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  “Father used to encourage people to follow their dreams,” said Alice. But she knew that Aunt Ethel was making a good point about their savings. Really, it was all they had to see them through their final years. Were they being foolish?

  “Maybe so,” said Aunt Ethel, “But perhaps you would be wiser to consider getting a mortgage on the house. It must be worth something.”

  “Mortgage the house?” exclaimed Alice.

  “And have payments to make?” said Louise. “With interest?”

  Jane shook her head. “That doesn’t sound to me like anything Father would approve of.”

  “Father was always opposed to debt of any kind,” agreed Alice.

  “Hmm, I suppose you’re right about that.” Aunt Ethel shrugged. “Well, I guess it’s your house and your decision. I’m sure nothing I can say will stop you three once your minds are made up.”

  Alice leaned forward and placed her hand on her aunt’s arm. “We do appreciate your concern, Aunt Ethel. But, you’re right, this is a decision that we three will have to make on our own. We just wanted you to know.”

  Aunt Ethel stood now, patted her hair and finally grinned. “Well, I can’t wait to tell Lloyd the big news.”

  The three watched as their aunt hurried out of the kitchen.

  “The cat’s out of the bag now,” Louise said dryly.

  “God help us,” said Alice. And she meant it.

  Chapter Eight

  Well, now that was different,” said Louise as the three Howard sisters began to file down the aisle of the chapel toward the front door. “Can’t say that I’ve ever heard the Sermon on the Mount interpreted quite like that.”

  “Pastor Ley isn’t used to preaching,” Alice said in a quiet voice. “He did his very best.”

  “Hello, ladies,” said Fred as he and Vera joined them.

  “We heard the news about the inn.” Vera winked at Alice.

  “You and the rest of the town.” Jane rolled her eyes. “No need to make any sort of press release now.”

  Vera laughed. “Maybe it’s just as well since the Acorn Nutshell won’t even be out until Wednesday. It’ll be yesterday’s news by then.”

  The Howard sisters proceeded toward the front door, cordially greeting Pastor Ley and Patsy. Then they slowly made their way down the front steps. Members of the congregation paused to wave or greet them, most of them reiterating how much they missed Pastor Daniel.

  “Sometimes you don’t know what you have until it’s gone,” Jane whispered into Alice’s ear. Alice nodded as she waved to her young orderly friend from the hospital.

  “It’s just not the same without Pastor Daniel,” Ron White told her as they stood outside on the walkway. “For that matter, neither is work without you. When are you coming back, Alice?”

  Alice smiled. “Next week. And I’m sure you’ll have all sorts of messes for me to sort out by then.”

  “Hey, I’ve been trying to keep everything running smoothly while you were gone.”

  “I’m sure you have.” She was about to introduce the young man to her sisters when Florence Simpson pushed her way over to her.

  “Alice!” she said in her no-nonsense voice. “What is this I hear about turning Pastor Daniel’s house into a hotel?”

  Alice forced a stiff smile, noticing that other conversations had suddenly quieted down as those standing nearby leaned in closer so that they could hear her response. “Oh no, it’s not going to be a hotel, Florence, just a small inn that will cater to—”

  “I’m surprised at you, Alice. And you on the church board too. I’d have expected that you’d present this idea for approval before jumping into some kind of harebrained scheme.” Florence eyed Jane and Louise as if she suspected they might actually be the masterminds behind this diabolical plan.

  Alice blinked. “Why would we need approval for—”

  “It is the late Pastor Daniel’s home, Alice. It is a part of the chapel, not to mention an—”

  “Excuse me,” said Louise as she gave Florence her stern music-teacher look. “Our home is not owned by the chapel.”

  Alice tossed Louise a glance, as if to warn her against engaging with someone like Florence. But Louise continued. “Our home has never been owned by the chapel. In fact it was Mother’s family, the Berrys, who originally donated the land for the chapel in the first place.”

  Florence glared at Louise now. “I wasn’t suggesting that the chapel actually owned the Grace Chapel house, I’m simply saying that it’s like a part of the chapel and I believe the chapel should’ve been considered first.”

  “Opening an inn next to the chapel won’t change anything,” Alice used her most reassuring tone. “Perhaps guests at the inn will wish to attend services. It could be something of a ministry, and Father always said—”

  “But it’s a commercial operation!” snapped Florence. “It’s like—like money changing in the temple!”

  Jane just walked away.

  “It’s our way of preserving our home,” defended Alice. “Using it as an inn will provide an income to keep it up.”

  Louise shook her head, hooked her handbag over her arm and went over to join Jane, who was now talking with the Humberts.

  “Well, I’m calling an emergency board meeting,” said Florence. “I expect you to be there, Alice.”

  “Of course, I’ll be there.” Alice sighed. “I’m always there.”

  Now Florence smiled, but her gray eyes looked as hard as flint. “Good. Perhaps we’ll be able to talk some sense into you after all.”

  Alice could think of no gracious response to this and so she said, “Have a nice day, Florence,” and then turned away to join her sisters and the Humberts.

  “How could you take that from her?” demanded Jane.

  Alice shrugged. “Florence is a little opinionated.”

  “Opinionated?” Louise shook her head. “That woman is a steamroller.”

  “She’s not as bad as she seems.” Alice glanced over to some of the church members and smiled feebly, as if to assure them that all would be well.

  “Board meeting this week?” asked Fred.

  Alice nodded.

  Vera laughed. “Well, that should be fun.”

  “Maybe it’ll all blow over by then,” said Jane.

  Fred grinned. “Been a while since you lived in a small town, eh, Jane?”

  “Now don’t you go trying to scare Jane,” warned Alice. “These community squabbles are like a tempest in a teapot—nothing to get worked up over.”

  Then Jane laughed. “Actually, I find it somewhat amusing.”

  “I don’t.” Louise pressed her lips tightly together. “That woman gets my hackles up. Makes me almost forget I’m a good Christian woman.”

  Pastor Ley and his wife Patsy dropped by the house later in the afternoon to tell Alice about the recently scheduled board meeting. “Florence has, well, sh-she’s already called the others,” said Pastor Ley as they stood together on the front porch. “I th-thought you should know. It’s set for Tuesday evening at seven.”

  Alice nodded. “That’s fine.”

  He put his hand on her arm. “I’m s-sorry, Alice. I—uh—I don’t know why she’s making this into such a, you know, an issue. I can’t really … I mean how w-would an inn next door to the chapel change anything?”

  “It won’t,” said Patsy. “I happen to think it’d be nice to have an inn in the town. Our home isn’t very big, and there are times we’d love having someplace where family members could stay during visits and holidays.”

  “Really?” Alice felt hopeful.

  “Yes, I think it’s a fine idea.”

  “I hope the rest of the board will see it like that.”

  Pastor Ley frowned. “Well, now, I’m not too s-sure. I—uh, I already heard that Lloyd Tynan is p-putting up some resistance.”

  “It figures.” Alice bent down to pet Wendell as he rubbed against her legs. “Lloyd is always saying how the best thing we can do with Acorn Hi
ll is to keep the outsiders out and keep everything exactly the same.”

  “Well, don’t you worry about it,” said Pastor Ley. “Cast your c-cares on Him, Alice, for He cares for you.”

  “Thanks, Pastor.”

  Alice told the couple good-bye, then sat on the porch swing and waited for Wendell to leap into her lap. “So, what do you think about all this, old boy?” she asked as she scratched the top of his velvety head. She wondered what her father would think. She hoped that he’d enjoy seeing his daughters reunited in a project like this, but what would he think about a church squabble resulting from their decision to open an inn? She searched her heart. Should she have taken this idea to the church board first or was Florence Simpson just being a busybody? Finally, she realized that only God knew these answers. So she took her questions to Him and asked for Him to lead and guide her.

  “This a private party?” asked Jane as she stepped out to the porch with a tea tray complete with slices of the banana bread she had baked earlier this morning. She had changed from her church clothes into a pair of loose linen pants and a shirt that looked like it was made out of patchwork pieces and old lace. Combined with her big hoop earrings, they gave her a slightly Bohemian look. Alice had always admired Jane’s distinctive sense of style.

  Alice grinned. “Not at all.”

  “Well, I just had to tell someone the good news, and Louise is taking a nap right now.”

  “What’s up?”

  “I’ve been on the phone for most of the afternoon. First I talked to my roommate. Remember I told you about the woman I’ve been living with since the divorce. Anyway, Sharon is so supportive of my decision to move back home that she’s actually offered to box up my stuff and ship it out here for me. Most of my big things were already in storage anyway, and I’ll just deal with those later. For now, I think I’ll just cash in my return ticket and stay put. I’ve already called the restaurant and explained everything to my boss. Naturally, Trent wasn’t too thrilled to hear that I’m not coming back, but he was really sweet about it. He said he totally understood—that he’d been expecting something like this for some time.”

  “Really?”

  “He said everyone there suspected that I was perfectly miserable, and he just hoped this move would make me happier.”

  “Do you think it will, Jane?” Alice felt slightly uneasy now. What if Florence’s assault on the inn idea had dampened Jane’s enthusiasm or even harmed their future business in any way?

  Jane reached over and took Alice’s hand. “I’m already happier. Just being here with my family is good medicine. I’ve even been sleeping better. I guess I didn’t realize how much I missed you guys until I got out here.”

  “I’ve missed you too.”

  “Alice, I want to apologize.”

  “Apologize? For what?”

  “I should’ve come home sooner. You know, I almost did—dozens of times during the past year. But the idea of sitting down in front of Father and telling him what a complete failure my marriage had been … well, I just couldn’t make myself do it. I know that it was completely selfish. And I know that it probably hurt you too. I’m so sorry. I hope you can forgive me.”

  Alice reached over and hugged her sister. “All is forgiven, Jane.”

  Jane poured tea for the two of them. “Do you think this Florence is going to be much of a threat?”

  “I sure wouldn’t want her for our inn’s PR representative.”

  Jane laughed. “Well, I think you’re the perfect person to deal with someone like her, Alice. Honestly, I’ve never seen anyone so calm and controlled as you can be. What a gift you have. You probably should’ve been a pastor’s wife.”

  “Or a pastor’s old maid daughter.”

  “You’re not old enough to be an old maid yet,” said Jane.

  Alice laughed. “Just how old must one be to qualify?”

  “One foot in the grave, I’d guess. If you don’t believe me you can ask Aunt Ethel.”

  Alice nodded. “Yes, I’ve endured that speech a time or two.”

  “But really, Alice, you are such a diplomat.”

  She smiled. “Well, Father always did call me his little peacemaker.”

  Jane nodded. “Yeah, you’re the peacemaker, and I’m the troublemaker.”

  “No,” said Alice firmly. “I’m the peacemaker, and you’re the cake-baker.” She grinned as she held up a moist slice of banana bread, then took a big bite.

  Jane leaned back in the swing and sighed. “Louise must be the music-maker then. So we’ve got a peacemaker, cake-baker, music-maker—kind of a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

  “Sounds like a good combination to me.”

  Chapter Nine

  Tuesday night came quickly, and with it the board meeting. Alice walked to the chapel with mixed feelings. On one hand, she had spent the past two days listening to Louise and Jane’s indignation about any church opposition. They both felt strongly that the board should have absolutely no say in their business ventures. Of course, Alice didn’t disagree with them on this, and yet she wanted to honor her father and the church that he had so lovingly served during the course of his lifetime.

  “God, please lead me,” she prayed as she walked down the dimly lit hallway toward the meeting room. “And, please, guide my words. ‘Let my speech be with grace and seasoned with salt that I may know how to answer any man’—or woman, for that matter.” She opened the door and walked into the room.

  “Hello, Alice,” called Lloyd Tynan. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

  She glanced at her watch to see that she was nearly five minutes late-highly unusual for her, but then her sisters had been giving her lots of last-minute advice. “Sorry, I must’ve lost track of the time.”

  “No matter,” said Pastor Ley kindly. “You’re here now.”

  “Let’s call this meeting to order,” announced Fred. He had been acting as board chairman for the past several years and so far no one had challenged him for the seat, although Alice suspected that Florence was considering it. For now it was a relief to have Fred in charge. Alice slipped into the vacant chair next to him and stared blankly at the chalkboard. The assembly room was also used for Sunday school, and a Bible verse was still neatly inscribed across the dark board in bright yellow chalk. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Jesus’ words sounded simple enough, and yet it seemed that no one ever fully mastered them. At least no one that Alice knew, although her father had come mighty close.

  “Well, we all know why I called this emergency meeting,” began Florence as she pushed back her chair to stand. Alice could tell that the portly older woman had groomed herself especially for their meeting tonight, donning a red and blue striped polyester dress and gold-toned jewelry, while Alice had simply worn her best jeans and a neat cotton sweater. Florence held up her notes and cleared her throat as if she were about to perform “Ave Maria.” Then she began to speak. “The board is called to a meeting tonight because the chapel needs a platform on which to voice its concerns over the use of the parsonage—”

  “Excuse me, Florence,” interrupted Fred. “But the Howard home is not a parsonage. The word parsonage suggests that it is owned by the chapel. The Howard home is, and always has been, a private home.” He glanced over to Pastor Ley’s wife, who although not a board member, always came along to take notes. She nodded to Fred, then returned to her notepad.

  “Well, if you want to get technical. It’s come to our attention that Pastor Daniel’s home—”

  “Excuse me again, Florence.” Fred gave her a sharp look this time. “Pastor Daniel is deceased and the family home now belongs to his three daughters, Alice, Louise and Jane. How about if we refer to it as the Howard home for the purposes of tonight’s meeting?”

  “Fine,” she snapped. “The Howard home. Now, may I please continue?”

  “By all means.”

  “The Howard home has always been a good neighbor to Grace Chapel and the chapel has
always appreciated this relationship, but it has come to the board’s attention that this is about to be drastically changed. We all understand that this private home, a historic home, is about to be turned into a commercial business. Furthermore, the church board had not been consulted in regard to this change.” She peered down at Alice. “Isn’t that true, Alice Howard?”

  “We never really had the chance to consult anyone. My sisters and I only decided to look into the possibility of opening an inn during the past weekend. We hadn’t intended for the word to leak out like it did.” She glanced at Lloyd Tynan and Aunt Ethel, and then continued. “If we’d known that the board felt a need to be consulted, we surely would’ve done so. But everything happened so fast, it was actually a bit of a surprise—”

  “It was quite a surprise to us too,” said Florence indignantly. “Another concern is that we’ve heard that you intend to use the name of the chapel for your hotel?”

  “Excuse me,” said Fred with a scowl. “I do not believe the Howard sisters are opening a hotel.”

  Alice nodded. “That’s right, Fred. It’s only going to be an inn, a very small inn, in fact, more like a bed and breakfast.”

  “Nonetheless,” continued Florence, “Is this true? Do you plan to call your inn Grace Chapel?”

  “We liked the sound of Grace Chapel Inn,” said Alice weakly. “We never imagined that it would pose any kind of a problem.”

  “Do you think it’s proper to use the name of the Lord’s house to promote a business—and right next door?” Florence asked.

  Alice considered this. “I suppose I hadn’t actually thought of it like that. I guess I thought that it was a compliment to the chapel and perhaps even a way to memorialize my father. But maybe we should reconsider—”

  “Hold on there,” said Pastor Ley. “B-before you go reconsidering—well, let’s kick it around s-some. I don’t see any p-problem with sh-sharing the name. I’ve heard townsfolk call the Howard home ‘Grace Chapel house’ for ages. I’m certain there are p-people in Acorn Hill who b-believe that’s the actual name.”

  “That’s true,” agreed Fred. “Most folks do call it the Grace Chapel house. Seems it would be less confusing for everyone if they just stuck with that name.”