Kristen, her middle one, had no children and wasn’t married yet, but she was in a serious relationship with her next-door neighbor, Tyler. Abby was also by herself for a change, and was planning to join Kate for some shopping before heading home.
Abby was the one that was always interested in celebrity gossip. Not that there was ever much of that on Nantucket, but now and then there were famous visitors to the island and sometimes movies were filmed. There was also the Nantucket Film Festival, which grew every year so that now it was a week or so of various events.
“Rhett, what was she like?” Abby asked. Lisa smiled as everyone waited eagerly for Rhett to speak.
“She seemed nice enough. Said she liked the scallops. So she has good taste.” He grinned. “We spoke for all of about two seconds. As soon as I told them there were media vans outside, she went as white as a ghost. The poor kid. They managed to get out of there without being seen though.”
“Thanks to you,” Lisa said. It was so like Rhett to help out like that. Nick Whitley had already come by just before breakfast to return Rhett’s truck and left a box of freshly made cinnamon rolls as a thank you. They were all eating them now with their coffee and they were delicious.
“It was nothing. I was happy to help.” Rhett took a sip of his coffee. He always had a full cup before eating anything. “I really can’t imagine living like that. With people following you around everywhere.”
“Bella managed to stay on Nantucket for a few months undetected,” Abby said. “She stayed undercover at The Whitley, and that’s where she met Nick. Though I think if I’d run into her, I would have recognized her.”
“I almost couldn’t tell it was her with the dark hair and sunglasses. It was the smile that gave it away,” Rhett said.
“I guess the rumor is true, then. It’s been speculated that she was going to start filming a new movie here,” Abby said.
“I guess we’ll see more of those vans around, then. Especially if there are other famous people here filming, too,” Rhett said. He frowned at the thought. “I hope they know better than to come back to my restaurant.”
Lisa chuckled. “Well, if they do, you’ll know how to handle them.”
“True.”
“Speaking of the media, Abby, Taylor is checking in today. I’m putting her in your old room.” When Lisa converted her waterfront home into a bed-and-breakfast, her son Chase, who was a builder, put in a dividing wall between the downstairs area and the bedrooms upstairs, which was where her children had all slept once. There was also a guest bedroom, and all rooms had their own bathrooms, so it worked well for a bed-and-breakfast.
In the morning, guests could come downstairs and access the dining area where Lisa always set out coffee, juice, bagels and a few hot items like quiche or scrambled eggs.
“How is Taylor? I haven’t seen her in years. And why is she staying here?” Kate asked. Taylor was Abby’s college roommate.
“Taylor’s great. I haven’t seen her in a few years either. She was working down south at a newspaper in Charleston. We talk all the time though and when I heard about an opening at the newspaper here, I let her know about it.”
Kate looked confused. “If she was working in a bigger city, why would she want to come here? It almost seems like a step backward.”
“It’s not. She had a small role at a big paper, and only gets to write up weddings, birth announcements and obituaries. Here she can do a lot more.” Abby grinned. “And I may have sold her hard on how awesome Nantucket is.”
Kristen smiled. “She’s been here to visit you before, too?”
“She has, a few times over the years, and she loved it. She has a rental lined up, but it’s not available for about six weeks, so Mom is giving her the family and friends discount. I offered to have her stay with me, but she knows we really don’t have the room, and insisted on renting until she can get into her own place.”
“She’ll be right at home here. I’ll make sure of it,” Lisa said. She enjoyed mothering her kids and their friends. Running the bed-and-breakfast really suited her, as she loved taking care of people and feeding them well.
“When does she start at the paper?” Kristen asked.
“Right away, I think. A day or two after she gets here,” Abby said.
“She’s not going to be one of those people, is she?” Rhett asked.
“What do you mean, honey?” Lisa asked. The rest of them looked at him in confusion.
“I mean, like those people in the vans outside the restaurant. Is that what your friend is going to do?”
“Taylor? No. Absolutely not. Not following people around,” Abby said. At least I don’t think so. I think that’s just the TV people.”
“Good. I’d hate to see a friend of yours doing something like that.” Rhett refilled his coffee cup and then reached for the last cinnamon roll. “These sure do look good.”
Chapter 2
“If you get sick of Nantucket, you can always come to Vermont. We have newspapers up here too.”
Taylor smiled as she chatted with her father. She’d just spent a week with him in central Vermont, in the tiny rural town that he’d retired to. It was a beautiful area, but there wasn’t much happening there. He liked it that way though and was content to hike his fields and feed his chickens.
Taylor was happy to visit when she could, and now that she was in New England, she’d be able to get away and see him more often than she had living in Charleston.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Dad. You should come for a visit once I’m settled in. Have you ever been to Nantucket?”
“No. I went to Martha’s Vineyard a few years ago. That was nice. And on the way home, we stopped in Plymouth and visited the Mayflower and Plymouth Rock. I just read a book about the Mayflower. It’s fascinating stuff.”
“I’m sure it is.” Her father was a big reader, especially of history. “When you come here, we can go to the Whaling Museum. You’ll love that.”
“That sounds good. Are you there yet?”
“Almost, we should be docking in a few minutes I think.”
“Okay, I’ll let you go then. I’ll talk to you in a few days.”
Taylor ended the call and went outside on the deck of the Steamship Authority’s car ferry. It was a slower way to get to Nantucket, a little over two hours instead of the hour it would take on the passenger only ferry, but Taylor wanted to have her car with her. She’d driven it from Charleston to Vermont and then through Boston to Cape Cod. She knew she could probably get by without a car on Nantucket, but it was more convenient to have one. An older model Honda Civic, her car was the longest and most reliable relationship that she’d had.
She was excited and a little nervous as she saw Nantucket wharf straight ahead. This was a big move for her. The only person she knew on Nantucket was her former college roommate, Abby. She’d briefly met the rest of her family when she visited Abby a few times, so she supposed she knew them too, but really only as acquaintances. It felt like the right decision, though. She had loved the charm of Nantucket when she’d visited Abby and the opportunity at the newspaper came at just the right time.