Free Summer at Oyster Bay: A gorgeous feel good summer romance by Jenny Hale Page A

marking the final resting spot for the family dog that had slept at the end of her bed until his last days.
    “I didn’t want to say anything about my plans for this land, but I felt terrible holding it in.” His face was serious, driven, as if he really believed he was going to buy Oyster Bay for the inn.
    He thought he could just walk in and get whatever he wanted. And, by the look on his face, he might just put up a fight to get it. He wasn’t joking. He wasn’t even considering. It was as if he’d already cleared the land and laid his foundations. Emily felt sick at the thought. “Well,” she said, nearly breathless, “I’m sure you have enough understanding of local life now to get you through your meeting with Rocky.” She needed to talk to Rocky. She wanted to know everything that was going to happen at the meeting tonight. She felt like running all the way back to the house, but she had to stay calm. She had to be at that dinner. Struggling not to glare at him, she mustered all her energy to sound light about the situation. “May I still come to dinner?” she asked, trying to keep herself under control, her protectiveness for Papa’s memory and his things welling up.
    “Of course.”
    “Thank you.”

    C harlie had hardly left the driveway before Emily had looked up and dialed Rocky’s work number. Her knee bounced relentlessly as she sat in the chair in the living room, the phone ringing in her ear, panic rising in her chest. She noticed her shallow breathing as she waited for him to pick up, so she drew in a deep breath.
    “Hello. Rocky McFadden.”
    “Hi,” she said. “It’s Emily Tate.” She picked with a loose thread on the chair, but then realized how it was unraveling the seam, so she stopped and tucked the string down into the crease where it had come loose.
    “Hey, Emily. How are you?”
    She stood up and began pacing the room. “Not good.”
    “Did you hear about your grandmother’s land?”
    “We can’t let him have it. Don’t let him do it.”
    “Don’t worry,” he said gently. “I won’t. I’ve been putting on the brakes every time we meet. I knew you wouldn’t want the inn to swallow it up.”
    Emily let out the air that she was holding in her lungs. She felt the slack in her shoulders as the tension left them, and she plopped back down in her chair. “Thank you,” she said.
    “To be honest, I’m not really sure that his plans will benefit Clearwater anyway. We like to keep things small, you know.”
    “Yes,” she said, nodding as if he were in the room. “I tried to tell him that.”
    “When did you speak to him?”
    “I work at the inn now, and he’s told me a little of what he plans, but I’ve only just learned about Oyster Bay.”
    “Sorry about your break up. I had heard…”
    “It’s fine.”
    “Well, you don’t have anything to worry about with Mr. Peterson. I’m meeting with him tonight and I’ll dig in my heels.”
    “I’ll be there too. He’s invited me. He wanted me to help change your mind, but I think he knows now that won’t happen.”
    “Great! I look forward to dinner. And we’ll just keep it between us—no expansion.”
    She peered down at the old tapestry rug that covered the hardwoods and all the memories of playing on that rug as a girl, all the fun she’d had, flooded her mind. “You know what,” she said. “I’m going to change his mind. I’m going to make him see how great it is here, and then he won’t even want to expand.”
    “If anyone can, it’s you. Let me know if you need my help at all.”
    “Thanks, Rocky. You’ve done plenty. Just stick to your guns and don’t let him talk you into anything tonight.”
    “Will do.”
    She and Rocky said their goodbyes and Emily got off the phone feeling so much better. Rocky was right; if anyone could change Charlie’s mind, it was her. She was great at selling a place, at changing minds, at highlighting the great things about a location and making people want to