“A common enough name.”

“Mrs. Irvington doesn’t say why she’s traveled to Nags Head in mid-January.”

“Women hunted too,” Dani said.

“I’d like to think her story has a bit more flavor to it. Woman on the run hiding from the mob. Far more interesting.”

“I didn’t come here to talk about this register.” Dani sipped her coffee. “I came to warn you that Matthew knows you’re back, and he’s determined to see you.”

Ivy shifted in her seat. “Why would he care one way or the other?”

Dani shrugged. “He was picking up Bella for the day, so I didn’t get into it with him. I think he is crazy or desperate enough to offer you a business proposal.”

Ivy had never pictured Dani or Matthew as parents. It still didn’t quite jibe with the lingering mental pictures of two teenagers hopeful for a different future Ivy had abandoned.

“Who would have thought the hound dog in high school would end up head over heels in love with a daughter. He’s forever torn between work and spending time with her.”

“He was always ambitious.” He’d talked to Ivy often enough about his dream to open a restaurant. She would run the kitchen, and he would manage the front-end operations. He’d been thrilled, but each time he’d spoken about his dream, she could feel hers shrinking.

“That has not changed. And now that you’ve cooked in New York for over a decade and you’ll soon be flush with cash, he sees an opportunity. Though I suspect this time he’ll have you sign a contract sooner rather than later.”

“I can save him the trouble. I’m not sticking around. I’m staying long enough to sell this place and find homes for the pups.”

A shadow of annoyance drifted behind Dani’s expression. “And when you get to this unknown place, what will you do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Of course you do. You just don’t want to say it out loud. It’ll be some kind of restaurant. You and Ruth were cut from the same bolt of cloth.”

“The risk is tremendous. And if I lose whatever money I get from the sale of this house, then I got nothing.”

“You’re assuming you’ll fail. I don’t think you will. Run the numbers. I know you love numbers.”

“I don’t have a net under me, Dani. You do.”

“Money isn’t everything.”

“It’s a soft place to fall.” She looked around the room. “Ruth understood the value of a dollar; otherwise she wouldn’t have saved all this.”

“The only time Ruth was really relaxed was when she was painting,” Dani said. “She was happy. She had a wicked sense of humor.”

“I never saw her paint once. She doodled but never painted.”

“She had the hotel, your mother’s illness to manage, you to raise, and then I started hanging around all the time. She barely had a minute to herself.” Dani held up her hand. “And don’t get all twisted up about that. She loved you and was happy to give you a home.”