taken the summer off
.
~ Grace ~
Chapter 7
“F ORD ,” Dan called from the hallway after having rapped on the door once. “You in there?”
“Yeah.” Ford put down the newspaper he’d been reading and went to the door and opened it. “What’s up?”
“Nothing, really. I was just taking a short break and thought I’d check in with you, see what you were up to.”
“Come on in.” Ford stepped aside and his brother entered the room.
“Everything okay here?” Dan stood halfway between the sofa and the fireplace, and gestured with a nod of the head in the direction of the captain’s portrait. “He giving you any trouble?”
“Haven’t heard a peep out of him. He’s been on his best behavior.”
“Maybe he only likes to toy with the ladies.”
“Sit down.” Ford folded the newspaper and tossed it onto the table.
“Ah, I see Mom’s got you reading her
Gazette
.” Dan grinned and picked up the paper at the same time that he sat on the arm of the sofa.
“We were talking about it at breakfast the other day and she seemed so proud of it, I thought I’d take a look.”
“It’s actually pretty good, for a small-town newspaper. This week’s cover article about Curtis Enright’s gift to St. Dennis is great.”
“I just read about that. It’s the house down at the end of Old St. Mary’s Church Road, right?”
Dan nodded. “That big place with all the trees on the one side and the carriage house in the back.”
“Imagine owning a place like that and just giving it away.” Ford sat on the chair next to the fireplace. “Did his family have a problem with that?”
“Apparently not. Enrights have been in St. Dennis forever. Curtis has two sons—Craig, who he hasn’t spoken to in years, and Mike, who I know isn’t interested in the house. His wife is really ill and they just moved to Florida. There are a bunch of grandkids, I’m not sure how many, and from what I hear, they’ve all been taken care of in Curtis’s will, but he didn’t want to show favoritism by leaving the property to one and not the others. At the same time, he wanted to ensure that the house would always be kept up and maintained. Mom said he’s put money into a trust for that purpose, so the town couldn’t refuse to accept the property on the grounds it couldn’t afford the upkeep.” Dan stretched his legs and leaned back. “Someone else suggested that he did it so that no one who wasn’t an Enright could ever own it or live there, but I don’t know about that.”
“The article said he wanted them to turn the main house into some sort of community center.”
“That’s old news. They want an art center, and an art gallery, and a place to hold community events. Artsy stuff. Mom met with someone on Saturday who doesn’t think the house is suitable for a gallery, though. She said the old carriage house would be better.” Dan shrugged. “What do I know? Either way, if it’s good for St. Dennis and brings people into town, I’m for it.”
“From what I’m hearing, you don’t need to worry about bringing people to the inn.”
“We’re lucky, full every weekend.”
“I think it’s more than luck. Mom says you’ve made the place what it is.”
Dan shrugged. “It’s always going to be a work in progress. We try to update or bring in something new every year.”
“You’ve obviously done a great job. I can’t imagine anyone doing better.” Ford hesitated before adding, “I wish I’d been around more to give you a hand.”
“You have your own thing to do. Everyone isn’t cut out for innkeeping, but me, well, it suits me to a tee. There’s nothing else I ever wanted to do. Even when I was a kid, I knew that someday I’d run this place.”
“Win-win,” Ford said.
“Pretty much. So what about you? What’s your thing?” Dan turned to look at his brother full in the face. “I mean, now that you’ve saved the world.”
“I’m afraid I didn’t save much of anything,” Ford
.
~ Grace ~
Chapter 7
“F ORD ,” Dan called from the hallway after having rapped on the door once. “You in there?”
“Yeah.” Ford put down the newspaper he’d been reading and went to the door and opened it. “What’s up?”
“Nothing, really. I was just taking a short break and thought I’d check in with you, see what you were up to.”
“Come on in.” Ford stepped aside and his brother entered the room.
“Everything okay here?” Dan stood halfway between the sofa and the fireplace, and gestured with a nod of the head in the direction of the captain’s portrait. “He giving you any trouble?”
“Haven’t heard a peep out of him. He’s been on his best behavior.”
“Maybe he only likes to toy with the ladies.”
“Sit down.” Ford folded the newspaper and tossed it onto the table.
“Ah, I see Mom’s got you reading her
Gazette
.” Dan grinned and picked up the paper at the same time that he sat on the arm of the sofa.
“We were talking about it at breakfast the other day and she seemed so proud of it, I thought I’d take a look.”
“It’s actually pretty good, for a small-town newspaper. This week’s cover article about Curtis Enright’s gift to St. Dennis is great.”
“I just read about that. It’s the house down at the end of Old St. Mary’s Church Road, right?”
Dan nodded. “That big place with all the trees on the one side and the carriage house in the back.”
“Imagine owning a place like that and just giving it away.” Ford sat on the chair next to the fireplace. “Did his family have a problem with that?”
“Apparently not. Enrights have been in St. Dennis forever. Curtis has two sons—Craig, who he hasn’t spoken to in years, and Mike, who I know isn’t interested in the house. His wife is really ill and they just moved to Florida. There are a bunch of grandkids, I’m not sure how many, and from what I hear, they’ve all been taken care of in Curtis’s will, but he didn’t want to show favoritism by leaving the property to one and not the others. At the same time, he wanted to ensure that the house would always be kept up and maintained. Mom said he’s put money into a trust for that purpose, so the town couldn’t refuse to accept the property on the grounds it couldn’t afford the upkeep.” Dan stretched his legs and leaned back. “Someone else suggested that he did it so that no one who wasn’t an Enright could ever own it or live there, but I don’t know about that.”
“The article said he wanted them to turn the main house into some sort of community center.”
“That’s old news. They want an art center, and an art gallery, and a place to hold community events. Artsy stuff. Mom met with someone on Saturday who doesn’t think the house is suitable for a gallery, though. She said the old carriage house would be better.” Dan shrugged. “What do I know? Either way, if it’s good for St. Dennis and brings people into town, I’m for it.”
“From what I’m hearing, you don’t need to worry about bringing people to the inn.”
“We’re lucky, full every weekend.”
“I think it’s more than luck. Mom says you’ve made the place what it is.”
Dan shrugged. “It’s always going to be a work in progress. We try to update or bring in something new every year.”
“You’ve obviously done a great job. I can’t imagine anyone doing better.” Ford hesitated before adding, “I wish I’d been around more to give you a hand.”
“You have your own thing to do. Everyone isn’t cut out for innkeeping, but me, well, it suits me to a tee. There’s nothing else I ever wanted to do. Even when I was a kid, I knew that someday I’d run this place.”
“Win-win,” Ford said.
“Pretty much. So what about you? What’s your thing?” Dan turned to look at his brother full in the face. “I mean, now that you’ve saved the world.”
“I’m afraid I didn’t save much of anything,” Ford
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