Her mother, of course, had been thrilled when Paula decided to move home and work at The Whitley. Both of her parents had worked there over the years. Her father was first, managing all the grounds. And it’s where he met her mother, when she worked at the front desk one summer break while in college. It was love at first sight for her father, but her mother took a bit longer. But by the time she graduated from college though, she’d fallen madly in love too and they married a few months later.

Her mother returned to the hotel, working the front desk until she had Nick, the first of their three children. Paula was next, and then Lucy, the baby. That’s when her father shocked everyone, especially her grandfather, by announcing that he was leaving The Whitley to open his own landscaping business. Her grandfather was upset at first, as he’d hoped his children would love the hotel as much as he did, but he quickly came around and understood that her father wanted more. He wanted to grow his own business. And he had. Whitley Landscaping was the biggest lawn company on Nantucket, and The Whitley was one of its key accounts.

Her brother and sister both worked at the hotel too. Nick was the assistant chef, under Roland, who’d been head chef since Paula was a small child. It was understood that someday, when Roland was ready to retire, Nick would take over. Nick was magically talented in the kitchen and he was the reason why Paula wasn’t worried about this event at all. Lucy was a different story. She was a sweetheart and everyone loved her, but she was a bit flighty and even though she did a decent enough job working at the front desk, welcoming guests and checking them in, Paula sensed that to her, it was just a job.

Lucy was the artsy one in the family. She liked to paint and create things—jewelry, clothing, hand-painted wine glasses, and wood furniture—whatever struck her fancy. Paula had encouraged her to do something with it, to open a shop on Etsy or maybe put some of her creations with local shops, and until recently, Lucy had resisted. She’d said she wasn’t ready, and it was all just for fun. But, Paula sensed that she was she was trying to come to a decision about something. And she wondered if Lucy was ready to treat her hobby like a business.