Wandering Heart (9781101561362) Read Online Free

woman, who looked to be in her early thirties, nearly had her face pressed to the screen, trying to get a look inside.
    Had her wish for an overflow of the town’s tourists come true? Liza sure hoped so. With her brightest innkeeper smile in place, she sallied forth to answer the door.
    “Sorry to keep you waiting,” she greeted the couple. “I was back in the kitchen. I didn’t hear you knock.” She opened the door and welcomed them inside. “Are you looking for accommodations?”
    “In a way, I guess you could say that,” the woman replied.
    Liza noticed she was carrying a large black notebook that looked very businesslike. The man, who seemed younger, had a 35mm digital camera slung around his neck. Two cameras actually, Liza realized. He was looking around, his head craning in all directions, from the molding to the floors and back again.
    Professional, she guessed. Her brother was a photographer, and she could spot one a mile away.
    “My name is Judy Kramer,” the woman said, digging around in her big black nylon tote. “This is my assistant, Zach Engle.”
    Liza smiled and extended her hand. “Liza Martin. I run the inn.”
    “I guessed as much,” Judy replied. “It’s a lovely place. We were onthe island a while back and passed by. It caught my eye, but we didn’t have time to come in.”
    Liza nodded. She wasn’t quite sure what this was all adding up to. She could tell they were not a vacationing couple, as she had first assumed. But she couldn’t guess what they wanted and just hoped they weren’t here to try to sell her something.
    “You’ve probably noticed that there’s a movie filming in town. I work for the production company, booking accommodations and catering, that sort of thing.” The woman finally pulled out a business card and handed it to Liza.
    Liza read it quickly.
Judy Kramer, Production Associate. Winding Hill Films.
    “We’re going to film some scenes on the island over the next week or two. I wondered if we could speak to you about reserving the inn for the use of the cast and crew. We would probably need most of the space,” she added, looking around. “That might be a problem. I mean, if you have a high occupancy now.”
    Liza stared at her and blinked. She felt like she might be going into shock.
Get a grip,
she scolded herself.
You just hit the jackpot. Say something smart or this woman is going to think you’re a total flake.
“I think we can accommodate your group. It’s not a problem at all. We have plenty of rooms available … Why don’t we go into the parlor and discuss it?” Liza quickly turned to lead the way, using the break to take a few deep breaths and compose herself.
    “Would you like some coffee or tea? A cold drink, maybe?” she offered. “There’s some wonderful peach and blueberry crumble on hand. Homemade,” she added.
    Judy smiled politely but didn’t look tempted. Zach seemed more interested, though. “My grandmother used to make crumble. That’s the one with crumbs on top, without any crust, right?”
    “That’s the one.” Liza nodded. “We do all the cooking and baking right here. All the ingredients are fresh, most of them locally grown. Many of the vegetables come out of our own garden.”
    As if on cue, Claire appeared. “Hello everyone,” she said cordially.
    “This is Claire North. She’s our cook and housekeeper and … everything in between,” Liza said. “Claire, would you bring some crumble for Judy and Zach? And some iced tea? They’re with the film company that’s in town. They want to talk about lodging the movie crew here.”
    “That would be very nice,” Claire said in her usual even tone. “I’ll be right back with that crumble and maybe some ice cream alongside. It goes perfectly.”
    Claire quickly headed back to the kitchen, and Liza took a notepad and pen from her small writing desk. “So, tell me what you need and I’ll tell you what we can do.”
    “I like your spirit, Liza,” Judy said,