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The woman curled her lip before offering the fakest smile I’d ever seen in my life. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Angie. Although I suspect you’re the reason we were denied our favorite suite despite being very loyal customers to this here establishment.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks and I turned my eyes to the table in front of me.“Sorry about that,” I murmured.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t have stolen our room if you’d known, honey. All is fine.” She offered me a saccharine expression that made me feel sick to my stomach.

Thankfully, Madame Blue and Billy chose that precise moment to enter the dining room, each carrying a large silver platter piled with food.

“Salisbury steak,” the old woman announced, plunking her tray down before the lone male at the table.

“Mashed potatoes.” Billy added his tray to the center of the table, then both returned to the kitchen. When they came back, they delivered a bowl of buttered peas and freshly baked sourdough bread.

“It smells so good,” I gushed, sucking in a deep lungful of the savory scents as I reached for the dish nearest to me.

“No, honey. It should be age before beauty,” the tourist woman said, shooting daggers my way.

I shrank back from the platter and waited for the others to serve themselves before I risked a second attempt. Tomorrow Charles and I would definitely be grabbing all our meals at a restaurant. Somehow the guests here were even worse than the staff, but I wouldn’t let them spoil my honeymoon.

Improvise, adapt, and overcome.That’s what my dad would say if he were here.

Plus this place was special to my parents, and I wanted to experience firsthand all the good memories they’d carried with them over the years. It would be rude to turn our noses up at their gift and book a chain hotel for the week when this place was already paid for. Besides, our room was to die for. I couldn’t blame my cruel dining companion for being upset over losing it, but then again, she shouldn’t be blamingme either.

Once I’d piled my plate with food, Bill and Madame Blue each took a seat at the heads of the table.

“Where’s your fella?” our cook asked several notches too loud on the volume scale.

“He just ran into town for a couple supplies. He’ll be back soon,” I answered meekly. Thanks to the onslaught of sarcasm and snide remarks from the other guests, I was no longer feeling in the mood for conversation of any sort.

She frowned at the bowl of peas.“Supper is at eight p.m. sharp. Didn’t you tell them, Billy?”

“Yes, that’s the first thing I told them,” he said, bobbing his head. “I can share the rules, but I can’t force anyone to follow them.”

She huffed but said nothing more as she served herself scant portions from each dish.

I made it my mission to finish my food at record speed, hardly taking the time to appreciate the perfect creamy consistency of the mashed potatoes as I shoved them down my gullet and swallowed hard. If Charles wasn’t back soon, he’d miss out entirely, but I didn’t think he’d mind when I filled him in on what I’d experienced.

I’d finished eating everything except for my last few bites of steak when the lights flickered out, ensconcing the room in darkness.

“Oopsie daisy!” Madame Blue shouted, the same way she shouted everything else. “Billy, grab the candles while I go futz with the fuse box!”

Her cries were met with silence. The older tourist couple seemed to whisper amongst themselves, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“Billy?” Blue shouted again. “Billy? Oh for Pete’s sake, I’ll get the candles myself.” Her chair noisily slid out from the table as she continued to grumble to herself. “Honestly, what’s the point of hiring paid help if they’re never around when you need help?”

I grabbed my phone from my pocket and turned on the flashlight. Unfortunately, I’d had it angled too high and the light shined directly into Blaire’s eyes across the table.

“Ahh, are you trying to blind me or what?” she groused, moving her hands in front of her face.

“Sorry, gotta go,” I murmured, quickly making tracks back to the staircase. They didn’t need me to fix the lighting, but if Charlene woke up to a dark, empty room, she’d be terrified.

I had to get to her—and fast. I just hoped Charles would be back with the two of us soon. I needed his strength and positive outlook now more than ever.

6

I returned to a dark room and sleeping kitten. Of course it took a bit of searching with the flashlight on my phone before I finally spotted her snuggled beneath one of the pillows near the headboard of the bed.

Seeing as she was still sound asleep and Charles had yet to return, I spent some time reading a new book from my favorite series on my phone. I managed to squeeze in three full chapters before my husband returned with the supplies.

“Why are all the lights out?” he asked upon entering, his arms encumbered by two large paper grocery bags.

I closed my e-reading app and shone my phone’s light toward him in the doorway. “Good question. It went out during dinner. That was more than half an hour ago.”