Read Online The Inn at Eagle Point by Sherryl Woods - Free Book Online

hear so much as a whisper spoken against their grandmother.

"Grandma Megan's beautiful," Caitlyn said, then looked at Mick with
confusion. "Do you know her?"

Abby realized that since her kids had never seen Mick and Megan together, they
couldn't possibly understand the complexities of the relationship.

The shadows in Mick's eyes deepened as he responded to his granddaughter.
"I used to," he said softly.

"Grandma Megan used to be married to Grandpa Mick," Abby explained.

That stirred a spark of interest in Carrie's eyes. "Did you get a 'vorce
like Mommy and Daddy?"

Mick nodded. "We did."

"Did you still love your kids?" Caitlyn asked worriedly. "Mommy
and Daddy say they'll love us forever and ever, even if they don't love each
other anymore."

"Moms and dads never stop loving their children," Mick assured her.
His solemn gaze flicked to Jess when he said it, as if trying to communicate
that message to her. She resolutely turned away, focusing her attention on
cutting the meat on her plate into tiny pieces which she then shoved aside and
left uneaten.

Sensing that this topic was no safer than business, Abby stood up. "Girls,
why don't I get you some ice cream and we can eat it outside? You'll excuse us,
won't you?" She was already rising when she asked and didn't wait for a
reply.

Carrie and Caitlyn scrambled down from their chairs with a shout and raced for
the kitchen, Abby on their heels. It wasn't until she was safely away from the
tension in the dining room that she sighed with relief. Okay, she'd just thrown
Jess to the wolves in there, but right this second it felt like every woman
needed to fend for herself.

"What kind of ice cream can we have, Mommy?" Carrie asked, tugging on
her slacks.

"Let's see what Gram has in the freezer," she said, though she knew
the answer. There had never been a time when the freezer wasn't stocked with
strawberry, Gram's favorite, and with chocolate, which had always been Mick's,
hers and her brothers' first choice. Jess's had always been vanilla fudge
ripple, so that was bound to be there, too.

She gave the girls their choices—they agreed on strawberry, for once—then
dished up a scoop for each one. "Outside," she said as she handed
them the plastic bowls and spoons. "I'll be right behind you."

She gave herself a double scoop of chocolate, then covered it with hot fudge
sauce for good measure. The way this day was going she was going to need every
bit of chocolate decadence she could find to get through it.
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    A bby
was glad she'd flown home still dressed in the black power suit she'd worn to
work on Friday morning. She pressed it before putting it on Monday morning,
then drove over to pick up Jess. When Abby arrived, Jess was still wearing
paint-splattered shorts and a faded T-shirt. Abby barely held in a sigh. It
looked as if Jess had gotten distracted by one of her decorating projects.

"Sorry," Jess said, her expression flustered. "I lost track of
the time. I couldn't sleep, so I started painting at the crack of dawn, then
someone called in a reservation—"

Abby cut her off. "Jess, we don't have time for this. You can't go to the
bank like that," she said, trying not to lose patience. Jess was obviously
tense enough without Abby yelling at her. "You know how important this
meeting is. It's critical that we handle it as professionally as possible.
Change, and do it fast, please."

"Five minutes, I promise. You go on ahead. I'll meet you there."

Abby nodded and drove off, relieved in some ways that she was going in alone.
She could say things then that she wouldn't want to say in front of her sister,
admit to Jess's failings but stress that her sister had backup now and that
things would be on track from here on out.

When they opened the door at Chesapeake Shores Community Bank, she walked in as
if she owned the place and headed straight for Lawrence Riley's office. She
beamed at Mariah Walsh, who'd been working there as far back as she could
recall.

"Abby, what on