Secrets Collide (Bluegrass Brothers)

though. It’ll be easier for us to leave the place if we know you’ll still be here to take care of it.”
    At least she could still stay if she wanted to. Not that it would be the same with Jack and Ava gone and new owners at the helm. They’d want to change it. Turn it into another cookie-cutter hotel. Gone would be her artist’s collective and the herbalist conference. And who knew what they’d do with the century-old cottages.
    Maybe if it was an individual or a couple rather than some corporation. They might stand a chance then. “Who’s bought the Siren?”
    As if reading her thoughts, Jack frowned. “Holt Enterprises. They’re big, but promised to let you take the lead on the changes they’ll be making.”
    Yeah…and dreams were made of cotton candy and gumdrops. She bit back a groan, not wanting to make this anymore difficult on Jack and Ava than it already was. “Where will you go?” Now that she’d made Mermaid Isle her home, she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
    “Honey, another Maine winter will do us in.” Jack sat back and laughed. “I want sun and warm waters. Sandy beaches that I can walk on without getting swept out to sea. Drinks I can sip out of a coconut or pineapple and are loaded up with rum.”
    Riley wanted to protest that they could have those things here, but knew it wasn’t the same. And Jack was right—the winters could be harsh this far north, even if they were still in the southern part of Maine.
    “Might do a bit of traveling before we settle down.” Ava looked at her, her motherly concern still worrying her brown eyes. “But we’ll come back during the summers. And we’ll stay in touch. We’ll only be a phone call or email away—not to mention all the current technology. What’s it called? Swipe?”
    That made Riley laugh. “The world must be coming to an end then, if I’m going to finally get you two to go online and actually answer emails.”
    “You’ll manage just fine, my dear.” Ava got to her feet and Jack followed suit. “If anything, you might finally get the funds to do all those things you’ve been wanting to do here at the Siren. Change is good.”
    “When? When will the sale be finalized?” Riley’s breath hitched as she waited for an answer. She’d come here every summer as a child, worked at the inn during her vacations once she’d turned eighteen, and then full-time straight out of college. It was where she’d grown up, where she’d fallen in love for the first time. It was all she knew, all she loved—and she’d given it her all.
    “In two weeks. And don’t worry—we’ll tell the others.” Ava gave her a big hug. “Just remember, this will always be the Siren Song Inn. As long as you’re here, the heart of it will never change.”
    “I hope you’re right.” She couldn’t bear to think of the Siren changing so much it no longer felt like home.
    Riley waited for Jack and Ava to leave her office and then collapsed into her chair, tears stinging her eyes as she tried to swallow down the golf ball-sized lump in her throat. She knew they’d been looking to retire, but she hadn’t expected them to sell the place. Not that she held it against them—all their money was tied up in the inn, and they’d never be able to retire without freeing up those funds.
    She thought of what the Siren meant to so many people. Cultivated over the years to be an artist’s retreat, there was a long list of people who came year after year to meet with other like-minded folks, and be inspired by the rugged natural beauty and colorful town.
    Unlike other places that catered only to the rich and well off, Mermaid Isle was more approachable and far more unique than any other resort town Riley had ever been to, especially given its long history. Legend had it that thieves and pirates had stashed their plunder in one of the many caves that could be found on the island, and later, it was settled by a small group of women who’d come north to escape the witch trials that reached far past Salem. Add to that the commune that blossomed in the sixties and the artisans that flocked to it in the last few decades, and it would be impossible to duplicate the character of the island and its people.
    But with the Siren under new ownership, everything might change, and it could easily devastate the island’s economy. There were a handful of small bed and breakfasts, but the inn was at the heart of the island and it was their constant influx of