Captiva Ever After (Captiva Island Series #7)

“Yes, she invited us to go with you all. We haven’t talked about it yet. Let me get back to you tonight.”

“Sounds good. We’ll probably leave the day after tomorrow. If you’re not ready to go by then, I’ll just text you the address and you all come along as soon as you can,” Trevor said.

“Thanks, Trevor, and thank your parents for us.”

She turned to Paolo, “What do you think?”

“Can you handle spending a few days with the Hutchins family?” he asked.

“We may not have much choice. We can’t stay here and they’ve been kind enough to invite Chelsea and Ciara as well.”

Concerned, Paolo asked, “What are the odds that Ciara will want to stay with Crawford?”

“What do you mean, ‘stay with Crawford?’”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? He’s planning to ride out the storm with his sons. Ciara wouldn’t commit to anything when I talked to her. I’m terrified that she’ll stay here with him. I don’t know what to do.”

Maggie understood Paolo’s concern. Ciara was at risk of getting hurt if she stayed on Captiva during the storm. She wasn’t sure how to convince Paolo’s sister, but it was worth a try. Maggie had to talk to Crawford so she decided she might as well try to heal the tension between them and save her sister-in-law at the same time.

* * *

“Ciara! Wait up,” Maggie yelled.

“Hey, Maggie. Did you go to the Town Hall meeting? Did you see Crawford there?”

“Yes, I was there. I didn’t get to talk to him though. I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things. Did you hear that we have a new housekeeper?”

“Yes, Paolo told me. Millicent something.”

“Brenner. Yes, she goes by Millie though. I took what you told me about stepping away from doing the bookkeeping and offered that to her as well. She has a degree in accounting.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful, and truly perfect considering it’s really not a full time job and neither is the housekeeping. Do you need me to show her the software?”

Maggie nodded. “I do. That’s what I wanted to ask you. I have no idea when she’s going to start at this point. With the hurricane coming, I have to talk to her about waiting until the storm passes. All our reservations for the next few weeks have been canceled either by me or by the guest. Everything is up in the air right now.”

“I know. It’s so scary. I’m praying that no one gets seriously hurt.”

“Ciara, that’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. Paolo and I are really concerned that you might stay on the island with Crawford and his boys. Is that your plan?”

Ciara shook her head. “It was my plan, but Crawford insisted that I leave the island. I don’t want to leave without him but he’s insistent that they will stay.”

Maggie was relieved to hear that Ciara was leaving Captiva and equally happy to know that it was Crawford who insisted she go.

“I think it’s a mistake for anyone to stay, but Crawford, Luke and Joshua are strong men. If anyone can get through this, it’s them. Why do they want to stay?”

Ciara sighed. “Because they know that many residents are refusing to leave. He said that he wouldn’t feel right not being here to help. Most of these people are retired and elderly. They can’t possibly manage if the storm becomes life-threatening. Crawford said that he couldn’t live with himself if he walked away from people who might need his help.”

Suddenly feeling foolish for thinking ill of Crawford Powell, Maggie hugged Ciara and tried to reassure her friend.

“They’ll be just fine, Ciara. Don’t you worry about a thing. Did Paolo tell you about Trevor’s family home in West Palm Beach?”

Ciara nodded. “He told me, but at the time I was leaning more toward staying here. Is it still all right for me to join you all?”

“Absolutely. Paolo and I wouldn’t be happy if you weren’t with us. I’m so glad. We have lots to do to board up the inn and pack some things into our car. We probably won’t leave until the day after tomorrow. You get your things and come to the inn just as soon as you can.”

“Thank you, Maggie. I will. Here comes Crawford now if you want to talk to him. I’ve got a couple of things to do inside. I’ll leave you two to talk.”

Crawford approached Maggie and looked as if he already knew what was on her mind.