Free Half Moon Harbor by Donna Kauffman Page A

property,” Cami assured her, all brisk business. “Is he—what did he say, exactly? Is he giving you problems because of this?”
    At the honest concern in Cami’s voice—though it wasn’t so much concern, as, well, avid interest, perhaps?—Grace straightened and let her hair fall back around her shoulders. It felt heavy on her neck, and she felt silly for not putting it up again when she’d gotten back to the room she’d been renting on the outskirts of the Cove. She’d started to pull it up in a ponytail, but couldn’t shake the way Brodie’s eyes had gone all dark and hot when he’d first spied her on the iron stairs with her hair down and wild. Now she just felt silly and vapid.
    â€œShould he be?” Grace asked, knowing she couldn’t keep letting the man distract her. “Am I going to be facing some sort of battle over this?“
    â€œI can’t see why he would. If he’d wanted to do something to secure it, he’s had plenty of time. As you could see, he hasn’t really done anything.”
    Grace wouldn’t say that the total renovation of the boathouse he was using as his residence and office was nothing, but she wasn’t going to argue the point.
    â€œThe property is yours,” Cami stated flatly. “And that’s all that matters. We’re all excited about this new venture,” she went on quickly.
    Grace didn’t ask who all was comprised of, but knowing small towns and how long the waterfront property had been dormant, she imagined word was spreading quickly. She hoped that was a good thing. She wanted to get to know her new neighbors and wanted them to have a positive attitude about her future inn.
    â€œI’m really happy to hear that,” Grace said sincerely. “The thing is, living and doing business on the same property, Brodie and I will have to work in some kind of joint fashion, but we don’t necessarily share the same overall vision. You can probably understand that he wasn’t exactly thrilled to find out part of his property had been sold out from under him. So, being new to town and with you being so connected, what with your family background here and all,” Grace added, shamelessly sucking up a little if it meant getting the inside scoop, “I was hoping maybe you could shed some behind-the-scenes light on the situation.”
    Cami was more than eager to reply. “Well, there’s no light to shed, really. I’m not sure what he told you, Grace, but he’s been here a full year, and other than fixing up that boathouse he lives in and one of the outbuildings where he’s building one of his boats, he hasn’t made any real headway or shown any real interest at all in reinvigorating his family’s former business. Not in any appreciable way that we can see, anyway. I mean, one boat does not an empire rebuild, you know? The town officials, the council—everyone was excited when he showed up, believe you me, thrilled even, that the eyesore the Monaghan property had become was finally going to get some attention. I know from my husband that they bent over backwards to come up with a payment plan regarding the back taxes, all with the hope of seeing some change come to pass. Only it hasn’t.”
    â€œWell, a year isn’t that long when most of it’s winter, and he’s only one man. Property of that scope and size is a pretty massive undertaking. I—” Grace broke off, realizing she was actually supporting Brodie’s argument. Her plan when she’d called Cami had been to remain neutral, the newcomer eager to work with everyone, wanting her business to be the right fit, etcetera. All true. But something about Cami’s explanation, the air of condescension toward Brodie, rubbed Grace the wrong way, and she’d spoken without thinking. “I just want to make sure we’re all on the same page. I’ve explained to