Inn To The Darkness (Aspen Valley Inn Series Book 2)

By Sara Robbins

The Aspen Valley Inn is booked solid and in the middle of a massive renovation. When the excavation uncovers an ancient skeleton, everyone works together to solve the mystery. Lacey and her new beau, Wyatt become even closer as they put together the clues to reveal an old love story that's been waiting for decades to to be discovered. Guests join the main characters to solve learn the identity of the skeleton and they get to investigate in a beautiful setting. Each book is a stand-alone story but each one also adds new details that blend to satisfy the series fans.
This book is a novella of approximately 26,000 words.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sara Robbins
• Release date: Oct 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310574511

Book preview

Chapter 1

I know exactly what I want and knocking the whole building down is not it, Lacey protested.

But it will cost much less. I can still make it look like it used to be an old barn, Tanner Reed said patiently.

"I don’t want it to just look like an old barn; I want it to have been the old barn. Haven’t you heard of preserving history?" Lacey answered.

Lacey was sitting in the downtown Colorado Springs office of Tanner Reed. He was the architect she had hired to draw up plans to renovate the old barn on her property. She had chosen him because he had consistently used reclaimed wood on most of his projects. She had thought he would understand about preserving as much of the barn’s original structure as possible. This conversation made her think she was wrong about that assumption.

Lacey had opened her first business venture four months ago. After a disastrous start, Aspen Valley Inn had done pretty well for the summer tourist season. Now, with snowboarding and ski season just around the corner she looked set for winter guests too. It was time to begin phase two of her business plan.

She and her sister Charlotte had decided that running the Inn could be profitable but to ensure a consistent income for the two of them they would need to expand.

There was an old barn on the twenty-acre property she had purchased for the Inn. They wanted to convert this building into a full event venue. She and Charlotte would book and plan weddings, family reunions, and business conferences throughout the year. Like the Inn, Enchanted Events would be the only business of its’ kind in the nearby area. The plan was to have the renovation completed in time for spring wedding season.

The barn needed work but the bones of the structure were sturdy and sound. She loved the idea of the old beams and weathered wood getting a chance to witness future gatherings and happy events. With careful renovation, the building could host both elegant and casual affairs depending on their client’s wishes. Now she just needed to convince the architect.

Tanner had made it clear that it would be much cheaper to raze the building and start from scratch. A new building just didn’t have the same panache. She wanted to sell clients on the graceful charm of a bygone era. She wanted to give the barn a new life after over one hundred years of worthy service. Cost was a factor but it was less of a factor than it was originally. She had thought that it would be at least two more years until she had the funds to complete the transformation she envisioned. The reason she was able to commission the work now was a long story. The condensed version was that she had been instrumental in uncovering some insurance fraud perpetrated by one of her first guests. The insurance company involved had shown gratitude by giving her a reward. This money would just about cover the complete project.

After a passionate speech about the history her barn had witnessed, Tanner agreed to draw up another set of plans. He would do his best to utilize not only the framework of the old building but also every scrap of material that survived. Pleased, she shook hands and hurried out to complete her other errands.

Tanner looked after her and whistled. He thought to himself, this was going to be very interesting. He was sure he had never had a client as determined as Ms. Washburn was about preserving a dilapidated old building.

Chapter 2

Lacey pulled into the circular driveway of the Inn just as her sister Charlotte came out onto the wide wrap around deck.

Oh good, you can help me switch out the welcome banner, Charlotte said in greeting.

They had various seasonal welcome banners that they hung on a flagpole mounted on one of the pillars of the covered deck. Labor Day weekend had just passed so it was time to remove the summer sun flag and hang the fall aspen leaf banner. It was a little kitschy but her guests seemed to like it. The two of them worked in silence to make the change. They stood back to admire the brilliant gold’s and reds of new banner. Fall was a beautiful time of year in this area of Colorado. Soon the slopes of the front range of the Rockies would mimic the colors on the banner. Golden yellows, dark reds and everything in between as the aspen leaves turned and got ready to fall. This reminded her to post a picture of this beautiful vista on their website. They were booked up for the next two weeks but prime leaf viewing would last for another month at least.

It was a gloriously warm day and Charlotte suggested iced tea shared at one of the deck alcoves. Lacey chose the curved bench at the corner of the deck. This spot had a panoramic view of the entire property. Charlotte returned with two tall glasses of tea and handed one to Lacey before taking her seat.

How did the meeting with the architect go? Charlotte asked.

Well, I think he finally gets it. We want to keep as much of the barn as we can. He’s drawing up new plans that should be ready in a couple of days, said Lacey. Let’s talk about the guests that are checking in tomorrow.

Lacey filled her sister in on the family that had booked the entire Inn for a week. Jessica and Tom Ward were celebrating their thirtieth wedding anniversary by bringing their three grown children to the Inn. The group included oldest son, Steve and his wife, Paula, middle son, Jacob and youngest child Hannah and her boyfriend Tyler.

Lacey had spoken on the phone with Tom to set up the reservation. They wanted to hike, enjoy some sightseeing and just spend some quality time together before each went back to their busy lives. Tom had asked that she put something special together on Sunday, which was their actual anniversary.

Lacey had thought a lot about this and had decided to make reservations for the entire clan to enjoy brunch at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. This was considered by some to be the most elaborate and elegant brunch in the entire country. She was sure they would appreciate the ambiance and bountiful food offerings. She had also arranged with the manager for a special dessert to be served at their table.

The rooms were ready and she had put together a packet of activities and attractions for them to choose from for their time together.

The daughter and her boyfriend are going to stay in the same room? Are her parent’s okay with that? asked Charlotte.

For heaven’s sake, Charlotte, it’s not 1953. In fact, her father asked me to put them together, Lacey explained.

Charlotte shook her head thinking about how uncomfortable their parents had been if they had even wanted to go on a coed camping trip. It was a good thing people were more realistic and tolerant about what was happening in real life.

What have you decided for the pillow gifts for the family? asked Charlotte. Pillow gifts were small tokens that Lacey placed under each pillow on the first night of her guests stay. Lip balm or lotion for the dry altitude and a couple of stamped post cards. The trinkets varied according to time of year and any additional details she may have about each guest. It was a nice tradition that always made the guests feel