“We’re glad to be here,” Clara said. She meant it too. Here in the woods, away from the ghosts and stress, she fell in love with this little town all over again. Her strength returned and she knew she could do this. She knew they could do this. She wasn’t ready to give up quite yet.
40
After their exciting snowshoeing adventure, Brittany and Sam welcomed Ezra and Clara inside for lunch and hot chocolate. The interior of the house was even more impressive than the exterior, completely blowing the couple away.
Everything was bright, awash in gold, silver, and white. They followed Sam and Brittany into a room with two walls of windows that looked out at the mountains bordering a frozen lake. The other two walls were white with silver wisps of sparkles on them, matching the light grey carpet. They sat on white couches with gold frames as they waited for their food to be brought out to the black and white table.
“You don’t cook your own food here?” Ezra asked.
“No,” Brittany laughed. “We used to when we first started out. I’d make breakfast for our guests. Sometimes we’d offer lunch as well. But as our business has grown, it’s simply not practical anymore. Now we have a few cooks. Not too many, it’s still a bed and breakfast so we want to keep that homey feeling. Plus, we can still only host so many people at a time. But we have enough to ensure quick and reliable service. Our food is some of the best in the region.”
“Hopefully I can rival that,” Ezra teased, though it wasn’t completely a joke if he was being honest. He suspected his menu had something theirs didn’t: heart. He was so passionate about his craft that he hoped it left its residue on the food.
“We’ll see about that,” Sam retorted, in a good-natured kind of way.
“There’s plenty of room for all of us here,” Brittany chided.
“I agree,” Clara said. “Seeing all you’ve done here has given me so much hope for our business. We each offer something unique, but you’ve clearly found success so I hope that means we can too.
“I can also see how working together would be beneficial. Since we offer different experiences, we shouldn’t be direct competitors. So, I think in simply making this a more well-known destination, we can all win.”
“I’m so glad you agree,” Brittany said. “I’ve come up with some ideas that’ll make use of the strengths of each property. Shall we discuss?”
Their sandwiches and hot chocolate were brought out by the staff as they discussed plans for their bed and businesses. They threw out many different ideas, though they settled on trying to make a food festival happen in the spring, to show off the various cuisine in the area. They also decided to start programs in each bed and breakfast.
Clara and Ezra would host a Victorian-style murder mystery night every third Friday of the month. Brittany and Sam would host a special evening of cocktails and music every first Saturday of the month. Guests from Clara and Ezra’s bed and breakfast would be able to attend Brittany and Sam’s event for free and vice versa. Food from Brittany and Sam’s bed and breakfast would be served at Clara and Ezra’s event and vice versa.
In hosting these events, they hoped to bring more guests in and introduce them to the area and each other’s businesses. The spirit of collaboration brought the four together, and Ezra and Clara were hopeful for the future. The ghosts and dark troubles were forgotten. Mostly anyway.
“I have a non-business-related question,” Clara said, after debating if she should ask it for quite some time. She knew it probably wasn’t the place, and it could be deemed as an offensive question. But Brittany and Sam had been open with them about things in the past, so she hoped they wouldn’t mind.
“Ask away,” Sam said. “Non-business-related topics are my favorite things to talk about.”
Clara tried to smile, but she was too troubled to make it work. “Do you think Lyla and Richard would’ve protected Billy, even if they saw red flags?”
Sam and Brittany shared a knowing look Clara and Ezra recognized. It was the kind of look couples get when they’ve known each other long enough to communicate silently. How much should they share?
“What do you mean?” Brittany asked, trying to sound nonchalant, though her voice wavered just a bit.
“If he happened to do something wrong, do you think they’d be able to acknowledge that?” Clara asked, trying to find the right words to say without bringing up the encounter with the ghosts. “Or do you think they’d deny it? How much did they care about him?”
Ezra remembered that he hadn’t told Clara about his conversation with Sam yet. He didn’t want her to worry, plus he had mostly forgotten about it. Yet he hoped they would tell her. It would be the last secret out in the open. They’d finally be on the same page, as they should’ve been from the start.
“They cared about him a lot,” Brittany said slowly. “I don’t think they’d want to believe anything bad about him. They might be compelled to turn a blind eye up to a certain point. I think we all will to some extent for those we love. Though they weren’t completely willing to ignore everything. They did…” she paused as she looked at Sam, who shrugged.
“They did admit to having their disagreements with him,” Brittany continued. “Near the end, the three of them weren’t always on the best terms. You see, Billy really wanted that property, and though I truly believe he put his all into helping them, I think some resentment grew eventually. It’d be difficult for anyone to put their heart and soul into a place they love, knowing it can never be theirs.
“To be completely honest,
