Chapter One
Elliana MacLeod stood in the middle of the inn’s sun-drenched dining room, surrounded by women devouring every item on the spring tea menu with delighted abandon. It was the first time since Ellie had arrived last August to help out her grandfather after his stroke that they’d had more than a handful of people dining at the inn. If it weren’t all an act for her mother’s benefit, Ellie would be doing a happy dance instead of wringing her hands.
“Are you okay? You look nervous.” Ellie’s cousin Sadie came to stand beside her, carrying a rose bone china teapot and a platter of fragrant iced scones on a silver tray. Her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, Sadie had taken on the role of waitress, a position Ellie usually found herself in. Their one and only waitress had quit last month due to the lack of hours.
“Why don’t you have a cup of white peony tea and a lavender cream scone?” Sadie suggested. “Spill the Tea and Bites of Bliss outdid themselves. Everything tastes as incredible as it smells.”
Since the cook had left the same month and for the same reason as the waitress, Ellie had taken over kitchen duty. She couldn’t have pulled off today’s menu without the local tea shop and bakery pitching in.
“Thanks, but I couldn’t eat another bite.” Ellie had been stress eating since she got the phone call from her mother informing her of her intentions for the inn and Ellie’s Grandpa Joe. “The scones look amazing though. Everything does,” she said, glancing at the white linen–draped tables with their gorgeous spring floral arrangements.
The mayor had arrived earlier that morning with armfuls of pastel tulips and boxes of crystal vases to decorate the tables. “I don’t know how I’ll repay everyone.”
Moments after Ellie told Sadie about her mother’s phone call, her cousin had organized a meeting of the Sisterhood, a group of Highland Falls’ most influential women, who then put out a call to their families and friends. Everyone had jumped on board with the plan to convince Ellie’s mother that the inn was a going concern.
“No one expects you to repay them. They’d be offended if you offered. Mirror Lake Inn is as much a part of the town’s heritage as it is yours.” Sadie looked around the dining room with its faded red floral-printed wallpaper and stone fireplace. “Honestly, I think everyone’s feeling bad that they haven’t been more supportive of the inn.”
“It’s not like Grandpa Joe went out of his way to attract business after Grandma Mary died, and I haven’t been much better.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ve been looking after Joe. With no help from your parents or sister and brother, I might add,” Sadie said.
“It’s not like Bri could take time away from her counseling practice, and Jace is halfway around the world.” Her younger sister and brother had high-powered careers, something her mother pointed out to Ellie at every opportunity.
“I guess, but your parents don’t have an excuse. They live five hours away.”
Her parents worked at Duke University in Durham. Her mother was an administrator, and her father was a professor. “To be honest, I didn’t exactly encourage them to come.” In fact, she’d done her best to discourage them from visiting. At least in the beginning. One look at the state of the inn and Grandpa’s Joe condition when Ellie had first arrived, and her mother would have put up a For Sale sign and stuck her father in a home.
At least Ellie had bought her grandfather time. She hoped that once her mother saw how well Joe was doing, she’d back off. And while Ellie wouldn’t have been able to override her mother’s decision last year, she had the means to do so now. She just hoped she didn’t have to use them.
Ellie shut down thoughts of the upcoming meeting with her mother and smiled at her cousin. “Besides, I had you and Granny. I don’t know what I would have done without you guys. Or Jonathan.” Jonathan Knight was Sadie’s grandfather by marriage and had been renting a room at the inn since last fall. The former superior court judge had been a godsend in more ways than one.
“Where is he, by the way?” Sadie asked. “I haven’t seen him since I got here.” Several women called out to Sadie, wanting their tea. “I’m coming,” she told them, and then she said to Ellie, “Don’t let your mother intimidate you. If she tries bullying you into agreeing with her, just remember how Joe looked when Aunt Miranda told him she planned to sell the inn and put him in a home.”
That was one image Ellie wished she could wipe from her mind. But Sadie was right. For her grandfather’s sake, Ellie had to stand up to her mother. She couldn’t let her run roughshod over her like she always did.
As Sadie walked away, Ellie realized her cousin was right about something else. Jonathan was nowhere to be seen and neither was Grandpa Joe. An older woman waved her over to a table. “What’s in this sandwich, dear? It’s delicious.”
Ellie had been up since four that morning making sandwiches—her only contribution to the tea. “I’m so glad you’re enjoying them.” She glanced at the filling in the dainty tea sandwich. “Chicken, cranberries, mayo, Dijon mustard, and watercress.”
The woman hummed with pleasure. “You should do a tea every weekend. We’d book standing reservations, wouldn’t we, ladies?” she said to her table companions.
“Then you’ll be happy to hear that Ellie just told me the inn will be serving tea every Saturday and Sunday afternoon starting next week. So be sure to make your reservations before you leave,” said Abby Mackenzie, who’d come to stand beside Ellie.
Abby was a social media celebrity. Her popular YouTube channel and podcast, Abby Does Highland Falls, had put their small North Carolina mountain town on the map. The petite redheaded dynamo had been responsible for turning around the fortunes of several local businesses. Despite having given birth to a baby girl a matter of weeks ago, she’d spearheaded today’s event at the inn.
“Enjoy your tea, ladies. And thanks again for giving up your afternoon to support the inn and Joe,” Abby said, looping her arm through Ellie’s.
Ellie added her thanks, smiling when the women told her to call on them anytime.
“Remind me again when I agreed to offer an afternoon tea every Saturday and Sunday,” Ellie whispered as Abby led her away from the table.
Abby grinned. “Don’t worry, Babs and Bliss are onboard,” she said, referring to the owners of Spill the Tea and Bites of Bliss, respectively. “It’ll be great promotion for them, especially once people start booking the dining room for weddings, showers, and birthdays.”
“I’ve been here eight months, and the only one who booked the dining room is my grandfather. For his poker parties.”
“Trust me, once Sadie’s finished the redesign of the inn’s website, you’ll have more event bookings than you can handle. Especially if we win our bid for most romantic small town in America. People will be flocking to Highland Falls and the inn.”
A week before Christmas, Happy Ever After Entertainment, a movie production company, had opened up a contest for the most romantic small town in America. The company would film its next movie in the winning town. As its name suggested, Happy Ever After Entertainment was known for its romantic, wholesome movies.