All the breakfast dishes were still sitting there, too. Marissa was supposed to have filled the dishwasher. He sighed. She didn’t do it to disobey him; she was just absentminded. No doubt she’d forgotten about her chore the moment he left the house.

Carmen took his mug from him and put it in the microwave. She struggled with the door that was refusing to shut lately and hit the Reheat button.

“Mrs. Miller was good for gossip, though,” he said, knowing she’d appreciate that, at least. Small towns thrived on their gossip for excitement, and Blue Moon Bay was no exception.

Sure enough, his aunt raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”

“Turns out, Sarah Lewis inherited Dove’s Nest.”

Carmen looked confused. “Good heavens, what was Dove thinking? What on earth could that girl do with it?”

“Says she’s thinking of selling it in its current state.”

“That’s a horrible idea. Whoever buys it will just tear it down.” His aunt retrieved the cup and handed it to him.

“That’s what I said.” He took a sip of the bitter liquid and grimaced.

Carmen nodded slowly. “Do you think you can talk her into renovating?”

Obviously, she was thinking about the possibility of a decent project and payday for his company, as well as preserving the inn that used to mean a lot to the community and Blue Moon Bay’s tourism.

“I’m going to try,” he said, kissing her forehead. Though he wasn’t sure how successful he’d be. Sarah hadn’t exactly been thrilled to see him. She’d actually seemed a little standoffish, and the way she’d practically batted his hands away from her body once she was on safe ground had warned him not to go in for a “long time, no see” hug from his former tutor and friend.

But maybe it was the circumstances that had her on edge.

“Where’s Marissa?”

Carmen raised an eyebrow above her oversize glasses—the same pair she’d worn since Wes was a kid, only now they were suddenly stylish again. “Where do you think?”

Her bedroom. Sitting in front of her computer screen. “Has she been outside at all today?”

“Only when she thought the mail carrier was delivering her new chemistry kit.”

Wes left the kitchen and headed down the hall to his daughter’s bedroom. On the door was her Do Not Enter—Science Experiments in Progress sign.

He knocked anyway. “Marissa.”

“Come in!”

He entered the messy room and forced a calming breath. The dishwasher, the bedroom…she was ignoring every task on her summer daily chore list.

“Hey, Dad,” she said quickly before turning her attention back to the computer screen where she was typing a bunch of code he would never know how to read.

He opened the closed window blinds, and sunlight cast across the screen. She squinted and held up a hand as though he had blinded her. “Ah, my eyeballs!”