to invest, she had to be convinced that the Avalon was worth her while.
    “It’s my inn, now,” Carrie reminded herself. “So I’m going to have to run it my way.”
    It might upset the Seniors, might even upset Nate and the rest of the staff. But the Avalon had been losing money for months. If they wanted to keep it going at all, there were going to have to be some big changes.
    “Maybe they can have a dance night once a month. And move the Bridge club to lunchtimes.” That sounded fair. A compromise. At least, to start with. Carrie was pretty sure she could phase them out, after the first few months. There had to be other, more suitable inns around willing to accommodate them.
    Feeling better for having one thing decided, Carrie glanced up at the carriage clock on the mantelpiece, and realized the evening was almost gone. She should think about going to bed.
    Except…she remembered her bag, lying on Nancy’s brightly colored patchwork bedspread.
    It made sense for her to stay there, Carrie knew. The bedrooms would be needed for guests, and before that, for decorating. Nancy’s attic was the only room in the whole place not required to earn its keep.
    But did she really have to sleep there tonight?Did she really have to deal with the memories, and the guilt, and the scent from the bottle of Nancy’s perfume still on the dressing table, so soon? Couldn’t it wait, until she’d cleared out the room, packed away all the history?
    Of course it could. There were a dozen empty bedrooms in the inn, after all. One of those would do for one night. Or even longer.
    Decision made, she gathered her papers together and stood, planning to head into the reception. But glancing back at her chair, she spotted Nancy’s letter leaning against the lamp, circled by the glow of its light.
    “What if I’m not ready yet?” she whispered to the empty room, already knowing the answer. It didn’t matter.
    It didn’t matter because Nancy had written the letter for her. And how could she begin to work on the Avalon without knowing what Nancy wanted her to do? It was her inn now, but it would always