Chapter 1

"Nineteen days till Valentine's Day," Grace groaned as she handed Molly a glass of lemonade. After pouring a second glass for herself, she sat at the table across from her new friend. "I can't believe an entire month has passed since the guests from our Old-Fashioned Christmas Experience left. I feel like I'm still in recovery from all the stress."

"Seems pretty understandable considering all that has happened in the last four weeks." She held up her index finger to illustrate. "First, you had to put away all the Christmas decorations, which was as big of an undertaking as putting them up. Second, you had to clean the house from top to bottom. Third, you had to find homes for all the puppies, deal with replacing the broken furnace, prepare for a permanent house guest, and take care of Gladys after she had that fall. That's a lot for one person to handle."

"I suppose you're right. I'm just glad you're back. I'm really sorry the deal on the house you and Grant were buying fell through, but I'm relieved you've moved in with Gladys for the time being. Knowing she's not alone, especially at night, has taken a load off my back," Grace said with a shake of her head. "Breaking a hip sure does suck."

Molly crinkled her nose. "Yeah, it does," she replied as she stared into space. After a moment, she shook her head as if to clear it. "Anyway, the big question is, what will we do for Valentine's Day?"

"I wish we could skip this holiday and focus on getting everyone well. Granny is doing better but is still in recovery. Now that Gladys has broken her hip, it feels too much to add a group of guests, let alone activities. Not to mention, we're already a day behind when we started last time."

Molly smiled sympathetically and reached across the table to pat Grace's hand. "I understand, but you took quite the financial hit with the furnace replacement. Not to mention the taxes you're going to have to pay. Even with Hunter's rent, money will get tight really quick if we don't jump on this opportunity, and don't forget, the next holiday won't be rolling around for another two and a half months."

Grace groaned again. "Okay, fine; from now on, you can call me Miss Responsibility."

Molly laughed. "How about you show yourself some actual grace instead, and this time, ask for and accept the help you need? I'll be with you every step of the way."

"That definitely helps," Grace sighed. "Valentine's Day is on a Tuesday this year. How do we handle that? Do you think anyone will even want to book a vacation this close to the beginning of the year?"

"We'll have less time for planned events, and people will only want to stay for five days instead of ten, but I think it's still doable."

"If we cut the booked time in half, the price will also have to be cut in half. It's less work but a lot less money, too," Grace said, concerned.

"Not necessarily. People pay for the experience. Experience does not have to equal the number of days they spend here."

"Maybe," Grace drawled out. "I don't know. I feel like if we're going to go for the experience factor, then we need to do something different." She thought about it for a couple of minutes. "Everybody always focuses on couples this time of year. What if we do the opposite and focus on single people instead?"

"Like, as in a getaway from all the romance? Or, as in, we play matchmaker?"

Grace gave it some more thought. "I'm thinking neither. We still offer fun Valentine's Day-themed activities, but we offer packages for singles to treat themselves instead. Think spa days, singles mixers, chocolate fountains, that sort of thing."

"Ooh, we could do one of those murder mystery dinners. You could even sell tickets to some locals as well. That would be a fun way to make some extra money."

"Isn't that more of a Halloween kind of thing?" Grace asked a bit skeptically.

Molly shrugged. "I'm pretty sure they do them year-round. Grant and I went to one years ago around this time. Even if they don't, it will be one more way in which we'll stand out."

"Sounds like we're getting somewhere. The other town council members might have some ideas as well."

"Actually, we have a meeting with Mayor Allen this afternoon. We don't have time to wait until the next council meeting."

Grace gave another defeated sigh. "Okay. Looks like it's full steam ahead, then."

Molly narrowed her eyes as she studied her friend. "Grace, what's going on? You're normally a very upbeat and positive person. Is something wrong with Granny?"

She shook her head. "Granny's okay. I'm just tired, that's all."

"Is it Hunter? Have you guys had a fight?"

"We haven't had the chance to have a fight. He was supposed to be back two weeks ago, but as of today, he's still in New York. Honestly, I think he's changed his mind about moving down here," Grace replied, her voice wavering as tears threatened to flood her eyes.

"Oh honey, I'm sure that's not true. It just takes time to wrap up all the loose ends. Especially when the decision to move is as sudden as this one was. Remember, Grant and I just got back a couple of days ago."

"That may be true, but we haven't talked on the phone in weeks. He's only texted me twice to let me know he wouldn't be showing up as planned. Every time I text him, he leaves me on read." Grace shook her head sadly. "I'm sure once he got back to New York, the allure of our small town wore off pretty fast."

"Why don't I talk to Grant and see what he knows? If Hunter has had a change of heart, as his business partner, Grant would be the first to know."

"Thanks, Molly." Grace tried to smile while holding back tears. She wanted to believe that Molly was right, but it was tough. Most people want to move out of small towns; the glitz and glamour of big-city life, especially in cities like New York City, is hard to resist. Very few want to go in the opposite direction.

Small towns are fun to visit. Their charm and 'old-fashioned' ways are a fun escape from the busyness of everyday life. But the lack of conveniences, long drives every time you need to go somewhere, and low employment opportunities usually dissuaded people from doing more than just visiting. She probably shouldn't have mentioned that when talking to Hunter before he left. Grace couldn't imagine living anywhere else. Having lived in Winterwood her whole life, she considered it her home, but it was another story for Hunter.

With another small sigh, she got up and put the lemonade glasses in the sink. It wasn't just the fact losing Hunter hurt her personally. It was the fact they would lose his rent money, too. One more room would likely be available for the next 'Experience,' but that money would not compensate for months' worth of lost rent.

Oh well, she couldn't worry about that right now. Whether she liked it or not, it was time to open the bed and breakfast again. She owed it to her potential guests to put all her time and energy into making it the best experience they ever had. The stuff with Hunter could wait.

Grace and Molly filed into Mayor Allen's office later that afternoon. They had spent the rest of the morning fine-tuning their latest plan and were excited to discuss it with him; they were more than a little surprised when they got there and discovered the other council members were there, too.

"Ladies, thank you both for coming," Mayor Allen said as he beamed at them.

"We hope you don't mind us all butting in," said Bea. "When we heard you two wanted to discuss a new idea with the Mayor, we got a little excited," she said with a laugh.

Molly smiled at them. "Actually, we're glad you're all here. You've saved us the hassle of tracking you down individually."

"Wonderful," the mayor said as he clapped his hands. "Let's get this meeting started, shall we?"

Molly looked at Grace. "Would you like me to do the presentation?"

Grace nodded, grateful for the opportunity to blend into the background again. While her previous experience had given her a much-needed push out of her comfort zone, she still did not relish being the center of attention, even in a small group like this.

"As you all know, the Christmas Experience the town put together was a huge success." Molly looked around the room, and when she saw everyone nodded in agreement, she continued. "Grace and I would like to do another experience, this time for Valentine's Day."

"Will this be for couples?" asked Bea.

Molly shook her head. "This time, we will focus our attention on single people. Since they are a highly overlooked group this time of year, we think we will have a lot of success if we cater to them specifically."

"I'm not sure I understand," said Addie. "Why do single people care about Valentine's Day?"

"They probably don't, but they're also probably sick and tired of being reminded that they're single and made to feel bad about it on top of it. We want to do the opposite. We want to celebrate the fact they're single."

"How will we do that?" asked Junior. "More importantly, can we make any money doing it?"

Molly took a deep breath. "We will offer unique packages to guests who book a stay at Grace's bed-and-breakfast. We plan to offer 'spa packages' using some vendors around town. We will, of course, need the food services of Addie and Bea," she said as she looked at them directly. Thankfully, both of them nodded in agreement.

"As for the town, we plan to host a murder mystery dinner on the Saturday before Valentine's Day. We will sell tickets and open them up to locals and the people in the surrounding towns. This plan will require all the downtown business owners to agree to be involved."

"What do you need from us?" asked Mr. Wilkins.

"For an event this big, we're going to need a lot of locations to send the people for clues. Also, we will need volunteers to act out the actual mystery. Since we don't have a large enough building to host a dinner for that many people, we'll need to set up serving stations around town.

"This sounds like a lot of work," grumbled Junior.

Molly nodded her head. "It is definitely going to require a lot of work, but Grace and I will do the bulk of it. We've broken down everything we need into small categories," she replied, handing everyone a list. "All we need you to do is your one small part."

It was silent for a few minutes as everyone read over their copy of Molly's list. Graced watched from her seat in the corner, attempting to read the expressions on their faces. She really hoped everyone would agree to the plan. At first, it had seemed overwhelming to her, but the more she and Molly had discussed it, the more excited she had become.

Finally, Bea looked up and smiled. "This looks awesome! I bet we'll sell hundreds of tickets with the right marketing!"

"That's the plan," Molly said, smiling back. "Not only that, we'll get tons of people into your stores that haven't been there before. This will be a great opportunity to showcase what you have to offer." She pointedly looked at Mr. Wilkins, who looked thrilled to hear that.

"Do we need to decorate again?" asked Addie. "I already had a lot of Christmas stuff. I don't have much in the way of Valentine's Day decorations."

"Do as much as you can," said Molly. "It will be nice to look festive, but this holiday isn't as decoration-dependent as Christmas. Besides, we're trying not to throw the lovey-dovey aspect of the holiday into these people's faces."

"This all sounds very exciting, ladies," said Mayor Allen. "There's just one question. What will you do on the actual day of the holiday?"

Molly gave Grace a nervous look. This was the one part they weren't sure about. "We were thinking we would hold a single's mixer. We would invite all the singles from the local area to a social event. We would serve drinks, play music, have a buffet, that sort of thing. At the end of the night, we would have an auction. All the proceeds would go to the park fund you've been trying to raise money for."

"What kind of auction?" asked Junior suspiciously.

"We'll ask businesses for donations, of course, but if we can get some volunteers, we thought it might be fun to auction off some men for dates or handyman projects. That part is up in the air," Molly said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"We're going to have to give that some serious thought," said Mayor Allen. "We don't want to do anything that could endanger someone or cause hurt feelings."

"It will definitely require a delicate touch," Molly agreed. "But if done right, it could be a lot of fun and raise a lot of money. We have time to work out the details before making a final decision."

"Do you think we need to round up the town and get everyone involved again?" asked Bea.

"Not as of yet," Molly replied. "Our main focus is on local business owners this time."

Mayor Allen clapped his hands. "It looks like we have a fairly solid plan. Why don't we dismiss for the day and meet again tomorrow? That should give everyone enough time to come up with any questions or concerns they need addressed."

After some excited goodbyes and exclamations, the crowd dispersed. Molly and Grace got back in the car, each breathing a sigh of relief.

"I think that went well," Molly told Grace as she started the car.

"Better than I expected. Guess it's back to planning our marketing campaign."

"That's the fun part," Molly replied with a laugh. "Eventually, you're going to learn to love it too."

"If you say so…" Grace trailed off, then laughed to not hurt Molly's feelings. She would never love marketing but would always be thankful for her new friend.

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