“I won’t be too long.” Carolee got her purse, put the supply list inside. “Oh, where’s my head? When you started telling me about that letter this morning, I forgot to tell you the news. Justine’s hired the manager and the assistant manager for Fit.”

“She found someone? That’s great news. Did she find someone local?”

“Local as they come, and with plenty of experience, and according to Justine, with energy to spare.”

“That sounds like just what you’d want in a fitness center manager.”

“She’s got a way, Justine does”—Carolee gave Hope a one-armed hug—“of finding the perfect person for the right job. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Alone, she took a breath. As she’d decided after considering all morning, she started for the stairs. Best to try this at Ground Zero.

Two steps past her office, the phone rang. She nearly let the machine pick up, then backtracked to answer.

“Good morning. Inn BoonsBoro.”

Twenty minutes later, she tried again. And Avery rushed in the door.

“I got hung up. Have you tried talking to her yet?”

“No, I got hung up myself. Do you know Myra Grimm?”

“Maybe. I know Brent Grimm. He works at Thompson’s, and he’s a regular at Vesta. I think Myra’s his older sister. Why?”

“She wants to book the inn for a small second-time-around wedding. I can tell you she divorced Mickey Shoebaker sixteen years ago, took her maiden name back, lives a couple miles outside of town and works at Bast Funeral Home.”

“Fortunately I haven’t needed to do business with her.”

“She met her future husband there three years ago when he buried his wife.”

“Huh. You wouldn’t think of funeral homes as hook-up parlors.”

“Love finds a way,” Hope said with a laugh. “Anyway, he popped the question, as she put it, and they want to get married here next month.”

“Moving fast.”

“They aren’t getting any younger, she tells me. Just a small wedding, maybe twenty or twenty-five people. In the afternoon. Details to follow.”

“A small second-time-around afternoon wedding,” Avery considered. “I could do some simple food, and Icing could do a cake.”

“I suggested both. She’s going to talk to her fiancé, but again, as she tells me, he’s fine with whatever she wants to do.”

“Handy for her.”

“She sounded giddy. It was sweet. Well.” She looked toward the stairs, then turned as Clare rapped on The Lobby door.

“I wanted to be here, if it’s all right. She helped me, and I thought maybe having us all together would help.”

“Good idea. Let’s go on up. E&D’s her favorite place, so we’ll try there.”