Her mouth opened but she promptly closed it. It was best not to speak. He might expect spontaneous answers at town hall meetings, but things were different out here in the street. Instead she shook her head.

His gaze moved to the bakery. “At least the outside looks fine. Hopefully the inside isn’t so bad. Tourist season will be kicking into high gear early this year thanks to the early spring, so if there’s anything I can do to speed things along, just let me know.”

“Thanks. I will.” She knew how popular the bakery was with the tourists. It was what she was counting on.

He glanced at his watch. “I have a meeting in ten to go over this year’s tourism guide. I hope we’ll still be able to list the bakery.”

Her chest tightened as the consequences of the flood continued to grow. “I’ll do my best.”

The mayor nodded in understanding. “I better go. But I wanted to stop by and let you know that the town is totally behind you.”

“I appreciate it.”

And then the mayor was off in a rush. She liked Tony, but she’d never met anyone on the island that was in such a rush like him. No wonder he wasn’t married with a family of his own. He never slowed down long enough for a lasting relationship.

At last the firefighters packed up their equipment, drew up their hoses, and stowed away their pumps. She knew them all and had gone to school with a handful of them. The chief told her they’d done as much as they could. She was warned to be careful of the damage and not to have the power restored until the building was inspected. And then not just the fire chief but each firefighter either offered encouraging words or gave her a hug.

The kind gesture launched her heart into her throat. The last time they’d hugged her had been at her father’s funeral. Each member of the department had been in their dress uniforms with badge covers. Hug after hug, she struggled to maintain her composure. They had no idea how much their presence reminded her of her loss.

And then the fire department left and it was time to go inside. Her stomach twisted into a knot. Would the interior look as bad as she’d initially thought? Or would it be worse? Though her mother encouraged her to wait to go inside, nothing was going to stop her.

On wobbly knees, she made her way to the front door. It was hanging wide open. She stepped inside, not sure what to expect. But this section didn’t look bad. She moved to the stacked boxes of flooring. Most of the upper boxes were still dry. She wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but she knew the worst of the damage was in the back—in the big kitchen.

Her mother and Lily were following her, but they remained quiet. She was grateful for their silence because right about now, she didn’t trust her voice. Until this point, she didn’t know how much she’d fallen in love with this bakery—how her dream for its future had taken on a life of its own.