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“That’s sort of why I’m calling,” Amanda said. “The State of Massachusetts is shutting us down for the time being. It’s so sudden, and we don’t know what to do with our guests.”
Kelli balked. “They are not! I can’t believe this. That soon?”
“I’m afraid so.”
Kelli sputtered. “Let me talk to Piper.” Piper was the manager of the Aquinnah Cliffside Overlook Hotel, whom Kelli had put mostly in charge after she’d worked herself to the bone last summer. Kelli now enjoyed the fruits of owning a gorgeous hotel without the stress of managing the details.
Amanda and Sam waited in stunned silence. Three minutes went by before Kelli returned.
“Piper says we have five rooms available here at the hotel,” Kelli said.
Amanda breathed a sigh of relief. “Five rooms? That’s incredible.”
“They’re available for the next five days,” Kelli said. “Lucky for you, it’s not quite tourist season yet.”
“I can’t thank you enough, Kelli,” Amanda said. “I’ll call you when we’re on our way.”
Sam and Amanda were blurry with confusion and gratefulness. Amanda hurried upstairs to put Genevieve in the baby carrier and grab her supplies before meeting Sam in the car and speeding back to the Sunrise Cove. They found Grandpa Wes at the front desk. He was gray and nervous, answering the guests’ questions as best he could. He looked on the brink of tears.
He’d never had to close the Sunrise Cove Inn. He hadn’t even closed it when Anna Sheridan died.
Amanda hugged her grandfather and reminded him that this was only temporary. “As soon as they get organized at the Historical Society, I’m sure they’ll let us re-open. I’ll badger them about it this week.”
“That’s my lawyer,” Grandpa Wes said. “You’re a fighter, Amanda. I’m so glad you’re on our side.”
Amanda’s chest heaved with the truth. She wasn’t necessarily a lawyer right now. Everything felt volatile and out of her control.
It was five thirty, which meant many guests were returning from exploring the island to get ready for dinner. Sam stood in the foyer to greet guests coming back and explain the situation. Amanda didn’t wait around to hear them groan and ask questions. She darted down the hall to the bistro to find Zach and Christine in the kitchen. Christine pulled out a tray of cookies as she entered, blasting her with a scrumptious, chocolatey smell.
“Amanda! So glad you’re here. You have to taste my cookies,” Christine said.
Amanda would have done anything to sit down, gossip with her aunt Christine, and eat a load of cookies. But she was blurry and on the move.
She explained everything as quickly as she could. They had to close down the Sunrise Cove and the bistro. They couldn’t serve food here at all. Nobody could be on the premises save for the historians and their appointed crew.
Christine’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Zach looked especially panicked. “Do they know how slim our profit margins are? Do they know that all restaurants are always on the brink of collapse?” He hit the counter with a spatula. “Haven’t they even seen The Bear?”
Christine touched Zach’s shoulder and whispered, “Let’s get everything out of the fridge and freeze what we can. Maybe we can take some stuff to the food kitchen.”
Christine flinched as Amanda prepared to leave. “What time do you need us out?”
“By tonight,” Amanda said before she disappeared through the swiveling kitchen door.
Amanda found Sam in a heated discussion with three couples in the foyer. Two of them she recognized as birdwatchers she’d seen on the shoreline near the harbor.
“Trust me,” Sam said, “you’ll love the Aquinnah Cliffside Overlook. It’s a truly remarkable hotel. Far more expensive than this one. And incredibly historical!” He tried to laugh, then bit his lip. His charm was fading with all this panic.
“If it’s historical, why wasn’t it closed down, too?” one of the guests asked.
“There’s a lot I don’t understand about this either,” Sam said. “I’m flying by the seat of my pants. But I hope you’ll bear with me as we get through this. You can stay at the Aquinnah free of charge for the remainder of your vacation. And I hope you’ll contact me personally if you need anything in particular.”
The couples exchanged glances and shrugged.
“When do you need us out?” a man asked.
“As soon as possible,” Sam said. “If you could be out of your rooms and headed to the Aquinnah Cliffside in the next two hours, that would be fantastic. If you stay beyond tonight, there’s a high probability that we’ll face a fine.”
