The Lakeside Inn, Leeanna Morgan [rosie project TXT] 📗

Mabel bowed her head. “I never thought of that.”

Wyatt almost felt sorry for her. Mabel had a good heart but, from what he’d heard, her lack of good judgement sometimes led her into a lot of trouble.

“I didn’t think it would cause such a stir,” Mabel said.

Katie handed her mom a cup of coffee. “Everything causes a stir when a President of the United States is involved.”

Barbara paced back and forth across the room. “We could use this to our advantage.”

Wyatt couldn’t see anything positive about being overrun with enthusiastic Lincoln fans, reporters, and emails. From the expression on everyone else’s faces, neither could they.

“You’re looking at what Mom did from a purely personal perspective.” Barbara threw her arms in the air. “We need to look at the bigger picture. If you made a list of the presidents most recognized by the American public, Abraham Lincoln would be near the top. To have that kind of publicity associated with Sapphire Bay is huge. Tourists will flock here just to see the building where the letter was found. And, now that we’ve returned the dresser to our house, they’ll pay a fortune to stay here.”

Penny scowled. “Are you saying we should use the publicity to promote our business?”

“Why not? We have an amazing house. Regardless of whether the letter is authentic or fake, people will stay with us just to be part of the mystery.”

“That seems awfully devious,” Diana said. “It’s like we’re cashing in on someone’s personal information.”

“If Robert Lincoln didn’t want anyone to find the letter from his father, he would have thrown it away. If it’s real, I’ve got no idea why it’s in Sapphire Bay, but it could make an enormous difference to a lot of businesses in town.”

In other circumstances, Wyatt would have applauded the way Barbara thought. But they were talking about Sapphire Bay, the town where people came to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

“What about you, Wyatt?” Penny asked.

He raised his eyebrows.

“People know who you are. How will the extra publicity affect you?”

“My agent will be thrilled,” he said dryly. “He’s already texted me four times wanting to know what’s happening.”

“How do you feel about the extra publicity?”

He looked at Penny and sighed. “I’ve finished the paintings for my exhibition, so some extra noise around our properties isn’t a big deal. But if the interest in the story doesn’t die down, it could be a nuisance for everyone who lives around you.”

Katie patted Charlie. “When do you go to Berlin?”

“Next week. Whatever you decide to do about the letter won’t have as much impact on my life as it will on yours.”

Penny frowned. “How long will you be gone?”

Wyatt cleared his throat. “Originally, I was going for three weeks and then returning to Chicago.”

“And now?”

He looked into Penny’s worried eyes. “We should talk about it later.”

Barbara, Diana, and Katie sent uneasy glances to each other.

“I’d like to talk about it now.” Penny’s chin was set at a stubborn angle.

“I still don’t know what I’m doing.”

“But you know enough to say you’re not coming back to Sapphire Bay?”

Wyatt felt the daggers from Penny’s sisters digging into his back. Even Charlie was lying on the floor with his paws over his eyes.

“We’re not here to talk about Wyatt’s plans,” Penny’s dad said. “We need to work out what we’re doing about the Facebook post your mom made.”

Wyatt’s shoulders slumped forward. Allan was willing to give him the space he needed to work out what he was doing.

Penny still looked upset, and he didn’t blame her.

Penny walked toward Wyatt’s house. She couldn’t think of a more beautiful night for her world to fall apart.

Two days ago, Wyatt had dropped the bombshell that he didn’t think he was coming back to Sapphire Bay.

Against every instinct inside her, she hadn’t mentioned it again. And after all the anguish of deciding not to say anything, the last forty-eight hours had gone by quickly. Between the reporters, television crews, and radio stations all clamoring for an exclusive story, she hadn’t had time to think about anything except staying out of everyone’s way.

Even the residents of Sapphire Bay were caught up in the drama of the letter and waiting to see if it was authentic. The number of vehicles driving by their property had quadrupled and people they’d never spoken to introduced themselves and said hello.

Yesterday, the lady from the Smithsonian Institute had called to find out what had caused the sudden interest in their research. When Penny told her what had happened, she seemed resigned to the fact that the news would have been leaked at some stage.

It was just unfortunate it was Penny’s mom who’d told everyone.

Barbara had taken the extra attention in her stride and did everything she could to capitalize on it. Over the last two days, she’d created their website and launched their Bed and Breakfast business. The photos they’d used featured the dresser that was still sitting in their living room, and the parts of the house that were remodeled.

Reservations for the next five months were filling up fast. Penny was worried that the house wouldn’t be finished before the first guests arrived.

With all of that happening, she hadn’t expected Wyatt’s phone call this afternoon. He wanted to talk about his plans for the future. Even the way he phrased his request made her eyes fill with tears. His future wouldn’t necessarily coincide with hers. She couldn’t move from Sapphire Bay, and she had a feeling he couldn’t stay.

“I’m glad you could make it.”

Penny stopped beside the old oak tree that grew between their properties. Her gaze traveled over the worried expression on Wyatt’s face. “Whatever you have to say, just say it. I’d sooner know what you plan on doing instead of second-guessing everything you do.”

He pointed to a wooden seat overlooking the lake. “Do you want to sit down?”

Penny’s heart pounded. She followed him to the shoreline and sat on the edge of the seat. At