Before she could snap out a response, Abby stepped in to smooth things over, as always.
“Of course she hasn’t,” Abby said, rushing to her defense. “The designs are amazing, Dad. I’m sure Jess loves them.”
Jess forced herself to smile. “I do, Dad. And I really appreciate the time you spent doing them.”
“Then what’s the problem?” he demanded, clearly not pacified. He regarded her curiously. “Does your mood have something to do with Will not showing up today?”
“Leave Will out of it,” Jess commanded irritably. “The attic renovations have nothing to do with him. It’s my project.” She turned to Abby, determined to end any discussion of Will. “What do you think about the costs? Can we pull this off?”
Her sister didn’t hesitate. “If Dad does the majority of the work and he can stick to the budget he’s given us, I think we can.”
Jess finally mustered some genuine enthusiasm. Up until now—Will aside—she simply hadn’t wanted to get her hopes up. Abby had rightly kept a tight rein on the inn’s finances ever since she’d saved Jess from foreclosure. Though turning to her sister to bail her out had been humiliating, at least she had her inn today because of it. She’d vowed never to mess up financially again, even if she chafed at some of the restrictions. To have Abby loosen the purse strings for this was a huge vote of confidence.
“Seriously?” she asked her sister. “I can move forward?”
Abby nodded, a smile spreading across her face. “I think the expenses are totally justified. You’ve been in the black for a while now. I’ll talk to Trace’s dad at the bank about financing.”
“Let me go to Laila,” Jess pleaded. “I need to handle things like this on my own. I swear I won’t sign anything until you’ve looked it over.”
Abby’s faint hesitation grated, but eventually she nodded. “That seems reasonable. If you need backup, just let me know.”
Mick stepped in. “Jess, let me finance this and leave the bank out of it,” he said. “The renovations aren’t that expensive. I don’t want you putting the inn at risk again.”
Jess shook her head. “I appreciate the offer, Dad, but this is my business.”
“Did I say it wasn’t?” he grumbled. “Why make a fuss over such a little thing?”
“Because I want everyone, especially Lawrence Riley at the bank, to acknowledge that I’ve turned the inn into a success. Me, Jess O’Brien. Not my sister. Not my dad. Mr. Riley was so darn sure I couldn’t do it. I want to rub it in his face that I have.”
Mick relented. “Now, that I can understand. Just don’t be too proud to ask for my backing if you need it. Understood?”
Jess threw her arms around her father. “Thanks, Dad.” She turned to her sister. “You, too, Abby. If you hadn’t had faith in me even after I screwed everything up a few years ago, the inn wouldn’t even exist, much less be profitable.”
“It was all your vision and your execution,” Abby reminded her. “I just got you back on track with the finances.”
Jess thought of her promise to Ronnie. “Speaking of that, I need to talk to you about adding a small line item to the budget.” She hurriedly explained about Ronnie’s enthusiasm for cooking and Gail’s conviction that he had talent. To her surprise, it was her father who spoke up.
“I knew you’d do something to get that young man on the right track,” he said. “Abby, surely there’s a way to help the boy out. That father of his is an idiot not to encourage him to do what he wants with his life. I’ve half a mind to tell him so myself.”
Jess chuckled. “Dad, I doubt that yelling at Ronnie’s father will accomplish much.” She gave Abby a pleading look. “Can we find a few hundred dollars a term to help with his tuition?”
“He’s agreed to stay on to work at the inn once he graduates?” Abby asked.
“Absolutely. I’m sure he’ll put that in writing if we want him to,” Jess assured her.
“Then I suppose it’s a solid enough investment in the inn’s future,” Abby said. “Let me play with the numbers and I’ll get back to you with an answer.”
Delighted for Ronnie and totally enthused about the renovation project now that it had a green light, Jess faced her father. “How soon can you get started?”
“How about next week?” he suggested.
Jess appreciated his willingness to plunge right in, but she shook her head. “I need to get the bank’s okay first.”
“Then as soon as that’s in place,” Mick said. “I need to remind you again that it will be slower going than usual because I have to keep overseeing the Habitat for Humanity work, but we’ll get this done, Jess. It’s going to be everything you want it to be.” He met her gaze. “You want to take a look at the house plans, as long as we’re here?”
She shook her head. In her mind, those plans were all tied up with Will, which was ridiculous, but there it was. “Save them for me, okay? One of these days I’ll need them.”
Mick nodded and, for once, didn’t press the point. “Whenever you’re ready to take a look, just say the word.”
“I think I’ll get back over to the inn and finish cleaning the rest of that junk out of the attic,” Jess said. Even such an odious task appealed more now that she knew it was going to lead to the renovations she’d been dreaming about since she’d opened the inn.
“How about some help?” Mick offered.
“That’s okay. I’ve got it.” She hugged him tightly. “Thanks again, Dad.”
“Anytime, baby girl. Anytime.”
Jess tried to sneak out of the house without bumping into anyone else in the family, but just outside, she ran into Gram who was walking back to her own cottage. Jess fell into step beside her.
“It was a great dinner, Gram. I know you made that
