Inn Season: A Gorgeous, Small Town Second Chances Novel: Finch's Crossing, #5

By Amy Ruth Allen

Just because she grew up in Finch's Crossing doesn't mean she should go back . . .

In this short novel, we meet Kayla Mitchell, whose days as the manager of a large hotel in California are all the same. The guests may be different, but they all have identical complaints: The towels are too small, the housekeeper forgot to leave a second bar of soap, the sundries in the gift shop are too expensive. Every day Kayla wears the same conservative pinstriped hotel manager suit. She has the same conversations with her staff. She orders the same inventory every week.

It's been ten years since Kayla graduated from college with a degree in hotel management and started climbing the corporate ladder. Somewhere along the way she let go of her dream to run a small inn.

She longs for sparkle and color. And she know she'll never find it at the Global Arbor Hotel and Suites.

So when an uncle in her hometown of Finch's Crossing, Pennsylvania, calls with an offer she can't refuse, Kayla empties her bank and investment accounts and sells her condo to buy the Greystone Manor Inn.

Before she can say "Welcome to the Greystone Manor Inn," Kayla is back in Finch's Crossing where she spent the first seventeen years of her life.

But things aren't as cozy and perfect as she imagined. Her staff isn't exactly thrilled that she's taken over ownership, and someone is bent on sabotaging everything she does. Everyone except Chapman. No last name. Chapman is some kind of mysterious fixer. And he's the only one on her side.

Her parents have practically disowned her, which Kayla knows has something to do with why her family suddenly left Finch's Crossing when she and her sister Kaitlin were in high school.

And then there's her first big private event at the Greystone. A prominent Pittsburgh family has rented the entire property for a weekend. Kayla is going to have to put on her big girl manager pants to handle that crew, and an unwelcome blast from the past.

When the sabotage turns dangerous, it's time to thrown in the towel and head back to California? But is it? Or is that what she wants people to think?

If you enjoy wholesome and heartwarming stories that celebrate the charms of small-town life, you'll love this next installment in the Finch's Crossing series where the beloved characters from the first four books welcome new residents to their tiny hamlet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amy Ruth Allen
• Release date: Dec 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9798224593569

Amy Ruth Allen

I’m an American girl who grew up overseas, riding elephants in Thailand, dancing around the Maypole in Sweden, drinking tea in the United Kingdom, and touring castles across Europe. In these foreign (to me) and exotic locales, books were both my anchor and my escape. They connected me to my native land (and English-speakers in general), while introducing me to worlds even more awesome than the ones I lived in. Fast forward to present day in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where I am the author of the small-town romance series Finch’s Crossing, seven non-fiction books for young adults, and the young adult novel, Stealing Away. In addition to writing fiction, non-fiction, and my blog, I support fellow indie authors by reviewing indie books.

Book preview

Inn Season

INN SEASON

A GORGEOUS, SMALL TOWN SECOND CHANCES NOVEL

FINCH’S CROSSING BOOK FIVE

AMY RUTH ALLEN

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

About the Author

Also by Amy Ruth Allen

Praise for Amy Ruth Allen

Bonus Content Cozy Mystery Novella

Season of Mystery

CHAPTER 1

Kayla Mitchell stood on the front steps of the Greystone Manor Inn, surveying the property. Her property. It was mid-May and the gardens around the small inn in her hometown of Finch’s Crossing were in bloom. Coneflowers and azalea bushes burst with happy pinks and purples. The grey wood-slatted building had recently been painted, and the white columns on either side of the front door and all the window trim practically shone, giving off their own light.  

But despite the comforting charm and beauty that surrounded her, Kayla found herself in a full-blown panic attack wrapped up in a tight ribbon of self-doubt.  

It had always been her dream to own her own bed and breakfast or small inn. And after ten long years in the corporate hotel business, here she was. Cash poor. Alone. Uncertain. After selling her condo in Santa Barbara, Kayla sank all her assets, savings, and investments, down to the last penny, into the Greystone. She was a thirty-two-year-old woman and literally had nothing to fall back on. 

Kayla had been at the Greystone for three days, moving into the owner’s apartment on the first floor and meeting with the staff. Over the course of two decades, her uncle, Duncan Olack, had made the Greystone and its fine dining restaurant a destination in southwestern Pennsylvania.  She knew when he decided to retire to Florida Duncan had given her a generous discount on the sales price, and Kayla had accepted immediately. She didn’t even think about it. 

But the initial excitement of making her dream come true had worn off. The staff hadn’t been as enthusiastic as she had hoped. True, they had been cordial and friendly. But the cozy, warm feelings she associated with a small town were definitely missing.  

Now she just felt wistful and a little afraid, almost as if the grown-ups had gone away for the weekend and left her in charge of her younger siblings. Except the parents were her Uncle Duncan and the younger siblings were a staff of eight employees, all of whom she became responsible for as soon as she signed the sales papers.  

Instead of going back into the Greystone, Kayla decided to hide out in the gardens a little longer, even though she knew she was being ridiculous. She walked along the grey stone walls at the edges of the property, which gave the original house its name.  

She knew she had no choice but to put the scary feelings and thoughts aside and get on with it.   

But she allowed herself just one more worry.  

The Greystone seemed to run itself like a well-oiled machine. The staff, from the manager to the housekeepers, had been there for years. After three days, it seemed apparent that there wasn’t an actual place for her yet.   

She would have to make one for herself. Afterall, she did have plans to grow and improve the Greystone. Ideas for events and other programs ran through her mind as soon as she decided to make the purchase a few months earlier.  

Kayla was experienced supervising huge number of employees as the manager of an exclusive large hotel in California, where almost one hundred people were employed.  

Kayla pulled her cell phone from her skirt pocket. It was close to four and she had been stalling outside for almost half an hour. Time to go inside. Four was check-in time and soon diners would start arriving to have a drink at the bar or a sumptuous meal in the Greystone’s restaurant. 

The lobby and parlor were sumptuously decorated in Victorian style with dark woods and jewel-toned upholstered furniture and drapes. As one entered, the dining room was on the left, the solarium to the right, and beyond that was a wood-paneled library. A large stone fireplace dominated one side of the lobby and Kayla had fond memories from her childhood, sitting by the fire with her parents and younger sister, Fiona, watching the guests come and go, Duncan telling funny stories about the Greystone and its sometimes-wacky patrons. 

Kayla walked across the plush carpet and greeted Vanessa Jacobs, the Greystone’s manager, who seemed to always wear a black pantsuit and white blouse. The registration desk was tucked at the back of the lobby beside a small parlor area, next to a grand staircase leading to the rooms on the second and third stories. Twenty in all. The top story had an event space that was once a grand ballroom. 

Probably in her late twenties, Vanessa wore her long brown hair in a severe updo. Kayla was in a blue cotton skirt and t-shirt, and her loose dark hair brushed her shoulders in a straight pageboy cut. She felt girlish, even though she was older. She hadn’t expected Vanessa’s severe outfit in the laid-back atmosphere of a small town. 

In her daydreams in the days following her purchase, Kayla had imagined the staff dressed in bright business-casual outfits. After ten years in the corporate hotel business, where everyone to wore dark blue suits or uniforms, Kayla had longed for and sorely missed color and sparkle. 

She sighed inwardly as she looked at Vanessa. No color or sparkle. Vanessa was all business. Kayla knew Vanessa had been on the Greystone staff since she was seventeen and worked as the hostess in the restaurant. 

What can I do for you, Miss Mitchell? Vanessa asked, shuffling papers and not looking up. 

Oh, please call me Kayla, Kayla instructed Vanessa for what was probably the tenth time. She’d have to work on that. 

Vanessa didn’t respond, but did look up, only to make a motion for Kayla to step aside, which she did, feeling as if she had been dismissed. After Vanessa had finished checking in the lovely young couple who were visiting their parents in Finch’s Crossing, Kayla introduced herself and chatted with them amiably, trying to be a good innkeeper. 

Seeing them half-way up the staircase and wishing them a pleasant stay, Kayla returned to Vanessa. 

I’d like to review the financials for the past year, she said. Duncan and I didn’t have a chance to dig into them very much. If you can topline them for me, I can take it from there. Say first thing in the morning tomorrow? 

Vanessa didn’t hesitate in answering. First thing in the morning is a staff meeting at eight. We have a big group coming next weekend and there’s a lot to do. We’re actually booked up that weekend just for this one family. 

That sounds important, Vanessa agreed. I’ll be there, of course, and once that staff meeting is over you and I can meet. Shouldn’t take more than thirty minutes. Also, over the course of the next few weeks I’d like to sit down and have a one-on-one with every staff member. Sort of a get-to-know-you meeting. 

Vanessa smiled tightly. Yes, ma’am, she said, and Kayla wondered when—or if—the young woman was planning to tell her about the eight o’clock staff meeting and the upcoming big weekend. 

Kayla had been nothing but friendly to Vanessa, and the entire staff, over the past three days. And they all, in turn, had been nice and gracious. But that was when Duncan was still there. It seemed that as soon as Duncan took his final departure, the false cloak of friendliness disappeared into thin air. In the initial meeting with Duncan and the entire staff, which Kayla made sure was catered by the Greystone’s own restaurant, and which included plenty of adult beverages, she had assured everyone that she had no intention of making any big changes anytime soon and that included any changes to staffing levels or personnel. She didn’t promise that she wasn’t going to let anyone go, but she came pretty darn close. Job insecurity should be the last thing on anyone’s mind. 

As the registration desk grew busier and customers began arriving for dinner and drinks, Kayla decided she was too tired to play hostess. It had been a long few days, following a long, hard three weeks of preparing to move to Finch’s Crossing. She would play hostess tomorrow, she vowed, and catch the dinner crowd as they came in, make the rounds, and glad hand the patrons. But what she needed at that very instant was a leisurely walk, followed by a light dinner and a glass of wine all by herself in her cozy new apartment. 

Kayla walked through the solarium and library and slipped out a side door. Having spent the first seventeen years of her life in Finch’s Crossing, she already knew her way around—and not just the Greystone, but the entire town.  

She walked down Hickory Street and took a left onto Loucks Avenue, a beautiful tree-lined street with buckled slate sidewalks. Beautiful homes, mostly Victorian, dotted both sides of the street, including the one belonging to the Mitchells’ across-the-street neighbor, the Hamilton family. Kayla had gone to school with the youngest girl, Summer, who was newly married and ran a yoga studio in the business district in the small downtown area. The other sisters, Autumn, Spring, and Winter were older, and Kayla didn’t know them very well. 

Kayla stopped in front of her childhood home, a traditional two-story white frame house with black shutters and a porch that spanned the entire front. The Mitchells had been happy there, at least until Kayla was in high school. One day they were living happily in Finch’s Crossing, and the next her father got a job in California, and they moved away immediately. They only packed a few suitcases and lived in a rental apartment for a few months while their belongings were packed and trucked to California. They eventually bought a house in Santa Barbara. Kayla hadn’t even known that her father had been looking for a job. She barely had any time to say goodbye to her friends. 

The boxwoods along the front of the house were nicely trimmed and except for the bright red front door, the house looked just as it did fifteen years ago. Kayla and Fiona each had their own room at the back of the house upstairs. Kayla remembered fondly that although each of them was given free rein to decorate the way they wanted, one year, Kayla and Fiona independently chose the same color scheme—light orange and dark green. They had selected similar furniture and linens, and each had strung fairy lights from the ceiling. 

As Kayla contemplated knocking on the door to ask to see the inside of the house, a voice behind her said, Are you Kayla Mitchell? 

Kayla turned to see a beautiful auburn-haired woman in paint-splattered coveralls and a short sleeve T-shirt walking across the street, hand outstretched. I’m Autumn Hamilton, the woman said. I’m sure we met years and years ago, but you probably don’t remember. I think you went to school with my sister Summer. I wanted to welcome you back home. 

Kayla shook Autumn’s hand. That’s so nice of you, thank you, she said. I just bought the Greystone and I’m still getting my bearings. 

Autumn laughed. I know, she said. It’s a small town, remember? Everyone knows that you’ve come back to Finch’s Crossing from California and bought the Greystone. You’re thirty-two, single, and this was the house you grew up in. Autumn motioned toward the former Mitchell house. 

Kayla turned away from Autumn and gazed at the house. Then I guess everyone remembers my family leaving Finch’s Crossing so suddenly, and never coming back. Until now. 

Of course, Autumn said. It’s one of those small-town mysteries. No one knows why but it doesn’t stop people from speculating about it. She held up her hands. But not me, she assured Kayla. Is it strange coming back? 

In some ways it is, Kayla agreed, turning back to Autumn. In others it feels like coming home. I don’t think much has changed here in fifteen years. 

We do have that big gas station on the corner of Broadway and Pittsburgh Streets and you don’t have to go to Mt. Pleasant for Chinese food, Autumn said. 

Good to know, Kayla said. I’m a terrible cook. Back home in California I lived off of hotel food. 

Why don’t you come to dinner? Autumn suggested. I’ll invite Summer and her husband. It’ll be a reunion. 

I’d love to, Kayla replied enthusiastically, relieved to finally feel a genuine gesture. When and what can I bring? 

Tomorrow night and not a thing. Autumn said. Do you eat pasta? My grandfather’s sauce recipe is legend. 

Kayla replied that she did and she and Autumn said their goodbyes. Kayla watched as Autumn hurried back across the street and back into her beautiful grey Victorian house with the burgundy-colored shutters. 

Kayla turned back toward her former house and whispered a farewell, glad that she was now free to return any time she wanted, though she had mixed feelings. Seeing the house brought so many memories to the forefront, some not entirely pleasant. She turned and walked back down Loucks Avenue, but instead of returning to the Greystone, she detoured to Spring Street, stopping in front of the Christian Circle publishing house. The two-story red-brick building was empty at that hour. As a young girl, Kayla had wanted to study journalism in college, then return to Finch’s Crossing to work as a writer or editor for the publisher, which created circulars for Christian youth groups nationwide. 

What the heck had happened to that dream? She couldn’t remember. Then she realized she had never actually been inside the building. Maybe she could fix that now that she was home. Afterall, she was the owner of Finch’s Crossing only inn and fine dining establishment. That ought to count for something.  

Remembering her youth in Finch’s Crossing and her childhood dreams stirred something within Kayla. She hoped she could find her way back to it.

CHAPTER 2

The next day, the warm sun of a bright May morning woke Kayla early. She had left the curtains open deliberately the night before. Today was a big day and she planned to be ready. The Greystone’s restaurant wouldn’t open for breakfast until seven, so she opted for a quick yogurt and banana in her apartment. 

She had barely unpacked since she arrived. The movers had situated her mid-century modern furniture, but beyond hanging her clothes in the closet and putting out her toiletries, she hadn’t done much else. 

The apartment, unlike the rest of the Greystone, showed its wear-and-tear. No matter. With some new paint, crown molding, and window treatments, the place would feel like home before too long. 

On the first floor of the Greystone, Duncan never had his own office, preferring to share the office space behind the registration desk with the manager. Two